Your Sequential Friend In Texas Holdem: Suited Connectors

If suited aces (an ace and any other card of the same suit) are the main staple of our low limit strategy then suited connectors would have to be the second course. There are a few reasons for this and some of them are not necessarily obvious, hence this article! Reason #1: They hit more often

Of all the reasons to play suited connects this has to be the most obvious. After all you can hit a strong hand more often with a suited connector (especially a middle suited connector like 8h 7h) than any other two card combination. You have a flush draw, a straight draw, or made hands like full houses, three of a kind or two pair.

Here are some strong examples when you hold: 7d 6d (7 of diamonds, 6 of diamonds)

Flops:

5s 8d Kc (open ended straight draw, backdoor straight flush draw, and any Kx will pay you off fully if you make your hand)

6h Jh 7s (bottom two pair, a strong but vulnerable hand. You will get paid by any Jx hand as well as flush draws, it's important to play this hand strongly up front and then back off if you get resistance on the turn or river)

3d Kc Ad (flush draw only, but any Ax or better hand will pay you off if you make your hand)

7h 7c Qh (trip 7's but any Q will pay you off with only two outs to improve) Reason #2: When you hit a strong hand you'll often get action

As the above examples also show there are many cases where hitting your hand will not appear especially frightening to the board and you will get ample action from overpairs and stronger hands that are still weaker than your holding. Contrast this to the action you'll get with a hand like AK offsuit when you flop an Ace or King. Although weaker aces or kings will often call you down your hand is still vulnerable to random two pairs and the like. If you get a lot of action on the flop or turn your top pair top kicker is often beat. Reason #3: When they don't hit they are easy to fold