Suited Connectors

What's your opinion on them? Before I played online poker I was taught it was a pretty solid call to make because you have a straight draw, flush draw, flush.. whatever else.

Since I have been playing more online I have come to think they are terrible. Everytime I have ever tried to limp or call and play them I have never hit anything. Really, anybody that likes them, how many times have you actually hit a straight flush?

Just curious.

Your right I dont really play them they are like winning the lottery they look nice but not much chance of hitting but keep trying you never know.

Suited connectors are not very powerful in most online games because you are not generally deep stked enough to make them worth playing. Now after saying that if you are deep stk'd then they are worth playing. Also if your the type of player that has a hard time folding top pair or 2 pair then playing these hands might not be a good idea.

It all depends on the situtation. We could write a chapter in a book about this.

I like them if I think I there will be 5+ limpers preflop.
I like them to call short stack AI when the short stack is less than 75% of my stack.
I like them in the BB when defending a LP raiser (ie 3-bet)
I like them when stealing in LP against a blind defender who has a low 3-bet %

i used to raise with 66 all the time and hope to hit a set, but i didn't hit any sets for a while with it, so now i fold

Hey man I like the suit connectors most of the time it just depends on the preflop bet. I have only hit the straight flush once while playing online. I think that it is a good hand to limp with but no huge bets. Now I have also hit many flushes with them.

So subtle yet oh so appropriate

Depends what they are. Playing 34 suited is foolish and you'd be hard pressed to find an experienced poker player who consistently plays that hand, even when in position. However, if you're talking about 910 suited or something, then it's a different story.

To answer your original question, straight flushes almost never happen, but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't play 910 suited. I would almost never call a raise with them, but that doesn't mean not to play them. You have a couple options:

1) If you're in position, go ahead and limp in from the cutoff or the button
2) Again, if you're in position, maybe make a raise and see where you are. It's an aggressive play, but at a conservative table, it could be very effective.
3) If you aren't in position, you probably shouldn't play that hand.

Can't remember any str8 flushes online, but a couple full houses. When the board pairs, like, 7's and you have one, it's usually the only one, unless a blind also has one. I even try a 1 gapper if I can afford it, in position, with a couple limpers already in. Couple days ago, I busted slowplayed A's for a bunch. The donks like me, that I play with, sometimes think that I'll play any junk then, and it can pay off later with a real hand, too. But ya really don't get SC's with the pokerstars all alligned to play them that often. It's true, that most of the time they're a waste of chips, but they can really pay off on occasion.

Good Luck,
Tom

Raise them in position.. if you miss bet like you have something else... your in position.

Good one...but it is like they just don't hit. Just like you can't play them in every situation...u really also should not play them if it is not even worth it.

I play them occasionally, basically following Jilly's pattern (previous post).

As far as how have I done with them lately. I tend to hit more flushes than straights, for some reason. Makes it harder to play, but I have taken a couple of good pots with them.

I like them.. they look pretty and they're sooooottteed

Depends on my pos,,and if theres a big raise and things like that.
I do like them in pos,, wher ei can see a flop cheap with them,but that goes for alot of cards for me.

i play them a lot, for similar reasons for playing low pairs - try to hit a set (flush or straight for suited connectors) and take someone's whole stack. the more donkish the players are, the easier it is to take their whole stack. they will go all-in with top pair

As mentioned above... an entire chapter (or chapter(s) ) could be written on this in a book.
In late position if there are a few in.. I'm calling. Anytime I can call in LP for cheap, I'm calling.
Occassionally I'm raising with them if first into the pot (on a tight table and if my image has been pretty tight). I'm c-betting any A or K flop to represent top pr. if in against one opponent on a dry board.
If we're deepstacked,.. I'm playing them.
If I'm in EP and there's one limper, i may fold, especially if there are players to follow who are regularly raising and 3-betting the pot preflop (no sense in donking off chips unecessarily).
and so on & so on.. and if they tell two friends, and then they tell two friends....
GL!

I love them in multi pots. You just have to know how to lay them down. I will sometimes call raises with them if the blinds are small in comparison to my stack.. because when I have 6/7 suited and the flop hits 77A... you're going to get a good deal of AK/AQ and AJ's stack. In position this is good because if a scare hard hits the flop and the initial raiser doesnt bet... I am.

personally I like raising with suited connectors 56 and above if in position. I feel with so many different ways to make a hand they are worth playing. If someone comes over the top then I fold. Is this an alright way to play these? What would be a suitable strategy?

I like suited connectors. hardly ever raise preflop with them but will call blind or small bet. But like most other plays the stack size determines the play mostly.

I tend to play sooted connectors often early in tournies, (as I am mainly a tournament player) due to the small blinds. During this times it don't matter too much to me about position, or any action prior to me. the risk, i find is small, again because of the size of blinds. Later tournie stages, many factors are considered before i play some suited connectors. Position, blind size, preflop action, patterns, etc. I tend to favor small suited connectors due to obvious reasons. As for strate flushes, i can only recall 2 or 3 times during countless hours of play. I know i got quads more often. People tend to remember the bad stuff rather than the good things in Poker. So you should keep that in mind when it comes to sooted connectors. I think some members here know what i am referring to.

It depends on a lot of things like your stacksize, image and what you are playing(tournaments/cash) and how far you are in the tournamentes.. When im far i tend to open with sc's earlier then with >a10 low pp. When i just joined a cashtable i dont open with scs , i only call in position with 98s and higher.

I like suited connectors, but you have to be careful not to commit your stack on small flushes

It seems that the consensus is that playing these types of hands is completely dependant on position and most importantly stk size.

Playing suited connectors is generally profitable when playing in position when effective stks are large enough for plenty of play. IMO it's important to have position with hands like this. If a weak player limps in EP or M/EP and I'm in LP I would generally raise to iso (if effective stks are large enough to warrent this play). It's important to understand that in general online players will call lighter than live. Because of this the implied odds in deep stk play with suited connectors can make playing them extremely profitable. Although just the opposite is correct - if stk are shallow and you have a hard time letting go of a weak 2 pair or top pair these hands are not to be played. Also when effective stks are short the implied odds are just not there with hands like this. Remember the effective stk is key. It doesn't matter how deep you are if there are short stks at the table still to act or already in the pot these hands are not worth playing.

in online play i totally got rid of the whole suited connector philosophy and became patient for big hands... ya they are gonna be cracked every so often but you'll be on the winning side more often then the bad side

Pretty sure I read this in one of Negreanu's articles.. hee hee.. actually I'm sure I have.

WELL SAID!!
I just felt the urge to bump this cuz I totally & completely 'concurr' (sp?.. in other words (my own, lol).. I 'agree' whole-heartedly). I second this! (just wish I could've written it in this fashion). Well worth reading over for a newer player wanting to learn more about the game.

I concur, too!

Thanks for the posts... appreciate the different views on it.

I have never...ever... hit a strait flush , BUt with suited connecters i am more likely to hit the strait,(usualy it gets flushed away anyways) I only play them when the blinds are low and i can get in cheap that way if i miss i don't lose much.

i play them all the time when i can get in cheap and i have hit the straight flush a couple of times, but you could go broke calling an all in when you got an open ended straight flush draw( i thought for sure i would get it).

chance of hitting a straight flush is not very much
only about 5% if you have a straight flush draw
once i had almost a royal flush only missing a Q
but i was happy getting a good flush

Yeah they look good but boy can they do some damage. More often than enough you will hit one more card and then what???? you sit there saying to yourself OHHHHyeah I'm going to hit the straight flush or the flush only to be beat by pocket 2's LOL I don't touch them to often

the point of a straight flush draw isn't to hit the straight flush, it's to hit either a straight or flush

Suited connectors are good to call when there are many people in a pot.

They tend to play well in multi-handed pots, in other words.

Constantly limping in with suited connectors is probably not a good idea; especially if they are low cards (under 8).

I believe it was Doyle Brunson who said that he will play any pair or suited connectors for up to 5% of his stack.

Depends. If the table is loose I will play them in relation of my position and my chipstack. If the game is tight I might limp with the big ones and fold with the others. In conclusion depends from the situation if you will or not play them. Expect less action however then that the pairs.