Two players limp and it folds to you on the button with A♠5♠. A cheap, multiway pot is brewing.
Two limpers; you hold A♠5♠ on the button. Best?
WhyLimp behind. A suited ace plays well in a cheap multiway pot for its nut-flush potential and your position; a big raise bloats the pot with a speculative hand. Keep it cheap and multiway for the implied odds.
What happensYou limp; the blinds come along. Five players see the flop. Pot: 1,000 (5 BB).
Flop
Flop: K♠ 9♠ 2♥ - you flop the nut flush draw. An early limper bets 700, a second player calls, and it's on you with four players still in.
Nut flush draw, but a bet and a call ahead of you, multiway. Best?
WhyCall. Multiway, a semi-bluff raise has little fold equity - two players already showed interest - and bloats the pot as a draw. With the nut flush draw and excellent implied odds against several opponents, calling to realize your equity is correct. The more players in, the worse a bluff and the better a draw plays for value.
What happensYou call; the others come along. Pot: ~3,100 (15.5 BB). Three see the turn.
Turn
Turn: 7♠ - you make the nut flush. An opponent leads out into the field.
You hit the nut flush and someone bets 2,000 (10 BB) into a multiway pot. Best?
WhyRaise for value. You hold the nuts on a wet, multiway board where opponents can hold a worse flush, two pair, or a set that pays you off. In multiway pots you charge the field - build the pot now rather than risk a scary river killing the action.
What happensYou raise to 6,500 (32.5 BB); one player calls. Pot: 16,100 (80.5 BB). Heads-up to the river.
River
River: 4♦ - a blank; the board doesn't pair and no fourth spade arrives. He checks.
You still have the nut flush and he checks the river. Best?
WhyBet for value. You have the nuts, and a player who called your big turn raise holds a strong made hand - a smaller flush, a set, two pair - that can pay one more bet. Pick a size that gets called rather than checking the nuts.
What happensYou bet 7,000 (35 BB); he calls with a smaller flush. You scoop a big pot.
Counting the field changed every decision: you played your draw for odds instead of semi-bluffing into a crowd, then charged the field for value when you made the nuts. Bluffs shrink and value grows as the pot gets more crowded.
The more players in the pot, the worse bluffs and semi-bluffs run and the better made hands and big draws play for value - always count the field before you act.