Hold'em table

T8o on the button in 3-handed play is a standard open; a 2.5x raise puts pressure on the blinds.

A2 offsuit plays poorly out of position against a button raise, with the big blind still to act.

8-high offsuit is too weak to defend against a button open at this depth, especially out of position heads-up.

On the button in a three-handed game, T6 offsuit is playable as a small open raise with positional advantage.

KQo is a strong three-handed hand and plays well as a value 3-bet from the small blind. Raising also applies pressure to the button open while denying the big blind a cheap entry.

K5o facing an open and a 3-bet from the small blind is far too weak to continue out of position, with the button still left to act behind me.

T6 offsuit is too weak to continue against this sizable three-bet.

On the button three-handed, A2 offsuit is a reasonable positional open with an ace blocker. I raise to a standard sizing to contest the blinds.

K6o from the small blind facing a 2.5x button open, with the big blind still to act, is a clear fold. Calling out of position with a dominated hand loses money.

5-3 offsuit is too weak to defend out of position against a 2.5 big-blind button raise.

Q4s is a standard button open in 3-handed play, where the range is wide, and position plus suitedness make it profitable. A 2.5bb size keeps it cheap against the blinds.

Q5 offsuit is too weak to defend from the small blind against a button raise, especially with the big blind still to act.

9h6h is a suited, connected hand with sufficient playability to defend the big blind against a button min-plus open at this price.

Check to the preflop raiser with an open-ended straight draw and backdoor heart-flush potential, preserving flexibility.

Bottom pair with a queen kicker on a paired dry board has good equity against the big blind's calling range, and a small c-bet gets value and protection at low risk. I'm in position as the preflop raiser, which makes a third-pot bet appropriate.

Call with the nine-high flush draw at a favorable price in position relative to the remaining betting streets. We retain implied odds and can apply pressure on favorable turns.

With only nine-high on an ace-paired board, checking preserves the option to realize any river equity without bluffing into a range that can contain many aces and eights.

Our fours-and-eights two pair has showdown value, but the turn ace improves many of BB's flop calls. A bet would mostly get called by better hands and fold out worse, so checking back controls the pot.

After the turn checks, a substantial river bluff can represent an ace or an eight and target the opponent's missed broadways and medium pocket pairs. My nine-high has no showdown value.

The small river bet gives me about 3.5:1, so I need to be good only around 28% of the time. My pair of fours with a board pair beats enough bluffs and thin value hands to justify calling.

Ace-king offsuit is a strong button hand, so I’m opening for value and initiative.

Defending the small blind with a suited-gap style 97 offsuit is acceptable at this small 3bb button open given the price and likely big blind action.

AQo is strong 3-handed against a button open and SB flat; squeezing from the BB for value and isolation is better than calling out of position multiway.

AK offsuit is strong enough to 4-bet against a big-blind squeeze, especially three-handed. Raising to 3200 puts pressure on both opponents while keeping weaker hands in their ranges.

9-high offsuit is far too weak to continue against a squeeze and large four-bet, especially with both opponents still involved.

Three-handed, the button's 4-bet range is fairly wide. With a price of 1900 into 6700, AQo has enough equity to call and then play the low-SPR flop, jamming when we connect.

AQ high missed this wet board, and villain's 4-bet range is heavy with overpairs. Out of position with a pot-sized stack behind, I'll check and give up if facing significant pressure.

With ace-king high and no heart on a coordinated flop, I prefer to take the free card and preserve my remaining stack.

With AQ on an ace turn at an SPR of about 1, betting mostly folds out the KK/QQ hands we beat and gets called by AK/AA. Checking keeps the pot controlled and lets villain bluff or value-bet thinner.

Top pair with top kicker is strong in this four-bet pot. Betting gets value from weaker aces and hands with a heart while charging draws.

Top pair with a queen kicker is essentially pot-committed against a small remaining stack. Villain's 4-bet range includes plenty of KK/QQ/JJ that fear the ace, so shoving denies their flush-draw equity and gets it in now.

Top pair with top kicker is strong enough to call 4,000 into a 16,300-chip pot. The opponent can have worse aces or a bluff, and I need only about 20% equity.

On the button in a three-handed game, Q2 suited has enough playability to open and pressure the blinds. I use a small standard raise size to risk little while retaining initiative.

T4o from the small blind facing a button open, with the big blind still to act, is a clear fold: it plays poorly out of position and is too weak to 3-bet.

4-3 offsuit plays poorly out of position against a button raise, and the discount does not justify defending this hand.