Suited Connectors

[Poker Orifice]

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.

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.

 

[NoWuckingFurries]

I concur, too!

 

[Detroitguy113]

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

 

[terryfnsmif]

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.

 

[imasquare]

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).

 

[ArminDeluxe]

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

 

[reb0202]

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

 

[vanquish]

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

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

 

[rakbarak]

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.

 

[tisias]

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.

 

[lmille4574]

I have only hit the str flush once off the flop with suited connectors. Online suited connectors arent really as good. I will play them ealry in a tourney but very rare later in the tourney when it is more costly. Later in the toruney I will play them more shorthanded and when few players are in the ot. or a heads up situation. like everyone folds to button button raises and small blind folds. Depending on the raise I will call.
Plain and simple suited connectors I feel is a hand to play when the cost is lo.

 

[davejs1671@yahoo.com]

Suited connectors have great value for a few different reasons. For one thing they should be in your mix of hands just so that your oppoenets arent able to read you easily. Depending on position they can be great hands that allow you to win large pots. If you can enter a pot cheaply that has a few players in it already then you are getting good pot odds to take a shot and when you do hit they pay off well.

 

[hipshot55]

I think it's like real estate, only instead of location, location, location; it's position, position, position.

Like most others, late position against limpers or weak bets. And, as vanquish stated so well, the point is NOT to hit a st8 flush, but a str8 or a flush. A str8 flush is just the hot fudge on the sundae. And I have hit probably more than my share of them. Personal best: three (including a Royal) in two days during a marathon online tournament session (I don't think I've caught up on my sleep yet and it was two years ago). But my real claim to fame was gettin two Royals during my college days playing games nobody plays any more; 5 card draw and 5 card stud. I still have them in frames in my den. Good times.

 

[TheseNutsWin]

in CASH games they are a must... in SNGs and MTTs i play them only in the beginning with small blinds (ex. 10/20 with a 1500 stack) i`ll limp in from middle/late position. I got lucky many times when i got people all in since a lot of weak players think that going all in when flopping K or Q while holding AQ or AK is a must. Many weak players limp in with AK and AQ and thats how i catch them. But thats not that often. When the blinds increase to 25/50 i stop playing them unless my stack is about 3000 even then i`ll try to play them only from the cut off or button... mid stages and late stages i dont even play them unless im small blind or button and nobody raised( but i must have about 20BB in my stack since anything less is a waste of chips... also if their suited then i play them a bit more often.

 

[sd great 1]

in refrence to the guy's original post, being taught suited connectors are good time to call may have been the wrong advice. suited connectors might be the best cards to hold when trying to come from behind against pocket aces or kings, but going into the hand your starting " behind " and are most certainly going to need help to win the hand. they have no showdown value. also playing suited cards only raises your preflop percentages by 3% not much value added .

 

[NoWuckingFurries]

also if their suited then i play them a bit more often.

Suited connectors usually are suited...

 

[CAPT. ZIGZAG]

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

I don't think Negreanu would be folding 34s pre-flop.


---:icon_sant

 

[sassy_sue299]

I will play them,if I get a table that i know likes to play crappy cards.Like in freerolls,they seem to hit better for me then pockets.If i am in real money,the only timei will is if i am the only one to call bb and sm blinds but other then that i fold them

 

[VerbalKint]

You have to have a deep stack to play them effectively, otherwise you`ll end up calling off a good portion of your stack on a draw. Any drawing hand just siphons chips out of your stack, plain n simple. When they hit, they hit big but personally I hate being a calling station.

 

[xxAAKKxx]

this is totally different than playing live in online poker to play suited connectors betta have the monster

 

[spranger]

I play 10NL and never play suited connectors unless on the button, then of course I'll raise it up, is this too tight? Should the J10clubs sometimes be a limp from middle position?

 

[NoWuckingFurries]

this is totally different than playing live in online poker to play suited connectors betta have the monster

Could you explain what this sentence actually means, please? Putting some punctuation in might help.Then again, it might not...

 

[DaFrench1]

Isn't AKs a suited connector? How about KQs, not playable?

There seems to be an assumption that suited connectors necessarily mean the mid or lower range of the scale. I think that is where too many people are going wrong with this type of hand, i.e. you can't value a 78s the same as a QJs. Obviously, the higher ones are more than playable from EP, others from MP, etc. and the same goes for one and two-gappers.

I think the question really should be how low should you are prepared to go, and the answer is the same as always....it depends!

 

[annie]

I like suited connectors when I am in position, have a large chip stack and everyone limped.

 

[Kwolff]

It depends on the table and position for me.

You cant consistently play them its more a pick and choose spots.