Playing Draws/Suited Connectors
I've heard story after story thats It's actually really profitable to play draws/suited connectors...Well based on experiences in certain situations I've been In, This theory Is half true. While you want to accumulate chips through the whole tournament, You don't want to put half your stack In at ANY stage In the tournament on a draw. I agree that If you're gonna go In KNOWING your behind you'd better have outs. I'm a firm believer In having something more than a straight draw when I'm putting my tourney life at risk, Any player that eventually plays me will notice that If I'm on a draw and I'm allin,I've got atleast 3 outs to a straight and flush draw. I must stress that putting your tourney life in at anytime during a tournament on a draw(which technically is nothing) is a critical mistake. I admit I am a sucker for certain draws that are actually pretty profitable for example...If I had AK suited diamonds and the flop comes: Jd 10d 2c...Obviously you've got tons of outs..lets say hypothetically you KNOW for a fact you've got two live over cards(AK) thats 6 outs plus 9 outs for your flush and 3 outs for your straight 6 + 9 + 3 = 18 outs total...Who couldn't resist that and more than likely the preflop action that got you to this flop has already priced you to put all your chips at risk...Dont be shocked If you dont hit, But a reasonable amount of the time your correct to call allin here...Nowadays you want to mix up your play to make a profit on any poker site and that definitely includes how you bet and what positions you play certain hands at...and since this topic is about playingdraws/suited connectors I'll enlighten you on how you could possibly make a profit from playing these kinds of hands. For example you have : 6h5h your on the button and everyone folds to you...Its In the middle stages of the tourney(400/800) you've got a stack of 12000 the small blind has 9000 and the big blind has 10000...you raise 3xbb (which is really not that bad of a move) and the sb folds and the bb calls flop:7h 2c 8h...thats a huge flop for you and your hand Is disguised because you put In a raise preflop and whose gonna automatically think your raising with small suited connectors? Anyways the point here Is to build a pot NOT CHECK...so throw out a bet (half pot should do) and most likely you'll just get called. turn 3H ..this Is the Bingo card here because it gives you a flush and a up and down straight flush draw...its your option to check or bet this turn card...I would personally bet the turn card just incase he has a A or K of hearts so he doesn't get a free card and outdraw my flush..(going all-in is a decent option at this point)...If you get all your bets called and end up getting it allin and winning you played It to profection because you got the desired result...I'm not saying It's always ok to raise with suited connectors because you will get In trouble with them...but If your gonna play them play them In late position so you get a chance to see what the other players will do before you even complete the bb to play them...One last thing (this is just my rule of thumb) NEVER KEEP CALLING ON A DRAW If you see a flop that favors your suited connectors...the desired thing to do is raise because you never know you might just raise him out without even hitting your straight....the point is KEEP THEM guessing dont be to predictable and play ANY DRAW or Suited Connectors carefully.
I think Dewbrah presented it well. I think the highlights and keys of playing the suited connectors are:
#1 Making sure you have position.
#2 Being the aggressor.
#3 Disguising your hand.
#4 Have a really good understanding of outs and odds.
#5 Know the players and how to read them.
#6 Be ready to fold. You have to be able to read the hand. This part is key. If you call or raise with 78 suited for example you can get yourself in trouble thinking your paired 7 is a good hand and over commit and bet trying to push them out when they arent leaving.
SKOAL!
Both excellent put. I liked #6 by Skoalman. I took the mid range connectors out of my game for a while, when I was building the disipline to fold after I hit the wrong piece, aka the pair with no kicker instead of the draw.
Trusting that you can play suited connectors profitably becomes a nice edge. Omaha and Limit help hone these skillz. Limit beats you up when you play them wrong without being to costly and rewards you when players play pairs against you poorly.
As the difficulty of your opponets increases, playing suited connectors becomes as valuable as broadway hands or pocket pairs.
Once you get very comfortable with your abilities with them, something I am working on achieving now, it is clear that against tight players who play their big hands aggresively, they are the perfect holdings.
There is alot of talk about these hands being great in late position, mentioned in almost every article/thread I have read. Alot mention limping in late with them. I agree 100%.
But, the great players, especially the bigger the game, know this. To let people in a hand with position is always a mistake, so being able to play them out of position (in general on the table), but with position on the tag type of player, even if you have to make the raise or call it, becomes an important play. I liked that this is also mentioned by Dewbrah.
But back to Skoalman, the key is to remember why you are playing the hand! As a starting hand to attack blinds, I like to use them now. If I get called, I can make my decisions post flop. By adding more hands to my starting range, I bump my aggresion level just enough to get out of the tag only gear and keep from falling into passive habits. So for the reason of opening up a players game just a little, playing suited connectors can be profitable.
Something I am also working on improving.
Last thing I have to say is it goes back to the "M" zones again. With a healthy stack, it is profitable and proper play to include these hands in your playing range and one gappers are pretty good too (small ball poker, throw in a few late position suited ace xs under 5 and presto!).
When you hit the caution zones, again the mid range connectors offer a starting hand that is not likely to be dominated and are capable of cracking large holdings when played aggresively in isolated pots or to steal blinds and antes.
Great topic!
Thank you this whole post has been very helpful.
Perry
