Quote Originally Posted by Demiparadigm
2 call You have an inside straight draw and nut flush draw getting 3 to 1 on a call. You could raise, but you would just be hoping for a fold. I think there is more value in calling.
Even though he's ahead in probability, he's likely behind in the hand, so a villain fold here wouldn't be the end of the world. If he were ahead in probability AND in the hand, I think a call might make more sense since he could further improve (like if villain was drawing to a smaller flush that hits) and switch into value betting mode. At any rate, it's not a bad call, either, so I could really see this decision being less about the specific hand and more about how gabe wants to interact w/ this villain on future hands. It could serve as a nice setup hand from which gabe could change gears later, whichever direction he takes. This hand could give the villain an impression on how gabe plays draws, so he has to keep this one in mind for the rest of the session against villain regardless of outcome.

Quote Originally Posted by Demiparadigm
4 call There are no draws on board, so your goal is just to get the most money in the pot possible. If SB has a hand like JJ, he may be able to let it go for a raise, since he can see as well as you can that your most likely raising hand is a set.
I think the very reason you state (no draws on board) is the same reason I advocate a raise 2.5-3x the size of the flop lead out. So I'd like to work through this with you, since our foundation is shared but our approaches vary. Granted, you acknowledge both examples as possibilities, but I like the raise more, here is why:

You can't sell a draw on that flop, so a smooth call indicates more strength than a controntation via raise. At least w/ the raise line you can possibly get him to go over the top or call. But if you're the villain and OOP and lead out into that board and get called, you really have to slow down on the turn. The time for a big pot to get developed on that hand is the flop, not the turn or river. If it gets big then, it's because villain catches a miracle and beats you, OR the villian decides to take it all the way downtown on a bad read. Since gabe points out aggression OOP by the villian here, he's got to get the villain invovled NOW, on the flop before any other scare cards come out that fizzle the action (like if villain has JJ and a K or A drops on the turn, which gabe himself wouldn't like anyway for other reasons).