Hold'em table

K2 offsuit on the button in a 3-handed game is a reasonable steal-raise candidate; folding to a call is fine, but a small raise puts pressure on both blinds and takes the initiative.

Holding 53 offsuit in the small blind facing a button open is an easy standard fold.

T5 suited has enough equity to defend the big blind against a button open at this price, though playing out of position favors calling over raising.

I have no pair or immediate draw on this dry flop, so I’ll check and avoid building the pot.

Top pair with a king on a Q-high dry board, heads up in position; BB checked. A half-pot bet gets value from worse queens-less hands and denies equity to overcards and draws. Kd is the second-best card, so the hand is decent but not strong enough for big sizing.

Ten-five has no pair or immediate draw on this flop. Out of position against the bet, calling is unlikely to realize enough equity.

T6s is slightly too weak to open profitably from the button even in 3-handed play. Folding is the cleanest disciplined play.

J8 suited is strong enough to raise heads-up against the big blind. Raising to 300 builds the pot while applying pressure.

Pocket sevens have good value against a small-blind open to 300. Calling 200 more gets about 3-to-1 pot odds with a decent set-mining chance, and there is no need to inflate the pot out of position.

This low flop connects well with the big blind's calling range, and J♠8♠ has little immediate equity. Checking avoids building a pot out of position.

I have top set on a dry 7-2-5 board and the small blind checked. A bet of about two-thirds pot builds the pot while still letting worse pairs and draws call.

J-high has little immediate equity on this flop and no flush draw. Calling 400 out of position against a sizable bet is unlikely to be profitable.

J4 suited is playable from the button three-handed. A 2.5-big-blind raise gives me a chance to win the blinds while keeping the pot manageable.

8-4 offsuit is one of the weakest hands. Out of position in the small blind against a button raise with the big blind still to act, folding is the best choice.

A2o lacks playability and is dominated too often out of position against a button open to justify defending.

T9 offsuit on the button in a 3-handed game is playable, and calling 100 to win a 250 pot gives a good price with position, so I take the cheap flop instead of raising.

I hold AK offsuit in the small blind against a button limper. Raising to 4.5bb builds the pot with a premium holding out of position.

8-5 offsuit plays poorly against a large raise, especially with the button still to act.

T9 offsuit on the button has decent playability, and calling 350 into a 650 pot gives about 2.9-to-1 odds against a small-blind raiser who may be wide. Position postflop makes a call reasonable, while a 3-bet bluff is unnecessary.

C-betting small on a dry, paired board where we hold an uncapped range advantage as the preflop aggressor.

Ten-high with a backdoor straight draw on a paired 3-7-3 board has some equity against a small c-bet (300 into 1000, roughly 23% pot odds). Calling keeps the pot small, and I can still realize equity or pick up a bluff on later streets.

The turn brings trips on board, giving any pair a full house. Checking controls the pot size while retaining strong showdown value with our Ace-King high.

Ten-high on a 3-7-3-3 board has almost no showdown value, and seat_2 checked after betting the flop. Checking behind keeps the pot small and lets me see a free river, since betting would mostly get called only by better hands.

With three treys on board and holding unmatched Ace-King, any pocket pair, 7, 4, or straight beats us. We have showdown value against busted floats and should check.

Board is 3h 7c 3d 3s 4d and I hold T-9 high, which plays as ten-high with the board trips. Seat_2 checked the river after betting the flop and checking the turn, so my hand has little showdown value against most of their range. A bluff seems unlikely to work since they likely hold pairs or better, so I check and take the free showdown.

Q7o is slightly too weak to open profitably from the button even in 3-handed play.

With the button folded, J5 suited is strong enough to raise against the big blind and can win the pot preflop.

AQs is a strong hand in a 3-handed game. Seat_3 raised from the small blind, a wide range, so a 3-bet to 1000 for value from the big blind is reasonable.

J5 suited is too weak to continue against a large three-bet, especially when I'll be out of position postflop.

Q6 offsuit is a reasonable button open three-handed. A small raise uses position without committing too much with a marginal hand.

J5 suited is weak out of position against a button raise with the big blind still to act behind me. Calling 200 more would often leave me dominated and playing out of position, so folding is the disciplined play.

Facing a 2.5bb button open, Q3s is too weak to defend out of position despite decent pot odds.