wrto, the pre-flop raise was fine. after his call, the pot would be $24, and he made a $21 raise, so it was a
good pot-sized pre-flop raise.to the OP:i agree with the others,
the flop bet was a little weak. i wouldn't bet pot-sized--your hand isn't strong enough for that, IMHO, and i really have a pet peeve about constantly betting pot (you screw yourself for future streets if you get action in return, since you've made the pot way big, etc.)--but
i would bet something like 2/3 - 3/4 of the pot on the flop, maybe around $55-$60.that said, if you had a stronger hand (TPGK isn't strong enough), i would like the weak flop bet ($40) if you intended to raise the turn or reraise a checkraise aggressively. however, you clearly can't reraise a checkraise and a stop-and-go on the turn would make your head spin with just TPGK, so i don't like the weak flop bet.i also agree with others in saying
the turn check was terrible.
Diboss said:
from what I knew of those players, I'd have to bet at least the pot to get them to consider folding anything they called with on the flop. The flush draw would definitely not fold
classic myth mistake:
don't play for the current pot, play for the correct move. if you check, you give a free card to the flush draw. granted if it hits, you would have lost the pot (and more money) anyway had you bet and he called. that's NOT the important part, though.if you bet something like 2/3-3/4 of the pot again, you give him something like 2.5-to-1 pot odds or worse. consider what you would do in that situation. if you call, your EV is negative (you will hit your flush 1 in 5.5 times). how?let's say the pot is $100, and i bet $75. if you call, you put forward $75 hoping to win $175. when you hit your flush 1 time out of 5.5 times, you win $175, but the other 4.5 times, you lose $75 each time. so your total EV = $175 - 4.5($75) = -$162.5.
that means that everytime you make that call with bad pot odds, you lose money. where does that money go? into the pot.so if you bet enough to protect your hand on the turn, you WANT the flush draw to call. since it's -EV for him, it's +EV for you since you're winning that pot the majority of the time.
forget about the short term--even if it hits and you lose money, so what--you want him making that call everytime because in the long run, that's your money.however, he might also fold (though you said this was unlikely). that's also fine with you, since you earn a nice pot with no risk!
so, you should bet on the turn, since you're okay with both a call and a fold. that's called protecting your hand--it's a very important concept.do you understand now why the turn check was terrible?finally, the river would be a LOT easier to play correctly had you bet on the turn.
remember, when you bet or raise, you also get valuable information--that's one of the key functions of both. by checking, you got no information. if you had bet and again got two calls, you can reasonably put them on draws, or maybe middle pair or the like if they're stubborn. if you bet and got checkraised, you have more information now and can make a better move--fold if they checkraise rarely and always have the goods when they do, call if they're chronic bluffers, or reraise if you have a strong enough hand (not this case).
with no information and the weak river bet (giving you 3-to-1 odds), i would make the call. the stop-and-go is very weird, but again,
betting the turn would have made the river much easier for you.hope this helps. keep posting hands and getting criticism and you'll improve your game.aseem
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9 
(3 players, $85) MP1 checks, LP2 checks, Hero bets $40, MP2 calls, LP2 calls T 
($205) MP2 bets $100, LP2 folds, Hero does ? Now here is read info on the MP2: MP2 is a semi-loose calling station, but he is willing to bluff and chase occasionally.
