Hold'em table

Opening from the button with suited king to steal the blinds or realize position postflop.

J5 offsuit is too weak to defend the small blind against a button raise with the big blind still to act.

J6 suited is getting 3.5-to-1 pot odds against a button min-raise, and it has decent playability in a heads-up pot. It is not strong enough to 3-bet, so I call.

Middle pair (sixes) with a backdoor club draw, heads-up and first to act on a coordinated flop. Betting about 2/3 of the pot for value and protection, while a check would give the button a free card.

I have King-high with essentially no equity or redraws on a 5s-Ts-6h board against a donk bet. An easy fold.

J2 offsuit is too weak to open profitably from the button against two live blinds.

Small blind heads-up vs the big blind with 43s: only 50 more to call into a 150 pot (getting 3-to-1), so completing is profitable with a suited connector; a raise would risk more with a weak hand.

I have 52s in the big blind facing a limp from the small blind; checking to see a free flop is standard.

I have 4d3d on a Th 6s 7c flop, which gives an open-ended straight draw needing a 5 and 8 for a straight, plus backdoor flush potential. Betting the minimum 100 into a 200 pot as the first to act heads-up is a cheap semi-bluff that can win the pot now or build one when I hit.

I only have five-high with no made hand and merely backdoor draws against a lead bet, making this an easy fold.

6-7 offsuit on the button in a 3-handed pot is a playable hand at a cheap price, and calling 100 to win a pot of 250 is worth it. Raising with a marginal hand out of position later is not attractive, so I take the flat call.

Holding pocket nines in the small blind against a button limper, I raise for value and to isolate.

Q7 offsuit is too weak to defend against a 4-big-blind raise, especially with the limper still in the hand.

With 7-6 offsuit on the button, I get about 2:1 on a call (300 to win 600 pot plus my call) and will have position against the small blind's raise. A call is fine, and folding gives up too much equity.

I hold an underpair on a coordinated board with two overcards, making checking out of position the most prudent line.

I have a gutshot straight draw (needs a 9 or 8 for the straight, with 8 and 9 both working) plus backdoor options, and the small blind checked, which signals weakness. Betting about a third of the pot in position gives fold equity and I still have outs if called.

I have an open-ended straight draw plus a pocket pair getting 4:1 pot odds, making a call profitable.

With a middle underpair on a coordinated board out of position, checking to keep the pot controlled is standard.

I have 6-7 on a 4-J-T-2 board, which gives me a gutshot (a 5 or 8 would give a straight, and a 3 or 5 also gives 3-5 draws) plus some backdoor equity. Seat_1 checked the turn after calling the flop, which looks weak, so a semi-bluff bet of 600 into the 1500 pot on the button is reasonable. I'm the button, so I bet after they check.}

We hold an underpair to the two broadway cards on the board without draws, facing a second barrel after BTN limp-called preflop.

Opening standard 2.5x from the button with KJo to apply pressure and play in position.

A-T offsuit is strong enough to three-bet a button open from the small blind. Raising also puts pressure on the opener and denies the big blind a cheap entry.

Q5 offsuit is a weak hand facing a button open and a large SB 3-bet, so calling 950 more out of position is clearly unprofitable.

Facing a large 3-bet from the small blind, KJo suffers from significant reverse implied odds and dominated equity, making folding the most prudent play.

T2 offsuit is too weak to open profitably from the button against two unknown opponents.

T4 offsuit is a weak hand and playing out of position against the big blind is unprofitable. Calling 50 into a 150 pot is tempting, but the hand plays poorly postflop, so I fold.

K2 offsuit on the button in a 3-handed game is a marginal hand that plays poorly out of position postflop. Folding avoids a weak spot, though a raise would also be defensible.

In a blind-versus-blind spot with button folded, A6o is well ahead of an average holding and warrants an open-raise to 3bb for value and initiative.

K6 offsuit is strong enough to defend the big blind against a small-blind raise, especially with position after the flop.

I hold top pair with a gutshot straight draw on an Ace-high board as the preflop aggressor, making a standard 1/3 pot continuation bet.

The small flop bet gives me a good price to continue in position. I have some showdown value against bluffs and a backdoor diamond draw.

I have top pair with a weak kicker and a gutshot straight draw; checking allows me to control the pot size and catch bluffs rather than bloating the pot out of position.

King-high has some showdown value against missed draws, but little equity when called. Checking avoids building a pot after the opponent's flop bet and turn check.

I have top pair with a weak kicker on a board where the flush completed and broadway cards showed up. Checking to control the pot and realize showdown value.

King-high is unlikely to win at showdown against many of the opponent’s checking hands. A river bet can represent a completed flush or a queen and may fold out weak pairs and better king-high hands.

With a weak kicker and no diamond on a three-flush board, top pair is not strong enough to call a 75% pot bet after villain checked back the turn.