In blackjack, Ace-Ten is the best hand but in Texas Hold'em it's not as strong as some players would like to believe. From early position an A-T suited is playable, but the unsuited A-T is a middle position hand. Although a Ten is considered a big card it is not extremely powerful, as many players will be holding face cards.

Big Connectors and Gappers
From early position, a hand of K-Q is the only other unsuited connector to play. You can play suited connectors K-Qs, Q-Js, and J-Ts. You can also play suited gappers K-Js, K-Ts, and Q-Ts. With these hands you can flop the nut straight or a large flush. If the pot has been raised, you would be best to forgo these smaller gapped hands. (In this book a small letter "s" next to a pair of cards, signifies that they are the same suit.)

Remember when you are in early position and the player under the gun, or another player, raises it usually means that they have a powerful hand. If the raise comes from a solid player it would be best to err on the side of caution and throw away some of the
lower hands. Just because a hand is considered playable from early position, it does not mean you will play it in all types of games. A hand that you would play in a loose passive game may be unplayable in a tight aggressive game.
Here is a quick reference for early position.

• Poker And Tens (0)
• Poker And Kings (0)
• Poker And Aces (0)