How to Play Suited Connectors

Suited connectors are fun hands to play because they can turn into potentially big hands and surprise the pants off your opponents. Small suited connectors don’t turn into big hands often but when they do, it’s usually an exceptionally strong hand. The surprise factor also helps create big pots. If you have a hand like 56s and the board is showing 478, your opponent will have a hard time guessing that you hit that board so hard.

You have to be careful with suited connectors, though, because it’s easy to lose money with them. They are tempting to play but they shouldn’t be played in every situation. The key to playing suited connectors for a profit is to always look for spots in which you can get in cheap but win a potentially large pot.

It’s All About the Implied Odds

In order to play suited connectors with a profit, you have to make sure you’re getting the proper implied odds every time. In other words, you have to make sure that you can win a potentially large pot and can get in for cheap. If there’s a large raise or your opponent only has a 15 bb stack, it’s not worth playing suited connectors. They don’t make big hands often so they need to have large payoffs when they do hit.

You can ensure that you always get plenty of implied odds by only playing suited connectors in late position after two or more other people have already entered the pot. With multiple opponents in the pot, it’s more likely that you’ll get paid by one of them if you hit a strong hand.

It’s also important that you make sure you can get in for a cheap price. You don’t want to spend a lot of money speculating with suited connectors because they don’t hit hands often. Poker players who make it a habit to play suited connectors no matter what the price are almost always losers with those hands.

Don’t forget to also consider your position. Suited connectors should only be played from late position. In early position, it’s impossible to tell how many people will be in the pot or how much it will cost. By waiting until you are in late position, you’ll know if it’s worth playing or not. On top of that, being in late position makes it easier to play your hands after the flop.

Mixing Up Your Play

Suited connectors can also be used to mix up your play and make you less predictable. Every once in a while, it’s perfectly fine to make a preflop raise with a hand like 45s. This keeps you from becoming too predictable and makes it difficult for your opponents to figure out what you have.

You’ll get the greatest benefit if you have a show down and the people at the table see that you raised with a less than ideal hand. The next time you catch a strong hand, there will be a greater chance that you get action. You don’t have to mix up your play often to receive benefits. The occasional raise with a suited connector is plenty.

Don’t be afraid to break the rules every once in a while. Sometimes I’ll call raises from a single opponent if we both have a large stack or that person has a hard time letting go of hands. Other times, I’ll call with a suited connector and try to steal the pot with a bluff if I miss. In this manner, I have a chance to win big pots while still building on my unpredictable table image.

Don’t Get Attached

Remember that when you play suited connectors, you are looking for strong hands after the flop. The worst thing you can do is get attached to mediocre hands and then play big pots with those hands. For example, if you call a raise with 67s and hit a board of 237, you can’t get too attached to your single pair.

The goal with suited connectors is to either hit a big hand or steal the pot. You won’t hit big hands often and you can’t steal every pot so you have to be prepared to fold as well. Suited connectors are fun hands to play but they are never guaranteed to win the pot. The ability to fold will take you a long ways.