[MitchL]

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Even if we are behind UTG theres a good chance we can control the amount of bets he puts in if we are behind i.e. he will shut down pretty quickly when shown strength.

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I'm guessing that UTG raises 99+ as well, and this gives me more incentive to 3bet.

Misread OP's post, where does it state he is mp1? I assumed we were in later position...

Pretty sure coldcalling 88 for set value with 2 (in most games) in late position is a leak.

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We are not open coldcalling. There is already one coldcaller and as OP said 2 to 3 bad players behind. Also, 1 possible hand in villains range shouldnt sway the decision here. If we dont flop a set the hand is going to be flat out hard to play.

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That is what I am saying. Pending on position, we can't depend on players to call behind on us. Although the game OP is talking about, sounds +ev to cold call here, I believe cold calling in long run is -ev.

I'd most likely dump this hand in most spots, but 3 betting to get villain who is playing with scared money off a better pair after a scary flop is good too.

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We can assume that we will doing the same against any thinking opposition if the right flop presents itself. No one is saying that if the table dynamic was different it is wrong to 3bet 88. I do against tightish openers all the time, but that is not the crux of this hand. The crux of this hand is whether to 3bet when we expect callers who are loose and have position on us as well as an opener who might have us in bad shape.