Part: Part Six - Betting After the Flop

Check-calling as a bluff-catcher

Flop
Heads-upPot 1,300 (6.5 BB)9♠7♦2♣BBA♥9♣● 25,000 (125 BB)YOUtop pair, weak kicker, OOPBTN● 25,000 (125 BB)Aggressive buttonbets 800 (4 BB)D

You defended the big blind with A♥9♣ against an aggressive button. Flop 9♠ 7♦ 2♣ - you have top pair, a weak kicker, out of position. You check and he c-bets.

Top pair, weak kicker, OOP, versus an aggressive c-bettor. Best?

WhyCheck-call. Out of position with a medium hand against a player who bluffs a lot, calling keeps his bluffs in and avoids bloating the pot with a weak-kicker top pair. You're turning your hand into a bluff-catcher.
What happensYou call.  Pot: 2,900 (14.5 BB).
Turn
Heads-upPot 2,900 (14.5 BB)9♠7♦2♣J♠BBA♥9♣● 25,000 (125 BB)YOUtop pair, bluff-catchingBTN● 25,000 (125 BB)Aggressive buttonbets 1,100 (5.5 BB)D

Turn J♠ - a card that doesn't change much for you. He bets again, smallish.

He keeps barreling. With top pair, weak kicker, best?

WhyCall. Nothing has changed your read: against an aggressive barreler your top pair beats enough of his bluffs to keep calling. Don't raise (folding out worse, getting action only from better) and don't fold a hand that beats his bluffing range.
What happensYou call; the river goes check-check and your top pair is good.  The bluff-catch pays off.
Out of position with a medium hand against an aggressive opponent, you check-called down as a bluff-catcher rather than raising or folding - the right line when your hand beats bluffs but not value.

Check-call medium hands as bluff-catchers against aggressive opponents - keep their bluffs in and avoid bloating the pot with a hand that only beats air.