Hold'em table

Pocket fives on the button in 3-handed play is a strong hand worth opening for value and to take initiative.

Queen-nine offsuit is marginal but priced in cheaply against a 2.5x open with a small 3-max pot; calling keeps speculative equity without committing much.

T8 offsuit is marginal, but the price is favorable with a caller and I close the action from the big blind. Calling keeps the pot manageable without inflating it with a squeeze.

I hold middle pair (Q) on an A-Q-J board with no one betting into me; a small value bet charges draws and worse queens while keeping control of the pot.

I have only a gutshot to the Broadway straight, with no flush draw, so the 450-chip call is not justified against this bet.

Pocket fives are well behind the Ad Qd Jh board and facing a 450 bet into 1200; opponent likely has a pair, straight or flush draw that dominates us.

Ten-three offsuit is a weak hand from the button; folding avoids playing a marginal spot out of position postflop.

Completing costs only 50 chips into a 150-chip pot, and 9♣6♥ has enough equity heads-up to see a flop at this price.

JTo is ahead of a small-blind limp range and I am in position heads-up, so raising builds value and takes initiative instead of checking.

9♣6♥ is a weak offsuit hand, and calling a sizeable raise out of position is unlikely to be profitable.

A3 suited is a strong button hand in a three-handed game, so open-raise to build the pot and apply pressure to the blinds.

K2 offsuit is too weak to call a button raise out of position from the small blind; the poor kicker and postflop disadvantage outweigh the pot odds.

4c8s is a weak hand facing a 2.5x raise heads-up; folding is the clear low-variance play.

AQ suited on the button is a premium hand worth opening for value and initiative, raising to 3x the big blind.

Q8s is too weak to call a 3bb raise out of position against two players; folding is cheapest.

J7 offsuit is a weak, poorly playable hand out of position against a 3x button raise. The price is not enough to justify defending it.

6c4c offsuit is a weak hand from the button facing a call-worthy spot only if cheap; folding avoids bleeding chips out of position postflop.

A♣Q♣ is a premium hand heads-up from the small blind, so I raise for value and take the initiative rather than complete.

5-7 offsuit is too weak to defend the big blind against a small-blind raise to 300, even heads-up and in position postflop; its equity and playability do not justify calling.

J-T offsuit is a strong enough button hand to open-raise three-handed. A 2.5x raise applies pressure to the blinds while keeping the pot manageable.

K5 offsuit is too weak to call a button raise from the small blind with the big blind still behind, especially playing out of position postflop.

2h5s is a very weak hand facing a 2.5x raise; calling 150 more has poor equity and no fold equity potential. Folding is clearly best.