[StellarWind]

Raise the flop. This is a very important concept.

Maybe MP3 is ahead of you, maybe he isn't. We could endlessly debate the chance that he has AK or KK or 99 or (apparently) 8 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] 7 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img].

It just doesn't matter right now. This is a four-way pot. Every time you bet you get 3-1 odds if everyone calls. Surely those are good enough odds for this raise to be +EV. If some of your opponents fold their bottom pairs or gutshots you benefit in a different way by increasing your chance of winning the pot.

You cannot focus on whether putting in an extra bet or two is +EV or -EV against MP3. You don't even know. What you do know is there are two other players trying to suck out this pot. Make them pay or make them go away. That's a big EV gain that will more then compensate for the times MP3 might be ahead of you.

Once it's heads up you can start worrying about what MP3 has and whether you want to minimize or maximize the number of bets you put in against him.