.50/1 NL 100 at Stars. In MP I pick up and raise to $3. I get called by the cutoff and button, we take the flop 3 handed, $10 in pot. I have been at the table about 20 min. do not have any notes on either player, I can say that I have not seen either do anything stupid (the first thing I notice), although they both seem a bit loose.
Flop comes I have flopped a flush draw and have two overcards, although I am not too excited about their overcard status as I have been twice cold-called. I check hoping they both might check behind the raiser (me) and if not, I will make a decision when it gets back to me. The cutoff also checks and the button bets half the pot ($5), he has $30 remaining after. Could he be on the steal? I decide to check-raise it to $15. The cutoff folds and the button quickly moves all in $30 more. That sucks, I count all the money out there and see there is $60 total and $20 more to me so I am forced to call getting 3 to 1 with two cards to come. I miss, no happy ending. He had QQ for an overpair. I checked the odds calculator after and saw that if he had a set, I only had a 25.5% chance to win, so maybe my call was not even so good at 3 to 1, although when people are short stacked, you can expect almost anything from them.
So here's the question: how would you have played this flop? Lead out? Check raise like I did? Or check raise the button all in ($35)? This is a little tricky w/ the cutoff in between us.
Thanks, Mike

I would bet pot on that flop. I would bet pot with AK or AQ a large majority of the time without having the flush draw, so I like that flop alot.

Its hard to check raise a short stack off his hand because he doesnt have enough behind to be really worried. If you had an overpair, you wouldnt have checked, so hes not going to lay down AT to a check raise. If I checked (which I wouldnt have done), I wouldve just called his bet trying to hit the draw. He gave you good odds.

As it turned out by calling the all in, you were actually only a small dog with 12 outs so your play was fine.

I agree with Iceman. With the button being short stacked any check raise that you make he is going to come over the top of if he wants to play the hand. If you lead out here you are still showing strength as a preflop raiser. Of course, Q-Q may very well come over the top of you here anyways (In which case you'd have to fold). You are right though, the cuttoff still being in the hand when you want to check raise does make things awkward. Draws are really hard because you want to be aggressive enough that your opponents might lay down to you, but not so aggressive that someone puts a big move on you that you can't call.

I would also bet the pot on the flop...just my style.

I do like your check-raise through. If he didn't have an overpair and only had something like J10..it's hard for him to continue with the hand. You gave yourself a chance to win with the raise...so I like the play. Just bad luck he was holding QQ.