3 limpers, we're on the button with 99 and we raise. SB calls, BB 3!, one limper calls, we call, SB calls.

7bb, 4 players, flop J33

SB checks BB bets, limper calls, we ?

It's a shame we can only put one villain in a position to have to call two bets cold, and SB will still be getting 9 to 1 which is actually not a bad price to chase a 6-out draw (though it's a worse price than 17 to 1). BB could easily have unpaired overcards. We're on the button, so a raise could get us a free river.

It's a shame a raise won't protect our hand particularly well, but on the button, the raise seems like the right play.

Thoughts?

I would absolutely not raise the flop. You could easily end up paying 3 bets to see the turn, and putting in an extra bet to give this guy a free turn if he is behind doesn’t make a lot of sense. This is a textbook spot to just call down blank runouts (I’d fold if the turn is an A/K and this guy keeps betting) and bet if checked to.

I guess I don’t really see the appeal in raising, and I don’t like folding, so that just leaves call. There is an advantage in keeping ranges wide in this situation because it’s hard to have much of anything on this board, so the 3 bettor might feel good about going for a 2 barrel.

If he does so then the limper will potentially fold turn and you can easily defend down a lot of runouts if the sb gets away on the flop.

What if we had significant history that BB was an aggressive player who has KQ/AQ/AK/AJ in his BB 3-betting range and c-bets a lot of flops? Would that change the flop decision?

What if both blinds called, and the limper limp/3bet? Would we 4-bet pre there? (I'd be tempted to TBH). If for whatever reason we decided to flat the 3! and the limper bet the flop, would being able to face TWO villains with calling two bets cold tip our decision to a button raise?

I guess I'm failing to see the difference between this hand and the example at the beginning of the Flop Play book in SSHE. That's the example where the villain cold-called an aggressive player's preflop raise with Q7s, and then when bet into on a J75r board, the book insists that RAISING is the right play there. I don't understand why they'd raise a pair of 7s but not a pair of 9s. It's true that the Q7s hand has more outs to improve if it's behind but I find it hard to believe it makes that much difference.

Hope I'm being clear.

The flops are completely different as is your relative hand strength as is the size of the pot.

I would say that if the limper had bet instead of the preflop raiser then yeah raising makes more sense.

Yep. If the BB checked after 3betting preflop and the limper bet, raising is absolutely the play, both for value and to force 6-outers to fold in a big pot. But raising after the BB bets and the limper calls doesn’t accomplish anything.