Hold'em table

On the button, 8♠6♣ has some positional value and can profitably complete cheaply; raising this weak offsuit hand risks building a pot against the blinds.

Queen-five suited is a marginal but playable hand in the small blind; completing for 50 is cheap with a 250 pot and keeps the hand multiway.

J4 suited in the big blind facing two limpers; checking to see a free flop is the clear play, as raising with this weak hand out of position isn't profitable.

I have a weak gutshot/overcard-less hand (Q-high with a 5) on a K76 board; with no bet to call, checking keeps the pot small and avoids investing chips in a marginal spot.

J4s missed the K76 rainbow flop entirely with only a backdoor spade draw; checking in a limped multiway pot avoids bloating the pot with nothing and keeps the option to see a free turn.

With bottom pair and a weak kicker in a multiway pot, checking back keeps the pot small and preserves showdown value. A bet is unlikely to get called by enough worse hands, while better pairs can continue.

I have only a gutshot-ish weak hand (Q-high with a 5) on a K76-5 board; checking is free and avoids building a pot out of position.

I hold 4sJs on Kh 7s 6d 5c — a gutshot to the 3 for a straight (8 would also give me a straight with 4-5-6-7-8) and no pair. Checked around twice; a bet here is a thin bluff with little fold equity against a king, so I take the free card and realize my straight outs.

Bet 200 into the 300-chip pot with a pair and an open-ended straight draw, taking advantage of the checks while charging overcards and weaker draws.

Only bottom pair with a weak kicker on a scary board; facing a turn bet from a passive line, folding is clearly best.

Double gutshot (any 3 or 8) with 8 outs facing a small 200 bet into 300; direct odds are slightly short but deep stacks and a disguised straight draw give good implied odds against a likely K-x or pair.

Bottom pair on a four-straight board with a king; no value in betting and I'd rather see what the button does. Checking keeps the pot small with a marginal hand.

The river completes my 4–8 straight, which is strong against the likely pairs and two-pair hands that may call a modest bet. A small value bet also limits losses if the opponent has a higher straight.

Getting 3.3:1 on the river against a button limper who checked the flop and fired two small bets; bottom pair only beats air, but the price requires under 25% bluffs and this passive-then-small-bet line often includes missed overcards and busted draws.

J5o on the button is a cheap call to see a flop in position; folding is too tight and raising overplays this hand.

Button limped, so I'm getting 5:1 to complete from the small blind with a suited connector-ish hand that plays okay multiway; completing for 50 into 250 is cheap and better than folding.

With 8♣4♥ and no raise to face, take the free flop rather than inflate the pot with a weak hand.

Holding 4s2s on a Js Kh 6h board with no pair, no draw, and two opponents behind in a limped pot; bluffing from the small blind has poor equity, so I check and fold to aggression.

I have no pair and only a weak backdoor flush possibility, so I take the free card rather than bluff into two opponents.

I have middle pair on a coordinated board with no betting yet; checking keeps the pot small and avoids bloating it out of position.

I have 4s2s, a weak flush draw on Js Kh 6h 8s. I'm first to act in a limped pot of 300; checking keeps the pot small and lets me see the river cheaply after the flop checked through.

I have a weak middle pair with a poor kicker on a coordinated board, so betting for value or protection is unlikely to be profitable. I’ll take the free river and keep the pot small.

Middle pair jack on a checked-through board; checking keeps the pot small and avoids bloating against two opponents who may hold a K or J with better kicker.

Rivered a J-high spade flush on a board checked down by both opponents; a 2/3-pot value bet targets weaker made hands like Kx, two pair, and straights while opponents' passivity suggests few higher flushes.

Eight pair with a weak kicker is a poor bluff-catcher on this connected board, where straights and stronger pairs are plausible. There is also a player left to act, so I fold to the river bet.

Pair of jacks is likely good against a small 200 river stab after three streets of checks; calling 200 into a 500 pot is cheap and beats missed draws/bluffs.

J9o on the button in a 3-handed game is a standard open; raising to 2.5bb takes initiative and pressures the blinds.

3♥5♠ is a weak offsuit hand from the small blind facing a button raise, with the big blind still to act. Folding avoids putting more chips into a poor position.

Q9s in the big blind heads-up against a 2.5x raise has decent pot odds to see a flop; folding is too tight and 3-betting is thin.

Middle-pair-ish hand with showdown value; checking keeps the pot small and lets me fold to aggression or see a cheap turn.

Open-ended straight draw (J9 on 3-8-T) plus two overcards; c-betting half pot as the preflop raiser in position has good fold equity and we have strong equity when called.

Queen-high with a gutshot-ish backdoor is far too weak to continue against a preflop raiser's flop raise; folding is cheapest.

A6 offsuit is a reasonable button open in a three-handed game. Raising to 2.5 big blinds applies pressure to the blinds while keeping the pot manageable.

Pocket deuces are too weak to call a 2.5x raise out of position with a third player still to act; set-mining odds are poor.

A5 suited is a good 3-bet candidate from the big blind against a button open: it has a blocker to AA/AK, plays well postflop with nut flush and wheel potential, and folds out many button opens. Raising to 800 (3.2x) applies pressure while keeping stack-to-pot manageable.

A6 offsuit is too weak to continue against a sizable out-of-position 3-bet; calling would leave me with a dominated hand and poor playability postflop.

Button folded (via fallback), so it's SB vs BB heads-up. K5o is a standard raise from the SB in a blind-vs-blind spot; raising to 3bb takes initiative and often wins the pot outright.

QhTh is a strong suited hand for defending the big blind against a small-blind open. Calling keeps weaker hands in and avoids inflating the pot out of position.

As the preflop raiser on a dry paired 9-2-2 board, a small 1/3-pot c-bet leverages range advantage and folds out many overcards and weak holdings; K-high has little showdown value but good fold equity here.

Call the small flop bet with two overcards and a backdoor heart-flush draw; the price is favorable, while raising would risk too much with no made hand.

Board is 9-2-2-2 so my K5 plays trips with a K kicker, but any pair or ace-high beats me and those are exactly the hands that called the flop. Betting folds out only worse unpaired hands, so I check to control the pot and maybe get to showdown cheaply.

I have only queen-high on a paired board and no meaningful draw. Taking the free river card is better than bluffing into an opponent who bet and was called on the flop.

Board 9-2-2-2-5 gives me 2s full of 5s, but any 9x or pocket pair 66+ beats me and overcard hands likely fold to a bet, so value is thin. Checking to induce a bluff or get to showdown cheaply.

My hand has a reasonable kicker with the board trips, but betting risks value-owning into full houses or better kickers. I’ll take the free showdown.

Q7 offsuit on the button in a 3-handed game is a reasonable open; raising 2.5x to steal the blinds and play in position.

4♣9♥ is a weak offsuit hand and would be difficult to play out of position against the button's raise, with the big blind still to act. Fold rather than invest more chips.

King-high in the big blind against a 2.5x open; calling 150 more to see a flop is cheap and keeps the range wide.

I have king-high only on a J-T-8 board heads-up; no value and little fold equity, so I take a free card.

Preflop raiser with a gutshot and an overcard on a coordinated board; a small continuation bet picks up folds from weak holdings while keeping the price cheap when called.

Second pair with a weak kicker on a connected board; seat_3 bet into me after I checked, and I'm likely behind or drawing thin. Folding 200 into a small pot is the cheap, correct play.