Hold'em table

KTo is a clear open from the button in 3-handed play. A 2.5bb open takes initiative and pressures both blinds.

T5 offsuit is weak versus a button raise, and calling from the small blind out of position with the big blind still to act has poor expected value.

I hold 4s2s, a weak hand that is unlikely to improve enough to justify calling a 150 chip raise. Folding preserves my stack against a likely strong hand from the button.

AJo on the button in 3-handed play is a strong value hand, well ahead of blind ranges. Raising to 2.5bb builds the pot in position and denies free equity.

My hand Jc 4h is weak and unsuited. Facing a 250 raise from the button, calling 200 more is too expensive for such a marginal hand, so folding preserves my stack.

K8s in the big blind against a button 2.5x open is a clear defend: I'm getting 150 to win 400, and the hand plays well enough postflop to call rather than 3-bet.

K8s on As7c9c gives us a gutshot and a backdoor flush draw but no pair, and this ace-high board favors the button's raising range. Check to the preflop raiser and decide based on the bet size.

Top pair Ace with Jack kicker on a draw-heavy As-7c-9c board; betting about two-thirds pot for value and to charge club and straight draws while in position.

King-high with only backdoor draws on an ace-high, two-club board does not have the equity to call 350 into 900 against a button c-bet. Folding is the disciplined play.

Calling the big blind with Ad-5c keeps me in the hand at a low cost while preserving my stack for future streets; I will see a flop and reassess based on the board and opponent actions.

52o is among the weakest hands and would play out of position in a multiway pot with the big blind still able to raise. Even at a cheap price of 50 into 250, folding is cleaner than completing.

Weak 3-8 offsuit in the big blind with a free check; take the free flop rather than building a pot out of position.

With 8-high, no pair and no meaningful draw on a K-J-4 board heads-up, checking for free is best and avoids bluffing into a board that favors the caller.

The pot is small and I have no made hand on J-4-K; checking keeps the pot controlled and avoids building a bigger pot with a weak holding.

With 8-high, no pair and no meaningful draw on a K-J-9 board, checking is free and avoids bluffing into a limped range that can call with pairs.

The board is disconnected and my hand is weak, so I want to see a cheap showdown. Checking keeps the pot small and avoids building a big bet with a marginal holding.

With 8-high I have minimal showdown value, but checking is free and a river bluff would be called by any pair or straight that checked back, making checking higher EV than risking chips into a small pot.

Board is dry and uncoordinated; my hand is weak and I have no value or credible bluff, so I check to avoid building a bigger pot.

ATo on the button in 3-handed play is a strong opening hand, so I'm raising to 2.5bb for value and position.

Pocket deuces have decent equity against a wide button open in 3-handed play, and calling 200 into 400 gives good pot odds to see a flop and set-mine.

7s6c is a weak suited connector that lacks the strength to call a raise from the big blind. Folding preserves my stack against a likely strong range from the button and small blind.

Pocket deuces make only nines-and-deuces on an Ace-high paired board, well behind a preflop raiser's likely Ace or higher pair. Checking keeps the pot small and avoids investing more with a very vulnerable hand.

Top pair on a dry paired board is well ahead of the SB's calling range. A small third-pot bet gets value from weaker aces, pocket pairs and floats while denying equity to overcards.

Getting 4-to-1 on the flop with two pair, I beat unpaired bluffs in the button's wide betting range and have outs against Aces and higher pairs, giving enough equity to call the small bet.

With pocket deuces on a triple-nine ace board I have only the lowest full house, losing to any ace, nine, or higher pocket pair in the preflop raiser's range. Checking keeps the pot controlled and lets me evaluate a turn bet rather than inflating it with a vulnerable hand.

We hold nines full of aces, so we are only behind quads. A medium value bet gets called by weaker aces and by hands with pocket pairs, and opponents holding another ace will chop.

Board shows three 9s with an Ace, so my pocket 2s make only the lowest full house, losing to any Ace, any higher pocket pair, or a 9. Facing a sizable turn bet from the preflop raiser, my equity is below the pot odds required to call.

56o is weak but playable on the button in 3-handed play; limping cheaply in position gives good implied odds for straights without risking a larger raise.

I have King-Queen suited in position with a small call to make. Calling 50 chips keeps my stack intact and lets me see a flop without committing too much.

23o is the weakest kind of hand, and checking from the big blind sees a free flop in a limped pot. Raising as a bluff into two limpers has little fold equity.

I have a backdoor flush draw with Kh Qh on As 4h Jh, but no pair on the board. Checking keeps the pot small and lets me see a free turn card while preserving stack depth for future hands.

A small semi-bluff on an ace-high board in a limped pot. I have a gutshot to the wheel plus a backdoor flush draw, and a bet can take it down from hands that missed.

With a heart flush draw in position, calling 150 into a 450 pot gives good immediate odds plus implied odds to realize my roughly 35% equity by the river.

I have a strong open-ended straight draw with Kh Qh on As 4h Jh, so calling 150 to keep the pot live and realize equity is better than folding. The board is dry enough that my draw is less obvious, making a call efficient here.

The pot is 750 with no bet to call, and my KQo is a decent draw to a straight or flush on this board. Checking keeps the pot controlled and lets me see the river without committing more chips.

I hold the wheel (A-2-3-4-5), which is the current nuts, and there is a heart draw on board. I'm betting about two-thirds of the pot for value and to charge draws and two-pair hands.

With only a pair of 5s and about five outs to improve, calling 500 into 1250 requires far more equity than I have against a likely Ace or Jack.

Seat 2 folded to my decision, and I have a weak King-high with no clear draw on this dry board. Calling 500 into a 1250 pot risks too much without sufficient equity, so folding is the disciplined play.

Calling 100 with J6o on the button is reasonable; I want to see a flop and potentially play position without risking too much preflop.

The button limped and the pot is 250, so completing costs only 50 for 1:6 odds with a suited hand. T3s plays fine multiway in a limped pot even though I'll be out of position.

Weak suited hand in the big blind with a free option to see the flop; checking keeps the pot small out of position.

In a three-way limped pot on a paired-ace board, I have a weak hand with a backdoor flush draw and gutshot-ish wheel equity, so I'll check out of position and take a free card.

With 8-high and only a runner-runner spade draw on a paired Ace board, checking free is best; bluffing into two limpers who could easily hold an Ace has poor expected value.

My Js6c has no pair on the 2s-Ah-Ad flop, and both opponents checked, so I'll keep the pot small and see a turn card rather than bluff-raise into two players.

T3 just plays the board's two pair with a ten kicker, which is marginal showdown value. Betting three-way mostly folds out worse kickers and gets called by any ace, so I'll check and keep the pot small.

Checking is free with only board two-pair and an 8 kicker; bluffing into two opponents on a double-paired board is unlikely to succeed.

My hand is weak and the board is paired with two aces, so I want to keep the pot small and avoid building a bigger pot with a losing hand.

The board plays as AA22, and my ten kicker gives me some showdown value in this checked-down pot. Bluffing three-way into a river that completed the heart flush has little fold equity, so I'll check.

I have Aces and Eights using my river 8, beating opponents who only play the board. Checking preserves this showdown value, as a bet would likely fold worse hands and only be called by Aces full, a 2, higher pairs, or a better 8.

The board is paired with two hearts on the river, and my weak J-high hand is unlikely to win at showdown. Checking keeps the pot small and avoids bluffing into a likely made hand.