No matter if you play free poker or you spend hours trying to make win a few dollars in the real money poker tables, understanding how suited connectors work can give you big rewards as you play them the right way in no limit Texas Hold’em. You put them down to bring home big pots, generally by snaring those aggressive players who don’t have good hands to play after the flop. However, it’s important to make sure that you have the right situation in place if you want to take advantage of the real value of suited connectors. So let’s take a look on some of the basic knowledge you should use the next time you engage in some poker games.
In pre-flop play, suited connectors should only be your strategy when you expect a big payoff when you nail that flush or straight. This doesn’t mean, though, that you want to overspend just to get to the flop. If you’re in early or middle position pre-flop, the danger is that you will end up getting re-raised. You just can’t afford to call a pre-flop raise that is too big with suited connectors. It just doesn’t matter how attractive they are. You will hemorrhage money over the long run.
If you’re in late position with a raised pot and at least two callers in front of you, though, you’re in the right spot. This is when you want to call and hit that flop hard. By entering the flop with multiple opponents, you boost the chance that your opponents get a hit on the flop and bet out, giving you the necessary odds for profitable suited connectors. If you’re in a late position with no raise on the pot and at least two limpers ahead of you, hear you should raise to show that you have a big hand and try to buy the button simultaneously. Consider a raise of 3BB with an additional 1BB for each limper ahead of you. The same raise you would make if you had a big pocket pair. This raise will scare off at least a couple of opponents all by itself.
At the flop, if you’re playing suited connectors, the idea is a nice draw against an opponent with deep stacks. You might flop to that straight now and then. Your odds of flopping a flush draw are about 8 to 1 (10.94%). You can even get two pair or trips (3.34% odds) on the flop. Hitting a double belly buster straight draw or an open-ended straight draw combined is about 10.45%. Most commonly, of course, you’ll flop nothing. This is why you shouldn’t overspend to see it, because “nothing” is the most common answer. In most cases, you will check or fold. If there wasn’t a raise pre-flop, though, think about using a bet to nab the pot. This is why the late position is best for playing suited connectors. You’re using your position to steal pots occasionally – to get back the costs that come with playing such a speculative hand. You also want to make sure that you’re free of calling stations when you want to nab a pot that way.
If you still haven’t gotten a flush or straight, the best choice now is to try to get a look at that river card for free. Sometimes a frightening card will come down on the turn, and your opponent may just check. If a strong bet comes at you on the turn, though, consider folding as you are now behind the eight-ball when it comes to odds. If you do hit that monster hand, it’s time to suck all the money you can out of your opponent. Don’t check and give your opponent a free card. He may have a backdoor draw to a bigger flush or straight, so make him pay every step of the way.
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