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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An overcard is any card in your hand that is higher than any of the cards on the board. I start with overcards because you will end up with them a good percentage of the time if you are starting with two big cards. If you have two different cards in your starting hand you will pair at least one of them 32 percent of the time. This means that 68 percent of the time you will not flop a pair and you will be left holding two overcards. Many players will call or even bet with just overcards. Some will call with just one overcard such as the any Ace scenario I already covered. This is not correct and will cost you money in the long run.

Playing overcards is one of the costliest hands in low-limit games. Players will raise before the flop with two big cards and then continue betting and calling it all the way to the river against a couple of players hoping to make a pair. With overcards, you stand to lose a lot of money if you don't make your hand. If you do win, it will probably be a small pot as there will not be much action. If there are several players in the hand betting and calling, you can pretty much surmise that one of the players has caught a piece of the flop.

If you held a hand such as K-Q or K-J off suit, and the flop brought medium or small cards take a close look at the board. If there are two or three connecting or suited cards you could be up against a straight or flush draw. There is also a chance that a player has flopped a set. After the flop, if you do pair on the turn, which will only happen about 24 percent of the time, you may be drawing dead.

A-K is frequently misplayed because a player will raise and reraise with this hand before the flop. When they do not pair on the flop many players will not want to let this hand go. They will play it as if it were a pair of Aces or Kings—betting and calling against several players. Most of the time it is best to check with this hand. If you raised before the flop and are in early position against only one or two players who you know are tight then you may want to try a semi-bluff to see if they will fold. If you are raised you must get out immediately. If you are in late position and it was checked to you, the best move may be to check as well. This will eliminate the possibility of getting caught by a player who is trying for a check raise. If you do not pair on the turn, it will be time to fold if there is a bet.

This isn't to say that you should never play overcards. Obviously you'll continue playing any two overcards if it is checked to you. However, betting with them is not your best option. If you have two suited overcards and there is one of your suits in the flop it may be correct to call a single bet to see the turn. You might pair one of your cards or, if another of your suit appears on the turn, you may you may be able to make a backdoor flush. This will be rare and there is still the possibility that you will be drawing dead to another player.

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