[Nick C]

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River: Man, I at least want to donk here. But BB is probably betting anyway, unless he's letting the ace scare him (which he might, given my preflop raise). I don't know. I guess I'd probably bet-call or check-call.

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Nick,

I don't see how bet call can even be a consideration here. Please explain. You really think he's bluff raising that often? I think this is c/c and it's not close. Induced bluff >>> value bet here.

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I don't really have an explanation, except that I find it almost impossible to read the hand of an unknown in a blind-vs.-blind situation.

The reason I want to bet is that I had top pair on the turn versus a starting hand that in theory didn't have to be very strong at all.

But, yeah, I guess if we get raised we're probably beat. Check-calling does seem better than bet-calling.

Frequently, I feel like what I'm doing in blind-steal situations at the table is playing loose and aggressive until I get played back at, when I become cautious. I don't know how to interpret my opponents' bets and raises in these spots, so often what I find myself doing is thinking, "Look, I've got a pair, and I'm not taking a line that lets you push me off of it; I'm showing down." Sometimes I miss bets this way, and sometimes I call down when I probably shouldn't.