PLO8, .50-$1

Dank $125
SB $80
EP $150

Dank is in the CO with A 4 5 6

EP raises to $2.50 preflop, I call, SB calls.

Flop comes 2 3 4

SB bets $5, EP calls, Dank....

I was tempted to smooth call here, and hope that the SB leads out again if a non diamond that doesn't pair the board falls on 4th street. Your thoughts?

tempted to as well, maybe just a dorkish little min raise might get you somewhere here. They want to call, they want to call (gregorian chant)

Raise, you don't want to see a paired board or another diamond. Scooping is better than splitting in this situation. You may scoop a big pot by raising and they may still chase.

I would raise, you may be a diamond away from getting quartered.

I think you should be pushing here. Don't give a diamond flush draw a cheap flush. You could very well end up getting quartered if you let them get there cheap (conversly though, you could still get quartered very expensively...) :?

I dunno, I could be wrong here, but I'd wait for the turn. There's $18.50 in the pot right now, you've got a chance to use your position and trap for more bets on a safe turn, which is over half the deck, and to either bluff, bail, or call down if a scary turn card does hit, depending on the action. Seems like you're risking $18.50 by not raising now (which you might not win anyway) to potentially win considerably more.

Fold.

You are almost certainly splitting low and you have 3 (weak) outs for high in the non-diamond 7's.

Let the other 2 fight over your 2.50 with their flush/boat re-draws.

I don't know if Chamonyx is joking, or misread the board...

My thinking at the time was that one or both of the others were holding A5, and they certainly aren't going anywhere, but of course A 5 could be out there which would be my biggest concern.

As for what happened, I smooth called and a beautiful K fell on the turn, and the SB led out for the pot EP called and I raised, and all three of us got it all in. Another beautiful Q fell on the river, and the both help A5. The draw wasn't out there, and I took 2/3 of a good sized pot.

I'm still not sure about the call on the flop, I wanted to keep both players in, and the diamond draw is about 35% to complete, so I thought the odds were on my side.

I think a raise may have been better, it would force a non nut diamond draw out, and the A 5's would call or re-raise regardless, and I don't see myself folding to any card on the turn. Thanks for your help guys-

You are absolutely right, Dank - I was misreading, switching your hand with the flop :-)

With this in mind, I think you played it fine, although you could also go to war on the flop.