[iggymcfly]

Since the specific question asks if I in bold ever try a blocking bet there, the answer's a definitive no. I'd never lead ~1/2 the pot with a strong hand, so I never do it with a weak one either.

I guess this could work in theory against a bad player, but it looks really transparent to a good player and if I have top two in this situation, I'm repotting almost always. Also, even bad players catch hands like top set and middle set which will gleefully repot here no matter what you're representing. Basically, the gain is so small when the play works and you get to see your draw for a little less than the right price that it's not worth it to flush $40 down the toilet the rest of the time.

Also, a really smart player might see through this so well that he'd repot here with a hand that he was planning on checking behind otherwise. I could see repotting with something like TP+NFD against someone who has a tendency to make these blocking bets when weak.