Everyone has a hand or two they like playing despite it not being objectively good (Doyle's T2 or the infamous 7-Duece [72o] are good examples). However, we must ask ourselves what our poker goals are.
If the goal is to have fun then by all means play your weaker hands like 87s if you love it and enjoy the game
If your goal is to win or make money, then you'll need to make the disciplined fold for objectively worse hands sometimes.
Having a hand like 87s isn't so terrible though. It is not even close to a premium hand, but it isn't the worst you can hold either. Daniel Negreanu's "small ball" strategy loves playing hands like 87s, but there is no doubt that this play style may be at the mercy of variance when you set yourself up into reverse
odds situations like when you hold 87s and the opponent holds something like A8s.
The board comes: 8h 4d 2c and you think your Top Pair is good, but vulnerable to overcards after the Flop. Of course we can see that to A8 we are crushed already. Note that some looser preflop players may even hold hands like K8s on this board too.
The smaller cards are avoided by many players for a reason, but 87s can be a good hand for mind games. Trap a big pair like KK on a board of
8c 7d Jh
with your 87s and you might get their entire stack before they know what hit them!
Negreanu's style of "small ball" with these lower holdings (suited connectors and even one-gappers are a big part of the small ball approach) can be a powerful play-style, but it also puts a lot of pressure on your post-flop ability and your live reads if you are dominated. You might need a lot of discipline with 87s because the Flop might come down with you having Top Pair and you might still have
"to muck that hand in a hurry." - Negreanu
