How do you play pocket tens?
Pocket tens is a strong hand you open from every seat and re-raise against most opponents, while staying aware that it slips behind the bigger pairs.
Pocket Tens
StrongRaise it freely and re-raise it as a value hand against the field. It flips against ace king and beats every smaller pair, so it is happy to play a big pot in most spots. The exception is deep four-bet action from a tight player, where tens turn into more of a set-mining hand than a stack-off hand, since you are now up against jacks and better plus ace king.
This hand opens for a raise from every position, including under the gun.
Common mistake: Treating it as a premium against the tightest players. Against a range of bigger pairs and ace king, tens are flipping at best, so do not pile in the whole stack preflop without a read.
Quick tip: Ahead of every pair below it, behind every pair above it, and a coin flip against ace king. A strong hand, not a monster.
All-in equity before the flop
How Pocket Tens runs against a few benchmark hands if all the money goes in preflop. Figures from the Poker Shark equity engine.
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