Both of these hands were influenced by the way this game was going, so I'm going to put them in the same post. At this table, I was simply catching a LOT of cards early on. So, I was betting so often that I felt like I looked like I was stealing. A small few of these bets were on hands that at least weren't currently good, but they were at minimum acceptable draws.

So, here's the first one: I have $304 and QhJcTh9d OTB. 2 limpers, both of whom are short-stacked and neither of whom is very good (I don't think they really understand hand values very well, particularly the first limper). I raise max to $11. Both blinds and both limpers call.

Flop comes actually fairly decent for me: 4h6dTs. I have TP with runner-runner flush possibility and again a draw to a draw. Pot is $55, and first short-stack shoves in $40 of his remaining $67. Second bad short-stack calls for his stack, and I just fold it. I'm probably objectively not very far behind here, but I just feel like it's at best marginal, and I like to keep a credible image.

In point of fact, I was ahead here and would have won with my pair of tens alone, as first short-stack only had 9986 for gutshot with his 99 and second short-stack had some sort of oddball bad draw. What I really wonder about shying away from calls in situations like this is whether it prevents me from getting into a huge stack as often as I should. Then again, I just wonder how often I really have a draw to a winning 2 pair in this kind of situation. On this one, had it been checked to me, I probably would have just checked behind.

Hand 2:
Before this hand, I had bet the last two hands and taken down the pot uncontested. On this one, I have JhJc5h3h and $317 in MP3. I limp.

Flop is seen 4-way and comes JsTs3d. Checked to me with one pretty decent player yet to act, I pot it. Decent LP player raises pot.

I decide just to call here for the following reasons: First, my paired 3 takes away one of my boating outs. Second, as many hands as I've been betting, I think LP is probably on some kind of draw that may be pretty good and will definitely call. So, I decide to see a safe turn--good or bad?

Well, the turn is really bad for me, namely 8s. So, he made pretty much any draw, at least relative to my hand. I check, and he bets $20 into a pot of $56. I also have a note on this player that he often makes passive bets on weak hands and earlier had successfully check-raised him for a nice pot on a straight-flush draw (which he never saw, but I took down a nice pot uncontested).

With those kind of odds and that bet, however, I decide just to call. Honestly, I think he made his straight but didn't like the flush, so I might have been able to check-raise or bet him off his hand, but I'd been betting so much that I didn't really like this option.

River is a brick (6d). Check-check, and I beat his TTA6 with no flush or straight.

Here, too, objectively I could probably have gotten a call if I had pushed the flop--particularly in light of the way I was looking in this game. But, trying not to be result-oriented, I wonder whether pushing or seeing a safe turn was the better play here.

I do feel like the texture of the game made check-raising or betting into him on the turn less attractive, as I really do think I would see a straight or little flush here much too often and had little fold equity against either.

So, anyhow, on both of these hands, I guess my question is whether those are good spots to slow down when the game is going well or whether they're even better spots to go ahead and slam away.