Call or raise nuts flush draw?

[fflyer]

What is the correct action in this situation? Sorry I can't convert the hand, but it was played at Pacific and I don't see any way to re-create the hand from that site.
I was on the button with Ad 4d at at a loose 2-4 table and there were five limpers to me. I raised in order to increase the size of the pot if my flush draw materialised. The blinds folded as did one of the limpers (!), and the rest called. That meant that there were just under twelve SBs in the pot when 10d 7c 2d flopped. The first three players checked and the player to my right bet. I just called without thinking as I wanted to keep the other players in the hand in case the flush hit and did not want to scare them off by raising. After the hand was played however I started to wonder whether it would be correct to raise in this situation in the hope of scaring off any lurkers with an A and a better kicker than me. That would improve my chances of winning if an ace flopped and I would not be so dependent on a diamond appearing. Given that the pot was already fairly large, would that be a better line than simply calling the bet to my right? Would the small extra chance of winning the hand by raising outweigh the potential loss of customers if I hit my flush? The more I think about it the more I think I should have raised, but any comments would be appreciated.

[Dave G.]

Ugh, you might want to type the hand out using the codes and whatnot if the converter doesn't work.

Basic rule of thumb: If raising will face most of the field with 2 cold, calling is better. You want as many of them in as possible. If most of the field have already called one bet, you can raise because they're all going to call another one.

[jrz1972]

I would raise this every single time given that I raised PF. By raising, I increase my chances of winning if I can drive out a hand like A7, and my PF aggression gives me a little fold equity. If I get multiple callers, I will probably take a free card on the turn if offered.

If I had limped PF, then calling the flop would make more sense because the pot would be smaller and not worth fighting over as much. (FWIW, I'm limping this).

So the upshot is that in a smallish pot I just try to make my flush without losing anybody, while in a bigger (raised) pot I try to buy a few extra outs. Note that in either case, I am really hoping for somebody to check-raise so I can three-bet for value.

[Dave G.]

Ah yes, that's a good point. If you have position on the field, you might raise the flop to try a free card play too.

[fflyer]

[ QUOTE ]
I would raise this every single time given that I raised PF. By raising, I increase my chances of winning if I can drive out a hand like A7, and my PF aggression gives me a little fold equity. If I get multiple callers, I will probably take a free card on the turn if offered.

If I had limped PF, then calling the flop would make more sense because the pot would be smaller and not worth fighting over as much. (FWIW, I'm limping this).

So the upshot is that in a smallish pot I just try to make my flush without losing anybody, while in a bigger (raised) pot I try to buy a few extra outs. Note that in either case, I am really hoping for somebody to check-raise so I can three-bet for value.

[/ QUOTE ]


That was exactly my thinking after I played the hand. Having raised the pot, it makes sense to chuck in an extra bet after the flop to scare off any other aces. The fact that it gives the option of a free card is a bonus if there are a few callers.