Hold'em table

Button folded; in the small blind with 97o-suited-ish 9d7c I need only 50 more to call into a 150 pot (3:1 odds), so completing is profitable heads-up versus the big blind.

J3 offsuit is weak, and I can see the flop for free against the small blind's limp.

Open-ended straight draw (9-7 on 8-Q-6 needs a 5 or T) plus overcard-free but live equity; heads-up out of position, a small bet is a good semi-bluff and builds the pot with decent equity.</br>

Jack-high with only remote backdoor draws is too weak to call a 150-chip flop bet.

J6 suited is a weak hand out of position against two players still to act behind. Folding on the button costs nothing, and the hand has little equity to justify calling or raising.

A-T offsuit is strong enough to raise against the big blind after the button folds. Raising to 300 builds value and discourages a free flop.

QTo is strong enough to defend the big blind against a 3x raise; calling keeps the pot small with a decent hand and position.

Ace-high has some showdown value, but this flop gives me little incentive to build the pot out of position. I’ll check and reassess based on the opponent’s action.

I have Q-high with a gutshot-ish draw on a checked flop; checking keeps the pot small and free, since seat_3's preflop raise suggests a stronger range.

Ace-high has some showdown value, and the turn does little to improve my hand. Checking avoids building a pot out of position.

Q-high with no bet facing me; checking keeps the pot small and avoids bluffing into the preflop raiser.

Ace-high has some showdown value after both players checked the flop and turn. Betting risks chips against pairs that may call.

I have queen-high only; opponent checked every street, so I take the free showdown rather than bluff into a likely made hand.

Q8 offsuit is strong enough to open from the button three-handed, and a small raise uses position without committing too many chips.

Pocket threes have good set-mining odds against a 2.5x raise with deep stacks; calling 200 to win a big pot if I hit is profitable.

6h8h is a suited connector getting 600+150 pot odds (4:1) in the big blind against a button open and a small blind call, so it's a profitable, easy call to see a flop.

Pocket threes missed the K-9-A board; with no draw and three players, checking to see a cheap turn is best.

I have 8h6h on a K-9-A board with a backdoor-less weak draw (only the 9 and 8 connect loosely, no pair, no flush draw). The board favors the preflop raiser's range, so I check and give up the bluff-raise for now.

Q8 offsuit has little immediate equity on this A-K-9 flop, and both blinds called preflop. Checking in position avoids building a multiway pot with a weak hand.

Pocket threes missed the K-9-A-5 board; with no fold equity shown and everyone checking, I take the free river card and only continue if I improve.

I only have a gutshot straight draw with 6-8 on a K-9-A-5 board, and the pot is three-way. Seat 1 checked, and seat 3 checked back the flop, so checking keeps the pot small and lets me see the river cheaply.

With queen-high and no meaningful draw, a turn bluff into two opponents is unlikely to get enough folds. I'll take the free river card.

My pocket 3s are nearly worthless on this board; with everyone checking, I take the free showdown rather than bluff into two opponents.

My hand plays as just a pair of fives from the board, with no 8 or 6 helping. That is a marginal showdown hand against two players who both checked down every street. Betting would only get called by better hands, and a bluff has little chance against two opponents, so I check.

Q-high has some showdown value against missed draws. With two opponents still in the pot, a river bluff is unlikely to fold out enough pairs to justify the bet.

Ace-high on the button is a standard open; raising to 3x builds the pot and applies pressure on both blinds.

T5 offsuit is a weak hand, and I'd be out of position against a button raise to 3bb with a big blind still left to act behind me. Folding gives up only the 50 chip small blind.

T8 suited has enough equity and playability to defend the big blind against a button raise at this price.

I have an open-ended straight draw but no made hand. Checking to the preflop raiser keeps the pot manageable and lets me respond to their bet.

I raised preflop with A-high and the BB checked a dry 2-7-9 flop; a half-pot continuation bet often takes it down and builds the pot when called with my overcard equity.

I have an open-ended straight draw and enough potential equity to continue against the pot-sized bet. Calling keeps weaker hands and bluffs in without building a large pot out of position.

I have an open-ended straight draw but no made hand. Checking avoids building the pot out of position while leaving me the option to continue against a reasonable bet.

I hold top pair (aces) on the paired board; seat_3 checked the turn, so I bet for value and protection against draws.

I have an open-ended straight draw with eight river outs. The pot odds alone are short, but a hit may earn enough on the river to justify the call.

My straight draw missed, and the river ace is a card the preflop raiser can often have. I’ll check rather than bluff into that range.

I hold top two pair (aces and deuces) on a paired board; seat_3 has check-called and now shows weakness, so a value bet can get called by worse aces or lower pairs.

My straight draw missed, leaving ten-high with little showdown value. The river bet is too large to call, and a bluff-raise is unlikely to succeed often enough.

A6 suited on the button in 3-handed play is a solid hand. A raise to 3bb takes the initiative and puts pressure on both blinds.

T5 suited is too weak to defend from the small blind against a 3x button raise, especially with the big blind still to act.

J5 offsuit is far too weak to call 3bb against a raiser heads-up; folding is clearly best.

A2 offsuit is strong enough to open on the button three-handed, and a 2.5-big-blind raise applies pressure while preserving position.

8c5h is a weak hand facing a 2.5x raise out of position; folding is clearly best.

K7o in the big blind getting 400 into 150 (about 2.7:1) against a button open that is likely wide in a 3-handed game. The hand has enough equity to call, and I avoid bloating the pot out of position.

I have second pair with a king on an Ace-Queen-8 flop, heads-up and first to act against a button raiser. A small bet of about 64% pot gets value from worse queens and eights and denies equity to overcards and draws. The king also blocks some AK and KQ combos, so a bet is better than checking and folding to pressure.

Top pair is strong enough to continue against this flop bet, but the weak kicker makes a raise unattractive. Calling keeps weaker hands and bluffs in the pot.

Board is 8h Ad Qh 8d and I hold Kh with a 7, so I have only a weak pair-of-eights-type hand with king kicker issues. Seat 3 called the flop bet and has shown strength, so I check to control the pot rather than bluff or bet thin.

My ace is ahead of many queens and draws after the turn check. A modest bet gets value and makes those draws pay to continue.

I have a pair of eights on the board plus an ace and a king kicker, which beats many bluffs. The price is 550 into a pot of 1800, so I only need about 23% equity. The button's range includes bluffs and weaker aces, so calling is better than folding or raising.

I hold king-high with a pair of eights on the board, so I only have a weak showdown hand. The opponent bet the turn, so a bet here would mostly get called by better hands or folded out by worse ones. Checking is the safer line.

My ace beats queens and missed draws, and a modest river bet can get called by a queen. The paired board makes a larger value bet less attractive.

Board 8h Ad Qh 8d 2c; I hold Kh with a 7, so just king-high with a pair of eights on board. Pot odds are about 3.9 to 1, so I need roughly 20% equity. A bluff-catch is marginal, but the button's line of betting every street could be a bluff, so I call.