Hold'em table

On the button, 74 suited is a reasonable marginal open with position and no rake. A small raise can steal the blinds while keeping the investment modest with a speculative hand.

95 suited is too weak to defend from the small blind against a button raise with the big blind still to act. Folding avoids an unfavorable out-of-position pot.

92o is a very weak hand out of position against a button raise, and calling risks more chips with poor playability. I fold and wait for a better spot.

A7 offsuit is a profitable button open three-handed, with position and an ace blocker. Raising to 2.5 big blinds pressures the blinds while keeping the investment modest.

73o is a very weak hand, especially out of position against a button raise. Folding is the standard play to avoid losing chips with a marginal holding.

Calling costs 150 to contest a final pot of 550, giving favorable odds to defend a suited connector against a button opening range. At 100bb effective, the hand has enough straight and flush potential to continue without inflating the pot out of position.

Our hand has little equity beyond a backdoor flush draw, and this board favors the preflop raiser. Check rather than lead a low-equity bluff out of position.

A small continuation bet leverages my preflop range advantage on this paired board and can fold out underpairs while denying equity to weaker unpaired hands. With no heart or useful backdoor draw, I can slow down against resistance.

With only five-high hole cards and a backdoor flush draw on this paired board, I have too little equity to call out of position. Better draws and blocker hands are available for check-raise bluffs.

In position on the button with pocket sevens, a strong hand heads-up against the blinds. Raising to 2.5x the big blind aims to isolate and take control preflop, define the pot, and apply pressure on the blinds who may defend with weaker ranges.

T6 suited is too weak to defend profitably from the small blind against a 2.5bb raise with the big blind still to act. Poor position and limited connectivity outweigh its suited potential.

Q7 suited is a reasonable big-blind defend against a button open to 2.5bb. Calling costs 150 to contest a final pot of 550, and suitedness improves our equity realization despite being out of position.

Top pair with a weak kicker is a good check-call candidate on this dry flop. Checking keeps the button's weaker hands and bluffs in while avoiding an unnecessary pot build against better queens.

I have middle pair (77) on a Q-9-2 board. Seat 2 checked, but my hand is vulnerable and likely behind if called. Checking controls the pot and lets me reevaluate on the turn.

After the button checks back the flop, top pair can bet for value against weaker pairs and draws. This sizing also denies free equity while keeping the pot manageable with a weak kicker.

With a pair of sevens and position, I'm getting a good price to call and see the river. I can evaluate on the river or take a stab if checked to.

Our weak queen has showdown value, but the river ace improves part of the button's turn-calling range. Checking avoids a thin value bet that is unlikely to get called by enough worse hands.

We have a pair of sevens with showdown value. Betting would only get called by better hands and fold out worse, so checking is best to realize our equity and possibly win against missed draws.

86 offsuit is a marginal button open with limited postflop playability. Without evidence that the blinds overfold, I prefer folding to a speculative steal.

With the button folded, completing the small blind costs only 50 chips for a 200-chip pot. Q3 offsuit is playable heads-up at that price, while limping avoids inflating the pot out of position.

Ace-ten offsuit is strong against a small blind complete with the button already folded; raising builds the pot and isolates the limper.

Q3 offsuit is too weak to defend against this raise out of position. Its poor playability and domination risk make calling unprofitable despite the modest sizing.

A6 suited is a clear button open three-handed. Raising to 2.5 big blinds pressures the blinds while retaining positional advantage and suited-ace equity when called.

J9o is a weak hand out of position against a button raise, folding avoids playing a marginal spot postflop.

Calling costs 150 to contest a final pot of 550, requiring 27.3% equity before accounting for realization. T8 offsuit is a reasonable big-blind defense against a typical wide button opening range, especially with no rake.

With ten-high and no meaningful draw on this dry queen-high flop, checking avoids investing in a weak hand. This board generally favors the preflop raiser, so leading is unattractive.

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

Ten-high has no direct draw, and the king improves many hands in the button's flop-checking range. Checking avoids investing in a low-equity bluff on a turn that favors the preflop raiser.

My pair has showdown value, but betting is unlikely to get called by many worse hands or fold out better pairs. Checking behind keeps the pot controlled and lets me reassess on the river.

Ten-high has little showdown value, and the button's two checks suggest a range containing many weak hands. A roughly two-thirds-pot bluff can fold out ace-high and other better unpaired hands while credibly representing a pair or better.

Calling needs about 29% equity, and after both streets checked through, the river bet can include missed draws and other bluffs. A pair of sixes is a reasonable bluff-catcher that leaves the missed heart draws unblocked.

Button with K3o; raising to 2x to steal blinds, as the hand is too weak to call but has steal equity.

42 offsuit is too weak to defend from the small blind against a raise, especially with the big blind still to act. Folding avoids investing more chips with poor equity realization out of position.

The button's minimum raise gives me 3.5-to-1 pot odds. With no rake and a potentially wide opening range, J4 offsuit is strong enough for a low-cost big-blind defense.

J-high with no diamond and little draw potential is a poor lead on this paired board. Checking keeps the pot small and lets us respond to the preflop raiser's action.

K-high missed and has little showdown value; a small c-bet on this paired board can fold out BB's unpaired air and overcards, and we can reevaluate if called.

J-high with no diamond and no immediate straight draw is too weak to continue against this bet. Out of position, we have little showdown value or reliable opportunity to improve.