Suited Connectors

Absolutely hate these hands! Here's what I do with these hands....FOLD!

Serioulsy though, all I ever do is limp in late postion (always miss the flop) and fold in early. I understand if these hands hit the implied odds are huge but surely I'm just wasting chips calling evertime I get them in late position!!

Is this how they are generally played? I'm talking cash games here too.

They're basically used for small ball strategy, here's a basic guide to it:

http://www.thepokerbank.com/strategy/plays/small-ball/

Suited connectors are weak hands by themselves. When you flop a pair it will either be good for a tiny pot, or completely dominated. When you flop a flush or flush draw, you'll have to figure out whether someone has a higher flush/draw. A lot of the straight draws you flop wont be the nuts, there will be a bigger straight or three to a flush on the board.

They will lose a lot of small pots, and win a few big ones if played correctly.
Just make sure you don't lose too many big pots with them, things that can cause this are playing out of position, bluffing at the wrong times and betting draws at the wrong times.

It's also important to be capable of picking up a lot of extra pots. Most hands are very weak post-flop, in a raised pot either your opponent had big upaired cards and missed most flops or had a pocket pair and will be scared by overcards.
Once your opponents figure out that you play a lot of suited connectors then any draw that hits the board (whether you have it or not) will cause huge amounts of concern for them. Either they start folding to you, or start calling with marginal hands, each of these possibilities is exploitable.


Suited connectors are very good hands if played well but require an advanced level of play to be played effectively.

Thanks pokerkid....

PokerMAN

Besides the explanation of thepokerkid123. I think this cards are useful in increasing the perceived range of card you play. So playing suited connector hands will help you get more action when you hold AA/KK. It also add higher chance of a successful bluff on a rag flop with your AK/AQ holding.

Show them that you like to play suited connectors.....then STOP. They will mostly put you on a draw.

I don't understand the advice to play suited connectors purely for the table image benefits and to stop after that's established.

They're proffitable hands to play, in the right circumstances.

pokerman27 said:

Serioulsy though, all I ever do is limp in late postion (always miss the flop) and fold in early.

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First, not all suited connectors are the same. 2/3s is terrible, as you need A/4/5 or 4/5/6 on the board for the straight (not a lot of straight options), and if you hit the flush you have the worst possible flush.

Compare that to J/Ts where you have a lot more straight possibilities, and if you hit your straight there's a much batter chance that the board hit your opponent (giving them tptk or two pair) so you're a lot more likely to get paid off.

Ok, with that out of the way, I think you're misplaying your smaller suited connectors (like 7/8s) in late position. If it's folded to me, I raise. This gives me a good chance of winning the hand pre-flop (IE you have fold equity against better hands), which is a good situation. It also disguises my hand, so they don't know I'm on a draw (it's easy to put someone on suited connectors or a small pocker-pair when they do this).

Limping with suited connectors telegraphs that you have a drawing hand, hand, denies you the chance of taking the blinds uncontested (IE, denies you fold equity), and keeps the pot small so that when you hit your monster you won't win as much.

I agree with savage penguin here. You're playing them wrong. with QJ and J/T i'll call a standard raise from middle and late position and raise in late position if limped around or folded around to me...

With T/9 - 8/7 I'll call a standard raise from late position, limp sometimes from middle and raise from late if its folded to me.

But thats just me. I'll raise in the CO with K5 suited if its folded to me....

thanks for the thread - got a few good pointers. thanks guys.
i always have trouble with connecters wether suited or not so when i'm in doubt i'll fold them. i'm just now starting to raise late position with them - sometimes, depending on the situation.
gl and peace..............................................

I agree that I think that your approach to playing suited connectors is all wrong. As a matter of fact, I find suited connectors to be my most profitable hands because they are sneaky and can catch strong hole cards that hit completely off guard. The key to them is your approach to the hand preflop, the hand range you put your opponent on preflop, and how you attack that opponents hand post flop. The key is to not play what you have, it's to play against what you think they have.

Preflop, my play varies. From EP, I like to raise to either build the pot or to isolate opponents and put them on a range of hands. From MP, I like to limp or call a small raise. From LP, I like to raise or call a small raise. This approach typically doesn't commit me to the pot to the point where I can't get off of a hand, and either builds the pot or tells me a lot about what my opponent is likely holding.

Post flop, the play is simple. If there are a lot of player in the pot, and you hit 4 to either a straight or a flush draw, then you play pot odds and let pot odds dictate your decision. If there are a lot of players in the pot, and you miss, you shut it down to any raise. If it is you and a single opponent, then you bet, call, raise, or fold based on whether you think villain hit the range of hands you put them on PF, how well they hit their PF hand, etc. Again, if you hit 4 to either draw, you should represent strength when you think villian missed, and play pot odds if you think that the hand hit villian and you are playing to a raise. And of course, get out of the pot when prospects are out of your favor.

you shouldn't limp in late position if its folded to you from what ive learned.. if you raise you can take it down preflop and it gives your opponent the impression that you are strong and you disguise your hand

most of the time u will win a samll pot or lose a big one with these types of hands .. if you play them just raise or fold

I'm curious about how people play suited near-connectors. Example 8-6 suited. Are your odds that much worse than 8-7?

I like to play these hands in multiway pots as they can give you a big payoff if you hit an unlikely flush or straight.
Also if its folded round to you they're good for raising on the button or one off it to steal blinds, and if the blinds call you can c bet the flop.
I would rather play hands like 98s, 76s etc than hands like AJo,KQo,KJo in deep stack poker.

Xavier said:

I like to play these hands in multiway pots as they can give you a big payoff if you hit an unlikely flush or straight.
Also if its folded round to you they're good for raising on the button or one off it to steal blinds, and if the blinds call you can c bet the flop.
I would rather play hands like 98s, 76s etc than hands like AJo,KQo,KJo in deep stack poker.

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Xavier,

I think suited portions of these cards only add 4% in your favor. So, what is your reasoning to prefer 76s or 98s against KQo?

I actually prefer unsuited connectors better simply because they save a lot of headaches on hit flushes.

It has to be the right type of pot to play SC. If its folded around to me on the BTN ill raise with 67s,78s,79s,89s,810s,910s,J9s and J10s because I figure theres a very good chance ill pick the pot up right there.

But in general I think SCs should be played in late pos in unraised pots. But you can also play them in multi way raised pots. Like if early pos raised 3 bbs, there's a few calls and your in late or CO with 78s, then you can profitably call with 78s and hope to hit a big flop.

They don't play so well in isolated pots though. So if you attempt to steal on BTN with 89s, and one of the blinds plays back at you, then it should be an easy fold most of the time.

AceZWylD said:

I actually prefer unsuited connectors better simply because they save a lot of headaches on hit flushes.

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I don't think thats smart. The only reason I play SC's is to make straights, flushes or maybe get lucky and hit trips. Unsuited connectors are generally crap that should be folded imo.

Bharat said:

I think suited portions of these cards only add 4% in your favor. So, what is your reasoning to prefer 76s or 98s against KQo?

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You're right, you probably wont hit your flush with a suited connector, that's why you don't invest much to play them.

Your goal is to see a lot of flops with suited connectors and usually you wont flop a monster, from that point you either find an opportunity to take a small pot down or fold.

When you do hit your hand, you can win an enormous pot.

The other thing to consider is that having suited cards does only add a couple of percent chance of having the winning hand, but you're going to flop four to a flush a lot more often than you're going to actually make a flush. The semi-bluff value of this is worth a lot.

KQ is a great hand, it's really only dominated by AK and AQ (AA, KK and QQ tend to stand out and it's rare you'll stack off against them with KQ) but against a decent TAG you're not getting action from much that you have beat. Even KJ is probably only good to pay you off with a bet or two.
What kind of flop are you hoping for with KQ? Obviously anything with a K or Q and no ace will be most common, this is good for a small pot but against anyone but a complete idiot you'll usually only get a small pot. If you hit your straight you'll get paid (but there are only AKQJT and KQJT9 possible straights so it wont happen often). Two pair may also get paid, but could find it hard to get action since KQx boards tend to be scary enough to get rid of a lot of hands, and if x is A, J, T or 9 you could be dominated.

A hand like 78s though will often get action when it hits two pair or any of it's straight possibilities. It's flush being only 8 high can be troublesome but if you're aware that you only have an 8 high flush and keep a lookout for bigger flushes you wont get into trouble often (don't be an idiot by playing it like you have the nuts just because you have a flush).

Basically, when you hit for more than a pair, 78s will be a better hand. Against weak opponents maybe top pair is enough to win someone's stack, but against anyone with the slightest idea of what they're doing you usually need more than top pair good kicker.

One of my first books that I read was Super System. And since Doyle liked the hand (his favourite at the time) and his other information was working for me (even at small stakes) I fell in love with the hand. Many a time have I stacked someone who couldnt fold AA when it was obvious that a reraise allin on the turn meant he was beat. It was a profitable for me, especially when players dont like to chase drawing hands out preflop with big raises.

I prefer the lower SCs because the higher ones tend to be dominated by Ax (depending on position of course)

You're all doin' it wrong.

AceZWylD said:

I actually prefer unsuited connectors better simply because they save a lot of headaches on hit flushes.

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Yeah... but you still have the danger of occasionally hitting trips.

There really are no guarantees.

@c9 Heehee.

c9h13no3 said:

You're all doin' it wrong.

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Care to enlighten us?

It agree that such hands can be played only at the big stack, in other cases it is a direct way to ruin. The unique variant besides the big stack is a theft BB and MB

Bharat said:

Xavier,

I think suited portions of these cards only add 4% in your favor. So, what is your reasoning to prefer 76s or 98s against KQo?

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In Deep Stack Poker suited connectors can win your opponents whole stack because they are well disguised hands when you hit the board big.
Hands like KQo and AJo play very badly in Deep Stack Poker.
If you have a big stack the flush possibility that suited cards give you make suited cards massively more worthwhile to play.
Daniel Negreanu says all this in his book.

What is ur problem in just calling the blinds and watching the flop cheaply???
But if anyone has raised before you preflop, then yes, u have fold immediatly buddy...
Its very simple strategy u have to follow buddy.. Dont complicate here...