[elindauer]

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J9 hits a lot of hands people play. Even if no one has a pair, someone will often have a gutshot or OESD.

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This is exactly my point. On this flop, it is unlikely that a bet will win the pot. Your bet doesn't gain you a lot of information either, since a call or a raise could come from a better or worse hand.

Just take the free card and play poker on the turn. Build up a little tight equity that you can use to steal a pot in the future with a flop bet, by showing your opponents that if you do bet the flop, you have something more than just a hand worth a raise 3 cards ago.

Put another way, if you bet this flop, can you conceive of a flop with this many players that you would not bet? The conditions here seem nearly perfect for checking, ie...

- the flop connects with lots of hands, but not yours
- a check definitely gets a free card

-eric