Hold'em table

43 offsuit is too weak to profitably open from the button against two unknown opponents at 100bb depth. Folding avoids investing in a hand with poor high-card strength and limited drawing potential.

Q5 offsuit is a weak hand from the small blind. Out of position against a big blind who will see a flop cheaply, folding is a reasonable choice, though calling 50 more is close. I'll fold to avoid playing a weak hand out of position.

QJo on the button in 3-handed play is a strong hand, so raising to 300 for value and position is better than flatting.

I hold 5c9c on the button with a min-raise to 300 facing me. This is a weak speculative hand that does not play well postflop out of position, so folding is the disciplined play.

J8 suited is a reasonable big-blind defense against a button open, with suited and straight potential. Calling costs 200 into a 450-chip pot and keeps the pot manageable while playing out of position.

Check to the preflop raiser with a flush draw and backdoor straight potential. This preserves flexibility to call or check-raise depending on their bet size without unnecessarily building the pot out of position.

Heads-up on a dry low flop (2h 7d 6d) with the button and two overcards, I'm betting about half the pot as a semi-bluff. The big blind checked, so he may fold hands that beat me, and I still have outs if called.

Calling costs 350 into a 1,000-chip pot, giving favorable odds with a jack-high flush draw and two potential overcard outs. Keeping the pot manageable also avoids being reraised off a draw that can improve substantially.

Top pair plus a flush draw is a strong check-call candidate against the preflop aggressor. Checking keeps weaker hands and bluffs in their range while avoiding unnecessarily inflating the pot with a modest kicker.

I have top pair with a good kicker (Jh Qs on 2h 7d 6d Jc... top pair jacks with queen kicker). The opponent checked again on the turn, so a bet of about half the pot should get value from weaker pairs and draws.}

Top pair plus a flush draw provides ample equity to call 700 into a 2050 pot. Calling keeps weaker hands and bluffs in the opponent's range without inflating the pot against stronger made hands.

Top pair with a modest kicker has showdown value, but leading is unlikely to get enough calls from worse hands. Checking keeps the opponent's bluffs available and avoids building the pot against stronger jacks or overpairs.

Top pair with a jack on a dry board; the opponent checked every street and only called bets, so a capped range of weak pairs and draws should call a thin value bet of about a third of the pot.

Top pair is strong enough to bluff-catch against this small river bet, which requires only about 20% equity to call. Although my diamonds block some missed draws, the opponent can still have enough bluffs or weaker value bets; raising would mostly isolate stronger hands.

I have a suited 4-9 on the button with no prior investment. Calling 100 chips keeps me in the hand with a cheap draw and position, rather than folding a playable hand or raising with limited equity.

AJs is strong enough to raise for value against a button limp. Raising to 5bb charges the limper and discourages the big blind from joining while compensating for playing out of position.

3c5s is a weak offsuit hand facing a 5x raise from the small blind with a caller still to act behind me. Calling 400 out of position is not profitable, so I fold.

With 4h9h on the button facing a raise to 500, the pot odds don't justify continuing preflop with a speculative hand; I'll fold to preserve my stack for better spots.

J8 offsuit is a reasonable button open three-handed. Raising to 2.5 big blinds can win the blinds immediately and gives us position if called.

K7o out of position in the small blind facing a button open and a big blind still to act is a weak hand; calling 200 more risks being dominated, so I fold.

I have a pocket pair of threes, which has decent potential to improve. The opponent raised to 250 and I only need to call 150 more, which is a reasonable price to see a flop with a small pair.

I have a pocket pair of threes and the board is As-5h-Qd, so I want to control the pot and see if my opponent has a weak hand. Checking is free and keeps my options open for the turn.

This dry ace-high flop favors my preflop raising range, making a small continuation bet an efficient bluff. It can fold out many unpaired hands while risking relatively little.

I have a set of threes on a dry A-5-Q flop, which is a strong hand. Calling 175 into a 725 pot keeps me in the hand without overcommitting before seeing how the turn develops.

I have a pair of threes with a backdoor flush draw on a dry board; checking keeps the pot small and avoids building a big hand for seat_1's continuation bet.

I have no pair or meaningful draw, and the turn does little to weaken the opponent's flop-calling range. Checking avoids investing more in a low-equity bluff.

Board is paired with two diamonds and I hold a small pair; checking keeps the pot manageable and avoids building a big pot with a marginal hand. I'll let seat_1 act first and decide based on their river action.

Jack-high has almost no showdown value, and the river diamond gives a credible opportunity to represent a flush. A three-quarter-pot bluff targets weaker pairs and missed draws after the opponent checked both later streets.

I hold a pair of threes, which is unlikely to beat a river raise on this board, so calling 675 to see a showdown is a low-EV decision. Folding preserves my remaining stack for better spots.

T6 offsuit is a weak hand out of position postflop against two players who still have to act behind or in blinds; folding is the disciplined choice, though calling 100 into a 150 pot is close.

I hold Jd 4c, a weak offsuit hand that is unlikely to win against the small blind's preflop raise. Folding preserves my stack rather than calling 50 chips with poor equity.

Calling the big blind with 8c7d in position is a standard play; I can control the pot size and see a flop cheaply.

Despite the favorable completion price, 5-3 offsuit realizes equity poorly out of position against two opponents. Folding avoids a marginal investment with the big blind still able to raise.

2-6 offsuit is a very weak hand, so I take the free flop by checking my big blind rather than bloating the pot.

I hold a pair of sixes with a 2 kicker on an 8-8-6 board, which is a decent hand heads-up against a button player who only limped. A small bet of about 60% of the pot takes the initiative, gets value from worse hands such as 6x, 7x and overcards, and charges draws.}

I have top set with 8c on 8s 8d 6s, which is a very strong hand. Calling 150 keeps the pot manageable while I assess the opponent's range on this dry board.

I have two pair (sixes and eights) on a paired, connected board, so I'm vulnerable to a 9x or 7x hand and to any 8 or better that beats me. Checking keeps the pot small and gets me to showdown cheaply while the button's range may include stronger hands.}

Board is paired with 8s and 8d, and my 8c gives me top set; checking lets me control pot size and induce bluffs or value bets from seat_2 without building a big pot with a made hand.

I hold a pair of sixes plus an eight-pair board, so two pair (8s and 6s) with a 6 kicker issue... board 8-8-6-9-K gives me 8s and 6s with a K kicker. The opponent checked back the turn, so they are likely weak. A small value bet of 300 into 550 should get called by worse eights or sixes-and-nines type hands like 9x or K-high hands.}

I have a set of 8s on a board with a 9h and Kh, giving me a strong hand. Calling 300 chips is profitable against likely bluffs or weaker hands.