Poker Pairs
When you start with two different cards the odds of flopping a pair are 2.5:1, which means it will happen about 29 percent of the time. If you do flop a pair you hope to match the highest card on the board which will give you top pair. If you saw the flop with a solid starting hand there is a good chance you will have the top kicker as well. When you flop the top pair with the top kicker you have a very strong hand and will probably have the best hand at the moment.
Top Pair Top Kicker
ie best hand to have is A-K when either an Ace or a King flops. This will give you top pair and kicker. If the King flops you can't be beaten by a player holding a single Ace. If an Ace appears on the board he will have a pair of Aces, but you will have top two pairs. This isn't the case if you hold less than A-K. If you held
and the flop was
you would still have top pair and kicker but would have to be concerned if a King shows up on the board. The same can be said if you held A-J and a Jack flops. You would have to be concerned about a King or a Queen appearing on the board. You also need to be aware of any possible straight or flush draws that could come along on the flop. Any time there are two of a suit or connecting cards, there may be players on a draw. That is why you want to act aggressively with top pair by raising so you will make it very expensive for them to draw out on you.
Since you can be beaten, you don't want to slow-play this type of hand. If you try to check-raise and no one bets you will be letting your opponents have a free card that can beat you. In early position I will always bet with top pair. If I am in middle position with top pair and top kicker I will usually raise if there has been a bet in front of me. If the board looks harmless, and there are only one or two players in the hand, I will just call a bet from last position if I think a player will bet on the turn and I can raise then.
One situation where you would probably not want to raise is if you made a weak top pair playing from the big blind. If you held Q-9 and the flop was 9 high you should bet the top pair but be prepared to fold if you are raised. A player may have limped in with a pair of Jacks or Tens and now has top pair in the pocket. If you are called and an overcard falls on the turn be prepared to check and fold if there is a bet.
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