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How To Play Suited Connectors
Suited connectors are simply two cards that are close together and of the same suite, i.e. 4♠-5♠, 10♥-J♥. The idea behind playing these hands is that you can pick up either a straight draw or a flush draw on the flop and hit the nuts on the turn or the river. Playing suited connectors is not recommended for beginner poker players as it requires a strong understanding of pot odds and disciplined playing.
Which Suited Connectors To Play
Suited connectors don't have to be two sequential cards and there can be a gap between the two. K♣-J♣ is another perfect example of a suited connector. It's generally recommended to stick to two 'gaps' and avoid suited connectors with more. So hand like 10♣-7♣ should be avoided. The reason for this is that these types of connectors diminish your possibilities to make a straight and instead will leave you with a 'gut shot straight draw' i.e. 10♣-7♣ and the flop is 6♠-9♥-J♣ now you can only hit an 8 for the straight.
Middle suited connectors work best because of the possibility of flopping an 'up and down straight draw' whereby you can make your straight with two possible cards i.e. 9♣-10♣ and the flop is 8♠-J♠-Q♣ you can hit the 7 or the King for a straight.
Playing Suited Connectors In Early Position
Unless you are playing at an extremely tight table and there's a good chance nobody will raise you should always avoid playing suited connectors in early position before the flop. Before the flop you don't have a draw yet, you just have two suited live cards. If you don't pick up a draw on the flop you'll have to lay down your hand.
On the flop you should only play your hand if you've picked up a flush draw or an up and down straight draw, but only play it until the turn and lay down your hand at any raise.
Playing Suited Connectors in Middle Position
In middle position you can start getting more creative and call the blinds and a raise if you have high suited connectors (i.e. A-Q, K-Q, K-J) because now you've picked up more outs if you miss the flop. If everyone limped in front of you, follow suit and limp to see a cheap flop.
In middle position you can follow through with your draw to the river provided that you are playing heads up and not in a multi-way pot.
Playing Suited Connectors in Late Position
In late position you can loosen your starting hand requirements to include every suited cards. If the action comes around to you and the pot remains unraised you should immediately put in a raise to reduce the field down to a few players.
Make a continuation bet on the flop regardless of whether you picked up a draw or not, this way you can play heads up and increase your odds of winning.
Consider Pot Odds
When playing suited connectors it's important to consider the pot odds. Here's an example to illustrate:
Blinds $1/$2
Your hand J♣ 10♣
Player 1 folds
Player 2 folds
Player 3 calls
Player 4 (You) calls
Small Blind calls
Big Blind checks
Pot $8
Flop
9♣ Q♣ 4♥
The SB checks
The BB bets $8
You have 8 outs to a straight and 9 outs to a flush.
You have 3.88 to 1 odds to make a straight and 3.44 to 1 to make a flush
You have a total of 36.17% to hit one of your outs.
Despite the seemingly great odds, the pot would need to be $14.12 for you to make the call. Whether you make the call should not be decided solely on pot odds, you also need to consider the player that made the raise, the two players left to act behind you, as well as your chip stack.
Playing suited connectors is all about having the right odds. Chasing a draw is not worth the risk if the return is marginal.
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