Showdown Hold'em table

J4 suited is outside the optimal 4x table, which starts at J8s+ for jack-high suited hands, so checking preflop is correct. I'll reassess on the flop.

Jack-high with no pair and only backdoor draws on 9-5-7 is well below the flop raising threshold, which needs a hidden pair or a strong draw. Checking keeps the river decision open.

With only J-high and no pair, the dealer beats or ties me in most holdings. Raising works out to about -24 chips, which is worse than the -20 from folding.

9-3 offsuit is well outside the optimal preflop 4x raising range (33+, any ace, strong kings/queens/jacks), so checking to see the flop for free is correct.

The 9-3 offsuit has no pair on a 2-7-4 flop, only a gutshot to a 5 for a straight and a weak 9 high. Raising 2x would be -EV, so I check and decide on the river.

Ten-high only wins against roughly 2% of dealer holdings. Raising has an EV of about -25 chips, while folding costs exactly 20, so folding is the better option.

K5s falls inside the published optimal 4x preflop range (K2s+), so raising 4x maximizes expected value.

JTs is in the published optimal 4x raising range (J8s+), so the maximum preflop raise is correct.

K4 offsuit falls below the optimal 4x raise threshold (K5o+), so checking is correct. That keeps the option to raise 2x on the flop or 1x on the river with more information.

King-high with no pair and no flush draw on an A-7-3 flop falls well short of the flop 2x raise threshold. Checking is free and keeps the river decision open.

The dealer always qualifies on this double-paired board, so a raise risks 30 chips to win 20, and I estimate about 52% wins, 10% ties and 38% losses, for an EV near -1 chip. Folding loses a certain 20 chips, so calling is far better.

5-3 offsuit is well outside the optimal 4x raising range (33+, any ace, strong kings/queens/jacks), so I check and see the flop for free.

A hole card pairs the board (pair of fives). Basic flop strategy raises any hidden pair except pocket deuces, so the 2x raise beats checking here even on an A-Q board.

9-7 offsuit is not in the optimal preflop 4x raising table (it needs a pair of 33+, any ace, or strong king/queen/jack holdings). Checking keeps the option to raise on the flop or river once I see more cards.

Pairing the board 7 with a hole card gives a hidden pair. Standard optimal flop strategy raises 2x with any hidden pair except pocket deuces, and raising beats checking here.

J3 suited is outside the optimal preflop 4x range (which needs J8s+ for suited jacks), so checking and seeing the flop for free is correct.

A pair of threes made with a hole card is a hidden pair, and standard flop strategy is to raise 2x with one. The J kicker adds some extra value.

KQo is K5o+ territory in the published optimal preflop table, so the max 4x raise has the highest expected value.

J6 offsuit is outside the optimal preflop 4x range (which needs JTo or J8s+), so I'll check and see the flop for free.

I have a pair of sixes with a jack kicker, and the pair uses one of my hole cards. Standard optimal flop strategy raises 2x with any hidden pair other than pocket deuces.

T9 offsuit is not in the optimal 4x preflop range (which needs JTo or better among offsuit non-ace/king hands), so checking and seeing the flop is correct.

T9 on a Q77 flop has no hole-card pair and no flush draw, only backdoor straight chances. Standard flop strategy says check and decide on the river.

I hold a full house, sevens full of nines, which beats almost every dealer holding. Raising wins the play bet and pays the blind at 3:1.

J6 suited is outside the optimal preflop 4x table, which needs J8s or better among suited jacks. Checking keeps the option to raise 2x on the flop or 1x on the river.

J-high with no pair and only a backdoor heart draw on a QQ4 board is well below the flop 2x raise threshold. Checking keeps the river decision open for free.

Trips queens with K-J kickers wins about 42% and ties about 9% against the dealer's possible hands. Raising is worth roughly -0.6 ante, versus -2 for folding.

54 offsuit is not in the optimal 4x raising table (33+, any ace, K5o+, Q8o+, JTo), so I check and will reassess on the flop.

Optimal flop strategy says to bet 2x with a hidden pair, and pairing the 5 with a hole card gives one. Backdoor straight and diamond-flush draws add a little more equity.

Pocket aces are the strongest starting hand and sit comfortably inside the optimal 4x preflop range, so the maximum raise gets the most money in with a large edge.

AJo contains an ace, and the published optimal strategy raises 4x preflop with any ace, so the maximum raise has the highest EV here.

Q5 offsuit falls below the optimal 4x threshold, which needs Q8o or better offsuit. Checking keeps the bet small, and I can decide on the flop or river with more information.

Queen-high with only a backdoor flush draw falls well short of the flop 2x raise threshold, which needs a hidden pair or better or a four-flush. Checking keeps the river fold option open.

With Q-high and no pair, an exact count of the dealer's 990 possible hands puts raising at about -19.9 chips versus -20 for folding. The edge comes from the 188 dealer hands that miss a pair and lose to KQT97.

The published optimal strategy says to raise 4x preflop with any ace, and A7 offsuit is on that list. Raising 4x has higher expected value than checking.

8-2 offsuit is far outside the optimal preflop 4x raising range, so checking to see the flop for free is correct.

I have top pair of eights using a hole card, plus a backdoor club draw. Standard flop strategy is to raise 2x with any hidden pair except pocket deuces, so the 2x raise beats checking here.

8-3 offsuit is far outside the optimal preflop raise range, so checking keeps the option to raise or fold later at no extra cost.

With 8-high, no pair and only a gutshot to a 4, this hand is far below the flop raise threshold. Checking keeps the river decision open at no extra cost.

We only have the board's pair of twos with Q-8-6 kickers, and the dealer always qualifies. The dealer beats us with any ace, king, jack, ten, nine, pair or 8-7, so we win only about 3% of the time; a 1x raise loses far more than the 20 chips a fold costs.

7-5 offsuit is not in the optimal preflop 4x raising range (33+, any ace, strong kings, queens and jacks), so checking to see the flop for free is correct.

7-5 offsets on an 8-2-J board give no pair and only a weak gutshot draw (needs a 6 for 4-5-6-7-8 or similar), so a flop raise would be clearly negative EV. Checking keeps the river decision open for free.

I have a pair of sevens, and the unpaired board means the dealer fails to qualify roughly 40% of the time. Even assuming I lose every time the dealer qualifies, calling's EV is about -14 chips versus -20 for folding, and I'll also beat some weaker qualifying hands.

Pocket deuces fall just below the 33+ threshold in the reference optimal 4x preflop table, so checking edges out raising. I'll reassess on the flop.

Pocket deuces under an A-T-5 board form a weak underpair, and standard optimal flop strategy excludes pocket twos from the 2x raise. Checking keeps the option to reassess on the river for 1x or a fold.

I am playing the board's two pair (AATT5) and cannot win at showdown. The dealer always qualifies, and any card above a 5 or any improvement beats me, so I would only tie about 8% of the time. Raising loses about 27.7 chips on average versus 20 for folding, so I fold.

J6 suited falls below the optimal preflop 4x threshold (J8s+), so checking to see the flop for free is higher EV.

Jack-high with no hidden pair on a paired board has only a backdoor flush and no real straight draw, which falls well short of the standard flop 2x raise threshold. Checking keeps the river decision open.

Two pair (jacks and deuces with a 6 kicker) beats most dealer holdings. Calling is far better than folding, which forfeits 20 chips for certain.

K3 offsuit falls below the optimal 4x preflop threshold (K5o+), so I check and re-evaluate on the flop.

I have top pair of kings plus a four-card diamond flush draw. That gives strong equity against the dealer's random holding and extra blind upside if the flush comes, so raising 2x beats checking.

T9 offsuit is not on the optimal 4x preflop table, which needs JTo or better among unpaired offsuit hands without an ace or king. Checking keeps the option to raise 2x on the flop or 1x on the river.

T9 high on Q-7-2 rainbow has no pair and no real draw, so it falls well short of the flop 2x raise threshold. Checking keeps the river decision open.

I have a pair of tens, which beats every unqualified dealer hand and many qualifying ones. The dealer outs (any queen, spade flushes, higher pocket pairs, two pair, a ten with a better kicker) cover well under half of dealer holdings, so raising beats folding's sure -2 antes.

KJ suited is well within the published optimal 4x preflop raising range (K2s+), so raising the maximum gives the highest expected value.

T9s falls outside the optimal preflop 4x table (which needs J8s+ for jack-high suited hands), so checking and seeing the flop for free is the higher-EV play.

Ten-high with no pair and only backdoor draws falls well short of the usual flop 2x threshold of two pair, a hidden pair, or a strong four-flush. Checking keeps the river raise-or-fold option open.

The board's 77-33 two pair gives me a T kicker, and the dealer always qualifies. Enumerating the dealer's hands gives raising about -17.8 chips against -20 for folding, so calling is the slightly smaller loss.

JTs falls inside the optimal preflop 4x range (J8s+), so raising the maximum gives the highest expected value.

J8 offsuit falls outside the optimal 4x table, which needs JTo or J8s+ for jacks, so checking preflop and keeping the flop and river options is higher EV.

A pair of eights made with a hole card, plus a jack kicker, follows the standard optimal flop strategy of raising 2x with any hidden pair. Its equity against random dealer hands justifies the bet.

Q2 offsuit is well below the optimal preflop 4x threshold (Q8o+), so checking and reassessing on the flop is the higher-EV play.

Q-high with no pair, only a gutshot to a 5 and a weak backdoor, on 4-8-6. That is well below the flop raise threshold, so checking keeps the river option open at no cost.

Because the board pair guarantees the dealer qualifies, I win with roughly 28% of dealer hands and tie with about 3%. That gives the 1x raise an EV of about -15 chips, versus -20 for folding.

QJo meets the optimal 4x table (Q8o+), so raising 4x preflop maximizes expected value.