No read on villan.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $2 BB (6 handed) from (Format: Bet The Pot)

CO ($147.15)
Button ($373.95)
SB ($295.80)
BB ($384.25)
Hero ($211.85)
MP ($169)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with , .
Hero raises to $8, 1 fold, CO calls $8, 1 fold, SB calls $7, BB calls $6.

Flop: ($32) , , (4 players)
SB checks, BB checks, Hero bets $25, CO folds, SB raises to $75, BB folds, Hero????????

At BEST you're up against A3 or Xo. I find a fold...it sucks, but he's shown huge strength. I don't put villian on a good made flush, maybe a low one...he wants to end the hand now. 33 is def in his range.

Yeah with 3 callers I'm probably folding too, if there was one less I'd felt it.

You have a better chance of getting muscled off the hand if you bet $25 than if you check. SB could easily have something like [Ah] or even [Qd].

If we call this check raise we have to be willing to felt this hand. If you check the flop, the pot will be much smaller so you get to showdown easier.

Because the pot is already so big, if the guy just calls the $25, youre going ot have to bet about $70 or so on the turn and then what do you do if he check raises all in?

It sucks to check this flop and then have a 4th hit the turn, but most people arent folding a decent to a flop bet anyway, so I like to check and see a safe turn before betting. You also get extra money out of alot of hands that way that wouldnt have called a flop bet.

I wrote once long post about checking behind on a draw heavy flop with a made hand, you can find it there forum/viewtopic.php?t=22511&start=45

As a summary: Any hand with a spade in it has a lot of pot eqity on flop, if we wait for turn their equity goes way down. Moreover we control the pot with the flop check.

Here the situation is a bit different from the HU case that I considered, but IMO the basic ideas still apply.

Well I called. Turn was and he shoved. As Ice said if i call the flop check raise I have to willing to felt this if a 4th doesn't come on the turn. So obv I called his shove as well.

I think checking the flop is the way to go here because you really don't want to play a big pot on a montone board with 2 pair because if you do, you're losing 95% of the time IMHO to a set or a flush.

I ck and if the 4th spade falls, well fudge! I lose a smallish pot.

If you bet, you can get raised off the best hand by a frisky guy with a lone high spade. Yuck. You'll also have no idea where you are in the hand so you'll always pay off when behind (as it played out).

If you ck the flop and its a blank turn, now you can extract all kinds of value from TP type hands or hands willing to improperly call a turn bet with a lone spade. If you bet the flop, those hands either fold or get frisky and raise you off the hand.

I learned this one from TUP awhile back and I've found it's really helped my game.

OK, I get checking behind for pot control on this type of flop.

But what about if you're in the blind, OOP 3-4 ways, and you get a flop like this? Do you prefer a c/r, c/c, c/f, or just a bet?