Pocket tens and jacks are two of the harder hands to play in No Limit Hold 'Em.

With raises in front of you, many are never quite sure how to play them both in position and out.

The main problem with these sort of hands are counter/reverse implied odds as you are always getting put in a position of not knowing if your hand is good or not.

And some players get in the habit after their opponent bets of simply calling and seeing what happens with the next card. If the next card is a blank and you thought your hand was good before then what now?

There is little chance of the hand improving post-flop even though it's likely to be the best hand pre-flop.

When overs fall people tend to play them passively, not knowing if someone else is connected or not.

The key with pocket tens and jacks is to use pre-flop and flop to define your hand.

You are usually going to have the best hand before the flop as usually the original raiser is going to have unpaired high cards.

There is a 70% chance of high cards coming - 46% chance of one, 21% for two and about a 3% chance for three - and as you are likely have the best hand pre-flop, you could try to take the pot down.

Re-raising allows you to be the aggressor after a blank flop.

If your opponent calls anyway it means they will probably have pocket Aces, pocket Kings or Ace, King or possibly Ace, Queen.

If they are indeed on Ace, King or Ace, Queen, then they're probably done with the hand unless they hit.

They know it'll be dangerous to bluff because of your re-raise because it's very likely you have an overpair.

They are going to miss the flop about 70% of the time when they have Ace, King or Ace, Queen or any unpaired high cards.

That makes you an even bigger favorite with tens and jacks if you just count the flop rather than going to the river.

And you if you can take the pot down there when they miss, that's precisely what you want.

Remember it's 37% more likely that they have Ace, King or Ace, Queen than pairs of Aces, Kings, or Queens.

Angus MacKenzie / Eurosport