Background:
Hero is new to the table and has played about 2 orbits. No reads on players yet.

Positions:
HJ Hero ($300): Young AM, tight
BU V1 ($300): Young WM
SB V2 ($300): Young ?Middle-Eastern? Male

Preflop:
Folds to Hero
Hero raises to $10 with 76
BU calls
SB calls
BB folds

Flop ($33): J86
SB checks
Hero checks
BU checks

Turn ($33): J864
SB checks
Hero bets $20
BU calls
SB calls

River ($93): J8645
SB checks
Hero bets $40
BU calls
SB raises to $135

Hero action?

Ouch. He shouldn't really put you on a 7. Does he really have 97? Seems as if he would have bet the flop or at least the turn, but who knows? W/o reads, this is a tough one, but I doubt I could fold. Only problem is we are really just calling to chop. It is a good bluff card against a HU pre-flop raiser, though.

Need an in-game feel, but I lean toward a call.

BTW, I probably would have bet/folded the flop.

If no one in the blinds is an idiot, I think it's perfectly ok just to muck preflop. The HJ is just so overated as we so often end up OOP (and that's really the only thing that matters regarding position). And the more chance we are going to end up OOP, the more we actually don't want to bloat the pot with a raise with 7 high, so I think an open limp here is fine too if we're just looking to get into pots for cheap. I mean, in theory a raise seems fine, but it just so often never works (we rarely take down the blinds, we rarely end up in position, and a lotta tables we rarely end up HU where our FE now plummets) that I just really question whether we should ever be raising light from HJ-.

I mostly bet the flop for about a 1/2 PSB. We could have the best hand. We could fold our better (better middling pair or same pair + better kicker). We could get called by worse (especially draws). We could end up in position HU on the turn with options.

If I had the preference between betting the flop versus betting the turn as played, I'd lean to flop because it tells a better story and less chance of board getting stupider (although admittedly we'll have more info by the turn).

I'm also betting the river smallish hoping to get paid off.

It's a gross spot facing the check/raise because this is just never a bluff with a bet and a call. So we're basically calling for a chop at best and otherwise being freerolled by the nuts. I mostly fold in these spots since river raises multiway are typically so nuttish.

GcluelessNLnoobG

I call - 97 is certainly possible but much more likely calling for a chop, or he's looking to do a squeeze since you look a little bluffy with firing the turn and river.

We can all agree that BU never has us beat here, correct?

If you are SB and you know BU never has a straight, and Hero looks FOS, how often do you x/r bluff here?

I agree that Button never has us beat, but he has us tied a lot (I would often just call in his shoes with a 4-card-straight that isn't the nuts in order to induce an overcall rather than attempting to somehow eke out a worse hand calling a raise). SB needs to be concerned about that. Plus Hero could have easily backed into a straight (just as he's done).

Gnotenoughpeoplegetouttalinehereenoughofthetime,im oG

as always 100BB deep without a top 10% hand, the answer is fold preflop.

this strat is stupid and boring and probably shrinks your brain and gives you Alzheimers, but it also makes the most money at LLSNL at the typical stack depths.