[Tom Bayes]

[ QUOTE ]
Dumb beginners question but why are kickers important?

[/ QUOTE ]

I'd only keep a kicker (usually an ace) with a pair for two reasons. The first would be if you were absolutely sure your opponent had two lower pair and you are trying to make aces up (or better) to beat him. The second is for deception, when you are trying to represent trips. If you are going to do this, then you need to bet like you have trips (i.e. no limping) and you need to sometimes draw 2 when you really are dealt 3 of a kind. There are lots of players that often limp in & keep the ace kicker and draw 2 to a pair but always try to hide their 3 of a kinds by drawing one. When these guys bet after the draw, they almost always have aces up or better and it's easy to make the proper play (raise or fold). If the guy changes it up on you, then you are confused postdraw when he draws 2 and you might make a mistake and either call a bet when beat or miss a value bet when ahead or fold to a bluff.

You want to be the guy forcing tough decisions, not making the tough decisions. In online cash games, if there are a few tricky players at the table, it's usually best to just find another table. Unfortunately, tournament guys like me don't get to run from tough players.