Is the pot too small to raise on the flop?

[Aaron W.]

Don't assume villain must have top pair since he bet. That's a mistake.

[MrWookie47]

Agreed. I think check/raising there is pretty close to check/folding. I'd like it more if your kicker was > T, or particularly with good reads on your opponents. As Dave said, if you're going to man up and check/raise, you have to lead the turn. If you can't stomach doing that against these opponents, then check/folding is the clear choice.

[Iq75]

Thanks all for the input. Really appreciate it.

Since the opinions differ from close to a clear fold, and I’m constantly trying to find the right level of aggression, I chanced the hand a bit. Is the flop now a clear check and raise?

Pasific 0.5/1 Hold'em (8 handed) converter

Preflop: Hero is MP3 with T [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] , 9 [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img].
UTG calls, 2 fold, Hero calls, CO calls, button calls, SB completes, BB checks.

Flop: (6 SB) 9 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] , K [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img], 5 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] (4 players)
SB checks, BB checks, UTG checks, Hero checks, CO checks, Button bets, SB folds, BB folds, UTG folds, Hero?

Raises?

[TomBrooks]

FLOP: Thats some pretty aggressive sheeeeeat out of position with middle pair 7s where your kicker is not higher than the highest card on the board, which is a King - the second most played card - and where there are two hearts on the board and you don't even have one.

TURN: If I had gotten myself into this pickle barrel somehow, I'd probably fire another shot here on the theory that the pot is 4BB and I might be able to fold that single remaining opponent out at least one out of four times and break even. Also, he could be on a flush draw and you might be ahead so betting is good for value.

RIVER: At this point, especially since you showed weakness on the turn by not betting there, I don't think that betting on the river will make Villain fold anything that you beat. Since Villian showed weakness on the turn also, he looks more like a flush draw now than top pair, but he won't call you with that busted hand anyway if you bet. If he does call you, he would almost certainly be able to beat middle pair, so checking here seems prudent. Then, if he bet, I would think he might be bluffing into the weakness I showed and I would call.