During the beginning and intermediate levels of your poker training you have hopefully been sticking to a fairly strong set of standards in regards to hand selection. This means staying away from less than premium hands in early position and completely avoiding trash in all positions.
As you become more confident in your abilities, one of the first ways in which you will want to expand your game will be to increase the range of your hand selection process to include additional card combinations, such as suited connectors.
When to Play Suited Connectors
Suited connectors are two cards in numerical order that are of the same suit, such as the 4-5 of clubs. These types of hands have become popular with top pros like Doyle Brunson because when they do hit, they tend to hit big. On top of that, they are very easily disguised across a wide variety of flops, making them great for taking down huge pots. The reason suited connectors aren’t recommended for players of all skill levels is because less experienced players have a tendency to play these hands too often and out of position.
Since you are drawing to both a straight and flush with suited connectors, they are far more valuable post-flop than pre-flop, which is why you typically only want to get involved in a pot with suited connectors when you can limp in, preferably while sitting in middle to late position. These hands simply do not have enough draw strength to make calling a pre-flop raise worthwhile, so eliminate that possibility from your head altogether.
The majority of the time you will miss the flop with your suited connectors, at which point you can just throw them away. Don’t try any bluffs or creative plays, as you will likely not have anywhere near the odds needed to improve your hand on the turn or river. Even if you hit one of your cards, you are still going to want to fold to any bet unless you are playing large suited connectors like K-Q rather than 5-6.
When you Flop Big, Dominate your Opponents
If you get lucky and see a cheap flop with your suited connectors and you do flop big (two pair or better), you will normally want to play them aggressively. You don’t want to check here and give anyone a free card since the turn could give an opponent exactly what they need to cripple you. If you flop a straight or a flush draw, you can call most bets (the more players in the pot the better at this point), and you can even put a semi-bluff out there yourself if your draw is strong enough.
Keep it simple when it comes to suited connectors. Play them in middle/late position, limp in, and then play aggressively when you do flop a big hand. It is that simple. If you want more advanced hand selection tips you can expand your range with our piece on hand selection based on your position. (Advanced Hand Selection: Positioning)
Key Points
• Avoid suited connectors in early position.
• Do not call pre-flop raises.
• Remember that you will be folding to the majority of flops, even in the cases where you pair one of your cards.
• If you flop big, play aggressively and do not give your opponents any free cards.
Chris
- Chris Laquinta is a magazine editor, content specialist and poker fanatic with 10+ years writing experience and over 1,500 published articles. Chris is a naitive of Southern California, where he spent his entire life learning gaming concepts and theories from relatives that had been former professional gamblers. He currently resides in Torrance, CA where he works as a professional content writer and part-time SNG professional.
