Bet or Check Draws

Is it EV+ to bet a draw against calling stations and if so what % of the pot should you bet?

Let’s say you have 5h 4h and you raise on the button and get 3 callers and the flop is 2s 3d Kc - what do you do? And if you bet the flop and they all call and you miss the turn - do you check the turn or fire another round?

Against calling stations, I would often bet about 1/4 to 1/3 pot on the flop, mostly for pot control. They will usually check around on the turn.

I would usually check the turn if it missed me, because it’s hard to get calling stations to fold. If I make the straight, I would usually bet at least 1/2 pot… more with 3 callers, unless the turn also brings in a front door flush draw.

On the river, I would bet pot or more if I had the straight, and usually give up if I blanked. Trying to run a river bluff through 3 calling stations is slow suicide to an MTT player.

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In these free games at low stakes most people are limpers, and you get virtually everyone limping in hoping to hit something on the flop, and often as not, someone makes a hand with cards they shouldn’t have played. It’s hard to get people to fold when you raise preflop unless you go all in and that’s risky just to win 4 chips, so you get sucked out on a lot. Having said that, it’s gotten to where unless I have the nuts, I started to limp more than I would if I were playing for real money.

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In general at the lowest stakes tables, I lean most heavily on strategies focused primarily on value betting. I do still bet draws or air from time to time when I’m in the mood. I do find that small bets on all streets can be quite effective, as many seem to often call all the way to the river with absolutely nothing, and then will fold on the river to a bet of any size.

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