Hold'em table

A4 offsuit is a reasonable button open three-handed, with an ace blocker and position if called. Raising to 2.5 big blinds pressures the blinds without committing too much with a marginal hand.

85o is too weak to defend out of position against a button raise, especially with the big blind still to act. Folding avoids playing a dominated hand with poor postflop potential.

A2 suited in the big blind, getting 400 into 150 (about 2.7:1) against a button open. A heads-up pot with position against me is fine to call with this hand, and a 3-bet bluff is not necessary.

Ace-high on a paired 7-5-7 board is a marginal hand. I'm out of position against the preflop raiser, so I check and keep the pot small instead of betting into a range that likely has a pair or better.

Ace-high has some showdown value on this dry paired board, but little ability to continue against a check-raise. Checking back preserves equity and keeps the pot manageable against the big blind’s strong low-board coverage.

Top pair with an ace on a paired board, and the button checked the flop back so their range is capped and weak. A small bet of about half the pot gets value from weaker aces and 6x/pocket pairs and charges draws.

Turning aces up gives us enough showdown value to call this bet in position. Raising would tend to fold out bluffs while getting action from stronger hands.

I have aces full of sevens, which only quads beat. I'm betting about 65% of the pot so a worse ace or a pair can call.

My aces full of sevens loses only to pocket sevens. Raising extracts value from weaker full houses, especially 7x, while keeping the sizing callable.

Aces full of sevens beats nearly every hand that would bet this way, losing only to a 7 for quad sevens. Shoving extracts the most from worse full houses like 7x with a 7 in the hand (non-quad) or 55, and from bluffs that may call.

I have aces full of sevens, beaten only by pocket sevens. The shove can readily come from another ace for a split pot, making a call preferable to folding.

Q3s is a marginal but playable button hand in 3-handed play; raising applies pressure and takes initiative with position.

Q9 offsuit out of position from the small blind facing a button raise to 250 with the big blind still to act is a weak hand that plays poorly, so folding is the disciplined choice.

T3 offsuit is too weak to defend against a 2.5bb button raise, even with the small blind's dead money. Its poor playability out of position makes folding preferable to calling or bluff-raising.

On the button in a 3-handed pot, 5s6h is a suited-ish connector with decent playability, and calling 100 to win 250 is a good price. A raise with a marginal hand is not needed here.

Seven-three offsuit has poor equity realization from the small blind, even with favorable immediate pot odds. Folding avoids investing more with a weak hand out of position and the big blind still to act.

Q8o is a marginal hand out of position against a button limp; checking keeps the pot small and lets me see a flop for free.

I have no pair and only a weak gutshot on an ace-high flop, so checking controls the pot and avoids building a bluff into a limped button range.

I have 5-6 high on an A-9-J flop, heads-up and in position after the big blind checked. A small bet of about half the pot is a cheap bluff and should fold out weak hands. I can still fold to a raise.

Weak hand with only a gutshot and no pair, out of position against a bet on an Ace-high board. Pot odds are insufficient and opponent's small bet likely indicates at least a pair or strong draw.

K5 offsuit is a reasonable button open three-handed with no rake. A small raise pressures the blinds while keeping the pot manageable with a marginal hand and positional advantage.

T4o is too weak to continue out of position against a button raise, and the big blind can still act behind.

Q6o is a marginal hand, but the button's 2.25x open is wide and I get good odds (125 to win 375, about 25% equity needed) with Qx high card value, so I call rather than fold or bluff-raise.

I have a backdoor-free flush draw with a queen kicker on an Ac Tc 8c board, so I hold a nut-ish flush draw only with 6c. Checking out of position keeps the pot small against the preflop raiser and lets me see a cheap turn card with strong equity from the flush draw.

A quarter-pot continuation bet leverages my preflop range advantage on this ace-high board and can fold out unpaired hands. The club provides some backup equity, though its low rank warrants caution against resistance.

I have a backdoor-free flush draw with the 6c (a flush draw on the Ac Tc 8c board) plus a Q-high gutshot-ish potential. The pot lays me 625+125 to 125, about 6:1, so calling is clearly profitable against a small continuation bet from the button.

I have only queen-high with a backdoor-free board of Ac Tc 8c Kh, though I hold the Qs for a gutshot to the J (Q-K-A-T needs a J for Broadway). Seat 1 bet the flop and could have a flush or a big pair, so I'll check and take a cheap card rather than bluff.

Second pair has showdown value, but betting is unlikely to get called by many worse hands on this coordinated board. Checking controls the pot and lets us realize our remaining equity without risking a check-raise.

Queen-high on a board of A-K-T-8-3 has almost no showdown value, and the opponent checked back the turn, so a bluff is possible. Villain can still call with weaker pairs or ace-high that beat me, so checking is the safer option.

Second pair has showdown value, but a river bet is unlikely to get enough calls from worse hands on this ace-high, three-club board. Checking avoids paying off stronger pairs or a slow-played flush.

K2o is a weak offsuit hand with poor playability, and calling or raising early without reads is not profitable.

3d5c is a weak hand, but in the small blind I only need 50 more to call into a 150 pot, which is about 3:1 odds, and the big blind may check. Raising would risk too much with a poor hand, so I'll call and see a flop cheaply.

K7 offsuit has reasonable showdown value but is too marginal to build a large pot against an unknown limping range. Checking lets me see a free flop and play in position.

I have bottom pair (5s) on a 9-5-Q board in a heads-up pot where I act first. A small 100-chip bet gets value from worse pairs and draws and folds out some overcards, and it risks little if I'm behind.

King-high with no flush draw or backdoor straight draw is too weak to continue against a half-pot bet. Folding avoids investing further with few reliable ways to improve.

7-6 offsuit is a weak hand that plays poorly out of position against two opponents, so I'm folding rather than paying 100 to see a flop.

Completing costs only 50 chips into a 150-chip pot. With no rake, this suited hand is worth a cheap flop heads-up, despite playing out of position.

J4o is a weak offsuit hand and I am out of position; checking keeps the pot small and avoids bloating it against a limper.

With six-high, no direct draw, and little equity on this coordinated board, betting would be a low-quality bluff. Checking keeps the pot small and preserves the option to improve for free.

Small blind checked, likely weak; a small bet can take down the pot and we can fold to a raise.

Six-high with no direct straight or flush draw is too weak to continue against a half-pot bet out of position. Folding avoids investing more with little equity and poor prospects for realizing it.