Playing Suited Connectors

Suited connectors are fun hands to play but they can be a source of loss if played incorrectly. The thing about suited connectors is that they can hit big hands but they don’t do so very often. Where poker players go wrong with suited connectors is they hit a big hand with one, remember how great it felt and then continue playing all suited connectors regardless of the situation.

The key to playing suited connectors correctly is to play them when the conditions at the table are good. Now, I can’t just tell you what exactly “good conditions” are because that depends on your playing style and goals with the hand. However, I can give you a pretty good idea by breaking it up into two sections:

You want to win a big pot without much risk

Let’s say you are playing at a weak table full of calling stations or you simply don’t feel like thinking hard. The best way to play suited connectors in this situation is to get in cheap and play a fit-or-fold game after the flop. If you hit a strong hand, you bet. If you hit a weak hand, you fold. Easy.

If you’re going to play suited connectors in that manner, three conditions need to be in place:

• You are in late position
• Other players are in the pot
• You can get in for cheap

When all three factors are in place, you don’t have to play a very tricky game to profit with suited connectors. All you have to do is wait until you hit a strong hand and then bet it. It’s fairly simple and it works. The best part of all is that when you hit a hand with a suited connector, it will be hard for your opponents to place you on that hand.

You have to have all three factors in place to profit, though. You don’t hit big hands with suited connectors very often so it needs to be cheap to see the flop. Players who get into the habit of calling raises and then folding when they miss end up losing money over the long run.

It is also equally important that there are at least two other people already in the pot with you. In addition to not hitting your hands very often, you won’t get paid every time you do hit. The more people that are in the pot, the bigger the pots tend to be and the more likely you are to win a large pot. Plus, you’ll get better pot odds if you hit a draw.

The importance of position should be obvious. In early position, you have no idea how many people will be in the pot and how much it will cost to get in. On top of that, you’ll have to play the rest of the hand out of position.

You want to win a big pot but are willing to steal a small one

As long as you are in late position and willing to play an aggressive game, you can skip out on the other two factors (number of players in the pot and cost of entry). The key is to be willing to get in there and play some poker.

For example, let’s say you are in late position with 67s. It folds around to you and you decide to raise rather than fold. Right there, you have broken two of the above conditions we listed but that’s OK. You can make up for it by winning the pot after the flop. A simple continuation bet on the flop will win the pot the majority of the time. And that’s assuming you don’t just win the blinds outright.

In another example, you are once again in late position but one person in front of you makes a standard 4BB raise. You can call that raise if you have the ability to occasionally win the pot after the flop without hitting a hand. This example is a little riskier but it’s not out of the question. Many players raise with hands like AK/AQ and will fold after the flop if they don’t hit anything.

Sometimes, you’ll be up against a big pair and have no choice but to fold. Every once in a while, you’ll get lucky and hit a strong hand while your opponent has a big pair like AA or KK. You can’t count on that happening very often but when it does happen, consider it a nice little surprise.

Be honest with yourself

The most important thing of all is to be honest with yourself. Keep detailed stats with PokerTracker or Holdem Manager and study those stats. You are either a net winner or net loser with suited connectors. If you’re a net loser with them, I can almost guarantee it’s because you are playing them too often and overestimating your ability to win pots with weak hands.

Suited connectors are fun hands to play but they require discipline and skill to play correctly. Remember; there's nothing wrong with playing tight with suited connectors. You don’t have to play every suited connector you see. In fact, it would be a mistake to do so. A tight, smart game doesn't sound exciting but it makes money and money is way more exciting than playing a lot of hands.