I dont like flatting pre with this hand in the SB because it sets BB up for a squeeze. I like that better in smaller games where they wont take those spots. I would do it here with a hand I'd be willing to call off with like AJs.

The problem I have been running into is barreling here a lot and they flat instead of call. At that point, I would be pretty exploitable if I am not willing to shove the river (which I am not). Yesterday a guy called my turn barrel with just a gut shot. Luckily he gave up on the river and my A high beat his T high. If he had bet like 1/10th pot on that river, I probably would have folded because their were tons of things he could have on that board that beat A high.

I guess Im either going to have to

1. Flat and risk getting squeezed (but what if my hand doesnt play great post flop like ATo?)

2. Not barrel unimproved (seems weak)

3. Check fold air hands on the turn. Check shove the turn with some draws and made hands. (is this merging?) VB or bluff river if they check behind.

In smaller games, I will try 1 with hands that play well post. I feel like I would need to check raise some flops though to take control of the hand.

2 doesnt seem profitable at all if they know we are at war with them. I dont think I could do unless the situation was extreme.

I kinda of like 3 on paper so I am going to test it out in some medium stake games and report back.

Good point. I may try my plan as an aggressive option, but if the BB is tight and he is, I probably shouldnt be worried so much about him squeezing. It's good to have two plans that you can use depending on the players you are facing. I like the idea of having two or more “standard” lines.