Hold'em table

With suited 5-3 on the button, a small opening raise can profitably contest the blinds while limiting risk. Position and some straight-and-flush potential help when called.

7-3 offsuit is too weak to defend against a button raise from the small blind, especially with the big blind still to act. Folding avoids investing more chips with poor equity and positional disadvantage.

Facing a 2.2x button open with Q5o in the big blind, I need 120 to win 370 (about 25% equity); Q5o is marginal but getting this price with position closed, a defend is reasonable against a wide button range.

Q5 with a weak flush draw (5s) and no pair on a 9-8-7 two-tone board; checking to the preflop raiser is standard, and I can evaluate a continuation bet with my backdoor/flush equity.

This connected, two-spade flop strongly connects with the big blind's calling range, and our hand has very little equity or useful blockers. Check back rather than bluff with a poor candidate.

Button checked back a very wet 987 flop, signaling weakness; the paired 9 on the turn favors my BB defending range of connectors, so a 60% pot bluff should fold out most of his overcards and weak pairs while my Q-high has no showdown value.

With only the board's pair and no meaningful draw, this hand has far too little equity to call. It also lacks useful blockers for a bluff raise against a board that favors the big blind's range.

K3 offsuit is a reasonable marginal button open three-handed. A small raise pressures the blinds while limiting investment with a weak kicker.

KTs in the small blind facing a button open of 2.25bb; 3-betting to ~7.5bb is standard vs a wide button range and avoids playing out of position in a multiway pot with the big blind.

J5 offsuit is too weak to continue against an open and a three-bet, especially with the original raiser still to act. Folding avoids investing more chips with poor equity and playability.

K3 offsuit is too weak to continue against the small blind's three-bet, despite having position. Its poor playability and frequent domination make folding preferable to calling or bluffing.

T4 suited on the button in a 3-handed game is a reasonable open-raise with position; raising 2.5x steals blinds often and plays well postflop.

76 offsuit is too weak to defend from the small blind against a 2.5bb button raise, with the big blind still to act. Poor equity realization out of position makes calling unattractive, and this hand is a weak three-bet bluff candidate.

Calling costs 150 to contest a final pot of 550, giving favorable odds against a typically wide button opening range. With no rake, 97 offsuit has enough equity and straight potential to defend the big blind.

This ace-high flop favors the preflop raiser's range, so checking is preferable to leading with nine-high. My gutshot to a six provides some potential to improve.

Heads-up on the button as preflop raiser on a dry A-high board; a half-pot c-bet with T4s (backdoor diamonds, gutshot-ish with 4) takes it down often against a BB caller who checked.

I have only nine-high and a four-out gutshot, with no backdoor flush draw. Facing a half-pot bet out of position, my equity realization is too poor to justify calling.

85 offsuit is too weak for a standard button open against two opponents at 100bb depth. Without evidence that the blinds overfold, folding is preferable to raising or limping.

Completing costs only 50 chips into a 150-chip pot, and T8 offsuit has enough equity and playability heads-up to continue. Limping keeps the pot small while out of position.

Q6 offsuit in the big blind facing a limp from the small blind; checking to see a free flop is fine, and raising this weak hand out of position gains little.

With only ten-high and weak backdoor straight potential on a paired, two-club board, I prefer checking out of position rather than building the pot with a low-equity bluff.

Q6o on a paired JJK board with a gutshot only; SB limped and checked. Small pot, no need to bluff into a board where SB could hold a J or K; take a free card to the ten.

With almost no showdown value, I can profitably probe the opponent’s weak flop-checking range. The third club is a credible scare card, and this sizing needs folds only about 39% of the time.

Q6 offsuit with no club on a paired, three-flush board (J-K-J-5 with three clubs) has almost no equity against a turn bet; folding loses nothing further.

Opening for a minimum raise leverages button position and a king blocker to contest the blinds cheaply. K4 offsuit is marginal, so the small sizing limits exposure while preserving steal equity.

J8o in the small blind facing a button min-raise with the big blind still to act is a marginal, out-of-position hand; folding avoids playing a dominated holding OOP.

Calling costs 100 to contest a 450-chip pot, giving favorable odds to defend A2 offsuit against a button min-raise. The hand has sufficient equity against a typical button opening range, while a raise would unnecessarily inflate the pot out of position.

This king-queen-high flop favors the preflop raiser's range, and A2 has little improvement potential. Checking avoids inflating the pot out of position while retaining some ace-high showdown value.

A small continuation bet extracts value from queens and weaker pairs while charging straight draws. This dry, high-card flop favors my preflop raising range, so there is no need for a large bet.

Ace-high with a weak kicker and no backdoor flush draw is a poor out-of-position continuation on a board favoring the button's range. Despite the small bet, our limited improvement prospects and difficulty realizing equity make folding preferable.

Pocket threes on the button in a 3-handed game with 100bb stacks is a standard open-raise; raising to 2.5bb takes initiative and plays well in position against the blinds.

62 offsuit is too weak to defend against a button raise from the small blind, with poor equity realization and the big blind still to act.

J2 offsuit is too weak to defend against a 2.5bb button raise at 100bb depth. Its poor playability and domination risk make calling out of position unattractive.