Hold'em table

QJo is a strong enough button opening hand three-handed. Raising to 2.5 big blinds pressures the blinds while preserving positional advantage if called.

5d2d is a very weak suited hand facing a button raise with the big blind still to act; calling 200 chips is not profitable.

Suited King-7 is a playable hand getting a good price from the big blind against a button open, so calling 150 to see a flop is better than folding or bloating the pot out of position.

I have King-high on an A-A-4 board with no pair beyond the aces, so I'd rather check and see whether seat_1 bets, rather than build a bluff into a preflop raiser's range.

A small continuation bet exploits my preflop range advantage on this dry, paired board and can fold out unpaired hands. It risks little while denying equity to hands that would benefit from a free turn.

Facing a 150 chip bet into a 700 chip pot, the price is about 21 percent of the pot, which is cheap enough to continue with King-high. Raising would be a bluff against a likely ace-holding seat_1.

I hold King-high with no pair on a board showing a pair of aces, and seat_1 has shown strength across two streets, so checking keeps the pot small without bluffing into a likely made hand.

Q-high has little equity when called, and this turn offers no meaningful draw or strong bluff blockers. Checking preserves chips and allows a free chance to improve.

With two pair, aces and kings, I have a strong hand but a bet could be called only by better hands, so checking keeps the pot small and invites a bluff or thin value bet from seat_1.

QJ has limited showdown value against the flop-calling range, and the river king favors my preflop raising range. A substantial bluff can fold out smaller pairs, while my queen and jack block some strong ace- and king-containing calls.

Our pair of kings is likely behind any ace-high hand on a board with two aces, and the river bet is large, so calling 600 for a share of 2050 needs more equity than we have.

54 offsuit is a weak low hand even on the button in three-handed play; calling or raising risks more chips with poor equity and playability against the blinds.

Facing only a 50-chip completion from the small blind against one opponent, the pot odds (3:1) make calling with 3-8 profitable despite the weak hand.

Q4 offsuit is too weak to raise routinely against the small blind's limp. Checking lets me see a free flop and play in position postflop.

I hold 3s-8h, a weak pair-less hand on a 7-8-5 board with only a backdoor draw, and the big blind checked to me, so checking to see the next card for free is best.

With queen-high, a gutshot, and a backdoor club draw, taking a free turn preserves equity. This connected board offers the opponent many hands that can continue against a bet.

I hold a weak pair of eights on a four-card board where both opponents checked the flop, so checking keeps the pot small and avoids bloating it with a marginal hand.

Semi-bluff with a queen-high flush draw and a gutshot straight draw after the opponent checks twice. A 75%-pot bet can fold out better high-card hands and some weak pairs while retaining drawing equity when called.

A pair of eights is weak against a turn bet from a player who checked the flop, and calling 150 into a 350 pot needs about 30% equity, which this hand is unlikely to have against that range.

7-4 offsuit is one of the weakest hands, and calling the 100-chip limp for a marginal, out-of-position flop is not profitable enough.

With the button folded, completing the small blind costs only 50 chips into a 150-chip pot. J6 offsuit is strong enough for a heads-up limp, but not strong enough to build a large pot out of position.

T7 offsuit is too weak to raise a small-blind limp for value, and checking is free to realize equity in position postflop.

I have no pair or immediate draw, only weak backdoor straight potential. Checking out of position avoids inflating the pot with a weak hand.

With a pair of tens on a Q-T-2 two-diamond board heads-up, betting protects against overcards and flush/straight draws while getting value from weaker pairs and draws.

J-high has no direct straight draw or flush draw on this board. Facing a three-quarter-pot bet out of position, our weak backdoor potential does not justify continuing.

Q4 offsuit is a marginal button hand with poor playability and substantial domination risk. Without evidence that the blinds overfold, folding is preferable to opening or limping.

Heads-up SB vs BB after button fold, T3o has enough ten-high equity for a cheap limp at 3-to-1 immediate odds rather than folding; I will realize equity in position of the limp pot and fold to a big BB raise line postflop if unimproved.

Checking my big blind option with 7-3 offsuit is free and avoids investing more chips with a weak hand.

With ten-high and almost no showdown value on the paired ace board, a small half-pot bluff risks 100 to win 200 and should fold out many of the big blind's unpaired hands.

I hold 7-3 with no pair and no real draw on an A-A-9 board, and seat_2's flop bet likely means an ace, so I have far less than the roughly 20% equity needed to call 100 into 300.

On the button 3-handed, 9-7 suited is well within a profitable opening range with position and playability. Raising to 2.5bb applies pressure to the blinds and builds a pot in position.

Jc8c is a playable suited hand getting 200 to call from the small blind, with the big blind still to act, so calling is better than folding and avoids bloating the pot out of position with a weak hand.

K5 offsuit has poor multiway playability and substantial domination risk against an opener and a caller. The favorable pot odds do not sufficiently compensate for weak equity realization out of position.

I have an open-ended straight draw plus a backdoor-strong flush draw with three clubs, but no made hand. Checking keeps the pot small and lets me see whether the preflop raiser bets.

In position as preflop raiser with middle pair on a Q-7-6 two-diamond board, a half-pot c-bet protects against overcards and diamond draws while denying equity.

I have an open-ended straight draw (needs a 5 or 9) plus a flush draw with three clubs including the Qc, so calling 300 into a 900 pot with roughly 17 outs is profitable.

I have J-high with no pair on a board that paired the queen, so I have no showdown value and checking keeps the pot small for free.

With QQ77 and a 9 kicker on a double-paired turn, I have showdown value but lose to any queen and higher pairs; checking controls the pot in position and avoids a check-raise while letting me evaluate the river.

I hold J-high with no pair against a paired board, so I have little showdown value. Checking keeps the pot small and avoids bloating it against a player who has shown strength on the flop.

Two pair Queens and Sevens has showdown value against missed diamond and straight draws and a pair of Sixes. Betting would mostly be called by better Kings, Queens, or higher pairs and fold worse hands, so checking back is best.

Pocket fives are a playable pair in a three-way pot, and calling the 100-chip big blind keeps the hand cheap while I try to hit a set.

Nine-four offsuit is too weak to profitably complete from the small blind, despite the favorable pot odds. It plays poorly out of position, and the big blind can still raise.

Q7 offsuit is too weak to raise out of position against a button limp; take the free flop and realize equity cheaply.

Flopped trip queens heads-up on a dry board; betting for value against pocket pairs, 3x, and floats while building the pot.

Facing a 200 bet into a 450 pot, I need about 31% equity; pocket fives beat any bluff or weak hand from the big blind and keep me in against a range that includes less than a full set of queens.

I have trip queens on a Q-Q-3-K board, beating king pairs and lower holdings. A value bet of 500 into 650 gets calls from Kx and pocket pairs while charging draws.

I have a weak pocket pair of fives under the queens on board, and facing a 500 turn bet into a 1150 pot I need roughly 30% equity, which this hand doesn't have against a range that has been raising.