Hold'em table

8-4 offsuit is too weak to open on the button against two opponents, even with position.

In a BvB situation after the button folds, pocket fives is well ahead of a random holding and warrants an open-raise to 3bb for value and initiative.

K6o is a weak offsuit hand facing a 3x raise from the small blind; folding avoids playing a dominated hand out of position.

97 offsuit is too weak to open profitably even from the button in 3-handed play.

A3o has enough equity against a random big blind to complete the small blind cheaply and see a flop, avoiding unnecessary risk out of position with a marginal offsuit ace.

9♠3♠ is too weak to raise for value, and checking lets me see a free flop in position against the small blind.

I flopped top pair with an ace and should bet for value/protection against the big blind's wide range. A 150 bet into 200 builds the pot while charging draws.

Nine-high has no pair or immediate draw on this flop. Calling 150 chips is not worth it against the bet.

Weak offsuit hand (4s6d) with poor playability; folding avoids investing chips from an early position.

With the button folded, A5 offsuit is strong enough to raise heads-up against the big blind and contest the pot.

Defending the big blind with suited one-gapper J8s getting 2:1 pot odds in position against the small blind open.

Ace-high has some showdown value on this paired flop, but a bet is unlikely to fold out many better hands. Checking keeps the pot manageable out of position.

Flopped trips with a good kicker; betting one-third pot extracts value from flush draws and pocket pairs while keeping worse hands in.

The small bet gives favorable pot odds, and ace-high can still be ahead of a bluff. Calling keeps the pot manageable with a weak hand.

Ace-high has little value on this paired, draw-heavy turn, and betting is unlikely to make many better hands fold. Checking avoids building the pot with a weak hand.

I have trip eights with a solid kicker and want to extract value from pocket pairs, gutshots, and turned pairs with the Ten.

Ace-high has no meaningful draw, and calling the larger turn bet out of position is unlikely to be profitable.

AJo is a strong button opening hand three-handed. Raising to 3 big blinds builds value while retaining position postflop.

54 offsuit is far too weak to defend out of position against a 3bb open.

QTo has enough equity against a wide button raise to call 200 into 450, closing the preflop action. 3-betting would bloat the pot out of position with a marginal hand.

Flopped top two pair on a draw-heavy board; betting for value and protection against straight draws.

Ace-high has a gutshot to the nut straight and possible overcard outs. Calling keeps the pot manageable in position while retaining those draws.

I have top two pair on a draw-heavy board; betting for value and protection against straight and flush draws.

I have the nut straight. Raising builds the pot against strong made hands and charges spade draws before the river.

T6o is too weak to open from the button even in a 3-handed game.

Button folded and 99 is well ahead of a big blind's calling range; raising to 3x pressures the BB and builds value with a strong heads-up hand.

A8 offsuit is strong enough to defend against a small-blind raise, and calling keeps weaker hands in while giving me position after the flop.

I have pocket nines on a J-J-2 flop; my overpair to the twos is likely best but the paired board and two opponents warrant pot control, so I check to see a cheap turn and evaluate their actions.

A small bet with ace-high can deny equity to unpaired overcards while keeping the pot manageable on this dry, paired flop.

With pocket nines on a paired J-high flop, calling the small 200 bet keeps worse hands and bluffs in while avoiding bloating the pot against Jx. The price is good enough given my hand is often ahead of a small stab.

My 99 has some showdown value, but the paired board and Q overcard make it marginal; checking controls the pot and avoids getting raised by Jx or Qx.

Ace-high has some showdown value, but the queen can improve hands that called the flop. Checking keeps the pot small and preserves the option to reassess on the river.

My 99 has marginal showdown value on a paired board, and the opponent's turn check suggests they may have given up or are pot-controlling. Checking avoids getting raised by better hands and realizes equity cheaply.

My two pair has showdown value, but a river bet is unlikely to get called by many worse hands. Checking avoids building a pot against a jack, queen, or higher pocket pair.

Q9s is a reasonable button open in a 3-handed game; raising applies pressure and takes initiative while still allowing a fold to a 3-bet.

T7 offsuit is too weak to defend from the small blind against a 3x raise with the big blind still to act.

KTo has sufficient equity and pot odds (getting 2.25:1) to defend the big blind against a standard button open.

Check top pair with a mediocre kicker to the preflop raiser to control the pot size and protect our checking range.

My hand has little equity on this K-high flop and the big blind already called preflop, so checking controls the pot and avoids bluffing into a likely made hand.

After the button checked back the flop, top pair with a gutshot straight draw is ahead of most of their checking range, so betting for value and protection is standard.

I only have a gutshot straight draw with Qs9s on this K-J-8-7 board, and calling 450 into 1100 gives insufficient direct odds with four tens as my main outs. Folding avoids overpaying with a weak draw and possible dominated pair outcomes.