Hold'em table

With the button and no prior action, 53 suited is a reasonable low-end opening hand. A small raise can win the blinds while keeping the pot manageable when called in position.

7-3 offsuit in the small blind facing a button raise is a trivial fold; it plays poorly out of position and has no equity edge.

Q5 offsuit has poor playability out of position and is frequently dominated by the button's opening range. Without evidence of unusually loose opening, folding is preferable to defending this weak hand.

K3o on the button in a 3-handed game is a reasonable open; raising 2.5x to pressure the blinds and take the pot down or play in position.

KTs is a strong suited three-bet candidate against a button open. Raising pressures the opener's wide range and discourages the big blind from entering while compensating for our positional disadvantage.

J5 offsuit is too weak to continue against an open and a large three-bet, with the original raiser still to act. Folding avoids committing more chips with poor equity and playability.

K3 offsuit is a weak hand facing a large 3-bet from the small blind; calling 850 out of position-neutral spot with a dominated hand is unprofitable.

T4 suited is a marginal but playable button steal with both blinds still to act. A minimum raise risks little while leveraging position and retaining some postflop playability.

76 offsuit is too weak to continue from the small blind against a button raise with the big blind still to act. Poor equity realization out of position and the risk of a squeeze outweigh the modest price.

Facing a min-raise from the button with 97o in the big blind, I'm getting 3.5:1 pot odds to call 100 into 350; a suited/connected-ish hand with playable postflop equity makes this a standard defend against a min-raise.

I have a gutshot (6 for straight) with 97o on A-high flop out of position against the preflop raiser; checking to see what button does is standard, and I can call a small bet or check-raise occasionally.

This dry ace-high flop favors my preflop raising range, making a small continuation bet an efficient bluff against missed hands. The backdoor diamond draw provides some equity when called.

Gutshot to the 6 with good implied odds against a small third-pot c-bet; calling 150 into 750 is cheap and keeps the option to bluff later on scary turns.

Middle pair with a gutshot/backdoor draws on an ace-high board; checking to the preflop raiser keeps the pot controlled and lets me decide against their turn bet.

The turn gives me a flush draw and little showdown value, making this a useful semibluff. A substantial second barrel can fold out weaker pairs while retaining equity when called.

Middle pair plus gutshot (eight outs to improve) with deep stacks for implied odds, and the button's wide range includes diamond and straight draws that my pair of sevens currently beats; calling is better than folding, and raising would isolate against stronger hands.

Missed my straight draw and hold only a pair of sevens on an ace-high board after villain barreled two streets; checking to control the pot and evaluate any river bet.

The river gives us a pair with showdown value against missed draws and lower pairs. Betting would mostly fold worse hands while getting called by aces or stronger, so checking is best.

85 offsuit is too weak for a standard button open against two unknown blinds. Folding avoids investing in a hand with poor equity and limited postflop playability.

Button folded, so it's SB vs BB heads-up with T8o, a hand that plays fine as a steal raise in position-blind battle; raising 3x puts pressure on BB and takes the pot down often.

Q6 offsuit is strong enough to defend against a small-blind open, which can contain a wide range. Calling costs 200 into a 400-chip pot, and I will have position after the flop.

Paired K-high board favors the preflop raiser's range; a small 1/3-pot c-bet with no showdown value folds out many hands cheaply, and we can give up if called/raised.

Queen-high has little showdown value on this board and no direct straight or flush draw. Even against a small continuation bet, the weak improvement prospects and difficulty facing further bets favor folding.

K4o on the button in a 3-handed game is a reasonable open; raising to 2.5bb applies pressure on the blinds and takes initiative with position.

J8 offsuit is too weak to profitably continue from the small blind against a 2.5bb button raise with the big blind still to act. Folding avoids playing a frequently dominated hand out of position.

Calling costs 150 to contest a final pot of 550, making A2 offsuit a reasonable defense against a wide button opening range. Keeping the pot small avoids turning a marginal hand into an unnecessary three-bet bluff.

This king-queen-high flop favors the preflop raiser's range, and A2 has little drawing potential. Checking preserves chips and retains our modest ace-high showdown value without forcing a low-equity bluff.

Top pair with a weak kicker on a dry-ish board; a small c-bet for value and protection against draws and weaker pairs, keeping pot manageable given kicker issues.

Ace-high with a weak kicker and no direct draw is a poor continuation against this bet. Out of position on a board favoring the preflop raiser, calling is unlikely to realize enough equity.

Pocket threes are strong enough to open on the button three-handed. Raising to 2.5 big blinds pressures the blinds while retaining positional advantage and set potential when called.

62 offsuit is too weak to defend against a button raise from the small blind, especially with the big blind still to act. Folding avoids investing more with poor equity and positional disadvantage.

J2 offsuit is a weak hand out of position against a button raise; even with decent pot odds it plays poorly postflop, so folding is the standard play.