An Ace with a Queen, or Jack, is a playable hand from early position. You have a strong kicker if there is an Ace on the flop or you have a big pair with the best kicker if a Queen or a Jack should flop. When these cards are suited you will have the added potential for making a flush. If, however, the pot is raised ahead of you, and you have an unsuited Ace-Jack, you may be in for trouble as a player raising from early position may have a big pair. You have to consider who is doing the raising.

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Tens are actually the start of the medium pairs. Since most players will play any face cards they can easily be beaten if any over-cards appear on the flop. Pocket tens can be played in early position in loose, passive games, but you might want to pass if the game is very aggressive. Since all straights require the use of a ten or a five, holding tens does have an advantage if the flop brings cards that may need a ten to complete a straight draw.

Since you have two of them, it is unlikely that another player will have the other ones. If the flop brings all low cards, making your tens top pair, you should raise if anyone bets before you after the flop. You need to make it expensive for anyone holding overcards to stay in the pot. If the flop contains Aces or faces, you will probably be best to fold your tens if you have no other outs such as a straight draw.

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When I first started playing Hold'em, I heard some players refer to "Paint" cards and had no idea what they were talking about. I soon found out that paint cards were the cards that I used to call picture cards, because they had a picture of the King, Queen, or Jack. I suppose they do resemble paintings more than they do pictures. Anyway the King is the big paint card and when you start with a pair of them you have the second best starting hand. Only a pair of Aces can beat you at this point. The probability of being dealt any pair is 220 to 1 (0.45 percent) or less than one-half of a percent, so the chances of one of your opponents holding a pair of Aces when you are dealt a pair of Kings is slim but it does happen. However, the probability of a player holding a single Ace before the flop is about 15 percent. If an Ace appears in the flop you could lose out to a player who will play any Ace. Because of this you want to play the Kings as aggressively as possible to narrow the field.

It is advisable to raise with Kings from any position. If the pot has been raised go ahead and reraise. Cap the betting if you can. If no Ace appears on the flop go ahead and raise again if a player bets before you. You want to make it very expensive for anyone holding a single Ace to stay in the pot. When I first started playing Hold'em, I would try to get fancy and slow play my Kings in hopes of maybe raising on the turn or river, when the betting limit went up. Quite a few times this backfired on me when an Ace would show up on the turn or the river. After losing to players holding hands like A-6 off suit I decided not to slow play my Kings. I later learned that you should never slow play a single pair as they are too vulnerable in a multiway pot.

If an Ace should flop or two high cards, such as J-10 or higher, you could be in trouble if someone raises. If there is a raise when an Ace flops it's more than likely that someone was playing a single Ace. Because it is correct strategy to play high cards in your starting hands, a flop containing two or three high cards may give your opponent two pairs, a straight or a straight draw. You shouldn't automatically fold when there is betting, but you do need to reassess the situation if there is raising going on. Many players, myself included, have been guilty of getting married to a pair of Kings or other high pairs when the flop brings two or more high cards. The reasoning is that it is possible to draw another King on the turn or river. This may hold up against two pairs but you might find that you are drawing dead against a straight. Because being dealt a pair of Kings doesn't happen that often, it's natural to want to play them to the end.

However, there are times when you just have to let it go and fold the big guys. A winning player is one who can do this.

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