Hold'em table

84 offsuit is far too weak to open from the button against two blinds who have already invested; folding is the clear EV play with no reads yet.

Pocket fives play well as an open-raise blind versus blind to build the pot and exert pressure.

K6 offsuit is too weak and poorly playable to continue against a 3x small-blind raise, even with the price in the big blind.

97 offsuit is too weak to open from the button, even 3-handed.

Button folded, so this is heads-up versus the big blind. A3o is too weak to raise but the price to complete is only 50 into 150, so I call and see a flop.

I'm in the big blind with a weak 93s and can see a free flop with position, so raising or folding would just throw away equity. Checking keeps the pot small and lets me play the flop with the last action.

I have top pair on a dry flop heads-up and the big blind checked. A half-pot bet gets value from worse pairs and unpaired hands while keeping the pot manageable with a weak kicker.

9s3s on an A-high board has almost no equity against a flop bet—just a backdoor flush draw that doesn't justify calling 100 into 300. Raising as a bluff with no showdown value against a limper's range is unprofitable, so folding is clearly best.

46o is too weak to open from the button in a three-handed pot; folding avoids paying to play a dominated, low-playability hand.

A5o heads-up against the big blind has solid equity and an ace blocker; raising to 3x builds the pot with fold equity and initiative rather than limping.

Jh8h plays well postflop in position against a blind-versus-blind open, and we are getting good pot odds to call.

A-high missed the 883 flop; I raised preflop but flop is dangerous, so I check and keep control with position.

Flopped trips with a strong kicker in position after the preflop raiser checked. Checking back allows them to bluff the turn or catch a second-best hand.

I hold trip eights on a draw-heavy turn board after the opponent checked twice; betting two-thirds pot extracts value and protects against draws.

AJo from the button is strong against two blinds; a standard raise builds the pot with position and folds out weaker hands.

54o is too weak to call or 3-bet from the small blind against a 3x open.

QTo is playable in the big blind versus a button open in three-handed poker, and calling 200 into 450 needs only about 31 percent equity. A three-bet is unnecessary with an offsuit hand that plays fine as a call.

I flopped top two pair on a dry board and want to build the pot against the preflop raiser. A bet of 450 into 650 gets value from queens, tens, and overpairs without overcommitting.

A donk lead into the preflop raiser on a rainbow Q-T-5 flop usually signals a made hand like Qx or a set. A-high with only a gutshot has roughly 25% equity versus that range, below the ~29% needed to call 450 into 1550, and bluff-raising into strength burns chips.

T6o is too weak to open profitably even on the button in 3-handed play.

Button folded, so this is blind versus blind with pocket nines. A raise to 300 builds the pot and applies pressure while keeping the big blind's calling range wide enough to continue for value.

A8o is a decent hand to defend the big blind against a 3x raise with good pot odds; I'll call and see the flop rather than bloating the pot out of position.

I have jacks and nines on a paired flop and the big blind only called preflop, so a half-pot bet gets value from worse pairs and overcards while charging draws.

I hold only ace-high on a paired jack board with no draws, facing a half-pot bet from the preflop raiser. Calling needs ~25% equity I don't have, and bluff-raising with little equity when called is -EV, so folding is clearly best.

Q9 suited is a playable button open against two blinds; a 2.5bb raise takes the initiative rather than limping.

Ten-seven offsuit is far too weak to call a 2.5x raise out of position; folding is clearly best.

KTo has sufficient equity and pot odds (needing ~27.3%) to defend the big blind against a standard button open.

I have top pair with a mediocre kicker out of position, so checking to the preflop aggressor is standard.

Queen-high with only backdoor equity on a king-high board; checking back keeps the pot small and preserves position rather than bluffing into a likely continuing range.

I hold top pair with a gutshot straight draw on a board where the preflop aggressor checked back the flop. Betting for value and protection against draws and weaker pairs.

Queen-high with only a gutshot is not worth calling 350 into 900; four clean outs do not meet the price.