Hold'em table

On the button, a small open can win the blinds immediately and 7-5 offsuit is playable at this short-handed position. I use a modest size to limit the cost when called or reraised.

A8o in the SB facing a button open in 3-handed play is a standard 3-bet; raising to 4x the open out of position puts pressure on a wide button range and avoids playing a bloated multiway pot OOP.

Holding 4-2 offsuit in the big blind facing a raise and a reraise, this hand is far too weak to continue.

7♥5♦ is far too weak to continue against a large 3-bet; calling would require substantial equity and leave me out of position postflop.

JTs on the button in a 3-handed game is a clear open-raise; raising to 2.5bb takes initiative with a strong suited connector.

K3s is too weak to continue out of position against a button raise, even with 2:1 pot odds; folding avoids playing a dominated hand.

K9 offsuit is a reasonable big-blind defend against a button raise, and the price is favorable. I’ll call and see the flop.

Bet small for value and protection with top pair while charging Jx and heart draws. This sizing keeps weaker hands in and avoids building a large pot with a modest kicker.

Middle pair with a gutshot (Q) on a K-high board; a small donk bet of 180 into 550 gives good odds to call and see the turn with a decent hand in position.

Top pair with a useful heart draw is strong enough to continue, but checking out of position lets the preflop raiser act and avoids building a large pot against a range that can contain stronger kings or made hands.

Turned two pair (jacks and tens) on a wet board with three hearts; opponent donked flop then checked turn, so bet for value and protection against Kx, straight draws and single-heart hands while keeping sizing moderate given flush possibilities.

Call with top pair and a strong combo draw: the nine of hearts gives a flush draw, and a queen can complete a straight. The price is reasonable, while raising risks isolating against stronger made hands.

The river ace makes a king pair unlikely to be strong enough for a value bet, and checking preserves showdown value without risking a raise. A check also lets weaker holdings reach showdown.

Two pair J-T on a board where any Q makes a straight and three hearts complete a flush; opponent's check-call turn then check river could easily be a trap. Checking back takes a free showdown with a hand that mostly beats missed draws but gets little value from worse.

Open-raising from the button with 87o applies pressure on the blinds, takes initiative, and uses position; a small 2.5x raise risks little while denying cheap flops.

J5 suited is too weak to defend from the small blind against a button raise, especially with the big blind still to act.

9-4 offsuit is a weak, unconnected hand out of position against a button open; folding is standard despite decent pot odds.

As the button in a three-handed game, 7♠8♠ is a profitable opening hand. A modest raise applies pressure while keeping the pot manageable.

Pocket nines in the small blind facing a button open to 2.5bb; 3-betting to 8bb is standard to deny the BB and take initiative with a strong pair out of position, rather than calling and playing a squeezable multiway pot.

Facing a button raise and a small-blind three-bet with a weak offsuit T7o, folding is clearly best from the big blind.

Calling in position with a playable suited connector; the price and deep effective stacks make continuing preferable to folding, while a 4-bet would be too ambitious.

3-bet pot out of position with 99 on a dry paired J-3-3 board; a small c-bet denies equity from overcards and gets value from pairs and floats while keeping the pot manageable.

The 550 bet is small relative to the pot, and my position plus six potential pair-improving cards give enough reason to continue against a wide c-betting range.

99 is a marginal showdown hand on J-3-3-4 after the button called a 3-bet and a flop c-bet; betting again mostly folds out worse and gets called by Jx/overpairs, so I check to control the pot and bluff-catch selectively.

With no meaningful showdown value, I’ll use a half-pot turn bluff after the preflop raiser checked, targeting their unpaired overcards. This sizing applies pressure without committing too much of my stack.

Pot odds ~25% with a pocket pair above most of the button's flop-calling range (underpairs, flush/straight draws after 4h, floats). Checking turn invited a stab, so calling a half-pot bet is correct; raising only gets action from Jx and better.

Medium-strength bluff-catcher (99 on 33J42 board) out of position; betting for value is thin as villain's turn-betting range includes Jx, overpairs, and straights, so check and decide against his river action.

With only eight-high and no useful blockers, a river bluff is unlikely to fold the opponent after they called my turn bet. I’ll take the free showdown rather than risk more chips.

AQo on the button in a 3-handed game is a strong hand; open-raise to 2.5bb to build the pot and take initiative.

T5s is a weak offsuit-ish hand from the small blind facing a button raise; folding avoids playing a dominated hand out of position.

65 offsuit is a marginal but playable big-blind defense against a button raise, and the price is favorable heads-up. Calling keeps weaker hands in the raiser’s range without inflating the pot out of position.

With 6♣5♥ on K♠8♠2♦, I have no immediate draw and little showdown value. Check and preserve chips rather than bluffing into the preflop raiser.

We have the preflop raiser's range advantage on a K-high dry board with an overcard and backdoor equity; a small continuation bet folds out many hands that checked to us and keeps our range uncapped.

I have no pair, no spade, and only a remote runner-runner straight draw. Facing a sizable bet, calling has too little equity.

Small pair on the button; calling 100 to set-mine with position and deep stacks offers good implied odds.

Pocket nines are strong three-handed and the button has limped, so I raise for value and to discourage the big blind from entering cheaply. A 450-chip total is a substantial isolation size without overcommitting preflop.

J4 suited is too weak to call a 4.5x raise out of position from the big blind with a limper still behind who may also call or raise; folding loses only the blind.

With a small pair and position, calling 350 more offers good implied odds to flop a set against the small blind's raise. Folding would forfeit a hand with set-mining potential in a 3-handed game.

Nines are a medium-strength showdown hand on a queen-high, two-heart flop. Checking keeps the pot controlled and avoids value-owning myself against stronger queens while retaining the option to respond to a bet.

I flopped a set of threes on a draw-heavy board. Betting for value and to charge flush and straight draws.

99 is a reasonable bluff-catcher against a wide button betting range, and the price requires only about 29% equity. Calling keeps weaker pairs and heart draws in while avoiding an unnecessary raise with a medium-strength hand.

With a medium-strength pair on a queen-high, draw-heavy board, checking keeps the pot manageable and preserves showdown value without value-owning myself against stronger hands.

I flopped a set of threes and the turn is safe enough; betting around 75% pot targets Qx and heart draws for value while protecting my hand.

99 still has enough showdown value to continue against possible heart draws and weaker pairs, and the turn bet offers reasonable pot odds. Raising would likely isolate me against stronger hands.

With pocket nines on a queen-high board, I have reasonable showdown value but little value in betting and risk being raised by stronger hands. I’ll take the free showdown.

I flopped a set of threes and have been value betting; the river is a blank, so I bet for value targeting Qx and stubborn pairs, sizing to induce a call.

I have a credible bluff-catcher and need to win only about 29% of the time. Missed heart and diamond draws, as well as some thinner value bets, make a call worthwhile despite the opponent’s strong line.