Part: Part Two - Playing Styles & Starting Requirements

Kicker trouble

Pre-flop
Blinds 100 / 200Pot 500 (2.5 BB)BTNK♥J♣● 25,000 (125 BB)YOUto actMP● 25,000 (125 BB)LimperlimpsSB● 25,000 (125 BB)posts 100 (0.5 BB)BB● 25,000 (125 BB)posts 200 (1 BB)D

One player limps and it folds to you on the button with K♥J♣. King-jack offsuit is a decent but easily-dominated holding - a textbook 'trouble hand'.

A limper; you're on the button with K♥J♣. Best play?

WhyRaise to isolate. King-jack offsuit plays much better heads-up and in position than in a limped multiway pot where it's easily dominated. A raise thins the field and takes the initiative - but keep the next streets in mind, because the kicker can still get you in trouble.
What happensYou raise to 700 (3.5 BB). Only the big blind calls.  Pot: 1,600 (8 BB).
Flop
Heads-upPot 1,600 (8 BB)K♣7♦3♠BTNK♥J♣● 25,000 (125 BB)YOUtop pair, jack kickerBB● 25,000 (125 BB)Big blindchecksD

Flop: K♣ 7♦ 3♠ - top pair, but only a jack kicker. The big blind checks.

Top pair, jack kicker, on a dry board. Best?

WhyMake a controlled value bet. Top pair is good enough to bet for value and protection on a dry board, but the weak kicker means you don't want to build a huge pot - a medium bet gets called by worse kings and pairs without committing you against a better king.
What happensYou bet 900 (4.5 BB); the big blind calls.  Pot: 3,400 (17 BB).
Turn
Heads-upPot 3,400 (17 BB)K♣7♦3♠9♥BTNK♥J♣● 25,000 (125 BB)YOUtop pair, weak kickerBB● 25,000 (125 BB)Big blindcheck-raises to 6,800 (34 BB)D

Turn: 9♥. You bet again and the big blind check-raises - a big move on a board with no obvious draw completing.

Facing a check-raise to 6,800 (34 BB) with top pair, weak kicker. Best?

WhyFold. A check-raise on this dry turn represents a better king (K-Q, A-K), two pair, or a set - precisely the hands that dominate your jack kicker. King-jack flopped well but can't profitably stack off here. Recognizing kicker trouble and letting go is the whole lesson of the trouble hand.
What happensYou fold; he shows K-Q.  Your kicker would have cost you a stack.
You played a trouble hand correctly - raising to isolate in position, value-betting carefully, then folding when a big turn raise exposed your kicker. Trouble hands make top pair that is hard to fold; the skill is folding it anyway.

Trouble hands like K-J flop top pair with a vulnerable kicker - keep pots controlled and fold to serious pressure rather than pay off a better kicker.