Playing suited connectors.
 

I am posting this in the beginner’s area opposed to poker theory because I am a beginner; if it should be moved please do so.
My question is what are the general rules of thumb for playing suited connectors? I understand the rules for pocket pairs but suited connectors are still a mystery to me. Let’s say you hold 8s and 9s. What do you do pre-flop? After the flop you get one more card to put you on a flush draw or straight draw, what do you do? What if you get two cards on the flop? Thanks for any advice! P.S. This site rocks.

Re: Playing suited connectors.
 

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I am posting this in the beginner’s area opposed to poker theory because I am a beginner; if it should be moved please do so.
My question is what are the general rules of thumb for playing suited connectors? I understand the rules for pocket pairs but suited connectors are still a mystery to me. Let’s say you hold 8s and 9s. What do you do pre-flop? After the flop you get one more card to put you on a flush draw or straight draw, what do you do? What if you get two cards on the flop? Thanks for any advice! P.S. This site rocks.

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There is no rules. There is not one way to play them. Position and player actions before you are the biggest factors to determine what you should do with a hand like 89s pre-flop.

Re: Playing suited connectors.
 

It is all situational dependent but if you are inexperienced and not confident playing them, try just playing them in multiway pots for as cheap as possible. If you miss (which is most of the time), dump em. If you hit draws, know your odds of hitting flush and/or combined straight draws and that should get you started.

Re: Playing suited connectors.
 

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There is no rules. There is not one way to play them. Position, stack sizes, and player actions before you are the biggest factors to determine what you should do with a hand like 89s pre-flop.




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fyp

Re: Playing suited connectors.
 

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There is no rules. There is not one way to play them. Position, stack sizes, and player actions before and players/stack sizes behind you are the biggest factors to determine what you should do with a hand like 89s pre-flop.




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fyp

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Added to your FYP

Re: Playing suited connectors.
 

Did OP suggest he was playing no limit? I must have nissed that.

Re: Playing suited connectors.
 

I think you need to better define the case, let's say you are short stacked in a MTT and you are looking for a hand to shove. I'd often rather be shoving 98s opposed to Kx

Re: Playing suited connectors.
 

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Did OP suggest he was playing no limit? I must have nissed that.

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Sorry forgot to put that in. I play at 10max and 25max NLHE.

Re: Playing suited connectors.
 

Here are a few examples of suited connector hands, and how they play out....
Scroll down until you see ajmargarine's "hows your SSNL series"

Walk through a few hands and read the discussions.

Some Starting Guidelines pre-flop:

SC's are great to open with IN POSITION,
You can call or raise if several have already limped and you are IN POSITION.
You can sometimes call a raise IN POSITION if there is already a Cold Caller, or if you both have large stack sizes.

You may notice something in common...position.
Playing these hands is much easier if you have the last action on future betting rounds.

Look for threads in Micro NL and Small Stakes NL forums with headings about SC's, combo draws, big draws, etc...to get a feel for how you should go about playing draws you are likely to have on the flop when playing these types of hands.

Re: Playing suited connectors.
 

Curious about how you play your small pairs, cause a lot of people play them wrong.

Anyway, I play short handed, and I play LAG, so I will give you my answer. After glancing at the other posts, two things I saw I will echo: It depends on the situation, and position.

In short-handed (six or fewer players) I will open-raise with SC from any position. First position, no problem. If it's a tight game, I will open raise with even 23s from UTG. If it is an aggressive game, I will start around 76s from UTG. If it is a REALLY aggressive game, I don't raise from UTG with small SCs.

I almost never call with them from out of position. I will call with them in position if I think I can outplay someone postflop, and if I think I can get big implied odds with them if I hit big. (I will not call a raise from a small stack.)

If one person limps ahead, I will raise to isolate and take down the flop with a c-bet (this, like everything else, depends heavily on the opponent and the way they play, but this is typical). If two people limp, I may raise to isolate, depending on the nature of the table, or I will limp behind. If three or more limp, I will limp to see a cheap flop.

Hope this helps.

Re: Playing suited connectors.
 

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Curious about how you play your small pairs, cause a lot of people play them wrong.

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I raise small pairs in any position, if checked to me. If there is a raise then I use the 5%-20% rule to deceide if I should call. After the flop if checked to me I raise no matter what falls on the board when in good postion. If i am out of postion or there is a raise before I act then the situation at the table dictates my next move. Usually call a passive player and fold to a tight player. Any other advice you have is welcomed.

Re: Playing suited connectors.
 

As has been stated previously, there are many ways to play suited connectors in full-ring NLHE and there are many determinants. One +EV approach (in my opinion) is to call pre-flop raises from relatively tight players. Most players at low limits overvalue big pairs and will stack off with an unimproved overpair (or AK that hits top pair).

That last sentence is worth repeating - too many players stack off with just one pair (especially overpairs). Try not to do it yourself and take advantage of situations where you can do it to someone else.

Let's say you call a pre-flop raise with a suited connector from a relatively tight player and the flop comes ten high. Depending on the situation I might call a continuation bet with as little as a gutshot, or a pair and a gutshot, or a pair and a backdoor flush.

If the turn is another low card and he bets again then there's good chance he has an overpair. If you can beat an overpair or have the odds to draw then stay in the hand. If he checks the turn then he may have overcards and you might be able to take the pot down then and there.

Re: Playing suited connectors.
 

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Curious about how you play your small pairs, cause a lot of people play them wrong.

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Check the nl forums...this gets discussed ad infinitum.