[bigt439]

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I usually will check call this

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You check/call TP with a decent kicker?

What about a CR instead?

Edit: Keep in mind there are 3 villains on the flop. I don't want to give any free cards. Ergo, I think checking here is a mistake. My mistake was betting too much on the flop. (I think I should be more inclined to keeping the pot small, since I am OOP.)



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Let me explain myself a little bit, although it has been touched on a bit by other posters. I'm check calling here for a number of reasons that essentially amount to trying to lose the minimum and win the maximum by getting solid information out of the chips you put in.

By checking you get to send it around and see what everyone does. If a party breaks out you can peace. If you check call and someone check raises behind you, you can leave. The reason I don't check raise in this specific spot, is if there are one or two people left to act behind you. What cold calls there that you are worried about giving free cards too? KJ and J9 pretty much, with a few exceptions. While typically you would have liked to charge the draw, you were going to slow down if an A hit anyways and you can play cautiously if you think he was helped. Either way, him cold-calling behind you shouldn't happen very much. This is not a draw heavy board. By just check calling you can sniff our a check raise from behind you if that happens. Check calling almost always gets you hu and if the pot goes multi-way you are usually beat anyways (obviously exceptions, but you know how to play poker I don't need to tell you this).

The main disadvantage of the c/r is the number of streets you will have left to play. If you c/r and are called (which in my opinion is done more than if you sng, for obvious reasons), you have two streets to navigate now. You can't really lead the turn if you c/r because of how big the pot will be. You'll have to completely tie yourself to the pot, and if all the money goes in here I don't think you come out with it alot. If you sng, you only have to check one street, and it becomes a much more manageable pot.

When you lead the turn (note not this turn, I'm going broke on this turn now), but a blank turn, you can usually safely fold if raised. If you have tpgk and show as much strength as this stop n go and then get raised, you have to lay it down.

This approach seems to let us get as much money in as we would like when ahead, and get away from our hand fairly easily when beat. I don't like leading because it has all the pros of the sng, but the additional con of putting in money when you have no information.