[silentbob]

My sense is that a 3-bet need not cost $40 here. Obviously, I'm not advocating a donkbet to $24, but something in-between will get more information from Villain sooner rather than later. The turn can help Villain just as easily as Hero (if not more), and we don't need an extra card to cloud the analysis further.

The only way to keep the pot smaller after calling the flop mini-raise is to check, and that's practically waving a white flag. I'd rather have my final act be one of aggression, and force Villain into making the decision. Calling the mini-raise + leading the turn is hardly passive, but I still think it doesn't send as forceful of a message as a 3-bet.

Any of the vets/pooh-bahs want to weigh in on this? I'm still relatively new at SSNL (~21K hands) and would like to hear from those with more experience under their belt.