Game is $2-$100 spread-limit.

A limp, CO raises to $10, we 3-bet on the Button to $30 with Ad4d, folds to CO who calls. $300 effective.

FLOP: Th6d5s (pot: $60, heads-up)

He checks.

We check, bet small, or bet big, or are they all about the same?

I really have no idea how spread limit affects our strategy here. Maybe the fact that we need to bet $70 OTF to get stacks in makes us inclined to bet a very strong range for that size. Since checking back means we have to defend at max $200 worth of bets makes it easier for us to check back a speculative range of showdown hands anyway.

If it’s no limit, this is a board where we bet bigger (1/2p) at a higher frequency (~70%). Air is basically a coinflip and back doors don’t matter as much in position because it gives you more equity when we bet and get called but also we realize more equity by checking. (OOP were more inclined to bet “good air” and check “bad air” because it’s more tragic when we have to x/f good air.)

Our backdoors are nice and we will have some barrel cards on turns. We could sometimes have the best hand too. I’d start with 30 and play turns, intending to sometimes blast off on some overs.

Just a note on back doors: 3/4s of suited hands have a BDFD and literally any two cards have BDSDs here. (We have one of the better, but not best BDSDs here, but still).

If you’re not careful about your frequencies, backdoors can become the temptress that always beckon “more bets, more barrels, more, MORRRREEE!”

Draws also largely xb OTT at these stacks to realize equity and turn bluffs are largely pure air.

RESULT: It was a boring hand but it was still one I thought about a lot.

I checked back. Turn Jc (no flush draw). He checks, I check again—I’ve just given up at this point. River is an Ace. He checks again. I feel like this is a value bet—I think I’m up against small pocket pairs—and even though it turns my hand face-up, I don’t fear a check-raise bluff at these stakes and bet $25. He snap-calls—uh-oh!—but fortunately it’s with just A2hh and we chop it up.

Any thought of betting the the turn after V checks a second time? The J is another over card to the smaller pairs in V's range and leaves the board without a flush draw. By betting the turn after V has checked twice we deny equity vs pairs and Ax with a higher ranked kicker.