Hold'em table

With pocket aces on the button, raise for value and to build the pot while charging the blinds to continue.

J6 offsuit is too weak to defend from the small blind against a 3bb button raise, especially with the big blind still to act. Folding avoids investing more chips out of position with poor playability.

9-4 offsuit is a weak hand that plays poorly out of position against a button raise. Calling 200 more to win a 450 pot is not worth it, so I fold.

Nine-four offsuit is too weak to open profitably on the button without evidence that the blinds overfold. Folding avoids investing in a hand with poor playability.

KTs is a strong hand heads-up from the small blind, so a raise to 3bb builds the pot with a hand that plays well against the big blind's range.

Q4 suited is weak but has enough playability to defend the big blind against a small-blind raise at these pot odds. Calling keeps the pot manageable without inflating it out of position.

I have middle pair (tens) with a backdoor/gutshot-ish King kicker, in position-less heads-up as first to act. A bet of about 2/3 pot builds the pot and gets value from worse pairs and draws while denying equity. I'm betting 400 into a 600 pot.}

Top pair is strong enough to continue against a modest bet, while raising risks isolating against better queens or strong draws. I’ll call and keep the pot manageable.

I have top two pair (Kh Th on Qc 2h Tc Ks), which is strong. I bet for value, and the Q-J straight draws and flush-less boards give the opponent hands that can pay. A bet of about half the pot (700 into 1400) builds the pot while keeping worse hands in.

I have a pair of queens and need about 25% equity to call. The turn king improves some of the bettor’s range, but the sizing is modest enough to continue rather than fold immediately.

Top two pair (Kings and Tens) on Q-2-T-K-5 is strong, and I've bet every street. Seat_1 called twice and could hold worse kings, queens, or draws, so I'm betting about half pot for value.

I have top pair and need to win only about 25% of the time to call this half-pot river bet. The opponent can value-bet worse queens or bluff, so folding would be too tight.

Pocket fours on the button in a 3-handed game is a strong enough hand to raise for value and to take the initiative against the blinds.

3♣5♦ is a weak, disconnected offsuit hand from the small blind, and calling 250 more out of position is not worthwhile against the raise.

A5 suited is a strong big-blind defense against a button open, with nut-flush and wheel potential. Calling gets favorable pot odds while keeping the pot manageable out of position.

Check to the preflop aggressor on a board that strongly favors their range. Our two pair has showdown value and a backdoor flush draw, making it a good hand to defend against a reasonable bet rather than lead.

Board is Q-A-Q and I hold a pocket pair of 4s, which beats any hand that missed the board. The big blind checked, so a small bet of about half the pot can get folds from weaker hands like KJ or middle pairs, and it risks little if I am behind.

Our two pair is strong enough to continue against a button continuation bet, which can include many bluffs and weaker pairs. Calling keeps those hands in while avoiding inflating the pot against queens or stronger aces.

I have aces full and will check to the preflop aggressor, allowing another bluff or value bet. Checking also conceals my strength, with a river value bet available if they check behind.

The board is AAQQ, so my 44 only plays as a 4 kicker and loses to almost any opponent hand with a higher card. Betting would only get called by better hands, so I check to see a cheap showdown.

My aces-full loses only to pocket queens. Betting for value targets queens-full and rivered flushes, while checking risks missing value after the turn checked through.

The board is AAQQ2, so my 44 plays only a 4 kicker. Any opponent hole card above a 4 beats me, and Ax, Qx or a club flush crush me. I would need about 30% equity to call 900 into 3050, and I have far less.

A6 suited is a profitable button open three-handed. A raise to 250 applies pressure to the blinds while keeping the sizing modest.

K3 offsuit is too weak to defend from the small blind against a 2.5bb button raise, especially with the big blind still to act. Folding avoids playing a frequently dominated hand out of position.

K6 offsuit is a marginal hand, but the button's 2.5x open is wide and I'm getting 400:150 (about 2.7:1) from the big blind. K-high has some showdown value, so I call rather than fold or bluff-raise out of position.

Kh6d on a JTJ board with a backdoor-ish heart draw (Kh, Jh, Th on board gives a flush draw possibility only backdoor). I have king-high only, so I check out of position and will see what the button does.

With ace-high and only backdoor spade equity on a paired, connected board, checking back preserves showdown value without investing into a board that can connect well with the caller.

I have a king-high flush draw plus a gutshot, about 12 outs. The opponent checked the flop, so a roughly 2/3-pot semi-bluff can win now or improve on the river.

I have only ace-high and no meaningful one-card draw on this paired, coordinated board. The turn bet is too large to continue profitably with such weak showdown value.

K9 suited is a clear button open three-handed. Raising to 2.5 big blinds pressures the blinds while retaining positional advantage and good postflop playability.

K3 offsuit out of position in the small blind facing a button raise to 250, with the big blind still to act behind, is a weak hand that plays poorly and is not worth 200 more chips.

A7 offsuit is a reasonable big-blind defend against a button raise, and the price is favorable with only 150 more to call.

I have only ace-high with no relevant backdoor flush draw on a connected flop, so checking preserves the pot and avoids betting into the caller's range.

Second pair with a strong kicker has solid showdown value but is not strong enough to build a large pot on this draw-heavy board. Checking back controls the pot and keeps weaker hands in the opponent's range.

With ace-high on a disconnected turn after the flop checked through, checking keeps weaker hands and bluffs in and avoids building a pot against pairs. I can reassess if the button bets.

Second pair with a strong kicker can get value from weaker nines, smaller pairs, and draws after two checks. A half-pot bet also denies a free river to overcards while keeping the pot controlled.

A-high has some showdown value against delayed turn bluffs, and the price is reasonable. I’ll call once and reassess on the river.

Ace-high has some showdown value against missed draws, but the river completes the club flush draw and the turn bettor may have a made hand. I’ll avoid bluffing into that range and check.

Second pair has reasonable showdown value, but the river completes the club draw and makes thin value betting unattractive. Checking avoids paying off stronger hands while retaining value against missed draws and weaker pairs.

A9s on the button in a 3-handed game is a strong enough hand to open for a raise to 3bb, with good playability and positional advantage.

K-8 offsuit is a weak hand from the small blind facing a 3bb button raise, with the big blind still to act. Folding avoids a costly, out-of-position call.

J5 offsuit is too weak to defend out of position against a 3bb button raise. Folding avoids investing more with poor playability and frequent domination.