Thanks again, guys. I know the newbie questions are a little anoying but it really helps me think better about my game with the feedback.

FYI I checked behind (I know, terrible) and he showed AJ and bitched about me "jacking it up preflop with J10"

You'll run out of money fast if you need straights or better to bet on the river. Don't end up in a ditch, value bet the river

Seriously, this single aspect of limit holdem' can turn a winning player into a losing one.

Thanks. Yes with the smallish win rates and thin edges a big leak like this could do me in for sure.

Another thing occurred to me. Missing the value bet is bad because (as stated before) over the long haul this leak will bleed my bankroll dry. But, another more insidious problem is that there may be some opponents paying attention. They see me do this once and they will assume it’s a habit. A few of these guys will put me on a value hand in this spot in the future when I do bet. They won’t call and I don’t get paid off. Conversely, they may assume I’ll let them off the hook in future river situations and bet into me confident I won’t raise and might sometimes fold.

So, my timid check back may “feel” reassuring at the time, fooling myself into thinking I’m saving a bet in case villain has the nuts. But, in truth I’m costing myself much much more because of how badly this play screws up my postflop game.

Am I on the right track?

Not to dispute this post because it's 100% correct, but I see many a regular of Foxwoods $4/$8 c/c the nuts frequently.

But anyway, as chasqui said, super easy river bet once villain calls the turn. I'd even say b/c the river, since these guys are probably capable of spaz-raising the river, thinking representing a slow play is making people fold (it's not).

And this is why they are bad LLHE players. They miss tons of value on the river.