Flopping a straight draw in Limit
 

I need advice playing a straight or flush draw when I'm in early position.

Here's my hypothetical:
I've got Ah3d in the small blind. Five others call before me (this is low-limit, obviously) and I call. The flop comes 2dQh5h. I have four cards to a straight that isn't the nuts, and a lot of yahoos to act behind me with goodness-knows-what.

I figure I only have the four 4s as my outs. Do I:

a) Check and hope that somehow I have the correct pot odds when it gets back to me?
b) Raise, and if so, why, and is this what's called raising "for value"?

Check and hope is your only option.

If you raise, it is not a very unlikely scenario that you will be reraised, making your play moronic.

Check/fold (unless the math is there to call, which is unlikely). I don't see how you could check raise in this situation, ever.

I wasn't suggesting a check raise, just a straight raise based on the fact that I've got what seems like a good drawing hand. I'm going to think about the math for this a bit later on - how likely it is that I make my straight without a scare card coming up.

Just to be absolutely clear, then, Lee Jones says I can call in the small blind with any Ace, even unsuited. That means I'm first to act after the flop. I want to flop an ace with no straight/flush possibilities or pairs on the board, right? Ideally I flop two pair, and everything else I check and fold.

Sorry if this is obvious, but I think I've identified this "any Ace or King from the small blind" business as trouble for me.

I'm confused. By "raise," do you mean "bet?"

How is four outs a good drawing hand?

Ugh, yes... I meant bet. I'll just shut up on this one now.

That was what was confusing me too. You said you were in the SB and were considering raising, so I assumed you meant a check raise after someone behind you inevitably bet.

Typically, a gutshot straight, especially a non-nut one, is not a draw you want to be chasing. There are extreme circumstances where it's ok, but these usually involve a preflop raise and quite a few callers in order for you to have the right math to chase you "maybe" 4 outs. Even if you hit your Ace, you're probably still going to be behind, so I wouldn't even count that as an out.

You completed the SB with a weak but reasonable holding and then you missed the flop - time to let it go.