Hold'em table

AJo is a strong button opening hand three-handed. Raising to 2.5 big blinds builds value against weaker hands and pressures the blinds while preserving positional advantage.

98 suited plays well against a button opening range, and calling keeps the pot manageable from the small blind.

K9o in the big blind facing a 2.5x button open and an SB call. I'm getting 150 into 600 (20% equity needed), so calling is clearly profitable, and 3-betting into two ranges is worse.

Top pair plus an open-ended straight draw is strong on this wet flop. Betting builds the pot and charges opponents with draws.

Top pair with a king kicker plus a backdoor flush draw is too strong to fold against a donk bet. With the button still to act behind on a coordinated board, calling keeps the pot controlled at good odds (500 to win 1250).

Ace-high with no meaningful draw is too weak against a substantial flop bet and a call on this coordinated board. Our overcard outs are unreliable, and continuing would realize too little equity.

I have a nine-high straight. Betting for value also charges diamond draws and other hands that could improve on the river.

Top pair with a decent kicker gets about 29% pot odds against a donk-betting range that still includes draws and weaker pairs. Calling controls the pot rather than raising on a board where the turn 5 completes straights.

My eight makes a straight. A 2400-chip value bet can be called by weaker straights and strong made hands without committing my full stack against a possible T8.

Top pair with a good kicker works as a bluff-catcher. We need about 27% equity, and a polarized triple barrel includes plenty of missed diamond draws, so calling beats folding. Raising would only get called by better hands.

Four-three offsuit is too weak to open from the button, even three-handed.

A6o is a strong hand in a blind-vs-blind spot, so raising to 3bb from the small blind takes the initiative and value-bets against the big blind's wide range.

Pocket aces are the strongest starting hand, so I three-bet for value against the small blind's opening range. Raising to 1,000 builds the pot while leaving room for weaker hands to call or re-raise.

Getting about 2.9:1 against a wide blind-vs-blind 3-bet range. The ace blocker and decent equity make a call reasonable, even though I'll be out of position.

Ace-high with no draw, out of position against a 3-bettor on a board that hits his range, so checking is best. I'll decide against a c-bet once I see its size.

Bet for value with the overpair, targeting Tx, smaller pocket pairs, and draws. This sizing charges draws while building a pot against worse made hands.

A6o with no pair and no draw on T82 two-tone, out of position against a 3-bettor's c-bet, has too little equity to continue, even getting 27% pot odds.

92 suited is below a standard 3-handed button opening range at 100bb, so folding is the low-variance, +EV choice.

Pocket jacks are a strong value raise in a blind-versus-blind pot. Raising to three big blinds builds the pot against weaker hands and charges the big blind to continue while we are out of position.

A4 suited plays well heads-up against a small-blind opening range. Calling keeps weaker hands in without building a large pot out of position.

JJ has solid showdown value but is vulnerable on this king-high, two-heart flop. Checking out of position controls the pot and keeps weaker hands and potential bluffs in the opponent’s range.

The nut flush draw has strong equity, and betting after the preflop raiser checks can win the pot now or build it when a heart comes.

JJ is a reasonable bluff-catcher against a big-blind betting range containing heart draws and weaker pairs alongside kings. Calling needs about 27% equity and keeps those weaker hands in, while raising would mostly isolate stronger hands.

Jacks have showdown value, but betting is unlikely to get called by many worse hands or fold out a king. Checking keeps the pot controlled and allows missed draws to continue bluffing.

The paired turn makes a bluff less attractive against hands that called the flop. Checking in position lets me see the river for free with the nut-flush draw.

The river gives me jacks full of fives, strong enough to value-bet confidently. A roughly three-quarter-pot bet can get called by kings and completed flushes while building a substantial pot.

The ace-high flush is strong enough to raise for value despite the paired board. This size can get calls from weaker flushes and other strong hands without committing my entire stack against a full house.

My rivered full house beats every flush and all lower full houses; only KK and 55 beat it. Shoving maximizes value against an opponent whose river raise represents a strong made hand.

I have the nut flush. Although a full house is possible on the paired board, the pot odds justify calling against a range that can include weaker flushes.

75 offsuit is below a sound default button opening range at 100bb. With no reads on the blinds, folding avoids investing in a weak hand with limited playability.

J7 suited is strong enough to raise heads-up against the big blind and can make profitable flushes and top pairs.

Getting 3:1 in position against a likely wide small-blind raising range, 65o has enough equity and playability to defend by calling.

A small continuation bet applies pressure on this king-high flop while keeping the pot manageable with a flush draw.

Middle pair with a backdoor straight draw, getting 4:1 on a 1/3-pot c-bet from a wide SB range. Calling is clearly better than folding.

I have a flush draw but no made hand. Checking keeps the pot manageable and may let me see the river cheaply.

Middle pair plus a gutshot after the opponent gave up on the turn; a small bet charges overcards and draws, gets thin value from weaker pairs, and denies equity.

The small turn bet gives me a reasonable price to draw to my flush, with some chance a jack is good. I’ll call and reassess on the river.

The heart draw missed, and a river bluff is unlikely to fold out a king or a six after the opponent called the flop and bet the turn. Checking avoids risking more chips with jack-high.

Trip sixes is strong on this board after villain checked the river, and calls from Kx and pairs are likely. A medium-sized bet gets value while limiting losses to better 6x.

The missed heart draw leaves me with only jack-high. Facing a substantial river bet, too many value hands and even some missed draws beat me.

J8 offsuit is strong enough to open on the button in a three-handed game. Raising gives me a chance to win the blinds and preserves position if called.

62o from the small blind facing a button open with the big blind still to act is a clear fold; it's out of position with weak equity.

A4 suited is a profitable big-blind defend against a button open, with nut-flush and wheel potential. Calling preserves its playability without inflating the pot out of position.

Check to the preflop raiser with trips and the best kicker, allowing bluffs and weaker hands to bet. This also leaves room to build the pot with a value check-raise.

A small continuation bet leverages my preflop raising range on a low paired board and can fold out unpaired hands without risking much.

Trip fours with the ace kicker is strong enough to check-raise for value against overpairs, weaker fours, and diamond draws. This sizing builds the pot while leaving room for further value bets.

J-high with no immediate draw is too weak to continue against the flop check-raise.

K9o on the button 3-handed is a clear opening hand; a standard 2.5bb raise to steal the blinds.

83 offsuit is too weak to defend against a button raise from the small blind, with poor playability out of position and the big blind still to act.

T9 offsuit has enough equity and playability to defend the big blind against a button raise for 150 chips.

I have an open-ended straight draw, but checking to the preflop raiser keeps the pot manageable and lets me respond to their bet.

On a dry J82 board I have a gutshot plus an overcard with K9, and I hold range advantage as the button raiser. A small c-bet of about a third of the pot takes it down often and keeps equity when called.

I have an open-ended straight draw on a rainbow flop. The small bet gives me a good price to see the turn.

I have an open-ended straight draw, but the turn did not improve my hand. Checking lets me see how the preflop raiser acts before committing more chips.

K-high has some showdown value and little equity when called. The big blind's check-call range holds many pairs that won't fold to a turn bet, so checking back to take a free river is best.

Ten-high has little showdown value. After the turn checked through, a river bet can fold out unpaired hands and some weak pairs.

King-high has almost no showdown value against a river lead after the checked turn, and it beats only a few busted draws. Bluff-raising is unconvincing given how capped my turn check looks.