Hold'em table

Opening from the button applies pressure to both blinds, and 5♦3♦ has useful postflop playability when called. A 2.5-big-blind raise balances steal potential with a modest investment.

7-3 offsuit is a trash hand facing a button open from the small blind; folding is clearly correct.

Q5 offsuit is a weak, frequently dominated hand that realizes equity poorly out of position. Against a 2.5bb button open, folding is preferable to defending without an opponent-specific read.

K3 offsuit on the button in a 3-handed game is marginal; against two unknown opponents, folding avoids playing a dominated hand out of position postflop relative to the blinds' ranges in a 100bb pot. A small open could be fine, but K3o is below a solid button opening range with full stacks.

KTs is strong enough to raise for value in a blind-versus-blind pot. Raising to 3bb applies pressure to the big blind while building a pot with a suited hand that plays well postflop.

J5 offsuit is too weak to profitably defend against a 3bb small-blind raise. Its poor playability and domination risk outweigh the positional advantage.

With the button and no rake, T4 suited is a reasonable light open. A small raise pressures the blinds while keeping the investment modest with a marginal hand.

Seven-six offsuit is too weak to continue from the small blind against a button raise with the big blind still to act. Its poor equity realization out of position makes calling unattractive, and it lacks useful blockers for a three-bet bluff.

Facing a 2.25x button open from the big blind with 97o, I'm getting 375:125 (3:1) pot odds and closing the action; this offsuit connector plays reasonably well postflop, making a call marginally profitable versus a wide button opening range.

I have a gutshot (6 for a straight) with 9-high on an ace-high board against the preflop raiser; checking to the aggressor is standard and keeps the pot small while I see if I can realize equity cheaply.

A small continuation bet pressures unpaired hands on this dry ace-high board, which favors my preflop raising range. I have little showdown value but a backdoor diamond draw that provides potential barreling opportunities.

Gutshot (6 completes 5-9) facing a one-third pot c-bet; getting ~4:1 immediate with decent implied odds on a straight, so a call is marginally profitable while keeping the option to bluff later.

Middle pair with an open-ended straight draw (6 or T) on a turn with two diamonds; checking to the aggressor keeps the pot controlled and lets me realize equity, with a plan to call a reasonable bet.

The turn gives me a flush draw plus a gutshot with very little current showdown value, making this a strong semi-bluff candidate. A roughly three-quarter-pot bet pressures weaker pairs while retaining substantial equity when called.

Middle pair with a gutshot (6) plus two-pair/trips outs gives ~9 outs and some showdown value against a wide button opening range that includes flush draws and overcard bluffs; pot odds ~30% with implied odds make a call marginally profitable.

I have a pair of sevens on an A-high board that got there for straights and missed my draw; checking to the aggressor and evaluating is far better than bluffing or value-betting a weak pair into a player who bet all three streets.

The river ten gives us showdown value against lower pairs and missed draws. Betting would rarely get called by worse, and holding two diamonds blocks missed draws that could fold to a bluff.

85 offsuit is too weak for a standard button open with two players left to act. Folding avoids investing in a hand with poor equity and limited postflop playability.

Button folded, so it's SB vs BB heads-up; T8o is a reasonable raising hand from the small blind against a single opponent, so I raise to 3bb to take initiative and often win the blinds outright.

Calling costs 200 into a 400-chip pot, requiring 33.3% equity. Q6 offsuit is a reasonable defend against a potentially wide small-blind opening range, especially with position postflop and no rake.

Paired K-high board favors the preflop raiser's range; a small c-bet with T8 (gutshot to Q) gets folds from many hands and keeps the price cheap when called.

Queen-high has no immediate straight or flush draw and little reliable improvement potential. Despite the small bet, this is a weak float with poor equity realization against continued pressure.

K4o on the button in a 3-handed game is a reasonable open-raise steal against two blinds; a small raise takes the blinds often and keeps position postflop.

J8 offsuit is too weak to defend profitably from the small blind against a 2.5bb button raise, with the big blind still to act. Poor equity realization out of position makes folding preferable to calling or bluff-raising.

Calling costs 150 to contest a final pot of 550, making A2 offsuit a reasonable big-blind defense against a wide button opening range. With no rake, calling is preferable to folding or inflating the pot with a weak offsuit ace.

This king-queen-high flop favors the preflop raiser's range, and my ace-high hand has little drawing potential. Checking avoids investing unnecessarily while preserving the option to respond to a bet.

Top pair with a weak kicker on a K-Q-7 board after BB checks to me; a bet of ~55% pot gets value from Qx, draws, and worse Kx while denying equity. Keeping sizing moderate given kicker weakness.

Ace-high with a weak kicker and no meaningful draw is a poor out-of-position continuation against this bet. The king-queen flop favors the preflop raiser's range, and even an ace may not give me the best hand.

Pocket threes are a profitable button open three-handed. Raising to 2.5 big blinds gives us a chance to win the blinds while retaining position and set potential if called.

Six-two offsuit is too weak to defend against a button raise from the small blind, especially with the big blind still to act. Folding avoids investing more chips with poor equity and position.

J2 offsuit is a weak hand out of position against a button raise; folding is standard despite decent pot odds.