Pocket tens:What to do?

Many experienced players find themselves in a hard position when faced with pocket tens pre-flop.Surely enough its a nice hand and not many pre-flop hands have that beat, but the trouble is can it be raised?
Well, im sure everyone has different strageties to pre-flop raising,but by raising who are you going to get rid of and whos going to call?
Typically high cards like A/K , KQ , A/J or any high pair would call a standered 4 time the big blind.
The only flop you could feel comfortable with is if low cards or if your ten appears on the table.Any other card that would appear on the flop is an invitation to big trouble.Begginers would persue it untill there very last cent.
I suggest a big blind call pre-flop in any position.If low cards or a ten appear on the flop have no fear and and raise aggressively.If high cards appear, have the discipline to throw your cards away....They have no value.

Pocket pairs of tens or Jacks are killers. I always have to stop and think about what to do with them. My decision is about 80% based on position. If I'm the first to bet in early position, I will open them with a modest raise. Maybe three times the blind. (This is a reflection of one of my cardinal rules: If your hand isn't big enough to raise or stand a raise, it's not big enough to play anyway. Never, never, never open the betting by only calling the blind, unless you're specifically trying to set someone up based on a read of their play.) If I get a big re-raise or all-in thrown back at me, I'm out.

If I'm in late position or on the button, and most of the table has either folded or limped in, I may throw a larger raise out (4-6 x bb) to give them something to think about and keep everybody honest. If I don't like the flop, again, I'm out.

What I love about tens or Jacks is that they can go from marginal to monster in a heartbeat. I seem to flop more sets and straight draws with them than any other hole pairs.

Well between the tow of you, you both have good points as far as how to play pocket 10's. If no one has already done so, you must raise. How much you raise is up to you. If someone has thrown in a small raise I tend to call, a bigger raise and well then it depends on my chip stack, their chip stack and whether I really wanna gamble or not.

All I will say 10's are like AA, you don't get them to start that often so make sure you play them as best as possible.

My input would be depending on what the size of the blinds are.

If it's in the first few levels, it doen't make much sence to raise with them because you're either a coin clip or a dog to whoever is calling. I'd limp in these situations and see if I hit a big hand. Then slowplayit.

Where they do warrent a nice raise is when the blinds are big, then pushing hard is the right play and you're likely to take down the blinds.

Just my 2cents.

-Hesh

10's are one of the most difficult hand for me personally to play, it's a good hand, don't get me wrong, but odds are if you raise someones got either a) High cards or b) nice pocket pair,9 times out of 10 you'll end up with a bad beat. I remember I was playing a friend who was very loose, we were playing on full tilt, he had aces and i had pocket 10's,he went all in I called, 10 came on the river, one of the only times I've seens 10's win a hand.

I don't go by the law by using this but....

In Early position
Raise with A-A, K-K and A-Ks from any position. (s denotes suited cards) Call with A-K, A-Qs, K-Qs and Q-Q J-J, T-T and fold everything else.

In Middle position
Call with, 9-9, 8-8, A-Js, A-Ts, Q-Js, A-Q, K-Q

Now also depends on how many have called or trying to limp-in. Early Middle I usually fold but late middle if the 1st to fold then I will call. Early position, maybe early in the game of a tourney I will call. But when raised, I will fold them. I like to stay tight to the field narrows when possible.

call with them dont risk to many chips and wait to see how high they are compared to the board if you think there high at the river bet

Rammer has it right....You should always be betting and raising. Never ever let people see the flop for free. If you are in early position and just call, What are you going to do when Raised?

What are you going to do when Trash hits the board, you bet and one of the Blinds comes over the top betting the Pot? He could have flop 2 pair or straight/flush draw. You only have 2 outs an 8% chance of hitting a set with 2 cards to come and 4% with 1 card to come.

i love seein to teh 2 cards the same together but when there lower then 10's or jacks i hate my decision of wat to do with them when i get through and the flop comes if tehres a ace or king or queen or jack up there and i have pocket 10;s and people r betting high i fold but if there not bettin high or there no card like that up there i come out betting high but not high enough for everyone to fold its ur chouce wat to do

More than likely one of the Blinds are going to come over the top anyway especially when a Jack,Queen,King,Ace Flops. So why would you raise on semi-strong hand unless of course it is late in the game. Meaning there aren't many oppenents to contend with. There are 16 Unknown Cards that can beat your tens while you are trying to catch 1-2 cards. Yet the Odds of seeing an over card on the flop when holding pocket 10's are probably about 70%.

Yeah, twizzybop, the tens in the hole are a definite love 'em or leave 'em thing after the flop. If the flop didn't set you up to do something, you gotta cut em loose. There's just something hypnotic about a pair in the hole that freezes players up and keeps 'em in the hand way too long. By the time they snap out of it, the river's coming, they've tripled their investment in the pot, and they're drawing dead. Just because they couldn't imagine tossing a pair of tens before the turn.

i would play this hand different in a cash game and a tourney--in a tourney most but not all times i would make a decent raise---thus trying to get the loose players at the table holding A-9 for example to fold. many players will try to limp with hands like 10-10 just to get busted up by the big blind holding K-3. if u raise and get called --so be it ---then u kind of know where u stand. being the aggressor has always worked well for me in these circumstances

Pocket 10s are better than pocket 9s.

realbigtall i've lost with9s 2 10s before also it sucks.as for how 2 play pocket10s, well sometimes pockets are notthe best way 2 win if i have ak,aq,aj,a10 or any hand with overcards or a 10 it makes my hand almost even i think but i'm new what do i know?

If i had pocket tens i would limp in preflop and if only one overcard flopped i would call any bet if it wasnt to big.

i think it all depends on your position and chip stack on what to do with pckt 10's. IMHO, I like going all in with it if im low stack

Pocket Jacks are my favorite hand

POCKET ACES! gotta love flippen the two cards and seeing the rockets!

Very good question. matters where you are and what not. If its just you and the big blind ill just go all in. If not I raise it HUGE like 5x the big blind. And see what happens from there.

Pocket 10s is an iffy hand,if i had a decent chip count i'd come in aggressive hope for the best if not i'd sit back.

if i had pocket 10's i would usually raise to a decent amount to draw people out. then let the flop go with about 2-4 people. hopefully another 10 comes or something cards under 10. then i play it slowly

I would almost certainly raise with pocket 10s preflop and probably call if reraised, this depends alot on how much I have and how much my opponent has, but if the flop shows As or Ks I would fold quickly!

Well, I agree with everything that everyone said. Which just shows that there is no one best way. Pocket Jacks and 10's are different from any other pair. Since I don't play many ring games my opinion on how to play them is of no value. However, in tournament play, you dont get to many opportunities to make hay. I'm going to get alot of flack for saying this but, if your in early position and low on chips, this is an All-In hand. Drive out the competition, hope for a caller and pray.

pocket 10's my favorite hand, 4 over cards, so its hard to beat however easy to get away from as well. I see it as a must raise preflop

Yes 10s has gotta be one of my fav pocket pairs. I mean there's only four over cards plus if overcards come you can still get trip possibilties and straight chances. If I go all in there's a good chance I'm sittin on a couple of 10s lol

I usually fold them unless there are more than 2 players left to play against me, because then the chances rise that other players have only an a or k and calling with them.

Twizzybop:

Regarding your post on TT:

I'm folding KQs from early position. Sure it looks pretty, but if some joker bluff-raises you w/ A2 offsuit, guess what-- he's the favorite. Like I said, it looks pretty, but you need to let it go from early position, unless you're I-HOPed (short-stacked), in which case bring it in for a raise.

if i was a short stack then i would go all in with a pair of tens.

otherwise i think i would just call and make sure i see the flop before losing a massive percentage of my chips.

more than one card over 10 in the flop and i wouldnt bet too much, another 10 and im all in. naive?

I just got busted out in a tourney by a chick who was sitting on pocket tens, I had A4d, flop 4?,4?,10d, she checks, I check, turn card Jd, she bets 500, I go all in she calls, I drive all the way back home. So if your playing me, please fold pocket tens.

I always sit back on these. So many ways to lose... but when you flop a set ... yowsa!!

depends on the # of people in the hand...1 on 1 should be a 50-50 toss up....

I think it depends on the player I have never lost a hand when I have poket 10s they are my cards so I do raise pre flop but i think it is a players choice and I think you also have to take into concideration how the other players have been playing.

I normaly slow play tens, hoping to flop a set. Unless I am shorted stacked then I will go all in.

I play pockets deifferently every time. Slow rollem, preflop raise, but it does depend on the caliber of the players you play against and most of all the flop!

Pocket Tens are a good play. You have more possibilities of good hands like three of a kind, full house, and a high straight. Tens may not be a good pair because any head card can beat it. But, it could be a good combination of a full house.