Lately my horrendous luck has significantly affected my game. Everytime I see a possible flush against a semi-loose player, I've been giving them credit for it. And the flush chasers all play it differently - some quickly check behind, some bet small, some bet pot or overbet. In other words, with headsup I never know when they have the flush and when they don't. And now I'm just playing scared.

I have only played about 20 hands at the table, but BTN seems to be slightly loose and slightly passive - nothing out of the ordinary.

I didn't save the hand history, but I remember how the hand played out: I open-raise 4x BB in MP with 88 and get a call from the BTN.

Flop:

I bet near full pot and get called.

Turn:

I check fearing the flush already. He bets a small amount. I call hoping for a cheap showdown. I know a lot of these flush chasers don't make it too expensive for me to pay them off.

River:

I once again hope for a cheap showdown and check.

I know I should have pot-bet the turn again. I just didn't want to deal with his all-in raise or me being faced with a tough river decision. If I pot the turn, I'm pot-committed and am not folding.

I guess this post is more LC than anything. All the beats are finally getting to me.

I don't agree that you pot the turn with the flush card getting there. A check/call there is fine. But I prefer a blocking bet on the river. Against passive-ish players, they're not going to raise you without the flush.