Hold'em table

Three-handed button with T8o is worth an opening raise to apply pressure and take control preflop; folding is too tight and limping invites the blinds in cheaply.

J8o out of the small blind against a button 3x open, with the big blind still to act, is a weak offsuit hand. Calling out of position or 3-betting it is -EV, so I fold.

Q8o is too weak to defend out of position against a 3x open from the button.

A5 suited-ish offsuit on the button 3-handed is a clear open; a 2.5bb raise steals the blinds and plays well postflop in position.

JTo plays poorly out of position from the small blind facing a button open, with the big blind still left to act.

Closing the action with 98s, I'm getting good pot odds and can see a flop in position relative to the raiser despite being in the big blind. A call keeps the pot manageable with a speculative hand.

I have no pair and only weak backdoor draws on an ace-high flop; checking keeps the pot small and avoids putting chips in as a clear underdog.

Top pair with a weak kicker on a dry, ace-high board where I have the range advantage. A small c-bet gets value from Jx, smaller aces and draws while keeping the pot controlled.

My 9h8h has no pair and very little equity on an A-J-2 flop; calling 200 out of position with only backdoor possibilities is not profitable.

K3o is too weak to open profitably from the button even in 3-handed play.

Heads-up against the big blind after the button folded, raising with TJ offsuit applies pressure and takes initiative with a hand that has decent equity if called.

Getting 3:1 against a wide small-blind steal and holding position postflop, 63o is a borderline but acceptable defend.

I have top pair with a decent kicker on a paired board and should bet for value/protection against the big blind's range.

63 offsite with no pair and no draw on J88 facing a two-thirds-pot bet. Folding is clearly best since we have almost no equity and a bluff-raise is unlikely to work.

Opening from the button with T8o to apply pressure on the blinds and take initiative with position. If called or reraised, I can reassess on the flop.

AJo from the small blind against a 3-handed button open is strong enough to 3-bet for value and to take the initiative. A 3-bet also avoids playing out of position in a multiway pot with the big blind still to act.

Holding T3o facing an open and a 3-bet is an easy fold.

T8o is too weak to continue against a sizable small-blind 3-bet, and calling 800 more would leave me dominated too often.

J4o is at the bottom edge of a 3-handed button opening range and plays poorly against two players yet to act, so folding is the low-variance choice.

A7o is a strong hand blind-vs-blind; opening with a standard 3bb raise takes the initiative against the big blind.

A8o has enough equity against a small-blind steal raise, and calling closes the action with 3:1 pot odds while preserving position postflop. Raising would often fold worse and get called by better.

I hold Ace-high with marginal equity on a dry board, so checking to realize equity and control the pot makes the most sense.

Ace-high has some showdown value on a dry flop, and checking back controls the pot while avoiding a check-raise from the preflop raiser.

I turned second pair with top kicker in a checked-through pot, making checking to control the pot and catch bluffs the preferred line out of position.

Ace-high has some showdown value and opponent has shown weakness by checking twice; checking controls the pot and lets us realize equity or bluff the river if checked to again.

I have third pair with top kicker on a connected board after checked-down flop and turn. Checking to realize showdown value or evaluate a bluff catch is standard.

J2o is far too weak to open-raise even from the button in 3-handed play.

Getting 3:1 pot odds to complete from the small blind; 49o is weak but cheap enough to see a flop, and I can fold to further aggression.

42o is too weak to raise against a small-blind limp, and checking gives me a free flop in position.

I have a weak hand with no pair or strong draw on a coordinated board. Checking lets me see a free turn card and avoids risking chips with air.

With 42o I have no pair and no draw on a KQ7 two-tone board that likely hits the small blind's limping range. Checking takes a free card, and a stab here has little fold equity.

My hand has no pair or draw on a coordinated board, and checking keeps the pot small with two players remaining.

With zero showdown value, a small stab after the small blind checked twice can fold out their air and weak draws on this coordinated board. The bet risks 130 to win 200, so it only needs to work about 40% of the time.

I have only a weak gutshot with 4h9s on a Q-J-K-7 board and face a turn bet of 130 into 330. The pot odds are insufficient for my low equity, so folding is best.