relationships in poker terms

Okay, I guess I have been wanting to write a blog profiling my relationships in poker terms for quite a while now.

Here's the low down. I have played my relationship hands in an incrediblby fishy way. Pocket dueces against AK pot comitted type of fishy. Chasing gut shots to the river, and then pouting cause I lost the pot kinda fishy.

Oddly, as I have journeyed to a tighter more aggressive poker game, I have done the same thing in my personal life. I have not been playing marginal hands. I may limp in the occasional 9 10 from the big blind, and lose a little calling a raise on a 10 high board to pocket J's, but I am never too pot commited to fold. I try to know when I am beat before putting my purse in the pot. On the flip side, I am learning (much harder) how to commit to the best hand on a scary board.

So, here is the hand I am playing now. Idiot end of an open ended straight flush draw. I'm not too pot commited to fold, but I am fairly sure given the 1 outer, I could have the nuts. I have 2 outers really, but the other could give someone a higher straight flush (and that gets pretty expensive, I know from experience lol) Also ANY flush may be enough, as very possibly nobody else has two hearts in play, and may just be playing for the straight. So, the crossroads question here is: Smooth call, raise, or fold. My choice is smooth call. If the board were farther away from nuts, I would raise, just to test where everyone else is. If I do hit the nuts, I want somebody betting into me.

This is really where I am struggling in both my relationships, and my poker game right now. Proper play after the flop. I know this is where I get railroaded and make the wrong decisions. I'm playing the right hands, but after I double up a couple times, everyone know exactly what I am playing, and I have a really hard time chiping up. If I am in it after a raise, I am either all ready WAY ahead of you,or I need one of several (always obvious) cards to be WAY ahead of you. I think it's time I learn to bluff. I know it's time I learn to bluff. Guess I better buy some more books LOL.

How would you play this hand? Take the poll on the right and weigh in!