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Suited Connectors

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  1. #1
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    Default Suited Connectors

    Sorry if this is a repost, just joined today...

    But whats the big craze over suited connectors... i mean with a hand like 8 7 if you make a flush you have a low kicker.... the only thing you can look for is a straight and two pair... so whats the big deal with these?

    Does anyone play them, and to what extent?
  2. #2
    a500lbgorilla's Avatar
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    himself fucker.
    Flushes with suited connectors hardly ever run into flushes. Also, you shouldn't slow play the flush becuase a 4th of that suit would conterfiet your hand, so sensing out higher flushes isn't impossible.

    -'rilla
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  3. #3

    Default Re: Suited Connectors

    Quote Originally Posted by DukeSoccer
    Sorry if this is a repost, just joined today...

    But whats the big craze over suited connectors... i mean with a hand like 8 7 if you make a flush you have a low kicker.... the only thing you can look for is a straight and two pair... so whats the big deal with these?

    Does anyone play them, and to what extent?
    Small suited connectors are Doyle Brunson's favorite hand.

    They can be very deceiving. They have a lot of straight possibilities, flush possiblities, and can have hidden strength when you flop trips or two pair.

    If you flop or turn a flush, the chances are slim that someone else is holding 2 higher cards of the same suit.

    To me, the great value they hold is that they you can win a lot of money playing them and only lose a little by playing them. If the flop doesn't hit you, it's easy to muck the hand. But if you're staring at 89 of spades and the flop comes 67j with two spades, you've got a hand that can win tons.
  4. #4
    lolzzz_321's Avatar
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    It is more than likely that no one has a higher flush.

    Call a raise with them every once in awhile, high cards don't hit all the time...

    They are easy to let go when you don't hit anything. They are versatile , as they allow you to go after two pair, straight, or flush (or a good draw), or both .
  5. #5
    a500lbgorilla's Avatar
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    himself fucker.
    But don't read all this and say "suited connectors must own!" and being over-valuing them.

    You've gotta find the right times to play them (high implied value/cheap multi-way pots etc)

    -'rilla
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  6. #6
    Hint: raise preflop with them.
    What's the difference between a large cheese pizza and a poker player?

    A large cheese pizza can feed a family of four.
  7. #7
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  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Ripptyde
    personally I prefer suited 'gappers' to connectors for the straight possibilities. I'll raise in position only with either but it seems that the gappers hit the straights more often. (hint: play only the suited versions) and fold into a raise...limp only with small amount blinds.
    Nah.. Connectors are statistically more likely to flop a straight draw than gappers.
  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by johnnyawe
    Quote Originally Posted by Ripptyde
    personally I prefer suited 'gappers' to connectors for the straight possibilities. I'll raise in position only with either but it seems that the gappers hit the straights more often. (hint: play only the suited versions) and fold into a raise...limp only with small amount blinds.
    Nah.. Connectors are statistically more likely to flop a straight draw than gappers.
    This is true. The connectors are more likely to connect because with the gappers you have to fill in the gap with a particular card while the suited connectors can fill in either way. If I have the suited connectors like 8,7 then the cards 9,T,J or 456 can make a strait with a total of 6 cards can make a strait. If I have 6,8 then I need a 7 plus 9,T or 4,5 for a total of five cards that can make a strait.

    The only advantage that the gappers have is that its harder for your opponents to see that someone might have a strait.
  10. #10
    For them to really work, you need to be playing at higher limits. When 4 out of 5 hands don't go to show down, the value of deception and the ability to have a completely monster hand out of nowhere takes on a diffrent stratgic signficance. In my experiance, on PP, I think you can make a case for playing these hands at the 200 NL buy-in. Anything lower than that you are just wasting money on bad long shots though.
    Just my opinion.

    Oh, and although you can make the case that it dosent cost that much to play these hands, in the long run I think it costs you alot, even though you pay it a little bit at a time.
  11. #11
    For me suited connectors are a great hand because you can win a big pot with them or get away from your hand cheap when you miss. Hands like AA seem to be the opposite for me most of the time. Suited connectors and small pocket pairs are great for busting a guy/girl that cant let go of those "big" starting hands...
  12. #12
    FlyingSaucy's Avatar
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    I also don't see what the fuss is about them. I rarely play low SC's. They've got to be at least 78 or higher for the most part. And I like to limp in late with them.

    Maybe I just don't know how to play them. I'm only speaking from my experience in micro NL games, but it seems that when 3 or 4 people regularly see the flop, suited connectors go way down in value. Someone hits top pair, puts out a pot sized bet, and any draw you may have is suddenly destroyed (assuming you actually hit a draw, which is rare anyway.) That's why I fold the vast majority of my mid to low suited connectors, it just doesn't seem worth seeing the flop with them in my games loaded with fish.
  13. #13
    FlyingSaucy's Avatar
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    Maybe I should re-qualify what I just posted. I know that drawing hands are better with more people in the pot, but if people are playing loose passive preflop and aggressive post flop, you are bound to get at least someone hitting the flop better than you, and not giving you proper pot odds to draw:

    89 suited in LP.
    2 or 3 limpers ahead of you, and you limp also.
    Flop comes up 76Q rainbow.
    A check, a pot sized bet, and a couple folds.
    You can't seriously call here with 2:1 odds drawing to the high end of an OSD. 90% of the time the guy has made a minimum of top pair.

    Another example with 67 in early position:
    You limp, a few fold, you get a 3xBB raise.
    You can't call that and still be making a winning move, can you? Raising would be silly after trying to limp.

    Another one. T9 on the button. Early position min raises. Mid position calls, the rest fold, and you call and the blinds call. Flop is TK3. You are on shaky ground once again, mid pair with a weak kicker, against 4 other players.


    Maybe I just need help with playing these kinds of hands. But I still think you play them ultimately for a flush or straight. Often if you are playing low cards, you could be losing your stack to a better flush or straight. Hitting it doesn't happen often enough to call raises preflop, imo.
  14. #14
    Zangief's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lucid
    If I have the suited connectors like 8,7 then the cards 9,T,J or 456 can make a strait with a total of 6 cards can make a strait. If I have 6,8 then I need a 7 plus 9,T or 4,5 for a total of five cards that can make a strait.
    87 makes a straight with:

    JT9, T96*, 965*, 654*

    86 makes a straight with:

    T97, 975*, 754*

    85 makes a straight with:

    976, 764*

    84 makes a straight with:

    765

    So with each gap you add to the starting hand, you lose one possible 3-card combination that could make you a straight.

    The *'s signify those straights where you have the nut straight (assuming the rest of the board cooperates). Note that the straight you lose with each added gap is always a nut straight.

    I think there is something to be said for the 1-gappers hiding the straight better. Do you really expect someone to be holding 86 when the flop comes 97T?
  15. #15

    Default rip

    if i read this right, rippy said he prefered gaps over connectors, not that they are statistically better. Suited connectors like everyone else has stated already, they have a huge oppertunity to make you boat loads of money. If someone raises preflop like 2xBB with AK and you call with 87s (suited only, dont waste time on just connectors) and the flop comes 659, well your opponent wont think that hit you cause, why in god name would anyone call with a suited connector against his AK, but let him worry about that when you are cashing out with his money.
  16. #16
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  17. #17
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  18. #18
    TylerK's Avatar
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    You're a bad, bad person.

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