Hold'em table

Open raising with pocket aces on the button for value.

63 offsuit is too weak to defend against a button raise from the small blind, with poor equity realization out of position and the big blind still to act.

JTo in the big blind facing a 2.5x button open with 150 to call into a 400 pot; good price and playable hand, so defend by calling rather than 3-betting or folding.

I have JTo with an open-ended straight draw (8 gives me a straight) plus two overcards on 6-9-7 flop. Out of position against the preflop raiser, checking to let them continue-bet is standard; I can then call or check-raise with my strong draw.

Betting for value and protection with pocket aces on a connected, wet board against the big blind's wide defending range.

JT on 6-9-7 has a gutshot to the 8 plus two overcards against a wide button c-bet; getting ~26% pot odds with decent implied odds, calling is justified while raising would bloat the pot with a marginal draw.

Turn gave me top pair with a jack kicker plus a gutshot on a wet board; leading for value and protection against flush/straight draws and worse pairs makes sense out of position.

The turn completes an open straight with any eight, but getting roughly 3.6-to-1 pot odds, calling with an overpair in position is profitable against semi-bluffs and pair-plus-draw combinations.

Top pair with J kicker on a river that completed the club flush and multiple straights; betting is too thin as worse hands fold and better hands call, so check and evaluate.

The river brings a potential flush on top of an already very wet board with several straight possibilities. With one pair and no club, checking behind has good showdown value and avoids facing a check-raise.

Seven-three offsuit is too weak to open profitably on the button without evidence that the blinds overfold. Folding avoids investing in a hand with poor equity and playability.

Button folded, so it's SB vs BB heads-up; 8d4d suited is a reasonable steal candidate with good playability, so raise to 3bb to apply pressure and take the blinds often.

Defending the big blind with QJo in position against a standard small blind open raise.

Middle pair with a weak kicker on a very coordinated 9-8-T two-heart board; out of position against a BB caller who connects often here, so checking to control the pot and realize showdown value is better than betting into a check-raise-heavy spot.

Flopped the nut straight on a coordinated board; betting two-thirds pot for value and protection against various draws.

Middle pair with a 4 kicker and no backdoor draws on a very coordinated T98 board, facing a 2/3-pot bet out of position; opponent's BB calling range has many straights, two pairs, top pairs and strong draws, so continuing has poor reverse-implied odds.

T3 offsuit on the button in a 3-handed game is a weak, unplayable hand; folding preflop avoids negative expectation.

J8o is on the weaker side to play out of position from the small blind against the big blind, making an easy fold.

AQo is a premium hand on the button in 3-handed play; raising to 2.5bb is standard for value and positional control.

76 offsuit is too weak to defend from the small blind against a 2.5bb button raise, with the big blind still to act. Poor equity realization out of position makes folding preferable to calling or bluff-raising.

Q7 suited in the big blind facing a 2.5x button open; getting 400:150 pot odds and closing the action, a call is standard with a suited queen.

I have middle pair with a queen kicker on a dry board, out of position against the preflop raiser. Checking to the aggressor is standard; I can call a continuation bet and reevaluate rather than bloat the pot with a marginal hand.

The 8-7-2 rainbow board connects well with the big blind's defending range. Checking back controls the pot and realizes our overcard equity safely in position.

Middle pair of sevens with Q kicker on an ace-high turn after the preflop raiser checked back the flop; betting folds out worse and gets called by better, so I check to keep the pot small and evaluate the river.

I turned top pair with a strong Queen kicker after checking back the flop. I will bet for value against weaker Ax, middle pairs, and straight draws.

Second pair with Q kicker vs a button who checked back the flop and now bets the turn Ace; range contains plenty of missed overcards and bluffs, and we need only ~29% equity to call. Calling once and reassessing the river.

Middle pair of sevens with a queen kicker has marginal showdown value on an A-high board with a possible straight; checking lets me evaluate a river bet rather than bloat the pot out of position.

We have top pair with a strong Queen kicker, which has excellent showdown value. The river nine completes multiple straights and two-pair combinations, so checking back controls the pot safely against check-raises.

63 offsuit is too weak to open profitably against two blinds without evidence they overfold. Folding avoids investing in a hand with poor equity and playability.

Button folded, so it's SB vs BB heads-up with T9o, a hand well within a standard SB raising range; raising to 3bb takes initiative and avoids playing a bloated pot out of position by limping.

Fold T3s in the big blind facing a 3bb open from the small blind as it lacks sufficient equity and playability.

3-handed on the button with 5c3c suited connector, a standard open to 2.5bb is profitable in position; it plays well postflop and applies pressure on the blinds.

Holding 9h 4d in the small blind against a button open is an easy fold out of position.

Calling costs 150 to contest a final pot of 550, requiring about 27% realized equity. K6 offsuit is a reasonable big-blind defense against a wide button opening range, especially without rake.

Middle pair has showdown value but is too weak to lead for value against the preflop raiser. Checking controls the pot and preserves the option to call a reasonably sized continuation bet.

I raised preflop with 53s and the BB checked to me on a 3-T-6 two-tone board; I have bottom pair plus a gutshot/backdoor equity, so a half-pot continuation bet takes it down often against the BB's wide range and keeps the hand playable if called.

Middle pair with a strong kicker is worth defending against a button continuation bet at 3-to-1 pot odds. Calling preserves weaker hands and bluffs in the opponent’s range without inflating the pot.

Our pair of sixes has some showdown value, but the third spade weakens it and we have no flush redraw. Checking keeps the pot controlled without turning our hand into an unnecessary bluff.

Bottom pair plus a gutshot on a three-spade board; opponent called the flop and could easily hold a spade or a ten. Checking back takes a free card to hit a 4 or improve while keeping the pot small with a marginal hand.

Our pair of sixes has showdown value, but betting is unlikely to get called by worse. With no spade blocker, this is also a poor candidate to turn into a bluff.

Bottom pair of threes has some showdown value against missed straight draws and overcards; the three-spade board makes bluffing dubious since villain's flop-calling range includes flushes and Tx that will call, so I take the free showdown.