Button A8 - bad play all around... or good?

15-30 game. Fairly tight for the bellagio but there is one player who takes way too many flops and when he limps in early position I know he's got a volume hand. So.... I raise on the button to isolate him. He will lay down hands and he has a monster tell when he has a monster so I will know if I am beat.

SB calls interfering with my plan. SB is very tight preflop. Flop comes KQJ. Check, Check and I check looking for a free T, and being worried about a check raise from the li'l blind. (As I am fairly sure the guy with the tell has nothing.)

Turn is an 8. Check , Check and I bet and am NOW check raised by the tight li'l blind. What do you folks do?

Would you have bet the flop?
Would you have checked the turn?
Would you have reraised the check raiser?
Just foods for thoughts. Spagettios to the best answers.

[Ginogino]

You do not mention suits throughout, so I assume that the issue doesn't arise (even though the question what the SB's checkraise on the turn means might depend on whether the turn 8 matched the suit of one card of a KQJ rainbow flop).
1. Would I bet preflop? Yes. Even if the limper could have anything from 97o and 85s through AA, there are more hands at the bottom of the range than at the top. And I think A8o does reasonably well with the 2 "random" hands held by the blinds. Realize, though, that others will likely recognize what you are doing, and what you'd make an islolation move with.
2. Would I check the turn? Question: what does the SB have? Given that he is a tight preflop player (all we know about him), I'd have to figure that he wouldn't call two bets in the small blind without a pocket pair or high cards (JTs or above; QJo or above). Yes, I'd check the turn since I have to figure that most of the time the SB is waiting for a chance to checkraise, and a majority of the time you're behind.
3. Would I call the checkraise? Would I reraise? If the SB is acting on highcards, he may have two pair, so an A or 8 would help (5 outs), but he might equally well have a straight draw with a single pair. The only advantage I see in re-raising would be to make a pocket pair of 9's or lower fold (unlikely). I think you are behind, and your outs are compromised. I'd play, but I'd wuss out and call.
Regarding the early limper, he's probably out of contention based on his flop and turn checks, but he could call you and the SB down. He may well have some kind of draw, and at present he may well have you beat with a Qx or Jx. This is an argument for re-raising, perhaps, but my suspicion is that most of the time if one raise on the turn won't get him out, then two raises won't work either. IMHO both players caught a small piece of this flop. I'm curious as to results.

[Tommy Angelo]

When the tight SB calls before the flop, I'd proceed as if he has decent but not great high cards, or a pocket pair. By checking the flop and betting the turn, the only hand that beats me that I could hope to get him to fold would be 99. The hands that he would be getting a free card against me are 77, 66, 55, 44, 33, 22. The hands that he could have, that have me beat, that I'd be getting a free card to beat are, wow, there's like dozens. I'd check the turn.

Tommy

[Diplomat]

Out of curiousity, but somewhat relevant, is what the loose player who limped did when faced with the double-bet...you may be beaten in two places.

Checking on the turn is the play. That flop appears dangerous, despite the check, check, and check, check play by your opponents...when you are checkraised, it appears that you have been somewhat suckered by the SB into betting. Another question here is what does the SB think of your play? Will he try to make a play against you, particularily for a small pot?

After being checkraised on the turn I would lay this hand down. There are six big bets in the pot (counting the raise by the SB, but not the loose player's turn call, if he called), and it will cost you one more to see the river card. You could have several outs against top pair or two pair, but your only really clean out is a ten for a straight. Even then, if you are against a hand like AK (or even AT for the flopped straight) you will be drawing to a gut-shot to chop.

Hope the hand worked out

OK sorry for missed relevancies. The board was rainbow. The limper had folded for the two bets.

I mucked my A8 and was shown an A5o. I said nice hand.

Ignoring the fact that I was actually ahead, I think that checking behind as Tommy suggested was still the best play. Putting the SB on a garbage hand at that point would've been impossible given the image I had of him, an image of which he dangerously(?) took advantage.

How "skillful" was the SB play assuming I had a tight, aggressive image?

He clearly was looking to add a little SIZZLEAN to my plate by showing the hand.

Later

[J.A.Sucker]

You are probably beaten horribly at this point, but at least you have a free draw to the nuts here, which will be good for half the pot. Always a good spot to check in limit poker, since your bet won't put enough pressure on anyone else in the hand. The other hands you are looking at are probably 2-pair or A-big kicker, neither of which will fold anyway for a single bet. Check it down, pray for a T or 8 on the river, and see if you won.

Once you bet and get checkraised (uh, oh, Spaghettios [img]/forums/images/icons/blush.gif[/img] ), you have an easy fold.