[MathBabe]

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"?