Top Pair, Crap Kicker out of the blinds

[NYCNative]

Not a specific hand, but a situation I see a lot:

A handful of limpers come in and in the BB you have something like Q6 and you check and the flop comes out something like Q94 rainbow and you have to act.

How do I handle this situation? I don't know if I should make a bet there or check-call to a reasonable bet. Both seem appropriate. Of course, so does check-fold.

Would the texture of the flop make a difference? Like, lead in the flop above but don't on a more coordinated flop? That makes some sense...

The way I play this situation, which seems to be pretty successful for me, is to check the flop and see what happens. If someone from early or mid position shows any kind of strenght, I fold figuring they have a better queen. If the button bets but it seems weak and seems to be an "I'm the button and no one else bet so I HAVE to bet," then I might check raise him. I almost never just call here. If it's checked around and the turn is harmless, I normally bet out the size of the pot, and then make the same size bet on the river, again assuming it's harmless. You often catch someone with an underpair who thinks it's good b/c you checked the flop. But with this kind of situation, my number one priority is not to lose money on a silly blind hand. So I normally check fold to anyone showing strenght. Needless to say, if anyone calls the original bettor, I'm out of there too. I just figure that one of them certainly must have me beat, even if they are betting weak. I would also say that betting out on the flop is tricky b/c someone might just call with a better hand but they're afraid to raise with it. Then you put yourself in a difficult spot on the turn. I would rather check the flop and let them lead so I know where they're at.

[Phoenix1010]

I lead into uncoordinated boards with less than 5 players in the hand. If there are four or more players in the hand besides me, I'm more inclined to check and see what the action is behind me. On a coordinated board I almost always check and usually fold to reasonable bets. Coordinated boards make it much harder to keep your opponent's actions pure, and make it much more likely that you will make mistakes later in the hand. There are different actions for different players/situations of course.

-Phoenix

[amoeba]

it depends on the top pair you have.

I'm much more inclined to bet a pair of 9s then a pair of Ks with weak kicker.