[CardSharpCook]

2 things, Tom: 1. We want our opponent to make a mistake. 2. This pot is big enough and the board scary enough that we'd like to take it down now.

Your opponent is more likely to make a mistake if we set him up to do so. If we check, he can correctly check behind with his str8draw, weak ace, etc. We set him up to make the right play. He can actively make a bad play or passively make the right play. If we bet an amount he shouldn't call with 8 outs, then we set him up to make a bad play. He can actively make the right play by folding (which we are certainly happy with) or he can passively make an incorrect play by calling.

Also, I don't really see weaker hands betting if we check. Again, we are going on the theory that we bet out on the flop. If we check here, most weaker hands check behind, though some players HAVE to bet if you check to them. The one problem is that betting allows your opponent to bet you out on this nice turn. However, he can STILL bet you out if you check to him. Only difference is that you can bet HIM out if you check/raise the turn, but you gotta have balls to do that. I don't have balls, so I bet out. (that and I can't count on him to bet for me).