Showdown Hold'em table

J4 suited is below the optimal raise 4x range and likely negative EV to raise 3x; checking preserves chips and allows a decision after seeing the flop.

Weak hand with only a backdoor flush draw and one overcard; raising 2x would be -EV according to optimal flop strategy.

9s 3c is not in the optimal 4x raising range (requires 33+, any ace, K2s+, K5o+, Q6s+, Q8o+, J8s+, JTo). Checking preserves the option to raise later if the flop improves the hand.

9-high with no pair and no draw on a low board; checking preserves the option to raise or fold on the river after seeing free cards.

With T-high and only 9 kicker on a non-paired board, our hand loses to any dealer pair or high card with a better kicker. The exact enumeration shows that only 125 of 990 dealer hands lose to us, yielding an EV of -14.6 chips, much worse than folding's -20.

K5s is in the preflop 4x raise range per optimal strategy; raising maximizes expected value.

JTs is in the optimal 4x raising range (J8s+), maximizing expected value preflop.

K4o is below the optimal 4x range (K5o+), so checking to see the flop cheaply is correct.

K4o has no pair and no draw on an A73 board, so it is too weak to commit a 2x raise; checking preserves the option to fold or raise on the river only if our hand improves.

Two pair Aces and threes with King kicker. Dealer beats us only with an Ace, three, flush, or pocket pair 44+. Exact enumeration over 990 dealer hands gives ~62.5% win, ~10.6% tie, EV ~+4.44 chips vs. -20 for folding.

53o is far below the optimal 4x range and lacks high-card strength or connectivity; checking preserves chips and allows a decision after seeing the flop.

Holding a pair (fives) on the flop, optimal strategy is to raise 2x as any pair has positive expectation versus checking and possibly folding later.

Hole cards 97 offsuit are not in the optimal preflop raise range (33+, any A, K5o+, Q8o+, JTo+, etc.), so checking to see the flop preserves the option to raise later with a better hand.

With a low pair of sevens on an ace-high board, the exact enumeration likely favors checking to preserve the option to fold on the river if unimproved, avoiding the larger loss of a 2x raise when behind.

With a low pair of sevens and four overcards to our pair on board, the majority of dealer's random hands beat us. The expected value of a 1x raise is negative, so folding to lose only the ante and blind minimizes chip loss.

J3s is well below the optimal 4x range (J8s+) and too weak to raise 3x; checking preserves the option to raise on the flop if the board improves the hand.

With bottom pair and no strong draw, checking preserves the option to fold on the river if unimproved, minimizing losses.

On the river with a very weak pair of 3s, J kicker on a flush-possible board, the chance of beating the dealer is too low to justify risking an extra 10 chips. Folding loses only the 20 chips already posted, while raising would likely lose 30.

KQo is in the optimal 4x raising range (K5o+), maximizing expected value.

J6o is not in the optimal 4x raising range (requires J8s+ or JTo+), so checking is correct.

We have a pair of sixes on the flop. According to optimal strategy, any pair or better is a mandatory raise 2x to capture value against the dealer's random hand, as our equity is sufficient to justify the additional bet.

T9o is below the optimal preflop 4x threshold (JTo is the weakest listed offsuit hand), so I check to see the flop before committing additional chips.

I have a pair of sevens (board pair) with a ten kicker and an open-ended straight draw needing a jack. Both a pair and an eight-out straight draw are strong enough to raise 2x on the flop.

J6s is below the optimal 4x range (J8s+), and no 3x range is provided, so checking preserves the option to raise later if the board improves.

With J6 suited on a paired board of QQ4, we only have a pair of queens with a mediocre kicker. Our hand is weak against a random dealer hand, and we have no strong draw. Checking preserves the option to fold on the river if we don't improve, minimizing expected loss.

I have trip queens with a king kicker; against a random dealer hand on this board I win about 42% and tie about 9%, so raising 1x is better than folding.

54o is not in the optimal preflop 4x raising range (33+, any ace, K2s+, K5o+, Q6s+, Q8o+, J8s+, JTo), so checking is correct.

Bottom pair with backdoor draws is too weak to raise on the flop; checking preserves the option to raise on the river if we improve.

Pocket aces are the best starting hand; raising 4x maximizes expected value according to optimal preflop strategy.

AdJh qualifies as 'any ace' for the optimal 4x raise preflop according to published strategy.

Q5o is below the optimal preflop raise threshold (needs Q8o+), so checking to see a cheap flop is correct.

Q5o on K92 board is a weak hand with no pair and only backdoor draws; checking preserves the option to fold on the river if unimproved, minimizing losses.

With Q-5 offsuit on K-10-9-7-2, we have only Q-high. The dealer qualifies with any pair; roughly 70% chance. When dealer qualifies, we lose to most pairs and all better hands, only beating a worse high card. Expected value of raising is negative compared to folding and losing 20 chips flat.

A7o is in the published optimal 4x range (any ace), maximizing expected value.

8d2c is far below the optimal 4x or 3x preflop raising range; checking preserves expected value and avoids risking additional chips.

Top pair on a draw-heavy board has sufficient equity to raise 2x according to optimal flop strategy.

83o is far below the recommended 4x raising range (33+, any ace, K2s+/K5o+, Q6s+/Q8o+, J8s+/JTo); checking preserves chips and allows a later raise if the board improves.

Holding 8-high with no pair and no draw on a low connected board, raising 2x would be -EV; checking preserves the option to raise on the river if the hand improves.

With 8-high and a board pair of deuces, my best hand is one pair with Q-8 kicker, which is extremely weak. The dealer will qualify most of the time with any pair or better, and virtually all qualifying hands beat me. Raising 1x would cost 10 chips to lose the play bet plus likely the ante if dealer qualifies; folding loses only the 20 chips already posted, minimizing loss.

75o is not in the optimal preflop raising range (requires 33+, any A, K2s+/K5o+, Q6s+/Q8o+, J8s+/JTo), so checking minimizes expected loss.

With 7-high, no pair, no flush draw, and only backdoor straight potential on a J-8-2 board, committing 2x now is not justified. Checking preserves the option to invest only if the hand improves by the river.

Pocket deuces are not in the 4x raise range; checking defers to the flop for a potential 2x raise if the board improves the hand.

With a low pair of deuces on an Ace-high board with a flush draw, our hand is weak and unlikely to win if the dealer catches any pair. Checking preserves the option to fold on the river if we don't improve, minimizing losses.

Board has two pairs Aces and Tens, we play the board with 5 kicker. Dealer always qualifies. We need dealer to have both hole cards 4 or lower without A or T to win (45/990), tie with one 5 and a low card (30/990). Expected value of raise is -6.82 chips vs folding, so fold is better.

J6s is not in the optimal preflop raising range (4x: 33+, any ace, K2s+, K5o+, Q6s+, Q8o+, J8s+, JTo; 3x slightly wider but still excludes J6s), so checking is correct.

J6 suited with no pair and only a backdoor flush draw on a paired board is too weak to invest 2x; checking preserves the option to fold on the river if we don't improve.

K3o is below the optimal 4x range (K5o+), so checking preflop preserves chips and allows a raise on the flop if the board improves.

Top pair Kings on a monotone flop is strong enough to raise 2x; even with a weak kicker, the pair has positive expected value against the dealer's range.

Tc9s is not in the optimal 4x raise range (requires pair, any ace, K2s+, K5o+, Q6s+, Q8o+, J8s+, JTo); checking preserves the option to raise on a favorable flop.

Tc9s on Qh7d2s has no pair and no strong draw; checking preserves the option to fold on the river if unimproved.

KJs is in the optimal preflop raise 4x range per published strategy.

T9s is not in the optimal 4x raising range (33+, any ace, K2s+, K5o+, Q6s+, Q8o+, J8s+, JTo), so checking to see the flop is correct.

With Th9s on a 7h2c3c board, we have a flush draw and two overcards. Raising 2x captures value from the draw and avoids folding equity later. Expected value of raising exceeds checking based on the flush draw strength and blind payouts.

JTs is within the optimal 4x raising range according to the published strategy.

J8o is not in the optimal preflop 4x raising range (requires J8s+), so checking to see the flop is correct.

We have a pair of eights on the flop. Optimal strategy dictates raising 2x with any pair or better to maximize expected value.

Q2o is well below the optimal 4x preflop raise range (needs Q8o+ or better), so checking is correct to avoid overcommitting with a weak hand.

Q2o on 864r flop is a very weak hand with only one overcard and no draw. Raising 2x would risk 20 chips with little chance to beat the dealer, while checking preserves the option to raise 1x or fold on the river based on whether we improve.

QJo is in the optimal 4x preflop raising range (Q8o+), maximizing expected value.