$5+$0.50: this looks familiar...

Am I just having a run of bad luck or am I not skilled in recognizing slowplays? No good read on Villian, though he had stolen quite a few pots recently. Should the check/min-raise have tipped me off or is that overly optimistic?

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t200 (4 handed) converter

Hero (t3485)
UTG (t2040)
Button (Villian) (t3830)
SB (t4145)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 7[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], T[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img].
<font color="#666666">1 fold</font>, Villian calls t200, <font color="#666666">1 fold</font>, Hero checks.

Flop: (t500) T[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img], 6[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], 7[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(2 players)</font>
Hero checks, Villian checks.

Turn: (t500) 4[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(2 players)</font>
<font color="#CC3333">Hero bets t400</font>, Villian calls t400.

River: (t1300) Q[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] <font color="#0000FF">(2 players)</font>
<font color="#CC3333">Hero bets t600</font>, <font color="#CC3333">Villian raises to t1200</font>, <font color="#CC3333">Hero raises to t2885</font>, Villian calls t1685.

Final Pot: t7070

Results in white below: <font color="#FFFFFF">
Hero has 7d Th (two pair, tens and sevens).
Villian has 9s 8s (straight, ten high).
Outcome: Villian wins t7070. </font>

[Angelic_Ace]

I don't quite like how you played the hand, but I'm not sure how you avoid going broke here. One rule I have adopted after many painful beats is - when you flop 2 pair, bet it like top pair! Protect it. If you flop 2 pair and there is a straight or flush draw, you can't allow your opponent a free card. So, say you bet out 300 on the flop, then he minraises to 600, you're probably going to get all your chips in anyway, especially at a 5 dollar table. In that situation I would put him on likely top pair, but the range of hands he has is most likely worse than your top 2. The only hands that beat you are 89 or a set, and its hard to see him just limping in with one of those pocket pairs. It would be awfully tough to put him on exactly 89 and lay down here, so in this particular hand you were going to go broke regardless. But I recommend taking to heart what I said about betting 2 pair on the flop.

Similar to what Angelic_Ace said, I would suggest that you bet out on the flop to quantify your position. You know nothing of his holdings after a check.

If he is drawing to a straight, give him improper pot odds and let him call. When you hold K 7 and the board comes K 7 2 with a rainbow you can slowplay with confidence. But just take that pot down if it looks too dangerous to give free cards.

If, as in this case, he already has the straight... well he's going to come back at you with a reraise on the flop or on 4th, and you'll be getting the signals that you're beat and need to lay it down.

But I wouldn't listen to the signals in that situation either.. =) two pair is just too tempting.