villain is unknown (hand from a review)

Full Tilt Poker $10/$20 Limit Hold'em - 6 players

Pre Flop: Hero is CO with T J
2 folds, Hero raises, 2 folds, BB calls

Flop: (4.5 SB) 8 7 7 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets, BB raises, Hero ???


I question the flop play. villain is able to c/r any pp, 8, 7, overpair and straight draw (open ender).

I am more into 3-bet the flop and take the free card on the turn. Is my line way off?

That doesn't sound awful or anything, but I probably wouldn't do it. (And if I did 3-bet the flop, I'd probably fire again on the turn -- especially on this card.)

Anyway, what's got me distracted is the river decision. I would probably call . It may not be stricly +EV, but it's fun to call and win with jack-high, and I think we've got a decent shot here.

@ NickC:
I removed the turn and river action. (river is close, but for sure if you 3-bet the flop you need to bet the turn)


but in the actual hand I am wondering: what are arguments for just calling

in my opinion 3-bet might knock out small pocket pairs directly and 8x hands have a hard time putting in more action

It does preserve your implied odds and keeps you from getting owned by 7x.

I've never played above 5/10, and I'm saying that as a disclaimer, but I still have doubts about folding out the PPs (well, on the flop, in any case). Still, we're more or less just flipping with 55, so it's not as if a 3-bet costs us much if that's what Villain has. Plus, it also sets up a situation where we may get to check behind on the river versus J9 and win that way. On the other hand, though, aren't we getting 4-bet by T9/J9 sometimes? If so, the battle for the initiative could backfire unless we're willing to face a lot of action and then show down UI.