[ElectricWaffles]

Okay, i'm a n00b too, so again the usual disclaimer...

What's the purpose of potting the flop? I guess it disguises your draw, but I think i'm missing the point here. You obv. cant take down the pot owing to the number of people seeing it, are you doing that to inflate the pot? Why do we want a big pot here?

The turn. I guess my move would be to check/call here. If you bet and somebody has the 7, you're going to get raised. Is it not the case that you want to see the river as cheaply as possible? I wouldn't worry too much about a heart on the river killing the action. I think with 'not-so-good' players as outlined in your post they often see more the absolute strength of their hand rather than the relative strength. I.E "I've got a sraight, thats a stong hand so i'm not folding" rather than "I've got a straight but this guy looks like he was drawing by check/calling, he could have the flush here". Do you see what I mean?

I see the other point about betting $1 and still getting the odds to draw if you get two callers, but I think if somebody has a 7 and you come out betting then you're going to get raised, denying you the right odds.

Somebody with a 7 is probably going to bet around 2/3rds - full pot if it's checked to them, or they'll slowplay for some reason. If they bet you'll probably still have the (implied) odds to call, where as if you bet out yourself and get raised you wont.

I hope thats lucid!

It may or may not be correct, it's just the way I see it =)