Protecting Your Hand

I just had a poker epiphany, please give me feedback.
Here goes:
WE'll say that you have 99 on a flop of 9h8h2c. Often, many players bet out here, to "protect their hand" from a straight or flush draw. Maybe I'm an idiot, but doesen't that mean you hope you're NOT going to get called with the NUTS?!! I mean, if you're "protecting your hand," it's the exact same thing as betting out with 27o: you're hoping to win it right there, aren't you. If your hand protection works, he folds his draw (if that's what you put him on). This is the exact same thing as a bluff, nonwithstanding the possibilitiy that your opponent has A-9, an overpair or a lower set. But if you no he has a draw and protect your hand, it doesn't matter what your hand is since you don't want to get called. So then bluffing is the same as hand protection.

Could someone clear this up for me?

[randomstumbl]

This is a case where you're doing the right thing for the wrong reason.

You're betting because you want to charge the flush draw (or over pair or whatever). You're ahead now, so you either want to make the pot bigger or force people to surrender their claim to the pot(by folding). If you were to check, they'd have infinite odds to make their hand - obviously a worse outcome than them calling or folding.

[Guthrie]

I suppose you could say it is exactly the same as bluffing, as long as it works and everyone else folds. With an actual set of nines, you have a great hand in case someone doesn't fold. With a bluff, you have nothing.

Last night I raised with AK on the button. A king came on the flop along with two rags. I raised the flop and got raised back. I called. I bet the turn and got raised back by the same guy? Protecting his hand? I called again, then checked the river and he fired out. I called, suspecting a bluff. He turned over 85 offsuit. He had no pair, no draw, nothing but a smaller stack of chips.

Thanks. I realized how retarded this post was right after I posted it. The purpose is to not let people in with drawing hands, but you will still get action from an overpair. Thanks for not calling me an idiot.

[BettyBoopAA]

if you have 99 you are betting to charge people to draw. If you have A9 you are betting to protect your hand from overcards calling you on the flop.

I apologize. I was trying to create a loose image for myself until I realized that posters wouldn't recognize me. Whoops!

[ghostface]

MORAN!!

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