T9o from CO flops top 2

[ajmargarine]

.50/$1 NLHE Full table

UTG ($155.50)
UTG+1 ($92.45)
UTG+2 ($51.05)
MP1 ($190.45)
MP2 ($212.65)
MP3 ($109.75)
Hero ($440.65)
Button ($45.90)
SB ($254.80)
BB ($45.05)

Preflop: Hero is CO with 10 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] 9 [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] SB posts a blind of $0.50.
UTG minraises to $2, UTG+1 calls $2 UTG+2 calls $2, MP1 calls $2, MP2 calls $2, 1 fold, Hero calls $2, 2 folds, BB calls $1.

Flop: ($13.30) 10 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] 9 [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] 8 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] (7 players)
BB bets $2, UTG calls $2, UTG+1 calls $2, UTG+2 calls $2, MP calls $2, MP1 calls $2, Hero ???

A couple of these guys suffer from slow play FPS, and I suspect that someone may have a made straight here: 40/60 chance on that. None of these players I would consider above average, mostly all are loose passive. UTG seems the best of the bunch and has made some nice laydowns when in tricky situations where he had the worst of it.

BB is the loosest of them all. If I raise here, I suspect he will be calling me. And then that would just give better odds for all the rest to call. If I raise pot, I wouldn't be surprised to see at least 3 callers (and a raise from a made straight).

I'm wondering if tight weak isn't the way to go here, with all the draws out there, plus the potential made straight already. Call the flop $2, and see a turn card? At the table, my head was saying raise...my gut was saying call. Thoughts/comments appreciated.

[stealyourface]

Your giving up on the hand by calling. Do you really think a made straight is just smooth calling with someone obviously drawing to hearts?

Man up and raise the pot.

[xorbie]

Calling is fine here, because it's rather easy for someone to have you beat and be idiotically slowplaying here. Not to mention that basically everyone calls if you raise anyway (unless you raise enough for only a straight/set to call, in which case you are [censored] anyway), and half the deck sucks for you.

[stealyourface]

Plus your stack is [censored] huge.

[swolfe]

with all those players and closing the action (most important), calling and peeling one off is probably the best move.

[Caballa]

Make it $25. Fold to a push from anyone other than BB or UTG+2.

[ajmargarine]

[ QUOTE ]
Your giving up on the hand by calling. Do you really think a made straight is just smooth calling with someone obviously drawing to hearts?

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't think that I am giving up here by calling. If the made straight was from BB, he may be leading small to get a raise somewhere so he can reraise. If the made straight is J [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] Q [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], I could see them smooth calling in EP. This hand was tricky for me, and that's why I posted it.

[srm80]

with all that passive action pre-flop it could be that J7 or 67 as well as QJ could have made a straight. I know you have T9o, but if you are going to play it, wouldn't raising pre-flop to 8$ be a good play as well? otherwise I would have just folded the hand

[bobman0330]

Call for the following reasons:
1. You won't pick up the pot with a raise, and a lot of turn cards are awful for you.
2. You might be badly beaten, but you have outs... getting reraised is a disaster.
3. A turn raise would look stronger, and would be less likely to get played with (I think).

[ajmargarine]

[ QUOTE ]
... wouldn't raising pre-flop to 8$ be a good play as well?

[/ QUOTE ]

No, I think that would have been a pretty bad idea. With this sized pot, no one is folding for $6 more. I would need to raise to at least $15 to thin the field; but, I only have T9o so that's probably not smart. I don't mind playing JTo and T9o for cheap in family pots like this.

What happened as played in the OP:

I raise to $16.
BB pushes his QJ all-in.
UTG+1 calls with his 88.
UTG+2 pushes with his QJ.
MP1 folds what he said was AA?!?
And I fold.

QJ's hold up and split the pot.

$16 bet?!? In hindsight, a really really dumb bet amount. It did smoke out the straights but so what: a minraise could have done that. I should have called and hoped for a 9 or T to come and taken down a large pot, and barring that, just played cautious/passive on the turn and river.

Edit: bobman, your 3 reasons are spot on.