Hold'em table

Opening suited 7-4 on the button can profit from stealing the blinds and playing in position when called. A small raise limits the cost while preserving postflop maneuverability.

95 suited is too weak to defend profitably from the small blind against a button raise with the big blind still to act. Its limited connectivity and poor position outweigh the benefit of being suited.

Holding 2c9s offsuit out of position against a button raise; too weak to continue.

A7 offsuit is a standard button open three-handed. Raising to 2.5 big blinds pressures the blinds while retaining positional advantage if called.

3c7s is a very weak hand, especially out of position against a button raise. Folding preserves chips for better opportunities.

Calling costs 150 into a 400-chip pot, giving favorable odds to defend 5♣4♣ against a button opening range. At 100 big blinds deep, this suited connector has enough equity and postflop potential to justify a call.

This paired, high-card flop favors the preflop raiser, and my hand has very little equity or useful draw potential. Checking avoids investing chips in a low-quality bluff out of position.

Ace-high has some showdown value, but without a heart or useful backdoor draw this is a good hand to check back. Taking a free turn controls the pot and avoids a check-raise.

With virtually no showdown value, I can use this hand as a turn bluff after the raiser checked back the flop. A roughly two-thirds-pot bet pressures unpaired hands and some small pocket pairs in their weakened range.

Ace-high with a weak kicker and no meaningful draw is a poor bluff-catcher against this substantial turn bet. With limited improvement potential and possible river pressure, folding is preferable.

Pocket sevens are a strong hand in 3-handed play, and raising from the button builds the pot while putting pressure on the blinds.

T6 suited is too weak to defend profitably against a 2.5bb button raise from the small blind. Playing out of position with the big blind still to act makes calling unattractive.

Q7 suited is a profitable big-blind defense against a typical button opening range at this price, needing about 27% equity before accounting for postflop play. Calling preserves its suited-hand potential without inflating the pot out of position.

With top pair and a weak kicker, check to the preflop raiser on this dry board. This keeps weaker hands and bluffs in their range while avoiding an unnecessarily large pot out of position.

Small c-bet with 77 to protect against overcards and get value from 9x/draws; I can fold to a check-raise.

Top pair is strong enough to call this half-pot continuation bet against a wide button range. Raising with a weak kicker would tend to fold out bluffs and draw action from stronger hands.

Top pair with a weak kicker has showdown value but is not strong enough to build a large pot. Checking to the preflop aggressor keeps their bluffs in and avoids isolating against stronger queens.

I have a pair of sevens on a board with a queen and a flush draw. Seat 2 called my flop bet and checked the turn, which could be a trap or a draw. Checking behind controls the pot and gives me a free river card, preserving my stack for a better spot.

Our weak-kicker second pair has showdown value, but betting is unlikely to get enough calls from worse hands. Checking preserves that value and lets the opponent bluff missed draws.

I have a weak pair of sevens. The board has an Ace and Queen, and opponent called flop and checked turn and river. I have showdown value against missed draws, and betting would only get called by better hands. Checking behind is the safe play.

86 offsuit is a marginal button opening hand with limited playability against two opponents. Without evidence that the blinds overfold, folding avoids a weak, potentially dominated investment.

Completing costs only 50 into a 150-chip pot, making Q3 offsuit worth a low-cost entry against the big blind. Limping keeps the pot small with a weak hand that must play out of position.

Heads up with position and a decent Ace-high hand, raising charges the small blind's wide calling range and builds the pot when I likely have the best hand.

Q3 offsuit is a weak, frequently dominated hand with poor equity realization out of position. Calling the raise or bluff-reraising is unlikely to be profitable without evidence that the big blind is exploiting limps.

A6 suited is a clear button open three-handed, with ace-blocker value and nut-flush potential. Raising to 2.5 big blinds pressures the blinds while leveraging position postflop.

J9o is a weak hand out of position against a button raise. Folding avoids difficult postflop decisions and preserves chips.

Calling costs 150 into a 400-chip pot, giving favorable odds against a typical wide button opening range. T8 offsuit has enough equity and connectivity to defend the big blind, though it is too weak for a routine three-bet.

With no pair or meaningful draw on this dry queen-high flop, checking avoids investing with little equity. The preflop raiser has the range advantage, so leading is unattractive.

Middle pair with an ace kicker has useful showdown value on this dry board. Checking behind controls the pot and keeps weaker hands in the opponent's range.

Ten-high has little equity, and the king favors the button's preflop raising range. Checking avoids investing in a low-equity bluff on an unfavorable turn.

Our pair of sixes has showdown value, but betting is unlikely to get much value from worse or fold out better pairs. Checking keeps the pot controlled and lets us reassess in position on the river.

Ten-high has almost no showdown value, and the opponent's checks on both streets suggest a capped range with many ace-high and weak-pair hands. A roughly two-thirds-pot bluff can fold enough of that range while credibly representing a pair or better.

Calling needs about 29% equity, and our two checks give the big blind room to bluff missed draws and unpaired hands. A6 is a reasonable bluff-catcher within our checked-back range and does not block missed heart draws.

K3o is a weak hand but on the button I can try to steal the blinds. Raising to 250 gives me a chance to win the pot immediately or play in position.

42 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 position.

J4 offsuit is too weak to defend profitably against a 2.5bb button raise, given its poor playability and frequent domination out of position.