Is there a way to tell whether they made a straight?

[HeroInBlack]

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2. There is no need to make a pot bet on the turn. If he is on a draw, a bet of .40 is enough to make his call incorrect.

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I think potting the turn in NL5 makes you more money in the long run. They are calling pot-sized turn bets with top pair, any draw (even a lot of gutshots), and even two overs. They do it constantly. I think you may leave money on the table by betting less than the pot on the turn versus most NL5 players.

Of course, you should be observing the players and figuring out how much to be versus each one, but my default line would be to pot it here, too.

[Guojing]

Thanks larry and pants. Yeah, that ace at first set some warning on whether he may have made a higher 2 pair, aces up. That was the first thought that came to my mind, instead of him making that straight.

I guess betting half the pot on the river was a bit of a "defensive bet" for me but when he raised me all in, it became a crying call.

But yes, I agree that checking on the river would have been better and I should have folded to an all-in bet, and maybe call some smaller bets.

I guess my main mistake in this hand was paying them off at the river or what Sklansky would say, "justifying their optimistic call"?