Hold'em table

84o is far too weak to open raise or play even from the button in 3-handed play.

Pocket fives are strong enough to raise heads-up from the small blind, building the pot while retaining the option to win preflop.

K6o is a marginal hand, but 3-handed against a small-blind open to 3bb, calling 200 more into a 400 pot gives 3:1 odds and I close the action, so I can defend. A 3-bet with this hand would be poor.

With a low pocket pair on a coordinated flop, I prefer to check and keep the pot manageable.

Seat 2 checked to me on a dry flop with a pot of 600. I have only king-high with a backdoor club draw, but a small bet can take the pot when they miss, and I can fold to resistance.

The small bet gives my pocket fives a reasonable price to continue against a wide range of possible hands. I’ll reassess on the turn.

My pocket fives have little showdown value on this coordinated turn, and betting into the flop bettor is unlikely to get called by worse. I'll check and avoid building the pot.

I have king-high with a backdoor-less flush blocker, no pair, and only a weak draw to a gutshot (6-7 needed? no). The board is wet and the opponent check-called the flop, so I'm checking to see a free river rather than bluffing into a capped-but-calling range.

My pair of fives has some showdown value, but the four-club board makes a value bet unlikely to be called by worse. Checking avoids risking more chips on a bluff that may be called by a flush.

Board has four clubs (Tc 2c 9c Qc) and I hold the 6c, giving me a small flush, with a king-high off-suit otherwise. Seat_2 checked the river, and I checked the turn. My 6c flush is the lowest possible flush, so a bet risks being called by any higher club and gets folded out by nothing worse. I'll check and take the showdown.

On the button in a three-handed game, 9-7 offsuit is playable as a small open-raise, using position while keeping the investment modest.

A3o is a marginal hand, but in a 3-handed pot with a small-blind discount (150 to call into a 350 pot) and an ace-high hand, calling is reasonable. A small raise from the button is likely wide, and 3-betting out of position with a weak ace is unattractive.

Even getting 5 to 1 pot odds, 93s plays terribly out of position multiway with severe reverse implied odds, making it a clear fold.

Top pair with an ace on a dry flop, heads-up and out of position. Betting about 60% of the pot for value and protection against overcards and draws.

Middle pair is strong enough to continue against a 300-chip flop bet, especially with position and a relatively small price to call.

Top pair with ace and a wheel straight draw (3-5 with A) on a 7-5-3-A board; I'm out of position and the pot is 1100. A value bet of about 2/3 pot builds the pot against weaker aces and draws while protecting against heart draws.

Middle pair with a weak kicker has little chance to improve against an ace or a made straight. Facing a second bet on this turn, I’ll preserve the remaining stack.

4-6 offsuit is a weak hand; on the button facing the big blind with two players still to act behind, folding is the disciplined choice even though the call is cheap.

A5o is a solid blind-vs-blind holding with an Ace blocker, making a standard 3bb raise profitable against the big blind.

J8 suited is strong enough to defend the big blind against a small-blind raise, especially with position after the flop.

Checking with Ace-high and backdoor potential out of position to control the pot size on a paired board.

Trips with a jack kicker are strong on this paired flop. A small bet can get calls from weaker hands and diamond draws.

Getting 4 to 1 on a paired board with Ace-high and a backdoor nut-flush draw, calling seat 2's small bet is standard.

I have Ace-high with no improved draw on the turn, so checking to control the pot is the standard play.

Trips with a jack kicker are strong here. A 750-chip bet gets value from pairs and draws while charging the two flush draws.

Holding only Ace-high with virtually no draw on a paired board facing a sizable turn bet, folding is the clear optimal play.

AJo is a strong hand on the button in 3-handed play, standard open raise to 2.5bb.

Five-four offsuit is too weak to defend from the small blind against a button raise with the big blind still to act.

QTo in the big blind is getting 400 to 150 (about 2.7:1) against a button open in a 3-handed game where the button's range is wide. Calling is clearly profitable, and a 3-bet with this hand would be marginal.

Top pair with a decent second-pair kicker (Qh with Ts gives top pair, Q, and a pair of tens? no: board Q-5-T, I hold Q and T, so two pair). Two pair is strong, out of position heads-up against the button's wide range, so bet about 3/4 pot for value and to charge draws. .

I have a gutshot straight draw to the nuts with an overcard and position against a donk bet.

Two pair (Queens and Tens) on a Q-5-T-K board is strong, but a flush draw and straight draws are possible. I bet about two-thirds of the pot for value and to charge draws, since checking would give free cards.

We turned the nut Broadway straight. Opponent has shown persistent aggression by leading both flop and turn, so raising builds the pot for value against their two pairs, sets, and lesser straights.

Top two pair (Queens and Tens) on a Q-T-K-5 board is strong. Seat 1 could hold a set or a straight (AJ), but calling 1600 into a 4750 pot is priced well, and a raise would mostly get called only by better hands.

Two pair is likely behind the range that raised the turn (sets, straights, KQ/KT), and worse hands rarely call a bet. Checking keeps the pot small and lets me call a bet if the price is reasonable.

We hold the nut Broadway straight on an un-paired, non-flush board. Shoving all-in for pot-size maximizes value against opponent's two pair, sets, or lower straights.

Two pair is beaten by many hands that fit this line (sets, KQ, KT, AJ and J9 straights), and the river shove needs about 34% equity to call. Few bluffs fit the betting, so folding is better.

On the button in a three-handed game, T6 offsuit is a marginal but reasonable steal. A small raise uses position without committing much of the stack.

Pocket nines in the small blind facing a button open to 250 is strong in 3-handed play. Calling keeps the pot manageable and lets me hit a set, and it avoids building a big pot out of position against a possible 3-bet range.

Getting 4 to 1 direct pot odds closing the action preflop with an offsuit Ace makes calling standard.

Pocket nines on a J-2-J board is a strong hand in a three-way pot. I bet about two-thirds of the pot for value and to deny equity to overcards and to hands like A-x and K-x.

I hold Ace-high with a weak kicker on a paired board facing a substantial flop donk bet with the preflop raiser still left to act behind me.

I have ten-high with no meaningful draw against a bet into two opponents, so continuing is unlikely to be profitable.

Q9s on the button in a 3-handed pot is a solid hand to open. A raise to 3bb takes the initiative and uses position against both blinds.

Holding T7o in the small blind facing a 3bb open from the button is an easy fold out of position.

KTo has enough equity against a button opening range to defend the big blind for 200 chips, though it plays better as a call than a large out-of-position reraise.

With top pair and a medium kicker, I can check to the preflop raiser and decide how to respond to a bet without inflating the pot immediately.

I have a backdoor flush draw and a gutter/open-ended straight draw (Q-9 with 7-8-K gives J-10 needs), plus position against a check from the big blind. A roughly half-pot continuation bet builds fold equity with decent equity if called.”}</br>

Top pair with a ten kicker is strong enough to continue against a small continuation bet, but raising would often isolate me against better hands.

Top pair with a modest kicker has showdown value, but the turn also connects with the caller's and raiser's ranges. Checking avoids bloating the pot out of position.

Qs9s on 7-K-8-J gives me an open-ended straight draw (needs a 10) plus a Q that pairs a high card. Seat 2 checked twice, so a bet of about half the pot can win now or still leave me equity when called. It also charges any weak hands.

Top pair with a straight draw is strong enough to continue against this turn bet. Raising risks building a large pot against better hands.

Top pair has showdown value, but a river bet is unlikely to get enough calls from worse hands after the opponent called both earlier streets. Checking also keeps their missed draws and bluffs in the pot.

I have only queen-high, and the check-calling opponent likely holds many pairs that beat it. A bluff into that range is unlikely to profit, so I take the free showdown.