Showdown Hold'em table

6-5 offsuit is below the profitable preflop raising thresholds, so retaining the option to evaluate the flop is best.

6-high with no made hand and only weak backdoor possibilities is not strong enough to commit a 2x play bet on this flop. Check and retain the option to fold or make a better-informed river decision.

I have a made 7-high straight on an unpaired board. Only a narrow set of dealer holdings can make a higher straight, so the river raise is strongly profitable.

K2 suited is within the published optimal preflop 4x raising range.

J9 suited is within the optimal preflop 4x raising range (J8s+), with strong straight and flush potential.

9-3 offsuit is well below the profitable preflop raising range, so retaining flexibility for the flop is preferable.

With only nine-high on a paired ace board, the hand is too weak to commit a 2x raise. Checking preserves the option to fold or make a better-informed river decision.

The board gives me two pair with a nine kicker. Raising cannot do worse than folding when I lose, while I retain meaningful chances to win against dealer holdings without a stronger kicker, trips, or a pocket pair.

8-4 offsuit is far below a profitable preflop raise range. Checking preserves the option to evaluate the flop before committing a play bet.

I hold two pair on the flop (nines and fours), with several redraws to a full house. This is strong enough to commit the flop raise despite the paired board.

KJ offsuit is in the optimal preflop 4x raising range (K5o+).

4-3 offsuit is far below the profitable preflop raising range. Check and retain the option to evaluate the flop.

Bottom pair with a weak kicker has insufficient current equity to commit a 2x raise on this coordinated flop. Checking preserves the option to fold or raise with full river information.

Bottom pair on this coordinated board is far too weak against the dealer's qualifying range, with many higher pairs, straights, and flushes possible. Folding preserves the extra play bet.

Pocket jacks are well above the optimal preflop 4x threshold (33+), so maximize value immediately.

King-six suited is within the optimal preflop 4x raising range (K2 suited or better).

9-4 offsuit is too weak for a profitable preflop raise; preserve flexibility to evaluate the flop.

Bottom pair with a weak kicker is too marginal to commit the 2x play bet on this coordinated flop. Checking preserves the option to raise only on favorable river outcomes.

Trip fours with Q-J-9 kickers is a strong river holding. The dealer always qualifies on the paired board, and this hand wins often enough to justify the final raise.

J5 offsuit is below the optimal preflop raising threshold, so checking preserves flexibility for the flop.

J-high on an A-K-7 rainbow flop has insufficient current showdown value and limited draw potential for a 2x raise. Check and retain the option to make an informed river decision.

Raise the river: although this is only a high-card hand, it beats a substantial set of the dealer’s unpaired holdings and ties some others, making the 1x play favorable versus folding.

Q6 offsuit is below the recommended preflop raise threshold, so checking preserves the option to evaluate the flop.

With only queen-high and a weak diamond draw, preserving the option to assess the river and fold missed runouts is preferable to committing 2x now.

With only king-high and a queen kicker, the dealer will too often make a pair or a better high-card hand. The small chance of winning an unqualified showdown does not justify the river call.

King-seven offsuit is in the optimal preflop 4x raising range (K5o+).

3♠4♣ is well below the profitable preflop raising range, so I check and retain the option to evaluate the flop.

Raise with an open-ended straight draw plus a four-flush, giving substantial equity and strong blind-payout upside.

Q2 offsuit is below the profitable preflop raise threshold, so checking preserves the option to make a more informed flop or river decision.

Bottom pair on an ace-high, two-club board is not strong enough to commit the 2x play bet now. Checking preserves the option to make a better-informed river decision.

I have trip twos with strong ace-king-queen kickers. Although any club can make the dealer a flush, this remains a profitable showdown raise.

Pocket twos are below the published optimal preflop raising threshold, so checking preserves flexibility to evaluate the flop.

Pocket deuces make a vulnerable two-pair hand on this paired board, with many turn-river cards likely to counterfeit or weaken it. Checking preserves the option to make a better-informed river decision rather than committing 2x now.

Two pair is likely ahead of the dealer’s many unpaired holdings on this paired board. The showdown value is sufficient to make the river raise preferable to folding.

J4 offsuit is below the optimal preflop raising threshold, so checking preserves the option to evaluate the flop.

This is only jack-high with weak backdoor possibilities; preserving the option to make an informed river decision is preferable to committing 2x on the flop.

Raise 1x: the paired board gives a meaningful chance to win against unpaired low dealer holdings, and raising has better expected value than surrendering the posted ante and blind.

J♦8♦ is a suited J8, which is in the optimal preflop 4x raising range.

7-4 offsuit is well below the profitable preflop raising range, so retaining the option to evaluate the flop is best.

Seven-high with no meaningful made hand or robust draw on this paired king board is too weak for a flop raise. Check and retain the option to fold or make a river decision with complete information.

Raise with two pair. Even though the paired board gives the dealer a qualifying hand, showdown has meaningful winning and tie potential, making the 1x raise preferable to folding.

9♦6♦ suited is below the published profitable preflop raising thresholds, so I will retain flexibility for the flop.

Two pair on this paired flop is likely ahead of most dealer holdings, and the dealer is already qualified by the board pair. Raising now captures value before unfavorable turn-river runouts can erode the hand.

J6 offsuit is below the profitable preflop raise thresholds, so checking preserves the option to evaluate the flop and river.

Top pair with a six kicker is strong enough to commit on this flop, with additional improvement potential to two pair or trips.

Any ace is in the optimal preflop 4x raising range. Raising now maximizes value rather than deferring with A-7 offsuit.

Ace-eight suited is in the optimal preflop 4x raising range; the ace strength and suitedness justify committing now.

Q9 offsuit is below the recommended preflop raise thresholds. Check to evaluate the flop before committing a play bet.

I have a made pair of queens with a nine kicker on the flop, likely ahead of much of the dealer's range and with meaningful improvement potential.

Pocket tens are well above the optimal preflop 4x threshold (any pocket pair 3s or higher), so maximize value immediately.

Q6 offsuit is below the optimal preflop raising threshold, so checking preserves flexibility to evaluate the flop.

With only a gutshot straight draw and weak current showdown value, checking preserves the option to fold unfavorable rivers or raise when the runout improves the hand.

With a pair of queens, raising is superior to folding: any win or tie improves on the guaranteed ante-and-blind loss from folding, while a qualifying dealer win produces the same loss as folding.

J7 offsuit is below the profitable preflop raise thresholds, so checking preserves the option to make a board-informed decision later.

With only the board pair and a jack kicker on an ace-high paired flop, raising 2x is too thin. Checking preserves the option to fold unfavorable river runouts.

Jacks-up? I hold two pair, sevens and fours with a jack kicker, which is comfortably ahead of much of the dealer's random range on this paired board. The river play raise has strong positive value versus folding.

7-6 offsuit is below the optimal preflop raise thresholds, so checking preserves the option to evaluate the flop.

The gutshot straight draw is too weak to commit a 2x play bet on the flop. Checking preserves the option to fold missed rivers or make a smaller value raise if the runout improves the hand.

With only ace-high and weak kickers on this unpaired board, the dealer will usually make at least a pair or hold superior high-card kickers. The river raise has worse expected value than preserving the fixed fold loss.

7-5 offsuit is below the optimal preflop raising thresholds, so preserving the option to evaluate the flop is best.

Top pair with a seven kicker plus a gutshot straight draw has sufficient showdown value and improvement potential to raise on the flop.

7-5 offsuit is below the optimal preflop raising range, so preserving the option to evaluate the flop is best.

Seven-high has no made value and only weak runner-runner straight possibilities. Checking preserves the option to fold unfavorable rivers or raise only if the runout improves substantially.

The board leaves me with only king-high, while the dealer will very often make at least a pair or a higher straight/high-card hand. The rare unqualified dealer holdings are not enough to justify the river play bet.