Are suited connectors overrated?

Amanda A

Amanda A

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I know Negreanu loves them and they are a cool hand to play but I'm starting to wonder if they are a little overrated by quite a few players these days. They are a spec hand and I can see playing them when you have a huge stack but I'm not convinced of their value when mid and short stacked in the mid and late stages of a tourney. Thoughts?
 
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bstest

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I like them, even like unsuited better, straights are much more deceptive than flushes. Will only play them in late position, knowing I will probably fold to a big raise.
 
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Morenzo

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I tend to favor suited connectors because it gives you the flexibility of going for straights, flushes and straight flushes all in one hand. From my own experiences just about every other hand ends up as a straight or a flush or very closely to one or the other so taking advantage of suited connectors simply gives you a greater chance of taking the hand however it plays out.
 
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Roger1960

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I like to play them at the beginning of tourneys for a big payout. I will not call a big raise with them, although I did hear Daniel once state that they were the best against AA, especially with more than a few players in the hand. The thought there is that all of them have high cards. Of course like all in poker, not too many things are a constant.
The thing I like most about the small ones is that they are easier to hide their strength. Just like when you have 22 and flop a 2, someone with top two pair will not usually see the trips.
 
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Rational Madman

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I like to play them at the beginning of tourneys for a big payout. I will not call a big raise with them, although I did hear Daniel once state that they were the best against AA, especially with more than a few players in the hand. The thought there is that all of them have high cards. Of course like all in poker, not too many things are a constant.
The thing I like most about the small ones is that they are easier to hide their strength. Just like when you have 22 and flop a 2, someone with top two pair will not usually see the trips.
There are only two other twos to show up for that three of a kind, suite connector has many combos to flop a semi monster. Don't compare taking 22 vs AA to taking 9 10 suited, the potential is much less with the 22
 
dominiq

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There are only two other twos to show up for that three of a kind, suite connector has many combos to flop a semi monster. Don't compare taking 22 vs AA to taking 9 10 suited, the potential is much less with the 22
Not exactly. With 22 you have ~12% to hit a set on the flop and with suited connectors only ~2,5% to hit a straight or the flush on the flop.
 
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Rational Madman

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Not exactly. With 22 you have ~12% to hit a set on the flop and with suited connectors only ~2,5% to hit a straight or the flush on the flop.
Hitting a semi straight or flush I'm talking about all seven.
 
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Rational Madman

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Not exactly. With 22 you have ~12% to hit a set on the flop and with suited connectors only ~2,5% to hit a straight or the flush on the flop.
You also forget twopair and threekind
 
dominiq

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You also forget twopair and threekind
Yes. So with twopair, threekind, and open-straight draw+flush draw you have about 7,5%. Still less.

If you have only a straight draw or only a flush draw your opponent still has an advantage.
 
ByronP

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The only time you see Negreanu play them on TV is when they hit, the real question is how often does he play them and miss? small ball so he can fold and not lose a good portion of his stack.
 
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Rational Madman

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Yes. So with twopair, threekind, and open-straight draw+flush draw you have about 7,5%. Still less.

If you have only a straight draw or only a flush draw your opponent still has an advantage.
Turn and river are included as if you draw four out of five some​ aggressive play is allowed. You can't just think of flopping full set only.
 
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Agree with Bryon. Unlike most here, any suited connector lower than a Jack, I will OFTEN call a raise. This is because their range is capped high. I know if nothing higher than 10 comes up, I hit a pair and I'm good. They missed. Except 54 and crap. Really 78 is my min. I only call though. Never raise. I can also hit a straight or flush, which is good in multi pots. But hitting top pair vs a capped range, even if it's ak through Broadway's is a good situation. Hell, i went all in with 22 live on a 8 high board. The reasoning behind this move is a, they didn't hotba straight, or they'd of raised, b they called with Broadway's a lot. C, they were the type of player who would fold with the 8. Can't reasonably call there. They folded and I got half a stack. They had 55. This was live, so I had a much better read on their range. Online hell no.
 
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davidhoyle107

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@rational mind. You're missing the point. Let's say stacks are 10,000. Blinds 200. I call with 22. Say they raised with ak. A ace and two come up. I hit trips, they hit ace high kicker. Let them build the pot and win 3000+ chips. You CAN make pots appear out of nowhere. I'm folding 8/10 times with 22 to a raise. But the 2 times I win, I'm making a BIG pot.
 
Kenzie 96

Kenzie 96

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I know Negreanu loves them and they are a cool hand to play but I'm starting to wonder if they are a little overrated by quite a few players these days. They are a spec hand and I can see playing them when you have a huge stack but I'm not convinced of their value when mid and short stacked in the mid and late stages of a tourney. Thoughts?[/QUOTEN



Negreanu is one of the best & most experienced poker players in the world. What he does has little to do with what most of us do.
To answer your question, yes, I think most players overvalue them.
 
Amanda A

Amanda A

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The only time you see Negreanu play them on TV is when they hit, the real question is how often does he play them and miss? small ball so he can fold and not lose a good portion of his stack.
Yes I wonder about this too. How often he misses. Whenever I try and play them a lot I never seem to hit and I bleed chips. Also I'm playing tourneys where players are not so deep stacked so it's a higher percentage of my stack to limp or call a min raise with them in late position. Most of the time I won't hit and it can be a real drain to my stack. Also I've seen players go all in with 78s when they are short stacked. I just think this is a bad choice as you can't win with a high card. I'd rather have an A or K in my hand, am I wrong?
 
bahajan

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middle suited cards this is a great game with average blend,
 
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forfiter47

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From late positions suited connectors are good, from early they suck
 
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Smokewood

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Are suited connectors overrated?

Not when they hit...
 
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davidhoyle107

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Yes I wonder about this too. How often he misses. Whenever I try and play them a lot I never seem to hit and I bleed chips. Also I'm playing tourneys where players are not so deep stacked so it's a higher percentage of my stack to limp or call a min raise with them in late position. Most of the time I won't hit and it can be a real drain to my stack. Also I've seen players go all in with 78s when they are short stacked. I just think this is a bad choice as you can't win with a high card. I'd rather have an A or K in my hand, am I wrong?

I'd rather not go all in with AK at all. 22 beats it. course, I'd rather not go in 2ith anything less than jj. That's preflop though.
 
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Thenightrain

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Important not to overplay them and have a strong post flop play for both when you hit and miss the flop to turn it into a semi bluff.
 
Miguel Chacon

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I believe not they are a very good hand and good to play from late positions and even middle positions sometimes also I think is a good hand to always try to steal the blinds because they have potential to hit a strong hand ! hope this helps you Good Luck on the Tables! ;)l
 
theRaven68

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I play it sometimes from late positions when i feel comfortable to do it
 
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