Hold'em table

Raise for value with pocket aces from the button, using a standard 2.5× big blind sizing to build the pot while keeping weaker hands in.

J6 offsuit is too weak to defend against a button raise from the small blind, especially with the big blind still to act. Folding avoids a poorly playable, out-of-position pot.

9-4 offsuit is a weak hand. Calling 150 out of position against a button raise would lose chips in the long run, so I fold and save the rest of my stack.

Nine-four offsuit is too weak to open profitably on the button without evidence that the blinds overfold. Folding avoids investing in a hand with poor equity and playability.

KTs is a strong hand heads-up against the big blind after the button folded. Raising to 3bb from the small blind builds the pot with a hand that plays well.

Q4 suited is too weak to continue against a sizable small-blind raise; the pot odds do not make a call worthwhile.

Pocket fours on the button in a 3-handed game is a strong hand, so I raise to 3bb for value and to take position against the blinds.

3♣5♦ is a weak offsuit hand, and calling a 3bb button raise from the small blind would leave me out of position with poor equity.

A5 suited is a strong three-bet candidate against a button open: it blocks premium ace hands and retains nut-flush and wheel potential when called. Raising to 1100 applies pressure while accounting for playing out of position.

Pocket 4s on the button facing a 3-bet to 1100 after my open to 300. Calling 800 more has decent pot odds and set-mining value with deep stacks, and a 4-bet bluff is unnecessary. Folding gives up too much equity.

A small continuation bet leverages my preflop range advantage on this paired, ace-high board and can get calls from worse pocket pairs. It keeps the pot manageable with my weak ace while preserving options against a raise.

Pocket fours on a Q-A-Q board is a marginal bluff-catcher. Seat 2's 550 bet into 2800 is about 1/5 pot and needs only about 16% equity to call. They 3-bet preflop, so the range is strong, but this price is good and I have position, so I call rather than raise or fold.

My aces-full is beaten only by pocket queens. A small value bet can get calls from queens and some pocket pairs while building the pot without forcing weaker hands out.

Board is Q-A-Q-A with my pocket 4s, so my hand plays as two pair (aces and queens) with a 4 kicker, and I only beat hands that lack an ace or queen. Calling 1000 into a pot of 4350 needs about 19% equity. The opponent has been betting every street, so a bluff or weaker-pair bet is plausible, which makes calling better than folding. Raising would only get called by better hands.}

I have aces full of queens, losing only to pocket queens. A roughly two-thirds-pot value bet targets queens full and flushes while remaining easier to call than an oversized shove.

The board is AAQQ2, so my 44 only plays as a 4 kicker. Almost any hand in the opponent's 3-bet and triple-barrel range beats me, including any card 5 or higher as a kicker. I need about 28% equity to call and have far less, so I fold.

A6 suited is a strong button open in a three-handed game. Raise to 2.5 big blinds to take initiative while keeping the pot manageable.

K3 offsuit is too weak to continue against a button raise from the small blind, especially with the big blind still to act. Folding avoids playing a frequently dominated hand out of position.

K6o in the big blind facing a 2.5x button open: calling 150 into a 400 pot needs only about 27% equity, and the hand has enough to defend against a wide button range. Reraising with such a weak kicker would be unprofitable.

Holding king-high on a paired J-T-J board out of position against the preflop raiser, I have a weak hand with some showdown value and a backdoor-ish heart draw. Checking keeps the pot small and lets me realize equity.

With A-high and no meaningful draw on a paired, connected flop, checking preserves showdown value and avoids building a pot against the caller’s Jx and Tx hands.

I hold Kh with the 9h-Th-Jh board, so I have a king-high flush draw with an open-ended-style straight possibility (Q for a Q-K straight needs 8/Q; Q makes K-Q-J-T-9 straight). The button checked the flop and I'm out of position against a capped range, but checking keeps the pot small and lets me see the river cheaply with many outs (any heart, any Q, any 8 or Q).

Ace-high has some showdown value, but the paired, connected board and heart draws favor the caller's range. With no meaningful draw, checking behind avoids turning a marginal hand into a bluff.

Board is Jd Th Jh 9h 3d. I hold Kh 6d, which is only king-high with a flush draw that missed, so showdown value is low. Checking is safest.

Ace-high has some showdown value against missed draws, and the checked-through line makes a bluff unnecessary. I’ll take the free showdown rather than risk chips against a made hand.

K9 suited is a strong button opening hand three-handed. Raising to 2.5 big blinds pressures the blinds while retaining positional advantage if called.

K3 offsuit out of position against a button open, with the big blind still to act behind, is a marginal hand that plays poorly. Calling 200 more is not worth it, so I fold.

A7 offsuit is strong enough to defend the big blind against a button open, but calling keeps the pot manageable with a hand that plays better postflop than as a 3-bet bluff.

I have ace-high with no pair or meaningful draw on a coordinated flop, so I’ll take the free option and avoid building the pot.

Second pair with a king kicker has useful showdown value but is not strong enough to build a large pot on this coordinated board. Checking back keeps weaker hands in and avoids a difficult check-raise while preserving position for later streets.

With ace-high and no meaningful draw, checking preserves showdown value after the flop checked through. A turn probe risks folding out hands I already beat while getting called by stronger holdings.

After two checks from the big blind, second pair with a strong kicker can extract thin value from weaker pairs and draws. A half-pot bet also denies equity to overcards while keeping the pot manageable.

The half-pot turn bet offers a reasonable price, and ace-high can still be ahead of bluffs or club draws after the flop checked through. I’ll call and reassess on the river.

I have only ace-high, but checking preserves showdown value against missed draws and avoids bluffing into hands that may have paired the board or completed a club draw.

Second pair has reasonable showdown value, but the river completes the club draw and few worse hands are likely to call another bet. Checking avoids paying stronger hands or facing a check-raise.

A9s is a strong hand on the button in a 3-handed game, so I raise to 3bb for value and to take the initiative with position.

K8 offsuit is a weak out-of-position hand against a 3x button raise, with the big blind still to act. The call price does not compensate for the poor equity realization and risk of a squeeze.

J5 offsuit is too weak to defend against a 3bb button raise, especially out of position. Its poor playability and domination risk make folding preferable to calling or bluff-raising.