Hold'em table

Ad Ts is a standard open-raising hand on the button in 3-handed play. Raising to 2.5x BB applies pressure on the blinds.

5-3 offsuit is a weak hand out of position in the small blind facing a button raise, with the big blind still to act behind me. Folding is best.

K6 offsuit has enough equity to defend the big blind against a 2.5bb button raise, especially with no rake.

King-high has some showdown value, but betting into the preflop raiser out of position is unlikely to accomplish much. I’ll check and reassess if they bet.

Check back with Ace-high showdown value and backdoor equity on a two-tone board.

King-high has little showdown value, but the ace favors the preflop raiser's range. Checking avoids an unlikely bluff into a stronger range.

I hit top pair on the turn after checking back flop; betting for value against second pairs and draws.

King-high has no meaningful draw, and calling 375 into this pot needs more equity than this hand likely has against a turn bet.

8d7d is a suited connector on the button in a 3-handed pot. Calling 100 to win a 150 pot gets a good price and I have position, so I take the flop cheaply instead of folding or raising.

Completing costs only 50 chips into a 250-chip pot. Despite the weak hand and poor position, the price is good enough to see a flop.

Holding AsQd in the big blind against two limpers, raising to 500 extracts value and punishes limp-heavy preflop strategies.

8d7d is a suited connector with a good price: 400 to call into a 700 pot. It plays well in position on the button, though the small blind still has to act behind me. A 3-bet with this hand isn't worth the risk, so I call and see a flop.

With 3-2 offsuit, calling another 400 chips out of position against a raise and a caller is unlikely to be profitable.

I flopped top pair with a strong kicker as the preflop aggressor; betting around one-third pot extracts value from weaker pairs and draws.

8-high with only a backdoor draw on an A-K-6 flop, facing a c-bet of 400 into 1100 that needs about 21% equity. Even with the 8d7d backdoor and a few outs it's marginal and out of position dynamics vs a preflop raiser make folding reasonable.

K2 offsuit is a reasonable button open three-handed. Raising to 2.5 big blinds applies pressure while preserving position postflop.

With zero rake and 100bb effective stacks, calling 200 chips from the small blind with a pocket pair offers sufficient implied odds to set-mine.

Q2 offsuit is a weak hand out of position against a button raise and a small blind call. Calling 150 to win 600 gives decent odds, but the hand plays poorly postflop against two opponents, so folding is the safer choice.

Check out of position with an underpair on a wet, two-broadway flop.

This connected, two-spade flop favors the caller's range, and king-high with no spade or immediate draw is a poor bluff candidate. I’ll check back and retain position.

With a low underpair on a paired and connected board, checking to see a cheap river is the best standard line.

After two checks, a modest turn bet can fold out weaker unpaired hands and deny equity to draws. King-high has little value in a large showdown pot.

Holding pocket fours on a Ts-Js-6h-Tc board gives us a very weak two pair that is near the bottom of our range. Facing a delayed turn bet after the board paired, folding is standard.

53s is too weak to reliably open profitably from the button even in 3-handed play.

AKo is a premium hand in a heads-up pot against the big blind after the button folded. Raising to 3.5bb from the small blind builds the pot with a strong hand while giving the big blind a real decision.

A5 suited plays well in position against a small-blind raise. Calling keeps weaker hands in while avoiding a large pot with a potentially dominated ace.

Top pair with the nut flush draw kicker (Ah) on a K-9-7 rainbow board is a strong hand heads-up out of position. A bet of about 65% pot builds the pot and charges draws and worse Kx hands.

Ace-high with only backdoor draws is too weak to continue against this sizable flop bet.

K4 offsuit is a marginal hand on the button in a 3-handed game. Calling 100 to win a 150 pot gives good odds and keeps the price low, and the king has some showdown value. A raise would be too loose for this hand.

A8 suited is strong enough to raise against a button limp. Raising to 450 builds the pot while discouraging a cheap three-way flop from the small blind.

KQo has sufficient equity against the SB's raise over a limp to defend the big blind by calling.

K4o is weak; facing a 3.5bb raise and a cold call with two players still to act behind me in the pot, I'd be out of position often with a dominated hand and poor odds, so folding is best.

Middle pair with an ace kicker is likely ahead of many hands that called preflop. A small bet gets value and charges overcards and straight draws without building an oversized pot.

I hold just two overcards with no backdoor draws on an eight-high board, offering insufficient equity and playability to continue against a c-bet.

Nine-three offsuit is too weak to profitably play from the button against two blinds.

King-Jack suited is a premier hand blind-versus-blind; raising to 300 chips builds the pot with an equity advantage.

K6o in the big blind facing a 3x raise from the small blind, with the button folded. Getting 2:1 (200 to win 500) and closing the action, so the hand has enough equity against a wide steal range; calling is better than folding or bluff-raising.

On a low, connected board that connects well with the big blind's flatting range, checking king-high out of position is the standard play.

I have a pair of sixes (middle pair) with a king kicker on a 3-6-4 board with two diamonds and a diamond king draw, so I bet for value and protection after the small blind checked. A bet of about half the pot should get worse hands to call while denying equity to draws.”}

We completely missed this low, connected board with king-jack high and have no draws out of position against BB's half-pot bet.