Suited
connectors are the epitome
of a double edged sword
in poker. When played correctly,
they can be highly profitable
however if played poorly,
they can be a disaster and
lead to a meltdown at the
table. A hand like 6s-7s
is not going to win at showdown
on its own, however you
have a ton of inherent draws
which makes it a hand that
improves often and becomes
very strong. These hands
play equally well in both
limit and no limit hold
em, but need to be played
with a big flashing caution
sign going off in your head.
Playing Suited Connectors
When you sit down at a
table and are dealt smaller
suited connectors right
away, you can fold them
knowing you made the right
decision. These hands require
a lot of information from
the table in order to play
them well. You want to know
the flow of the game, and
the aggression level of
the players you are seated
with. If there are a lot
of raised pots going on,
it makes it a little tougher
to play your suited connectors
because you want to be seeing
a lot of flops as cheap
as possible with these hands.
You want to be getting great
odds to call pre-flop, so
the more limpers the better.
Position
is Paramount - Learn to
Play Position
You really want to pay attention
to your table position with
these hands. You don’t
want to be making raises
UTG with these hands, but
you do want to be able to
limp from late position,
or call a small raise. Getting
into the pot for a low price
allows you to be able to
easily throw your hand away
if you don’t hit anything
on the flop, and also gives
you the ability to mask
your hand if you do connect.
You will usually see a player
who hits there top pair
and bet into your big draw
on the flop, which with
you flat calling will give
them fits putting you on
a hand.
Flops
You Want To See and Flops
You Don't
When the flop hits and you
are holding suited connectors,
you want it to either hit
your cards individually
(Ie; 2 pair) or give yourself
a great draw that you can
disguise. Looking at the
same hand from earlier,
if you have 6s-7s, and the
flop comes 5s-As-8h, you
now have both straight and
flush possibilities, which
leaves thirteen cards in
the deck which will make
your hand. When you have
this many outs in a hand
you will usually want to
be flat-calling even decent
sized flop bets, as your
odds to make your hand
are quite high, and flat
calling lets you keep it
disguised.
Things to Be Wary Of
When you make your flush
draw on the flop, you need
to be aware that there is
a possibility of being up
against bigger flush draws.
This is when it is really
important to be able to
recognize how your opponents
are playing, and being able
to get a read on there hand
and betting patterns to
know where you stand. When
someone is showing strength
against your small flush,
you want to be able to toss
the hand away.
The other thing to be very
careful of is drawing the
low end of a straight. Again,
knowing your opponents and
how they play will be a
big factor in knowing when
your bottom straight is
good, and when you are beat.
Also be aware of the turn
card giving your opponent
a possible bigger one-card
straight as well.
These
middles suited connectors
can really add to your overall
profitability when played
well. Proceed with caution,
as it is an easy type of
hand to be out-played with
by a more experienced opponent.
Make sure you are bringing
you’re A-game when
approached with these situations. |
