Don... if I was a PF raiser, I will ALWAYS throw out a continuation bet... about half the time, if they don't hit, they'll fold to your semibluff... It doesn't have to be crippling though... If you PF raise to 80 in the 10-20 level, and get one caller.. On the flop, whether I hit or not, I'll bet between 120-180, depending on what flopped... If he calls/raises,and you don't improve by the turn/river, you're done w/ the hand...

As for chasing flushes and straights... if you've got odds to draw, it is a crime not to... Example... You limp PF w/ ... Three other people stay in the hand... Pot is $120... Flop comes ... You're about 1/3 to make the flush by the river... if someone bets 30 into the pot, you're betting 30 to win 150 or 5 to 1... easy call... Also, your implied odds when you hit are HUGE...

This reminds me of a similar pot odds play from a SNG last night.

I limp with
Flop is

First to act, I check my set (with only two players in the hand, as the BB made a small bet that the other players folded and I called). BB bets the pot and I push all in. He immediately calls.

Now what is the mistake he made here?

He shows his nut diamond flush draw and my trips hold up.

The mistake is he's only getting 2-1 on his money (we were around even in chips and it was early in the SNG) and he's a 3-1 dog to pick up his flush.

These are the kinds of edges you've got to push IMO, and not be foolish enough to chase flush/straight draws unless its relatively cheap with lots of outs.

Thanks for the tips.

Flafishy, I found the suited connectors advice in Harrington really interesting. He says exactly what you are saying. Limp when you are LP with lots of people in the pot. Raise to steal on button or one off, but never limp open the pot early to mid - wrong odds.

I've been trying this more open aggressive style of play over the last few days and I must say I have enjoyed it . It's much less mechanical than my previous game, although I need more discipline because I'm now playing a wider range of hands and have made mistakes in situations I don't usually find myself in.

In particular I'm doing better against the more aggressive players that I used to completely avoid. I find I'm reading what they are holding much better after reading his book and am doing better at extracting maximimum value from my hands. I'm playing a lot more with the size of my bets now.

For example I was holding A9 in the BB. Button (aggressive) raises 3BB and I call thinking he's on a steal. Flop AA8. Previously I would have gone for a check raise here, but the button knows that I bet frequently at the flop - we have had some dealings in the past and I know he's aggressive. I bet (half pot) , he reraises, I call (after a big pause trying to look unsure). Turn 2. I check, he puts in half pot, I reraise him all in, he thinks and calls with K8. I'm not saying I played this perfectly, but my usual check raise with a big hand probably would have earned me earn a lot less. He'd seen me check raise him with big hands in the past and I'd showed, so i tried to make my flop bet look like a weak steal.

All part of the wonderful learning curve of poker.

I've never used the check-raise much. Too often, you won't draw a bet and then you've lost an opportunity to extract some money. I think that's a play that is used far too often by weaker players.

I've found that you can get far more action on your strong hands by throwing out what could be interpreted as a weak bet, to make you look unsure. A check-raise is appropriate sometimes, but not ALL the time. But if people notice that you're always making probe bets or continuation bets (which many don't understand and interpret as flat-out steal attempts), they'll fall for a small bet a lot of times when you have your monster.

That works a hell of a lot better for me than check-raising. I think check-raising works much better in a limit cash game, not so well in a no-limit tourney.