Hold'em table

8-4 offsuit is too weak to open from the button against two players.

With the button folded, pocket fives are strong against the big blind’s wide range. Raise to 300 for value and initiative while keeping the pot manageable out of position.

K6o in the big blind against a wide small-blind steal is an easy defend. I get 2.5:1 on the call and have position postflop, and calling keeps his weaker hands in rather than folding them out with a 3-bet.

With a small underpair on a coordinated flop and no club, checking keeps the pot controlled and lets me realize my equity.

The SB checked to us on a dry-ish T82 board, which tends to cap their range. A small one-third-pot stab with king-high and a backdoor club draw should win the pot often and keeps our equity alive if called.

Call the small 200-chip bet with a pair; folding would give up useful showdown value, and raising risks too much with an underpair on this board.

With pocket fives on a connected, three-club board, my hand is a weak showdown candidate and has little value in betting. I’ll check and avoid building the pot against the opponent’s flop aggression.

Semi-bluff with a low flush draw plus an open-ended straight draw (any 7) after the opponent checked twice. Betting can fold out better one-pair hands and keeps my equity if called.

The 5s5d is a weak underpair on a connected, three-club board, and the turn bet represents substantial strength or a strong draw. Calling needs about 27% equity, which this hand is unlikely to have against the betting range.

On the button in a three-handed pot, 9♦7♠ is playable as an open-raise. A modest raise applies pressure while keeping the risk controlled.

Against a wide 3-handed button open, A3o does well as a 3-bet: the ace blocks strong hands and it plays better as the aggressor than as a flat call out of position with the big blind still to act.

Nine-three suited is too weak to defend against a large three-bet, especially with the original raiser still to act.

9♦7♠ is a weak hand against a substantial three-bet, and calling would require too much equity. Fold rather than continue out of position against a strong range.

64o on the button 3-handed is at the bottom of the opening range, and limping or raising it loses money against two blinds. Folding is the standard play.

A5 offsuit is strong enough to raise heads-up against the big blind, gaining fold equity and building a pot when ahead.

J♥8♥ is a playable suited hand defending the big blind against a small blind open. Calling keeps weaker hands in and avoids inflating the pot with a marginal hand.

Ace-high has some showdown value on this paired board, but betting out of position risks building a pot against better hands. I'll check and reassess after the big blind acts.

I have trips with a strong kicker on a board with a flush draw, so I’m betting for value and protection while keeping worse hands in the pot.

Ace-high can still be ahead of a small flop bet, and the paired board gives me reasonable odds to continue.

Ace-high has some showdown value, but this turn does not improve my hand. I’ll check rather than build the pot out of position.

I have trips with a strong kicker and should value-bet while charging the available draws. A moderate sizing can still get called by overpairs and pair hands without overcommitting against a full house.

Ace-high with a weak kicker has limited equity against hands betting both the flop and turn. Calling 750 here is unlikely to be profitable.

AJo is a strong button opening hand in three-handed play. Raising to 250 builds value while keeping the open size modest.

5-4 offsuit is too weak to defend against a button raise from the small blind, especially with the big blind still to act.

QTo in the big blind facing a 2.5x button open in a 3-handed game is well ahead of the button's wide range. Getting 150 into 400 makes this a clear defend, and flatting is better than 3-betting with this hand.

Top two pair on a draw-heavy board; leading for value and protection denies free cards and builds the pot, rather than risking a check-back.

The gutshot to the nut straight and an ace overcard give me enough equity to continue at this price. Calling keeps the pot manageable and lets me use position on the turn.

Queens and tens two pair is still strong, but the turn king adds straight and flush draws. Betting about 63% of the pot gets value from Kx, Qx and draws while charging them to continue.

I have the nut straight on a board with a flush draw. Raising builds value against worse straights and strong made hands while charging draws.

Top-and-third two pair is getting about 2.4:1 on the call. The raiser's range includes spade draws and some worse two-pair hands along with the straights and sets that beat me, so calling beats folding. Re-raising risks getting stacked by the stronger hands.

Our queens and tens are vulnerable to the button's big turn raise on the Ks (straights with AJ, sets, KQ or KT). Leading would mostly get called by better hands and fold out worse, so we check and decide against any bet.

I have the nut straight, and the opponent called a substantial turn raise. A river shove maximizes value from their strong hands.

We need about 32% equity to call. Queens and tens beats one-pair hands like AK and a busted spade or gutshot draw, and the pot odds are good enough to call against an aggressive shoving range despite some straights and sets.

T6 offsuit is weak, but calling one big blind on the button offers a cheap chance to see a flop in position. I avoid inflating the pot with a raise.

Pocket nines are strong three-handed, and the button's limp looks weak. Isolating with a raise to 4.5bb builds the pot and avoids playing out of position in a multiway limped pot.

A8 offsuit has enough equity to defend the big blind against this raise, but is not strong enough to reraise for value.

T6 offsuit is too weak to call a raise with a caller already in, and it has poor playability if the flop misses.

99 is well ahead of the BB's calling range on this paired, dry board. A small c-bet gets value from weaker pairs and ace-highs and denies equity to overcards.”

The small flop bet offers a reasonable price with ace-high against a range that can include many missed overcards. I can reassess if they continue betting on the turn.

The queen is a bad turn for 99 against a range that called the flop. That range holds Jx, Qx and club draws, so I check out of position for pot control and to bluff-catch.

Ace-high has some showdown value, and the queen and second club make a turn bluff less attractive. Checking keeps the pot small and preserves options on the river.

Pocket nines are a medium-strength bluff-catcher on this paired board. Villain checked back the turn, so most worse hands won't call a bet, while Qx and Jx beat us. Checking controls the pot and lets villain bluff with busted draws.

My river pair has showdown value, but a bet is unlikely to get called often enough by worse hands.

Q9s on the button in a 3-handed game is a clear opening hand, so I'm raising to 2.5bb to steal the blinds with good playability if called.

T7 offsuit is too weak to defend from the small blind against a button raise with the big blind still to act.

KTo is strong enough to defend the big blind against a button open, and calling keeps dominated hands in the raiser’s range without inflating the pot.

Top pair with a ten kicker is a solid but vulnerable hand; checking out of position keeps the pot manageable and lets the preflop raiser act.

Queen-high with a gutshot (a J makes the straight), a backdoor flush draw and an overcard, on a board that favors the preflop raiser. A small c-bet of about 36% pot applies pressure while keeping equity if called. Chat is off, so the table message is empty. ? Wait, only one or two sentences are needed; the key point is a cheap bet with decent equity.

Top pair is strong enough to continue against a modest flop bet, but raising risks isolating against stronger kings or sets. Call and reassess on the turn.

With top pair but a modest kicker on a connected turn, checking keeps the pot manageable and lets the preflop raiser continue with bluffs or weaker value hands.

Q9 has only a gutshot (any ten) with little showdown value, and the big blind's check-call range holds many kings, jacks and draws, so fold equity is limited. Taking the free river card is better than a thin semi-bluff.

Make a small thin-value bet with top pair, targeting weaker kings and some Jx while keeping the price modest on a connected river. I’ll avoid building a large pot with a middling kicker.

Queen-high with no pair only beats a few missed draws. A bluff-raise against a small river lead would likely be called by the many pairs in the opponent's range, so folding is best despite the good price.