Suited Connectors

Quick facts by PokerStrategy

• Suited connectors are hands that run in a sequence and are also suited.
• You can potentially hit straights or flushes with suited connectors.
• Suited connectors are not the strongest value hands but have solid implied odds when stacks are deep.
• Suited connectors can be used to semi-bluff.

What Are Suited Connectors in Poker?

Suited connectors are cards that run in a sequence and are also suited. They can be playable hands in poker because they provide opportunities to hit straights and flushes, as well as to win pots by semi-bluffing opponents.

In terms of poker strategy, suited connectors are often misused. Inexperienced players tend to either avoid or overplay them, particularly by calling expensive bets in the hope of hitting draws. That’s not the way to go.

This page covers everything you need to know about playing suited connectors, including their odds and which ones are more profitable to play.

Suited Connectors Importance

Suited connectors are an important part of poker strategy, especially when stacks are deep enough to justify calling to see a flop. If you hit big, you can play for value and get paid off by hands, such as the top pair. If you miss, you can simply check-fold.

This is especially relevant in online poker rooms, where fast-paced play and high hand volume create more opportunities to profit from speculative hands.

In technical terms, this is known as having good implied odds. There’s not much risk because you can easily get away if you miss, yet the rewards are lucrative when you do make your hand.

The problem is that you won’t hit a straight or flush very often, especially not on the flop. Instead, it’s much more likely that you’ll pick up a straight or flush draw, which you can then play as a semi-bluff. More on that later.

Suited connectors are also important for balancing ranges, an advanced concept that relies on having enough bluffing hands in your range to disguise your value hands.

Suited Connector Strength

Not all suited connectors are equal. The best suited connectors to play are high value cards.

For example:

K-Q suited is much stronger than 4-5 suited because it also allows you to hit top pair hands as well as straights and flushes.

This doesn’t just apply to premium Broadway hands. T-9 suited, for example, is still much stronger than 8-7 suited, not only because you can hit higher pairs but also because you can hit stronger flushes and the high end of straights.

A low flush or the bottom end of a straight is still vulnerable, which can prevent you from playing for maximum value. When deciding how to play suited connectors, always be aware of your overall hand strength.

Suited Connector Odds

Before we talk about how to play suited connectors in poker, let’s first delve into the odds of being dealt a suited connector and the odds of actually making your hand:

• The odds of being dealt a suited connector are around 4.17 percent.
• The odds of flopping a flush when you have a suited hand are approximately 0.84 percent.
• The odds of flopping straight when you have a connected hand are approximately 1.31 percent.
• Your odds of flopping either a straight or flush with a suited connector are approximately 2.13 percent, which happens around once every 47 times.

Now let’s compare this to the odds of flopping a draw:

• You have a 10.9 percent chance of flopping a flush draw with suited cards.
• You have around a 10.5 percent chance of flopping a straight draw with connected cards.
• Your odds of flopping a straight, flush, or combo draw with a suited connector are approximately 20 percent, 25.4 percent if you include gutshots.
• If you have a straight or flush draw on the flop, you have a little over a 19 percent chance to improve on the turn.

Seeing these figures should make it clear that you’ll be playing suited connectors as drawing hands much more often than you actually flop big. Let’s take a closer look.

How to Play Suited Connectors Preflop?

When it comes to suited connector preflop strategy, the most important factor is position. In short, you should be folding the most suited connectors preflop from the early position while open-raising all but the weakest suited connectors from the late position.

Playing suited connectors in position will allow you to take free cards when needed, as well as find more opportunities to semi-bluff. Playing suited connectors out of position is likely to land you in tougher spots and can be a losing proposition.

When you do play a suited connector as the first to enter the pot, you should usually do so with a raise. As well as open-raising, you can also occasionally limp behind or call a small raise in position.

Calling in position allows you to get in the pot for cheap and see a flop. If the flop is favorable and pot odds are correct, you can continue the pot. If not, you can easily fold without harm.

Whether or not to play suited connectors preflop also depends on stack sizes. The deeper the stacks, the better your implied odds for hitting a strong hand and the more playability you’ll have when you pick up a draw.

Suited Connector Playability Chart by Position

Here is a simplified chart showing you which suited connectors you can open-raise with according to position. The chart assumes that you have stack depths of at least 50 big blinds.

Note that your preflop ranges can change depending on game conditions and factors such as table dynamics. For example, J-T suited can be a raise from any position on a suitable table:

Postflop Strategy With Suited Connectors

Once you have entered the pot with a suited connector preflop, there are several potential outcomes postflop.

Here’s a rundown of the main outcomes and how to play suited connectors in each situation:

1. Miss Completely: If you miss completely, you will usually check-fold the flop. If you manage to see the turn for free, then there’s still a chance you could pick up some equity. Other than that, the hand is dead.
2. Hit a Made Hand: As we outlined in the suited connector odds section, it’s very rare that you’ll flop a made flush or straight. If you do, your goal is to get as much value as possible. You can consider checking to induce action, but usually, a value bet will do the trick.
3. Strong Draw: Around 20 percent of the time, you’ll make a draw. How you play at this point will depend on the strength of the hand. If it’s a strong draw, such as drawing to the nuts or a combo with lots of outs, you should raise for value. Don’t be afraid to stack off on the flop while your equity is favorable.
4. Weak Draw: Sometimes, your draw won’t be very strong, and you won’t necessarily want to stack off. In this case, you’ll need the right pot odds to call to see the next card or consider the merits of semi-bluffing to take down the pot right there and then. make your draw.

Semi-Bluffing Draws

A semi-bluff is a bluff made when you have at least some equity in the hand. This gives you two ways to win the pot; your opponent can fold and give you the pot, or they can call, and you still have a chance to catch up on the next street.

Draws make excellent semi-bluffing hands. In the case of very strong draws, your hand may have enough equity to raise or shove for value. Even with weaker draws, applying pressure with a bet or raise can generate enough fold equity to make the hand profitable.

If you’re not getting the right price to call a bet, or your opponent has shown weakness, consider making a bet or raise with your draws as a semi-bluff.

Suited Connectors vs Other Hands

Suited connectors usually have reasonable equity against other hands preflop, which is one of the reasons they make great late position bluff raises.

For example, suited connectors have around a 44 percent win rate against ace-king offsuit and around a 36 percent win rate against ace-king suited. Suited connectors vs pocket pairs are near-enough flipping as long as the pair is low but are badly behind by around 80-20 against overpairs.

Postflop, suited connectors are usually played to hit hands like flushes and straights, allowing you to get maximum value from lower-ranked hands, such as pairs, two pair, and sets.

Suited connectors can also hit one pair hands. Keep in mind, however, that medium and low suited connectors tend to hit weak pairs that can be badly behind or even dominated.

As mentioned, suited connectors make great semi-bluffing hands. Strong draws also play fine for value against opponent’s pairs. You’ll have similar equity and gain additional fold equity by betting and raising.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Here are the most common mistakes to avoid with suited connectors in poker:

• Paying Too Much for Draws: In order to profitably call a bet with a draw, you need to have the correct pot odds to make the call. Beginners often make the mistake of paying way too much for draws, such as calling big bets on the turn.
• Disregarding Position: Suited connectors are more difficult to play from out of position, which is why you should only be raising most of them from mid or late position. Overplaying suited connectors from an early position is a big mistake.
• Playing With Shallow Stacks: Suited connectors play much better with deep stacks, as you’ll have better implied odds and more chips to attempt a semi-bluff with. Playing suited connectors with shallow stacks, such as 15-20 big blinds, is usually a mistake.
• Over or Underbluffing: Semi-bluffing is a fine art, but when done well, it’s a very lucrative move. Don’t make the mistake of neglecting bluffs when you pick up strong draws. At the same time, be careful when it comes to risking it with weaker draws.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should you three bet with suited connectors?

Suited connectors are not strong value hands. They do, however, make suitable bluffing hands, so you can use them to three-bet bluff.

What is the difference between suited connectors and suited gappers?

A suited connector is two hole cards in sequence, such as 9-8. A suited gapper has at least one gap in the middle, making it more difficult to make a straight, such as 9-7.

What are the odds of being dealt suited connectors?

The odds of being dealt a suited connector preflop in Texas Hold’em poker are around 4.17 percent.

Are suited connectors better in tournaments or cash games?

Suited connectors technically have the same value in tournaments and cash games. However, stacks are usually deeper in cash games, which improves the implied odds of suited connectors and makes speculative hands more playable.

Should you play low suited connectors?

Generally, you should fold low suited connectors from an early position or against a preflop raise. They can be playable in a late position if other factors, such as stack depths, are favorable.