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How To Cash In With Solid Suited Connectors By: TMoney   tmoney@pockettwos.com

         The key to cashing in with your suited connectors, such as 67, 78, 89, and 910 of the same suit, is knowing when to get involved in the pot and when to stay out.  Let me first note that hands like AK suited, KQ suited, and QJ suited are not usually considered suited connectors, as the sheer strength of those hands alone makes them powerful.  Suited connectors on the other hand usually need more than one pair to win a pot.  With these hand you are looking for your flush draws, straight draws, two pairs, or an outside chance of flopping trips.  Thus, the main reason why winning with these suited connector hands can be so profitable is that 1.) you are drawing to a hand that no one else in the pot is drawing to(most likely) and 2.) it is difficult for your opponents to get off of top pair, so they will usually pay you off on the river.  Now let’s look at when we can play these hands. 

         As you poker players know, it isn’t all that often that we hit flushes, straights, or flop two pair.  That is why we must enter pots where are money is getting good odds to call.  What I mean by this is the amount we call before the flop must be a small enough percentage of the pot size to make it worth calling.  Thus, when we hold suited connectors we are looking to get involved in pots with 4 or more people, so in the long run we can make a profit off of our suited connectors.  If we make the mistake of calling a pre flop bet only to go heads up, we will lose more money than we will win.  For example, if we call a raise of with 89 suited and we are up against KJ unsuited, we called more than 40% of the pot, but we will win only win 40 % of the time.  Now consider a raise pre flop that 2 people have already called.  Let’s assume the raiser holds AQ off suit, and the callers hold QJ off suite and 67 suited.  Now if we call the raise, our suited connector actually has over a 25% chance of winning the pot.  Here, we are calling less than 25% of the pot size so we are getting the right price to call, and we will win more that we will lose in the long run.  Furthermore, you get decent implied odds [see odds section], because if you make your flush or straight, you are pretty much a lock to win. 

         Now, position also plays an important role in whether or not we can call with these hands.  In early position it is much more difficult to call because there are still many people to act behind you.  However, by getting to know your table (tight or loose), you will be able to make better decisions on calling by making logical predictions about the people to act behind you.  Now in later position you have the advantage of seeing what the people in front of you have done.  If there are 3 or more people in the pot then you can call a medium sized raise.  However, be cautious of big raises or re-raises, as hands like AA or KK could be out there.  For a rule of thumb, never call a raise by the person acting directly before you.  You will be wasting your money more often than not. 

          So, when you get those middle suited connectors in your home game, play them smart. Pick and choose your pots.  Remember, you don’t need to win with these hands every time, because when you do, you will be paid off well.