Hold'em table

Suited 9-7 is a profitable button open three-handed, with position and good postflop playability. Raising to 2.5 big blinds pressures the blinds without committing too much with a speculative hand.

Pocket queens is strong 3-handed; I reraise for value and to isolate, keeping the pot manageable against a possible premium hand.

AKo is well ahead of a 3-handed SB 3-bet range. A 4-bet to 23bb builds the pot with a premium hand, avoids playing out of position in a multiway pot, and still leaves room to continue if the opener cold 4-bets or someone jams.

97 suited is too weak to continue against a three-bet and a cold four-bet. The expensive call, limited implied odds, and risk of further action from the small blind make folding best.

A6o is a clear raise from the small blind against the big blind alone. A 3x open takes initiative and plays well with an ace blocker.

Calling costs 200 to contest a 600-chip pot, and a small-blind opening range can be wide. With position postflop and no rake, 7-5 offsuit is a marginal but reasonable blind defense.

This connected, two-tone board hits the big blind's calling range hard, and out of position my ace-high gutshot works better as a check than as a c-bet. I'll keep the pot small and see how they act.

With no showdown value and an open-ended straight draw, this is a good semibluff after the small blind checks. A two-thirds-pot bet can fold out unpaired overcards while building a pot for favorable turns.

A6 offsuit on a very wet 9-T-8 board has only a weak gutshot to the 7, and it would be the low end of the straight, plus ace-high. That is nowhere near the 28.6% equity needed to call the 400 bet out of position, so folding is best.

In a 3-handed game, a pocket pair on the button is a clear open-raise; a 2.5bb open takes the blinds or sets up set-mining in position.

Pocket kings are a premium value three-bet against a button open. Raising to 1100 builds the pot while charging opponents to continue when we will be out of position.

T9 offsuit is far too weak to call a 3-bet out of position; folding loses the least.

With 33 in position and about 89bb effective behind, the 8.5bb call gets roughly 10:1 implied odds for set mining against a 3-bet range that should stack off often. Calling beats folding here, and 4-betting would turn a small pair into a bluff.

Top set is strong enough to build the pot, and this board favors my three-betting range. A roughly one-third-pot bet can extract value from weaker pairs and straight draws while keeping a wide range of hands involved.

A pair of 33 on a KQJ board facing a 3-bettor's c-bet is far behind his range and has only 2 outs. It also can't profitably bluff-raise, so folding is best.

32 offsuit is near the bottom of the button range, with poor equity and playability against two blinds. Without evidence that opponents overfold, folding is preferable to limping or raising.

T5o heads-up in the small blind; calling 50 more is cheap and folding gives up too much equity against the big blind.

K6o is ahead of a typical small-blind limping range, so I'm raising for value and to take the initiative while in position. Raising also gives me a chance to win the pot preflop.

T5o is far too weak to call a 4bb raise out of position; folding is clearly best.

Blind vs blind, 86o has enough playability to open from the small blind. A 3x raise puts pressure on the big blind's wide range.

Against a typically wide small-blind opening range, Q5 offsuit is strong enough to defend at 2-to-1 pot odds. Position postflop supports calling rather than folding or inflating the pot with a weak three-bet.

Open-ended straight draw (any 5 or T) as the preflop raiser on a paired board, so a small one-third-pot c-bet works as a semi-bluff. It can take the pot now, and if called we still have strong equity.

Q-high with a weak kicker and no meaningful draw is a poor continuation even against this small bet. There are stronger hands and better bluff candidates in my range.

A4o is a clear opening hand on the button in a 3-handed game, so a standard 2.5bb open is right. It steals the blinds often and plays well in position when called.

76 offsuit is too weak to defend against a 2.5bb button raise from the small blind. Poor equity realization out of position and the big blind's ability to squeeze make calling unattractive.

KJs plays well heads-up against a 2.5x open; calling keeps the pot manageable in position disadvantage but the hand has strong equity.

I have K-high on a dry paired board with position; checking keeps the pot small and avoids bloating it out of position against the preflop raiser.

A4 has a gutshot to the wheel, an overcard, and a backdoor diamond draw on a dry paired board that favors the preflop raiser. A small c-bet gets folds from many of the big blind's hands and keeps our equity when called.

King-high with no draw on a paired board facing a bet; folding is clearly cheapest.