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Step 1
Use a kicker in close hand battles. If you think, for example, that you and another player both hold a pair, you may want to bet according to your high card. Let's say you hold KKA48 and the other player holds KK376. Your Ace is the "kicker" and it will win you the hand.
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Step 2
Use a kicker with "open" cards. When you have AK down and the table shows K54, you hold a king pair with Ace high. But unlike the hand mentioned above, the three open cards are fixed for all players. The chances someone else has a king or ace are relatively low; the chances that they hold both are even lower, and the odds are in your favor.
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Step 3
Use a kicker in low-tech games. Some novelty poker games feature two-card hands where the kicker is the only thing you're betting on (or the unusual pair). In these games, the ace is truly worth its weight in gold.
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Step 4
Use kickers with straights and flushes. A higher straight will win, which is another rule commonly used to help players bet on a good hand. The kicker is also important to evaluate two flushes.
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Step 5
Try to estimate your kicker's value in each hand, and be careful when relying on a high card. In most hands, the high card is not the winning factor, and you should avoid "Ace fever", or betting wildly on a hand containing an ace. Each hand is unique, and the best strategy is to treat each hand with precision.
