Hold'em table

On the button in a 3-handed game, 53s is a reasonable open-raise hand with suited connectivity and position; a small raise to 2.5bb steals blinds often and plays well postflop.

Q2o is far too weak to defend out of position against a button open.

I hold 4d6d, a weak hand that is unlikely to improve enough to justify calling a raise. Folding preserves my stack against a likely strong hand from the button.

J2o is far too weak to open from the button, even in 3-handed play. Standard fold.

5d 7s is a weak hand, and I'm out of position as the small blind facing a big blind raise. The pot odds don't justify a call with such disconnected cards.

I have As Ks on the button, a strong hand. I want to build the pot and take the initiative, so I raise to 300 to isolate the blinds.

J5 offsuit in the small blind facing a 3x open from the button is a clear fold; it's dominated and plays poorly out of position.

Q4 offsuit is too weak to defend out of position against a 3x raise.

4-3 offsuit on the button in a 3-handed game is a clear fold; it's too weak to open or call profitably.

Q9s is well ahead of an open-folding range from the small blind; raising to 3bb exerts pressure and builds the pot with high playability.

With 6c9h on the button and a raise to 300, the pot odds don't justify continuing. I'll fold to preserve my stack for better spots.

Ten-nine suited is a premium speculative hand on the button in 3-handed play; raising 2.5bb is standard.

7c6d is a weak hand and I'm out of position facing a raise to 250; calling 200 more is too expensive without enough equity to justify it.

Pocket deuces in the big blind facing a 2.5x button open with deep stacks; calling to set-mine is profitable with ~66:1 implied odds, while folding or 3-betting is worse.

Pocket deuces on a paired 4-7-4 board is a weak underpair; out of position against the preflop raiser, checking keeps the pot small and lets me see the button's action before committing chips.

C-betting approximately one-third pot on a dry, paired board where we hold range advantage as the preflop raiser.

Small third-pot c-bet on a dry paired board from a wide button range; 22 is ahead of many unpaired overcard hands and gets a good price to see the turn, planning to fold to further big aggression.

Pocket deuces on 4-7-4-5 is a weak pair with only a gutshot to a wheel; checking keeps the pot small and lets me see what the aggressor does, planning to fold to a big bet and call small ones with my outs.

I picked up a diamond flush draw on the turn; checking behind guarantees seeing the river card cleanly and avoids facing a check-raise.

Pocket deuces on 4-7-4-5-T is just two pair (4s and 2s) with a 10 kicker, beaten by any pair or overcards playing the board; villain checked back turn so a bet has little value and I can't call a raise. Check and see a cheap showdown.

Rivering top pair provides solid showdown value, but betting risks running into a better ten, trips, or a straight while worse hands may not call. Checking behind is safe and standard.

I have Jh-As, a playable suited hand with backdoor potential. The pot is 150 and I only need to call 100, giving me good odds to see a flop. I'll play straightforwardly and keep the table quiet.

7-4 offsuit is weak, but completing from the small blind for 50 into a 250 pot gives 5:1 odds against a limper, and the hand plays fine multiway with implied odds; folding is also reasonable but the price is too good.

Holding weak offsuit cards in the big blind with no further bet to call, taking a free flop is the standard play.

7-high with a gutshot (6 for a straight) on a 3-Q-5 board in a limped pot; checking is free and keeps my draw cheap while avoiding bloating the pot out of position with a weak hand.

I have nine-high with minimal equity on a Queen-high flop in a three-way pot, so checking for free is standard.

I have a backdoor flush draw and a gutshot straight draw with Jh-As on this dry board, but leading out of position is risky. Checking keeps the pot small and lets me see a free turn card while preserving the option to bluff or value-bet later.

Holding 7-4 offsuit on a 3-Q-5-9 board I have only a gutshot to the 6; the pot is tiny and checked around, so I take a free card rather than bluff into two opponents.

I hit second pair with a weak kicker on the turn in a multiway pot; checking keeps the pot small and allows me to see a river or evaluate button's action.

Board is paired with a flush draw and I hold the nut flush draw plus a backdoor straight draw; checking keeps the pot small and lets me realize equity without paying a raise. If opponent bets I can call or fold depending on bet size.

7-high can never win at showdown, so checking has ~zero EV. The river completed a flush on a board that was checked through three times, giving a cheap 200-into-300 bluff decent fold equity against two players who have shown no strength.

Third pair with a weak kicker facing a bet multiway with another player left to act is an easy fold.

I have top pair with the Ace kicker on a board that completed a heart flush. The opponent's river raise and comment suggest they are representing the flush, but my hand is strong enough to call the 200 chip bet. Folding would be too cautious given the pot odds and my hand strength.