How to Play Suited Connectors

by Nick Lanteri | May 7 2007

Online poker is not for the weak of heart. Try busting someone with suited connectors and prepare to feel the wrath of the player you just felted.
 
Every now and then, while playing in the first hour of a Bodog multi-table tournament, I get ripped a new a-hole in the chat field after busting an opponent while holding what most would consider a garbage hand.
 
"Keep raising with suited connectors, you fucking moron," they type to me from the rail.
 
"Sorry bro," is my normal reply. Depending on my mood, I might feel compelled to continue on. "Nothing personal, I was in position and was just trying to double up and take stabs with lesser hands before the blinds get too high."

Sometimes they get it. Sometimes they don’t. Usually, a short explanation about why I just risked it all with suited connectors just infuriates them even more. The chat field deteriorates into more vulgarities on the part of the "observer" who just went broke.
 
"Fuck you!" is often the parting shot directed my way.
 
You know what? I used to be that guy. When I started playing online poker five years ago, getting my aces cracked by suited connectors (or worse!) would send me into a rage, and I’d direct a stream of insults at the player who just snapped off my pocket rockets with a hand like 6-7 suited.
 
Before I learned the game of No Limit Holdem, I couldn’t understand why someone would call a raise with suited connectors and then call my all-in after the flop on nothing but a draw. Back then I didn’t realize my opponent had flopped a flush draw and a straight draw and was actually getting the right price to risk all of his chips.
 
No doubt, one of the most dangerous hands to play in No Limit Holdem is suited connectors. They can bust you if played too aggressively, but they can always be disguised well whether you are the pre-flop raiser or caller. Doyle Brunson introduced new poker concepts such as suited connectors many years ago when he wrote Super System, which most players consider the Bible of Poker.
 
By definition, suited connectors are two cards that are consecutive in rank and of the same suit, such as 8d-9d. Often these types of hands can bring about an action flop, meaning flush draw or straight draw possibilities where the player holding suited connectors can now raise the pot because they have outs.
 
However, suited connectors should rarely be played to a raise and reraise pre-flop, unless you’re in position and the amount of the call won’t cripple your stack. Also, you might consider calling a reraise if you’ve just paid the big blind and your stack is somewhere around five or six big blinds or less. At that point, it’s OK to gamble and try to triple up or else you will get blinded out of a tournament, especially if antes have already kicked in.
 
 
Playing Suited Connectors from the Blinds
 
Let’s look at the following scenario. It’s near the end of the first hour of a Bodog multi-table tournament with roughly 250 players. The blinds are 30-60. Your stack is down to 1,400 (from starting at 1,500). It’s time to open your game a bit because you’ve been mostly card dead and the chip stack average is approaching 2,800. Remember, it’s late in the 30-60 level (blinds are 50-100 next) and that’s when you are dealt 8d-9d in the big blind.

It’s a nine-handed table and an early position player makes the standard three times the blind raise to 180 (you put this player on A-Q or A-K). One more raise and you should click on auto-fold. But in this example, the player on the button just calls. Small blind folds and now it’s up to you. What do you do?

To see a flop you must call 120 more into a pot of 450. You're getting more than 3-to-1 odds to call here. You must call because even though there is a low probability that you'll hit the flop hard, there is a good chance of picking up some sort of nut draw whereby you can start pushing some chips around post-flop. Of course, if you do flop the nuts or maybe even two pairs, then it’s time to double up or more.
 
The pot size is now 570 as the flop comes 5d-7c-Kd. This is an action flop because you picked up a flush draw with your 8d-9d in the hole and you also have a gut-shot straight draw. Basically, you have 12 outs to make your hand. If your opponent has A-K, it’s a coin flip from here and knowing how strong your unmade hand is gives you some leverage to be aggressive for the rest of the hand.

Remember, we put the early position pre-flop raiser on A-Q or A-K, so now it’s time to find out. You have 1,220 chips left and you lead out with a bet of slightly more than half the pot - 300 into a 570 pot trying to represent the king and take the pot right there. If the pre-flop raiser has A-Q or a medium-to-low pocket pair, most of the time they will fold (too many players just check-call the turn and river and leave themselves short-stacked because they were passive and didn't make a play for the pot). But in this example your opponent puts you all-in for your remaining 920 which increases the size of the pot to 2,090.
 
The button folds, and now it’s back to you. It costs your remaining stack of 920 to try and win a pot of 2,090. That’s more than 2-to-1 on your money, so you’re priced in and you must call off your remaining chips. If you make your hand and hit one of your 12 outs, then you will have more than doubled up to 3,010 chips and can still be a force at your table with the blind levels going up to 50-100. If you don’t make your hand and bust out, then chalk it up to playing suited connectors in the big blind, getting the right price the whole way, but losing what was basically a coin flip after seeing that action flop.
 
Bottom Line

When an action flop comes while holding suited connectors, you should always try and take down the pot right there and don't be afraid to be aggressive with a reraise because opportunities like this don’t happen too often. Check-calling to the river will most often just cripple your stack.

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