[tmcdmck]

I like this question. Obviously it depends on a whole lot, but that goes without saying. i feel it is most commonly "i missed the flop and intend to fold" or "wow i just flopped a beast of a hand".

That being said, the two times i use the 3bet check flop are "i just missed the flop and there is no way my opponent missed the flop, hell my 3bet pre was just because they were foliding so much" and "my hand has definite showdown value, and i am going to have a hard time folding it, plus it is unlikely to be outdrawn, but i may well be way behing (ie AK on an AJJ board) so i am going to check, which makes sure i am as far ahead of my opponents range as i can be if they put money in the pot, as they may be bluffing".

I do not think it is too hard to figure which it is in most situations; you just have to consider their 3betting frequencies and continuation betting frequencies. In a vacuum I normally takes a small stab at the pot, and get out quick if they do anything but fold, but this might be a bit of a leak, i am not really sure.

I actually want to go away and have a bigger think about this though, so i might post again.