History: I had been playing 2/5NL and recently transferred to this table which was also a 2/5 when I got here. One of the loose/bad reg who loves to gamble suggested that we make it a 2/5/10 to which everyone agrees. It has now been 2/5/10 for about 2 hours and I have been running quite poorly stuck about $1200 or so. Not sure how my run bad has effected my image, but I haven't been playing wild or tilty at all.

Villain 1 MP2 ($1700)
Age: Early 20s
Sex: M
Ethnicity: White
Play style: TAG
Relevant history: none this session.
Comments: I have played with this player one time before. At first he seemed new/inexperienced, but after playing with him for a few hours I would consider him to be pretty competent. Both times I played him he ran like god. This session appears to be no different. He is capable of bluffs, but has it most of the time. I'm pretty sure that he respects my bets and we have a sort of "stay out of each others way" dynamic going for the most part.

Hero ($1500) is dealt: 86

Pre-flop:
3 players limp including Villain, Hero limps OTB, one of the blinds completes.

6 ways to the flop.

Flop (~$60): 986
MP bets $20, Villain raises to $50, Hero raises to $150, MP folds, Villain flats.

Turn ($380): J
Villain checks, Hero checks.

River ($380): A
Villain leads for $300, Hero...?

First of all, I would like to hear what people think about my limping OTB with a hand like this. It's not uncommon for me to over limp the BTN with suited/unsuited 1 or 2 gappers. Obviously I would muck 3 gappers and trash hands like J4o, but sometimes ill come in with pretty much any hand that can flop a straight. I feel that I have have a significant edge in the game versus all but one or two players and most of the stacks are 100bb+.

Next, thoughts on my flop play? I decided to check back the turn for pot control since my 3bet OTF probably looks pretty strong and villain still stuck around. Comments on the entire hand are appreciated.

I don't mind preflop limp, raising is fine too. The only thing I would rather do is bet turn and check back river. Lots of value vs draws and pair+draw hands and you can't bet certain (or may not want) a river bet from villian. River is a pretty bad spot but I am still calling, would expect to see a7 here more often than a9/j9.

You beat like nothing OTR at all except maybe 87 turning itself into a bluff.

Preflop is totally fine. I don't like 3betting/checking back the turn because you are raising for information/turning your hand into a bluff. If he 4bets the flop, you have to fold, so you are basically just trying to win the pot on the flop, and giving up if he continues. It just seems like a bad hand to do that with. As played, I think there are very few hands that he gets to the river with/bets this way that you beat. I don't think he would bet this big on that board with A7/98 etc, so he seems polarized to straights/sets and things like J7 where he peeled with an open ender and a better draw. Seems like a river fold.

230-250/fold on turn. Keeps us in control of the betting and doubt he raises over pairs or pair + draw hands. We can decide if we want to value the river in position.

As played I don't see how this is anything but a call on river

I totally agree that I was basically raising for information OTF. Does anyone think I should just flat the flop? I feel like if I take that line I will end up in a weird spot OTT if he fires a big bet. I think that I will lose more in the long run if I am behind from the flop If I just flat his raise.

Anyway, results:

PF fine. Cold call flop. That will produce enough info right there. Your hand looks strong, so if he bombs a blank turn you have an easy fold.

I really think those saying call the river are insane, name a range of bluffs that take this line, and then we'll talk. There isn't a single bluff in his range that isn't at least a pair turning itself into a bluff, and of those, only a few have 0 show-down value. I really don't think he has any weaker value bets at all, FWIW, I doubt he ever bets A7 here, but even so, it's only a few combos.