Quote Originally Posted by spino1i
Notice how on the flop I'm not betting anything. I want to get an idea what my opps have. If I bet something I could get called by a draw, which is actually bad in this case, since there are so many draws out there I have no clue what my opp has. Furthermore, he has position on me, giving him a big advantage implied odds-wise. So instead I wait to make a check-raise on whoever bets. After seeing everyone check, I know no one has a Q or a J.
Do you understand pot odds? If the above is the play you're advocating then you obviously don't. By checking the flop you gave infinite pot odds to an opponent drawing to a flush - that's stupid. Furthermore, there's not really such a thing as a turn "blank" when you don't bet the flop. The 3h may look nice but the guy with pocket 3's who checked behind on the flop now has you bent over a barrel.

This play is terrible on so many levels. What do you do on the river if it's the 4c and he pots it? What if he called with 5h6h? Do you snap off his bluff then? His bet size on the end was terrible but that's the only thing that saved you from your own bad play.

My point is that at the $25NL nearly everyone is terrible. Generally the best approach is to bet out to protect your good hands from draws and to fold to heavy aggression from anyone that you don't have noted down as a maniac.

Not to seem results oriented, but in this hand you would have got more value out of your aces by playing them in a straight forward manner since the flush draw guy would have called a bet on the flop and turn.

mj