Hold'em table

Pocket aces on the button, first to act. A standard 2.5bb open builds the pot and keeps weaker hands in.

8-high offsuit is too weak to defend from the small blind against an open with the big blind still behind.

Q2 offsuit has poor playability out of position and is too easily dominated by a button opening range.

Q6 offsuit is a reasonable button open in a three-handed game, leveraging position and initiative. Raising to 2.5bb puts pressure on the blinds while keeping the risk modest.

Eight-seven offsuit is too weak to call a button raise from the small blind with the big blind still to act.

KTo in the big blind facing a 2.5x button open is a clear defend, since we get 150 to win 400. Calling is better than 3-betting because it keeps the hand in a manageable spot and avoids folding out worse hands.

The open-ended straight draw plus a king overcard is strong, but out of position against the preflop raiser the standard play is to check to his range. I plan to check-raise or call a c-bet.

Betting top pair for value and protection on this coordinated board after the big blind checks.

Open-ended straight draw (any 9 or A) plus king overcard, getting 350 into 900 against a small c-bet. Calling keeps the button's range wide and realizes equity well in position-disadvantaged spot without bloating the pot.

With an open-ended straight draw and a king overcard out of position, checking keeps the pot controlled. It also lets me see whether the button bets, and I can then decide between calling for implied odds and check-raising as a semi-bluff.

Betting top pair for value while charging the many straight and club draws that can call the flop.

I have an open-ended straight draw (an A or 9 gives me the nuts) plus a king overcard. That is about 8 clean outs with good implied odds, against pot odds of roughly 26%, so calling is profitable.

K-high rarely wins at showdown against a double-barreling range. The check-call, check-call line followed by a river lead after the Qc credibly represents a flush or trips. The Tc also blocks some flushes, so a lead can fold out Jx and pairs.

We have trip queens and excellent pot odds against potential missed/bluffed or overplayed Jx hands. A raise risks value-owning ourselves against full houses while folding weaker hands.

K7 offsuit is strong enough to open on the button in a three-handed game. Raising gives me a chance to win the blinds and keeps the initiative if called.

Q5 offsuit is too weak to defend from the small blind against a button open when the big blind is still left to act behind me. Folding is standard.

QTo is a reasonable defend against a button min-raise with excellent pot odds, especially heads-up after the small blind folds.

Check to the preflop raiser with two overcards on this paired board and retain flexibility versus a continuation bet.

A small continuation bet pressures overcards and weaker unpaired hands while keeping the pot manageable with king-high and some backdoor potential.

Q-high with no pair or meaningful draw is too weak to continue against the button's flop bet on a paired board.

QTo is a clear open from the button in 3-handed play; a standard 2.5bb raise takes the initiative and positional advantage.

Q9 suited is a playable defending hand from the small blind versus a small button open, especially with the big blind still in. Calling keeps weaker hands and dominated queens in while preserving flexibility.

Nine-three suited is too weak to defend out of position against a raise and a caller, despite the favorable pot odds.

Top pair on a paired board is a strong value/protection hand heads-up. I use a modest continuation-sized bet to get called by worse queens and draws while controlling variance.

Top pair with a decent kicker on a dry paired board is well ahead of the small blind's range when it donk-leads. Calling keeps its bluffs in and controls the pot size against better queens and trips.

Betting top pair for value and protection on this paired, draw-heavy board. A substantial sizing can be called by worse queens, jacks, and straight draws.

Top pair with a ten kicker on a paired board is a solid bluff-catcher against the small blind's barrel, and calling 900 into 2300 needs only about 28% equity. Raising would mostly fold out worse hands and get called by better ones.

Our Q gives queens and jacks, but the paired board means a river bet is unlikely to be called by many worse hands and can be punished by stronger queens, jacks, trips, or full houses. Check back for showdown value.

Queens and jacks with a ten kicker has solid showdown value, but after villain barreled and then checked, the worse hands that call a bet are few and trips or better queens beat us. Checking back realizes our equity.

5-4 offsuit is too weak to open from the button under a straightforward chip-maximizing strategy.

32 offsuit plays poorly out of position against the big blind, so I’ll avoid investing more chips.

A3 offsuit is strong enough to open from the button three-handed. A 2.5-big-blind raise pressures the blinds while keeping the pot manageable.

94o in the small blind facing a button open, with the big blind still to act, is a clear fold. Calling out of position with a weak offsuit hand loses money.

Defend the big blind getting favorable pot odds against a button min-raise with a connected, live hand.

With no pair and limited showdown value on this paired board, checking is the prudent option.

A small continuation bet on this dry paired board can fold out some unpaired hands while risking little with ace-high.

With only T-high on a paired queen board and no meaningful draw, folding to the continuation bet is best.