Hold'em table

In 3-handed play, K2o on the button is a standard open: it is ahead of the blinds' random hands and has blocker value. A small 2.5bb steal is enough.

53 offsuit is too weak to defend the small blind against a 2.5-big-blind open with the big blind still to act.

T5 suited is weak but playable against a button’s likely wide opening range, and the call price is reasonable with no rake. I’ll defend and evaluate the flop.

With T-high and only a backdoor flush draw on a dry flop, checking is preferable to bluffing into the preflop raiser. I can continue on favorable turn cards.

A dry Q-8-4 board favors the preflop raiser, and K-high has some equity with overcard outs. A small c-bet of about a third of the pot pressures the big blind's wide calling range.

The small bet gives favorable pot odds, and my backdoor flush potential plus chances to pair the ten or five make continuing reasonable.

With only ten-high and no meaningful draw, betting into the preflop raiser after calling the flop offers little value. Check and avoid putting more chips in with a weak hand.

K-high has little showdown value, and the BB called a flop c-bet on a paired, Q-high board, so their range is sticky with Qx, 8x and pocket pairs. Checking back takes a free river card and keeps the pot small instead of barreling into a range that rarely folds.

I have no meaningful improvement or strong blocker, and the checked-through turn leaves the opponent with plenty of hands that can call a river bluff. Check and preserve the chance to win against missed overcards.

King-high has little showdown value, and the river ace fits the story of the hand since I checked back the turn. A bet of about half the pot should fold out many Qx, 8x-free pairs and weak hands, and it only needs to work about a third of the time.

I have only ten-high with no meaningful draw or showdown value. Calling 550 needs too many bluffs from the river bettor to be profitable.

T6 suited is playable from the button three-handed. A 2.5 big-blind raise can win the blinds or let me play in position.

J8 suited has enough playability to defend the small blind against a button raise at this price. Calling keeps weaker hands in and avoids inflating the pot out of position.

77 in the big blind is getting 150 to win 750 multiway with deep stacks, so calling for set value is clearly profitable. Squeezing would bloat the pot out of position with a hand that plays well as a call.

J8 has no made hand and only backdoor draw potential on this dry, multiway flop. Check and avoid building a pot out of position.

Top set on a connected rainbow board in a three-way pot; betting builds the pot and charges draws rather than risking checks all around.

T6 suited has no pair or immediate draw on this rainbow flop. Facing a bet with another player still in the hand, folding is best.

J-high has no pair and only remote runner-runner straight possibilities. Facing a sizable flop bet, calling is not justified.

J♣4♣ is a reasonable wide button open three-handed. A 2.5× big-blind raise applies pressure while keeping the sizing conventional.

84 offsuit is far too weak to defend from the small blind against a button open, especially with the big blind still to act behind me.

A2 offsuit is strong enough to defend the big blind against a button raise to 2.5 big blinds. Calling keeps the pot manageable out of position.

Ace-high has some showdown value on this paired board, but little reason to build the pot out of position. Checking keeps the pot manageable.

Make a small continuation bet on this favorable paired flop, using the flush draw to back up the pressure while keeping the pot manageable.

The small flop bet gives me a reasonable price to continue with ace-high against a wide button range.

Ace-high has some showdown value, but the king favors the preflop raiser and I have no meaningful draw. Checking avoids building the pot out of position.

I have a strong club draw but little showdown value, so a modest turn bet can apply pressure while building the pot when I improve. The check gives me a chance to take it down without committing too much.

Ace-high has little chance to improve on this paired board, and a second bet makes continuing without a draw unattractive.

T9o on the button in 3-handed is a clear open; standard 2.5bb raise to steal the blinds with a playable hand.

Ace-king offsuit is strong enough to three-bet a button open. A larger size accounts for being out of position and the big blind still being in the hand.

8♦5♠ is a very weak hand, and facing a large 3-bet with another player still in the pot, calling would be unprofitable.

T9o facing a large SB 3-bet (4.4x) out of position isn't profitable to continue; we'd call 850 into 1450 with a dominated, offsuit hand. Folding is standard.

Q7 offsuit is a reasonable button open three-handed. Raising to 250 gives me a chance to win the blinds while keeping the pot manageable.

J-5 suited is too weak to continue out of position against a button raise, especially with the big blind still to act.

AQs is well ahead of a 3-handed button opening range, so I'm 3-betting for value from the big blind; going to 10bb keeps the size standard for out of position.

Q7 offsuit is too weak to continue against a large preflop re-raise, even with position.

Q6 offsuit is a reasonable button open in a three-handed game, and raising applies pressure while preserving positional advantage postflop.

J5 suited out of the small blind facing a button open, with the big blind still to act behind, is a clear fold. It plays poorly out of position and has little equity versus the button's range.

Q3 suited has enough equity to defend the big blind against a button-sized open, especially with the small blind out. Calling keeps the pot manageable with a marginal hand.

I have queen-high with no immediate draw on an ace-high flop, so I’ll check rather than build the pot out of position.

Make a small continuation bet heads-up after the big blind checks; this ace-high board favors the preflop raiser, and my queen-high hand has some backdoor equity if called.

Q3 has no pair or immediate draw on this flop. Calling with only weak backdoor possibilities is unlikely to be profitable.