Polished Poker Vol. I Study Group

[Figaroo2]

Min 4 bet awkward spot

Pacific, $0.10/$0.20 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 7 Players (full ring table)

SB: $29.86 (149.3 bb)
Hero (BB): $20.85 (104.3 bb)
MP1: $14 (70 bb) stats 17/9 agg%31 272 hands 9% opening from UTG...4 bet 33%
MP2: $18.50 (92.5 bb)
MP3: $5.96 (29.8 bb)
CO: $33.15 (165.7 bb)
BTN: $17.01 (85.1 bb)

Preflop: Hero is BB with A♠ K♠
MP1 raises to $0.60, MP2 folds, MP3 calls $0.60, 3 folds, Hero raises to $2.50, MP1 raises to $5, MP3 folds, Hero calls $2.50

Flop: ($10.70) J♥ K♥ 2♣ (2 players)
Hero??
He looks kind of fishy so I decided to call the 4 bet
I just got stuck here and didn't know what to do,
His min 4 bet UTG looks very strong, I dont get 4 bet very often at these stakes out of bvb scenarios and he is pretty much pot committing himself straight away.
I struggled to range him here... the only hand in his perceived range i'm realistically beating is QQ and tying with AK. If he has AA or KK i'm crushed so is there any point betting here? In fact I'm kind of questioning calling the 4 bet oop if I'm not going to bet tptk if I hit in any case...thoughts?

 

[John A]

Pacific, $0.10/$0.20 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 7 Players (full ring table)

SB: $29.86 (149.3 bb)
Hero (BB): $20.85 (104.3 bb)
MP1: $14 (70 bb) stats 17/9 agg%31 272 hands 9% opening from UTG...4 bet 33%
MP2: $18.50 (92.5 bb)
MP3: $5.96 (29.8 bb)
CO: $33.15 (165.7 bb)
BTN: $17.01 (85.1 bb)

Preflop: Hero is BB with A♠ K♠
MP1 raises to $0.60, MP2 folds, MP3 calls $0.60, 3 folds, Hero raises to $2.50, MP1 raises to $5, MP3 folds, Hero calls $2.50

Flop: ($10.70) J♥ K♥ 2♣ (2 players)
Hero??
He looks kind of fishy so I decided to call the 4 bet
I just got stuck here and didn't know what to do,
His min 4 bet UTG looks very strong, I dont get 4 bet very often at these stakes out of bvb scenarios and he is pretty much pot committing himself straight away.
I struggled to range him here... the only hand in his perceived range i'm realistically beating is QQ and tying with AK. If he has AA or KK i'm crushed so is there any point betting here? In fact I'm kind of questioning calling the 4 bet oop if I'm not going to bet tptk if I hit in any case...thoughts?

Yeah, 9% open, and you squeeze his UTG open, probably at these stakes with this kind of opponent it's optimistic to think even QQ will be in his range often enough. So when it gets that tight and you don't have position or a good read I'd probably dump this hand preflop. Any ways, as played, I'd check and hope that he'll make a bad play because if you bet here he's playing his hand perfectly. The way stack sizes are, there just isn't much to do here but hope you can check a street down and make a small value bet somewhere.

 

[John A]

Hey guys, since this seems like the most active thread for hand analysis, I'll be posting here more often. Lemme know what I could be doing/changing.

Hero (SB): $39.04 (156.2 bb)
BB: $29.11 (116.4 bb)
MP: $17.87 (71.5 bb)
CO: $13.22 (52.9 bb)
BTN: $26.11 (104.4 bb) vp/pf/ag/3b : 52/14/1.4/11.1

Preflop: Hero is SB with 7

6

2 folds, BTN raises to $0.50, Hero raises to $2.25, BB folds, BTN calls $1.75

Flop: ($4.75) T

J

6

(2 players)
Hero bets $2.75, BTN calls $2.75

Turn: ($10.25) T

(2 players)
Hero bets $4.50, BTN calls $4.50

River: ($19.25) T

(2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $4.31

Good post... this is a pretty good example of why I don't advocate 3-betting suited connectors OOP at these stakes. What we're trying to do with polished poker is build a foundation of solid play, and then build advanced tactics on top of that. It's like learning to walk before you run kind of principle.

There's going to come a time when you should be mixing in this kind of range OOP, but there's really no need for it yet. So if you're really interested in taking your game up a couple of notches, purge this kind of play from your system... for now. Instead, if you are going to 3-bet OOP, do it with hands that have better showdown equity. Why? Because your opponents aren't folding as often, and bluffing in larger pots isn't very profitable when your opponents calls ranges are strong, and they can't fold. That begins to change as you move up, but then there's also other difficulties you have to deal with because your opponents understanding of ranges becomes much stronger.

I'll assume that part of why you 3-bet is because your opponent seemed weak/fishy, so that's not bad, but save those kinds of 3-bets for when you have position on them. As played, I don't mind how you played it post flop. But that is part of the problem, is you'll often be flopping 2nd or 3rd pair in these scenarios, and then having to play them OOP. I think as played, against that kind of opponent, you're calling the river. There's just about anything they could show up with at that point, and the odds are way too good to fold.

A couple of other important notes that I think might be helpful. If you decide to 3-bet an opponent like this OOP, ask yourself before hand, am I 3-betting for value, to get a fold, or to cease initiative and push others players out? That way you can adjust your sizing better. Because an opponent like this, that has a high 3-bet % himself, a high VPIP and position, he's never folding to your 3-bet with anything. So if it's just to get initiative, you're probably better just 3-betting 1.5 in a scenario like this. If it's to increase your opponents fold%, which will be hard to do against someone like this, your sizing would need to be 2.75+,

 

[ph0n3_j4ck]

Thanks for the help. I'll keep that in mind when I 3bet OOP.
Not that it matters much, but villain showed AQo. Not sure how he kept calling my bets like that.

 

[rhombus]

Good post... this is a pretty good example of why I don't advocate 3-betting suited connectors OOP at these stakes.

Is it best just to call OOP with suited connectors at these players and play them similar to setmining

i.e. Effective stacks wil be at least 20x the call and play implied odds, easy to get away from if you dont hit and will stack the aggro player if you smash the flop and he keeps betting into you or stack the tight player with overcards when you hit 2 pair

 

[Figaroo2]

leak buster filters review via the email suggestions...

Filter 29 (Call a 3-bet with less than AQ+ or TT+)
This was an interesting review, I wasn't really disappointed with the findings, looking back to June this year I only got stacked 3 times out of the 101 hands, one was set over set, another was a failed monster draw and one was a big bluff got hero called. I appear to be well under the average losing rate.
What it did show me was that I have clearly been calling with 99 and KQ as the worst I will call a 3 bet with, but when I am in with these hands i am usually a 30/70 equity dog and still should have folded.
The agg% also looks low.
I already feel like a fold to 3 bets too much generally, I will look at that separately. (...update...calling 3 bets 32% in 76k of hands, what is ideal here anyone please?)
Much of the leak actually appears to be calling in late position to 3 bets from the blinds and also calling as a significant equity dog and then playing fit and fold rather than using position and floating a bit more. (Leakbuster has my biggest critical leak as 4 betting too much)
one other thing I notice is an increasing amount of players making the 3 bet a click back 6bb raise rather than 9, I hadn't noticed that, but often it is a stronger holding looking for action.
Looking at the winning hands they are normally against the weaker players who are just 3 betting too wide anyway so I might actually call the weak players a bit lighter than 99/KQ
I will take on the advice about calling less oop and seeing if the losing rate drops.

 

[John A]

Thanks for the help. I'll keep that in mind when I 3bet OOP.
Not that it matters much, but villain showed AQo. Not sure how he kept calling my bets like that.

One of the most difficult things about poker is you're dealing with variance, that can be quite abstract to completely understand, and incomplete information. You put those two together, and you can have some small success in one area over a decent sample, and re-enforce what is actually not optimal play.

It seems like from your posts I saw on here, you're quite capable, but I'd just advise keeping it simple and REALLY getting those foundational elements down. It will pay off tremendously in the long run. You're welcome to follow along here, and I think we do a good job of supporting and learning from each other.

 

[John A]

Is it best just to call OOP with suited connectors at these players and play them similar to setmining

i.e. Effective stacks wil be at least 20x the call and play implied odds, easy to get away from if you dont hit and will stack the aggro player if you smash the flop and he keeps betting into you or stack the tight player with overcards when you hit 2 pair

Well, what I was trying to explain in the previous post, and I'll re-post it below, it matters what your objective is. Someone like this who is min raising, you may be better off to 3-bet smaller so you can push a potential reg out of the BB and get HU's against the fish. Maybe if it was 3x open, then you could decide more between call or 3-bet small. But it's all very situational... this is what I was saying previously:

A couple of other important notes that I think might be helpful. If you decide to 3-bet an opponent like this OOP, ask yourself before hand, am I 3-betting for value, to get a fold, or to cease initiative and push others players out? That way you can adjust your sizing better. Because an opponent like this, that has a high 3-bet % himself, a high VPIP and position, he's never folding to your 3-bet with anything. So if it's just to get initiative, you're probably better just 3-betting 1.5 in a scenario like this. If it's to increase your opponents fold%, which will be hard to do against someone like this, your sizing would need to be 2.75+

 

[Aleksei]

The discipline part is one of the hardest areas in a lot of respects. I think for me, since the games are getting tougher, I'll tilt in some ways that I never would have before. It's interesting and always a work in progress.

Post up some hands where you have questionable turn/rivers. Let's break some of them down.

Here's one:

WPN, $0.05/$0.10 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 8 Players
Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite.

Hero (SB): $10.32 (103.2 bb) (30/24/9, 48% AFq, 59% flop cbet)
BB: $22.73 (227.3 bb)
UTG+2: $17.62 (176.2 bb)
MP1: $6.14 (61.4 bb)
MP2: $3.90 (39 bb)
MP3: $14.77 (147.7 bb)
CO: $10.90 (109 bb)
BTN: $12.27 (122.7 bb) (93/29/0, 54% AFq, 100% flop cbet, 14 hands)

Preflop: Hero is SB with A

Q

3 folds, MP3 calls $0.10, CO folds, BTN raises to $0.40, Hero calls $0.35, BB folds, MP3 calls $0.30

Flop: ($1.30) 9

9

K

(3 players)
Hero checks, MP3 checks, BTN bets $0.41, Hero calls $0.41, MP3 folds

Turn: ($2.12) K

(2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $1.34, Hero calls $1.34

River: ($4.80) 7

(2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $1.40, Hero calls $1.40

Spoiler

Results: $7.60 pot ($0.38 rake)
Final Board: 9

9

K

K

7

Hero mucked A

Q

and lost (-$3.55 net)
BTN showed K

J

and won $7.22 ($3.67 net)

I figured that I have the nut air hand, and V was loose and not particularly passive, so I sort of leveled myself into thinking I had to call it down given runout.

 

[Aleksei]

This one I may have overplayed.

WPN, $0.05/$0.10 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 5 Players
Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite.

Hero (SB): $20.80 (208 bb) (30/24/9, 48% AFq, 69% F2Stl)
BB: $15.73 (157.3 bb)
MP: $17.92 (179.2 bb)
CO: $7.89 (78.9 bb)
BTN: $17.01 (170.1 bb) (22/13/5, 26% AFq, 52% flop cbet, 28% Stl)

Preflop: Hero is SB with K

T

2 folds, BTN raises to $0.20, Hero calls $0.15, BB folds

Flop: ($0.50) 5

T

8

(2 players)
Hero bets $0.30, BTN calls $0.30

Turn: ($1.10) K

(2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $0.70, Hero raises to $2.50

Spoiler

BTN folds

Results: $2.50 pot ($0.12 rake)
Final Board: 5

T

8

K

Hero mucked K

T

and won $2.38 ($1.18 net)
BTN mucked and lost (-$1.20 net)

I was kinda clicking buttons here. Rationale behind leading flop was that he could call with SDV hands that might just check back if I check to him, but I'm not sure he has enough second-best made hands, given stats. Then I turn top two and I check/raise because zomg I haz top 2.

 

[Aleksei]

WPN, $0.05/$0.10 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 6 Players
Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite.

SB: $16.24 (162.4 bb)
BB: $14.28 (142.8 bb)
UTG: $7.03 (70.3 bb)
MP: $10 (100 bb)
CO: $6.20 (62 bb) (26/16/0, 25% AFq, 67% CO PFR, 0% F3B, 19 hands)
Hero (BTN): $10 (100 bb)

Preflop: Hero is BTN with K

9

2 folds, CO raises to $0.30, Hero raises to $0.80, 2 folds, CO calls $0.50

Flop: ($1.75) 4

7

9

(2 players)
CO checks, Hero checks

Turn: ($1.75) A

(2 players)
CO bets $1.11, Hero calls $1.11

River: ($3.97) 6

(2 players)
CO bets $4.29 and is all-in, Hero folds

Results: $3.97 pot ($0.19 rake)
Final Board: 4

7

9

A

6

CO mucked and won $3.78 ($1.87 net)
Hero mucked K

9

and lost (-$1.91 net)

 

[ph0n3_j4ck]

Here's one:

WPN, $0.05/$0.10 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 8 Players
Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite.

Hero (SB): $10.32 (103.2 bb) (30/24/9, 48% AFq, 59% flop cbet)
BB: $22.73 (227.3 bb)
UTG+2: $17.62 (176.2 bb)
MP1: $6.14 (61.4 bb)
MP2: $3.90 (39 bb)
MP3: $14.77 (147.7 bb)
CO: $10.90 (109 bb)
BTN: $12.27 (122.7 bb) (93/29/0, 54% AFq, 100% flop cbet, 14 hands)

Preflop: Hero is SB with A

Q

3 folds, MP3 calls $0.10, CO folds, BTN raises to $0.40, Hero calls $0.35, BB folds, MP3 calls $0.30

Flop: ($1.30) 9

9

K

(3 players)
Hero checks, MP3 checks, BTN bets $0.41, Hero calls $0.41, MP3 folds

Turn: ($2.12) K

(2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $1.34, Hero calls $1.34

River: ($4.80) 7

(2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $1.40, Hero calls $1.40

Spoiler

Results: $7.60 pot ($0.38 rake)
Final Board: 9

9

K

K

7

Hero mucked A

Q

and lost (-$3.55 net)
BTN showed K

J

and won $7.22 ($3.67 net)

I figured that I have the nut air hand, and V was loose and not particularly passive, so I sort of leveled myself into thinking I had to call it down given runout.

I would 3bet this hand preflop, especially because you're in the SB. You played this hand very passively. You won't find out his hand range if you play it like that. The way you played it, there is no way possible for you to determine his hand range

 

[ph0n3_j4ck]

WPN, $0.05/$0.10 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 6 Players
Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite.

SB: $16.24 (162.4 bb)
BB: $14.28 (142.8 bb)
UTG: $7.03 (70.3 bb)
MP: $10 (100 bb)
CO: $6.20 (62 bb) (26/16/0, 25% AFq, 67% CO PFR, 0% F3B, 19 hands)
Hero (BTN): $10 (100 bb)

Preflop: Hero is BTN with K

9

2 folds, CO raises to $0.30, Hero raises to $0.80, 2 folds, CO calls $0.50

Flop: ($1.75) 4

7

9

(2 players)
CO checks, Hero checks

Turn: ($1.75) A

(2 players)
CO bets $1.11, Hero calls $1.11

River: ($3.97) 6

(2 players)
CO bets $4.29 and is all-in, Hero folds

Results: $3.97 pot ($0.19 rake)
Final Board: 4

7

9

A

6

CO mucked and won $3.78 ($1.87 net)
Hero mucked K

9

and lost (-$1.91 net)

Bet the flop, you're in position. You're giving him a free card! Continue the aggression you created preflop by 3betting and bet at least 2/3 the pot on the flop! If you bet you'll be able to extract some type of information if he calls/raises. Of course if he reraises you on the flop, you need to fold almost immediately.

 

[ph0n3_j4ck]

Call or fold to reraise post flop?

So, I'm on the button, and I kinda just sat down at the table, so there isn't much people know about my play style yet... What should I do given the situation at hand/should I do anything differently? (like just check behind on the flop with my straight draw?) Ill post results later.

poker stars, $0.10/$0.25 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 5 Players

SB: $71.73 (286.9 bb)
BB: $24.75 (99 bb) vp/pf/ag/3b : 28/6/4/0 (18 hands)
MP: $25.60 (102.4 bb)
CO: $24.75 (99 bb)
Hero (BTN): $24.20 (96.8 bb)

Preflop: Hero is BTN with 6

7

2 folds, Hero raises to $0.75, SB folds, BB calls $0.50

Flop: ($1.60) 5

A

9

(2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $1, BB raises to $2.30

 

[rhombus]

So, I'm on the button, and I kinda just sat down at the table, so there isn't much people know about my play style yet... What should I do given the situation at hand/should I do anything differently? (like just check behind on the flop with my straight draw?) Ill post results later.

Poker Stars, $0.10/$0.25 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 5 Players

SB: $71.73 (286.9 bb)
BB: $24.75 (99 bb) vp/pf/ag/3b : 28/6/4/0 (18 hands)
MP: $25.60 (102.4 bb)
CO: $24.75 (99 bb)
Hero (BTN): $24.20 (96.8 bb)

Preflop: Hero is BTN with 6

7

2 folds, Hero raises to $0.75, SB folds, BB calls $0.50

Flop: ($1.60) 5

A

9

(2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $1, BB raises to $2.30

You showed strength preflop then CBet and they checkraised. Its possible if they hit the Ace but probably would be better if they pot controlled it OOP. More likely they have flush draw with similar hand to yours 67s 78s or a Set 555 or 999

With only gut shot easy fold especially as flush draw is on so 1 of your outs could be dead.

 

[Aleksei]

Bet the flop, you're in position. You're giving him a free card!

How many worse hands do you think he'll call with if I bet?

 

[rhombus]

When is best ttime to pull trigger/bet when oop

[converted_hand][hand_history]Poker Stars, $0.05/$0.10 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 6 Players
Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite.

SB: $23.40 (234 bb)
BB: $16.06 (160.6 bb)
Hero (UTG): $12.91 (129.1 bb)
MP: $32.39 (323.9 bb)
CO: $10.02 (100.2 bb)
BTN: $50.66 (506.6 bb)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with J:diamond: J:club:
Hero raises to $0.30, MP raises to $0.98, 4 folds, Hero calls $0.68

Flop: ($2.11) 7:diamond: T:diamond: J:heart: (2 players)
Hero checks, MP bets $1.31, Hero calls $1.31

Turn: ($4.73) 3:heart: (2 players)
Hero checks, MP bets $2.94, Hero raises to $8.10, MP folds

Results:

Spoiler

$10.61 pot ($0.48 rake)
Final Board: 7:diamond: T:diamond: J:heart: 3:heart:
Hero mucked J:diamond: J:club: and won $10.13 ($4.90 net)
MP mucked and lost (-$5.23 net)

Villains Stats
Seat 5: Player5 ( $32.39 USD ) - VPIP: 30, PFR: 30, 3B: 11, AF: 0.0, Hands: 20
NOt sure whats wrong with AF because when i copy stats from the hands alot of
the time their AF is 0

Actual stats were 33/33/3B-12.5/AG4/AF%50 only 18 hands

 

[ph0n3_j4ck]

How many worse hands do you think he'll call with if I bet?

The main thing is if you bet and took initiative, you will be able to control what happens on the turn. You'd be able to put him on an even better hand range. Ask yourself what he could be holding when he just calls your 3bet OOP. At these stakes, I'd expect KQ/KJ/AJ/AQ/AK/Ax(s). You'll never find out if you don't bet.

 

[ph0n3_j4ck]

You showed strength preflop then CBet and they checkraised. Its possible if they hit the Ace but probably would be better if they pot controlled it OOP. More likely they have flush draw with similar hand to yours 67s 78s or a Set 555 or 999

With only gut shot easy fold especially as flush draw is on so 1 of your outs could be dead.

I don't think folding is the best option in this situation -- especially cause I'm in position. If I hit my 8 on the turn, I could effectively take his entire stack. The villain definitely doesn't put me on 67o for the gut shot... would anyone else make this call, or is it an auto fold?

 

[Aleksei]

The main thing is if you bet and took initiative, you will be able to control what happens on the turn. You'd be able to put him on an even better hand range. Ask yourself what he could be holding when he just calls your 3bet OOP. At these stakes, I'd expect KQ/KJ/AJ/AQ/AK/Ax(s). You'll never find out if you don't bet.

If I bet, he will fold all or most of the hands that you mentioned above, because I'm repping strong and the board is low, so those hands are air. You are essentially telling me to bet for information, which mostly isolates me against hands that beat me, because the board is not that wet considering it's a 3bet pot. A case can be made that given stats he will show up here reasonably wide, but I only have 19 hands on this guy (his 67% CO PFR is 2 out of the last 3 opportunities) and I'm not really getting three streets out of something like J9, 66, or T8.

With two streets left to go, my hot equity just isn't good enough to justify betting for value here.

 

[Figaroo2]

If I bet, he will fold all or most of the hands that you mentioned above, because I'm repping strong and the board is low, so those hands are air. You are essentially telling me to bet for information, which mostly isolates me against hands that beat me, because the board is not that wet considering it's a 3bet pot. A case can be made that given stats he will show up here reasonably wide, but I only have 19 hands on this guy (his 67% CO PFR is 2 out of the last 3 opportunities) and I'm not really getting three streets out of something like J9, 66, or T8.
With two streets left to go, my hot equity just isn't good enough to justify betting for value here.

I don't understand your thinking here, you raise pre with the weak end of a polarised range...presumably to get a fold preflop. Then you are called and are fortunate to hit tp on a dry board, I would just bet to try and take it down now and follow through on the preflop aggression. I don't understand why you are even considering what you might get value from in this situation, if you bet and get called again just check it down as you are likely beaten but give yourself a chance to win whilst he likely just has over cards .....You gave a free card and an ace came and which hits his range....imo too passive on the flop and you let him get there.

 

[Figaroo2]

I don't think folding is the best option in this situation -- especially cause I'm in position. If I hit my 8 on the turn, I could effectively take his entire stack. The villain definitely doesn't put me on 67o for the gut shot... would anyone else make this call, or is it an auto fold?

I'm folding here, its just too difficult to improve to a winning hand for my liking, in which case you are going to have to bluff almost always and if he has an ace which looks likely as he is raising how are we going to shift him off it? Yes you will win his stack if you hit your gutshot but as Rhom pointed out the 8s may make a flush for you opponent ....I presume as you posted this hand that something unusual happened....did you hit your 8 or runner runner, perhaps you forced him of a failed flush draw.... this is your most realistic hope if you call..

 

[Aleksei]

I don't understand your thinking here, you raise pre with the weak end of a polarised range...presumably to get a fold preflop.

Yes.

Then you are called and are fortunate to hit tp on a dry board, I would just bet to try and take it down now and follow through on the preflop aggression. I don't understand why you are even considering what you might get value from in this situation, if you bet and get called again just check it down as you are likely beaten but give yourself a chance to win whilst he likely just has over cards

Why do I want to take it down while he just has overcards? I beat overcards, so if I bet and he folds his air, I'm throwing away free equity. I'm not considering "what I can get value from," I'm just considering that I have showdown value, so I'm trying to see a free showdown, or improve to a hand or board texture I can value-bet (turn a K or a low flush card).

imo too passive on the flop and you let him get there.

Yeah that's because the majority of the time he doesn't get there. It's absurd to throw away my showdown value in position, because I'm still effectively in control of the hand after the flop checks through. The only cards that really threaten me are A and Q (and to a much lesser extent J and T), and most of the time what will happen is either
-turn is a brick
-turn improves my hand
-turn is an overcard but it misses Villain and he checks again.

My mistake here was on the turn, not the flop.

 

[Figaroo2]

If any ace QJT hurts your chances in this hand that is a quarter of the deck!
Heard a quote by multi bracelet winner Alan Cunningham recently ..said if you think you have the best hand you should be putting money into the pot.
There is already 17bb in the middle. Im betting the flop here to try and win it now and charging my opponent if he wants to continue.
The aggressive lines win the most money in the long run. I would to quote coach Blackrain " In marginal spots stick a bet in his face put him under pressure and let him deal with it.".
Imho giving free cards is a big mistake nearly all the time.
As a player who struggles with passivity myself it is easy to spot and understand why you checked the flop but I think you are wrong on this one

 

[John A]

WPN, $0.05/$0.10 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 6 Players
Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite.

SB: $16.24 (162.4 bb)
BB: $14.28 (142.8 bb)
UTG: $7.03 (70.3 bb)
MP: $10 (100 bb)
CO: $6.20 (62 bb) (26/16/0, 25% AFq, 67% CO PFR, 0% F3B, 19 hands)
Hero (BTN): $10 (100 bb)

Preflop: Hero is BTN with K

9

2 folds, CO raises to $0.30, Hero raises to $0.80, 2 folds, CO calls $0.50

Flop: ($1.75) 4

7

9

(2 players)
CO checks, Hero checks

Turn: ($1.75) A

(2 players)
CO bets $1.11, Hero calls $1.11

River: ($3.97) 6

(2 players)
CO bets $4.29 and is all-in, Hero folds

Results: $3.97 pot ($0.19 rake)
Final Board: 4

7

9

A

6

CO mucked and won $3.78 ($1.87 net)
Hero mucked K

9

and lost (-$1.91 net)

I'd just bet the flop. You 3-bet small, so his calling range is still pretty wide and he can call with worse. So something like a little over half is great. Once you check the flop, you open up his bluffing range on a turn like that. It doesn't make a ton of sense for him to bet that turn with an Ace. You checked the flop, so your most likely holding is Ax, maybe Kx. But honestly, I don't think these guys are thinking like this. It doesn't seem like he's aggressive, so players like that tend to just think.... "oh, I have Ax, protect against the flush mentality. I need to bet". So with such a low AG% I think calling the turn is ok because he'll give up on a lot of rivers if he's betting a draw.