JJ against 4 low straight cards and loose player

$.10/.25 NL 6-max

Villain has not been at the table long but I do know that he is pretty loose and does a lot of calling.

Hero $41
MP $57
CO $29
Button $23
SB $27
BB $15

Hero is UTG with J [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]J [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]

Hero raises to $1, MP calls $1, CO calls $1, Button calls $1, SB folds, BB folds.

Flop (Pot $4.35): 5 [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]4 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]6 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]
Hero bets $4, MP folds, CO calls $4, Button folds.

Turn (Pot $12.35): 3 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]
Hero?

I honestly have no idea what Villain holds. Obviously I am most afraid of him holding a 7. I don't think he has an overpair higher than mine since he never raised, and I'm sure he would use his loose image to his benefit after I showed strength. Two small pair is unlikey in my mind as well, as he doesn't seem wild enough to call preflop raises with those types of hands. If a non-straight undercard or a 2 comes here, I feel safe making a pot-sized bet, but he called my flop bet with something. I apologize if this is elementary but I truly have no idea what the correct play is here against a loose player on whom I have no read.

[DJ Sensei]

Checking here is essentially giving up on the hand, as he can put out a good sized bet and give you a tougher decision than the one you face now.

You need to bet here, I'd say around $8 or so. If he raises... I think you can fold. However, I think you're against TT-88 or Ax[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] here quite often (probably more often than anything with a 7, or a low set or 2 pair), so there is value in a bet. If he calls again, he'll have $16 behind in a $28 pot, and you should put him all-in pretty much regardless of the river card (you shouldnt be folding to his push if he makes it, but he probably won't check any hand that is ahead of yours, so make him pay if he is behind).

[Maulik]

I don't mind giving up here at all. After the flop call hero has $35 behind and villain has him covered. There is no reason to get himeself all-in. If he is all-in I couldn't imagine him expecting to be ahead here very often.

Folding the best hand here looks okay to me.

[benwood]

Even though he's loose & does a lot of calling,a 7 or 2 is not too likeky to be in his hand after you have raised 4x the BB & he has called.Because of this you can't cave in just yet.You didn't say that he was aggressive,just loose.So I think you should make a reasonable bet,& you will find out where you stand.I would bet about $8.(Iwrote this down before I read DJ Sensei's post.Great minds think alike.)

I think my default line here is to lead again with a smallish bet - a little over 1/2 pot, being able to release easily to a raise. There are too many other hands he can have (like Sensei said) and whether he calls or raises can tell you what you're looking at a lot of the time.

[Maulik]

a thinking villain will either call or or raise the turn or the river...

[benwood]

When you continue to show aggression on the turn,he's got to consider the possibility of 77,A7 suited,A2 suited,& other such hands.It's better to keep the momentum than to give it up voluntarily.

Thanks for the replies. Just to follow up, I bet $10, he thought almost the full time and folded. In hindsight I put him on A6, but at the time I felt like I was committing too many chips with a hand that could be beaten in too many ways. However, it sounds like I wasn't too far from the right idea.