Hold'em table

KTo is a strong button hand in 3-handed play, well ahead of blind ranges, so I open-raise for value and initiative.

T5o from the small blind facing a button open, with the big blind still left to act, is a clear fold. It plays poorly out of position.

With 4s2s on the button facing a 250 raise from the button, the pot odds don't justify continuing with such a weak hand preflop.

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

My hand Jc 4h is weak and dominated. Facing a raise to 250 with only 200 to call, I'm getting 2:1 pot odds but the hand has little equity. Folding preserves my stack.

K8 suited in the big blind versus a 2.5x button open is a profitable defend, getting good pot odds with suited king-high equity against a wide range.

King-high with only backdoor spade and straight possibilities has little equity on an ace-high board against the preflop raiser. Checking keeps the pot small and avoids bluffing into a range that often contains an ace.

Top pair with a good kicker on a wet flop, and the big blind checked to us, so a value bet of about two-thirds pot gets called by worse aces, draws and sevens/nines while charging the club draws.

With Ks8s on As7c9c I have only king-high, no pair and no immediate draw except backdoors, giving far less than the 28% equity needed to call 350 against a likely ace.

I have Ad5c on the button with no prior action; the hand is weak and unsuited, so I fold to avoid investing chips with poor equity.

52 offsuit is near the bottom of the range out of position against the big blind; completing would realize equity poorly postflop despite the small price.

Ace-Ten offsuit is a strong button hand in 3-handed play, well ahead of blind ranges. Raising builds the pot in position and pressures the blinds.

Pocket deuces with 100bb effective stacks give good implied odds for set mining against a button open, and calling 250 into a 450 pot is cheap. 3-betting would bloat the pot out of position with a hand that plays poorly against calls.

7s6c is weak and unsuited, and I'm out of position facing a raise and call. Folding avoids a difficult postflop spot with a marginal hand.

Pocket deuces on an A-9-9 board have weak showdown value and play best as a check to the button preflop raiser, who has range advantage. Leading out would just fold out worse hands and get called by better ones.

With top pair Aces and 9s on a dry rainbow flop after opponent checked, I bet half pot for value from weaker Aces and pocket pairs while protecting against overcards.

The button's small c-bet on A99 likely comes from a wide range that includes many unpaired broadway hands, so 22 has some showdown value. Calling 350 to win 1050 needs only about 25% equity.

We have nines full of twos, but any ace, any nine, or any pocket pair above twos beats us, so this is a bluff-catcher. Checking keeps the pot controlled; we can call a modest bet against bluffs and broadways.

I have 9s full of Aces on a triple-9 board, losing only to the last 9 for quads. Betting for value against pocket pairs and trip-9 hands that can call.

Our nines-full-of-twos is a bluff-catcher that beats unpaired, ace-less double barrels, and the price is decent: 800 to win 2200, needing about 27% equity. Calling once is reasonable against a raiser who may barrel broadways.

Our 22 makes 99922, which only beats hands playing the board. Any ace, eight, nine or pocket pair beats us, and villain has barreled twice, so we check rather than bet into a stronger range.

I have nines full of aces; only the last nine beats me, while lower pocket-pair full houses can call a modest river value bet and an ace only splits.

Our nines full of twos beats any unpaired hand without an ace or an eight. That covers a lot of a wide button range. The small river bet gives about 22% pot odds, and the range of air that would fire three small barrels should clear that.

In 3-handed play the button opens a wide range, and 65o is a reasonable steal with only the two blinds left to act. A raise to 2.5bb applies fold equity while keeping the risk small.

I have King-Queen suited, a strong hand that benefits from building the pot. Raising to 600 puts pressure on the raiser and extracts value while staying well within legal limits.

2-3 offsuit is one of the weakest hands and faces a button raise plus a small-blind 3-bet; calling 500 more has poor equity and playability.

I'm getting about 3.7:1 to call (350 into 950), I'll have position, and stacks are deep. That makes 65o a playable defend against a wide 3-handed SB 3-bet.

I have a strong drawing hand with a flush draw and straight draw on a wet board. Checking allows me to control pot size and potentially induce a bluff from the button, while keeping my options open for the turn.

This A-J-4 board favors the small blind's 3-bet range, and my 6-5 has only backdoor straight and flush equity. Checking back takes a free card instead of bluffing into a range likely to continue.

Board is wet and I have a weak open-ended straight draw with backdoor flush potential. Checking keeps the pot controlled and lets me realize equity without risking chips on a marginal hand.

Bottom pair with no real draw has some showdown value but would rarely get better hands to fold, so I'll check back and realize equity cheaply.

Board is paired with an Ace, and my KQ is likely behind a range that includes Ax and better. Checking preserves my equity and avoids building a bigger pot with a weak showdown hand.

A pair of fives has showdown value against busted 3-bet bluffs, but a bet would mostly get called by better pairs. Checking back realizes equity cheaply.

Js6c is a weak offsuit hand with no clear path to a strong flop; calling 100 into a 150 pot with the button is marginal and folding preserves stack for better spots.

Heads-up against the big blind after the button folded, calling 50 into 150 with ten-high suited is cheap and has enough equity and playability to see a flop rather than surrender the small blind.

84s plays fine in position against a limped small blind, but it is weak to raise for value. Checking takes a free flop with positional advantage.

Checking is free with ace-pair and ten kicker plus backdoor spades. Betting would only fold worse low hands we already beat and get called by any ace, deuce, pocket pair, or higher kicker.

In a limped pot on a paired-ace board, the small blind checked, which caps their range somewhat. A small stab with a backdoor flush draw and some equity should take it down often.

Ten-high with only runner-runner spade outs on a paired Ace board has very low equity against a flop bet, and calling 100 lacks the pot odds to continue.