Blind Defense with Suited Connectors (1)

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Blind Defense with Suited Connectors (1)

by Miiwiin

You're familiar with the problems of the blind defence with dominated hands from some other columns. Here, we take a look at defence with suited connectors. We already discussed the significant differences and specifics of suited connectors in the column 'Blind Defence with Problem Hands', here, we want to look at the topic once again.

Specifics of suited connectors in the blind defence

Unlike with dominated hands, you can can see that in play with suited connectors, you're not particularly tightly tied. Firstly, this means that the domination mentioned no longer applies. You'll almost never have kicker problems postflop.

You may well hit, be it with a made hand or a strong draw. It's up to you if you decide on a passive or aggressive option postflop, should you hit a draw. You have lots of options in a 3-bet pot as well. You can fold without any fall out postflop, as you'll usually have hardly any outs (for example, with AJ you'll often be holding overcards anyway), moreover, you'll rarely be committed (although, if you're holding top pair, such as KQ in a 3-bet pot, you won't be able to get out of the hand so easily anymore).

Even with good made hands, you'll almost always be better off with a reasonable draw than with a dominated hand.

Board: Jd 5h 4h
Dead:

Equity Win Draw Loss Hand
Player 1: 9.394% 8.586% 1.616% 89.798% AdJs
Player 2: 90.606% 89.798% 1.616% 8.586% AsAc

Board: Jd 5h 4h
Dead:

Equity Win Draw Loss Hand
Spieler 1: 47,778% 47,778% 0,000% 52,222% 8h7h
Spieler 2: 52,222% 52,222% 0,000% 47,778% AsAc

Board: Jd 5h 4h
Dead:

Equity Win Draw Loss Hand
Player 1: 56.263% 56.263% 0.000% 43.737% 7h6h
Player 2: 43.737% 43.737% 0.000% 56.263% AsAc

There are already some columns and articles on the subject of 'drawing hands' and 'suited conncectors', that's why the main focus should be on the situations in which a blind can be defended.

Playability

Before making your preflop decision, you need to assess how you can defend your blind and whethere it's even worth staying in the hand.

Unlike with dominated hands, where you're only holding a strong hand equity wise with the intention of folding it to a generally relatively wide stealing range, with a suited connector you're holding a weak equity hand.

You need to apply your assessment skills here: can you really play this hand for profit? Can I expect good playability? What is the playability?

If you think the playability isn't enough, you've always got the option of folding, which you wouldn't have in some other situations. Folding a suited connector out of position isn't just ok, it's often the right decision.

The fact is: if you join the hand, you generally won't be able to expect much more than a medium draw out of position. This isn't an ideal situation and is difficult to play for +EV against a lot of players. You don't have the problem of hitting a medium strength hand so frequently, so you can still get out of the pot. However, you will hit less frequently compared to with suited connectors.

How can you estimate playability?

• Fold equity preflop:

  If you think you can make your opponent(s) fold often enough preflop, a 3-bet may be the best option.

• Implied Odds:

  If you see the implied odds as quite high and you believe you can play profitably against a given player out of position, but at the same time, rarely make him fold with a 3-bet, a call may be the better option.

• Unplayable:

  If you neither consider the fold equity high enough, nor think that you can act successfully postflop without position (whether as a draw play or a pure bluff), then the hand is almost unplayable. You should only consider a fold here.

Important factors

Now you need to consider which factors will affect these values. How do you estimate your implied odds? What kind of fold equity can you expect?

Ultimately, you have at least double fold equity against a loose opponents who you trust to call your 3-bet.  If they call preflop, you still have the option of a continuation bet.

If you know that a certain player calls 3-bets often, but often gives them up weakly on the flop, you need to take this into consideration.

If you have special reads on Villain indicating that he's actually a loose, passive player and likes to call down, but generally give up on the turn at the latest if you let him see that he may well have to invest his entire stack, then the line 3-bet preflop / bet flop / push turn may be profitable. However, you should be cautious with these, they need reference.

As mentioned above, the type of opponent is clearly decisive. You'll often get a 13/10 player to fold preflop, but rarely a 50/20er.

You can expect more implied odds against a TAT or a rock postflop, possibly less against LAGs/maniacs or very loose passive players, although they may be present here too. It's not because these opponents have a strong hand, but because loose players love to call down any rubbish and unusually aggressive players tend to overplay their hands in 3-bet pots or bluff them too much.

It's not about giving somebody a TAG or calling station title depending on their stats, rather making precise observations about how your opponents act in certain situations. It's hardly possible here that you can expect implied odds against a specific TAG, however you see a lot more opportunities against a LAG.

You also need to be aware that these observations need to be regularly updated, as players also adjust (if you suddenly play aggressively, they will be more cautious and vice versa).

A realistic estimation is need, which should be made as impartially as possible. It's nonsense if your analysis runs along the lines of: 'he doesn't generally fold postflop...' on the other hand, the acknowledgement 'I never have enough implied odds...' is also a factor. Only one of the two applies, either he calls down loose (high implied odds) or he doesn't (high fold equity). Don't simply twist the situation to suit you.

A very important point. You can balance your game superbly with suited connectors. This alone makes them favourite hands for players who like to show some aggression at the tables.

You don't have to play these hands, but you can do at any time without ending up in the difficult situaitons previously analysed (the danger now is getting dominated etc. suited connectors aren't always easy to play postflop and certainly not out of position).

What exactly does balancing mean here? If you were very passive up to now, you can make some action with hands like this (high fold equity). If an opponent gets on your nerves by continually attacking, then these hands are perfect (high fold equity). However, if you were very active up to now, you can find a fold easily without any grief. Or you can find a call due to their high implied odds.

There are lots of options at your disposal with suited connectors. You canhardly make any mistakes with these preflop. This is an invaluable advantage.

The personal kind of draw play: defending with dominated hands

You should take two factors into consideration:

• If you generally play passively, then a 3-bet pot isn't really an ideal situation for you as you'll generally need to stay on the gas with a draw.
• The question is also how you play other hands in the blind defence. If you generally call with dominated hands, you shouldn't 3-bet every suited connector. Balancing in your game is always important  (deception), so try not to be transparent.

Apart from the fold equity, who else can enter the pot is also decisive for implied odds. Are you sitting in the big blind and last to act, or are you sitting in the small blind and have to leave the last word to the big blind?

While, for example, you don't necessarily want to play in a multi-way pot out of position with dominated hands, it may be more profitable with a suited connector out of position due to the higher implied odds.

There just isn't one. While you 3-bet for equity reasons with dominated or semi-strong hands (as you may think you could call a weaker hand), it's more of a bluff on your part with a suited connector. A weaker hand (equity wise), won't call, but a lot of better ones will fold.

If you get a 4-bet then it's an easy fold. It won't hurt to fold as, logically, the 4-bet will generally come from a much better hand. Thus, you don't only have a simple fold, but also clearly a correct fold.

The situation looks a little different with dominated hands. It could well be the case here that a weaker hand than yours makes a 4-bet bluff.

If you succeed in putting these factors in the correct order and assessing them, you can also play correctly with suited connectors in the blind defence. You can vary your plays, step on the gas and fold easy hands now and then, if you believe you can't play for profit under the given circumstances.

If you 3-bet, you're betting on fold equity preflop and on the flop. It's also important to have a plan as to how you'll potentially deal with medium draws on the flop.

Button vs. big blind

PartyPoker $100 NL Hold'em (6-handed) HandRecorder v0.9b

Stacks & Stats
MP ($100)
CO ($100)
UTG ($100)
Hero ($100)
SB ($100)
BU ($100) (25/15/2.1/31/29/777) [VPIP/PFR/AF/ATS/WTS/hands]

Preflop: Hero is BB with 5 , 6
3 folds, BU raises to $4.00, 1 fold, Hero...

Here's the first example. The button raises, the small blind folds and you've got to decide about last to act in the big blind.

The button seems to be more of a loose, aggressive player who nonetheless exhibits quite a significant gap between VPIP and PFR. His ATS is not particularly high, so there could well be a reasonable hand in the game which you won't be able to make fold with a 3-bet.

Your opponent then seems to regularly drop down a gear postflop. He would rather call (higher WTS), than take on the initiative himself (comparatively lower AF). You don't necessarily have to take this.

As nothing has happened at the table yet and you have no information about your opponent's potential plays, a fold here is very acceptable.

PartyPoker $100 NL Hold'em (6-handed) HandRecorder v0.9b

Stacks & Stats
MP ($100)
CO ($100)
UTG ($100)
Hero ($100)
SB ($100)
BU ($100) (14/12/2.9/34/24/571) [VPIP/PFR/AF/ATS/WTS/hands]

Preflop: Hero is BB with 6 , 7
3 folds, BU raises to $4.00, 1 fold, Hero...

In this case, things look a bit different. The button is quite tight. You either can either classify him at the bottom of the TAG scale or you could even file him in the rock draw.

Despite his tight preflop play, the ATS is quite high. This means your opponent will pay a lot of attention to his position and rather play this out than his hand.

A 3-bet should generate some fold equity here, Villain may not necessarily see a 3-bet call here in the same way, so he may waiver between fold and 4-bet under normal cirucmstances. You can live with this as you'll win the pot often enough preflop and so show your opponent that he shouldn't steal your blinds too often. 

However, now you've chosen a different way. You think you have some implied odds postflop and put your opponent on a very strong hand. You don't want to fold, so you call:

PartyPoker $100 NL Hold'em (6 handed) HandRecorder v0.9b

Stacks & Stats
MP ($100)
CO ($100)
UTG ($100)
Hero ($100)
SB ($100)
BU ($100) (14/12/2.9/34/24/571) [VPIP/PFR/AF/ATS/WTS/hands]

Preflop: Hero is BB with 6 , 7
3 folds, BU raises to $4.00, 1 fold, Hero calls $4.00

Flop: ($8.00) 5, 6, 4 (2 players)
Hero...

You've hit quite well on the board, admittedly, you're holding a shakey top pair, thus you have additional outs to trips or two pair, if you're holding an open-ended straight draw and you can even still give yourself a backdoor flush.

What should your play look like now? A donk bet is an option, but the line would then need to be bet/3-bet, as your hand is simply too strong for a bluff as a donk bet/fold.

However, whether your opponent is in a position to also raise your donk bet with air here (AK/AQ- etc.) isn't necesarily clear. That's whay check raise is a good variant here. You'll generate a lot of fold equity with this and if your opponent pushes, you'll have a profitable call.

Flop: ($8,00) 5, 6, 4 (2 players)
Hero checks, BU bets $6,00, Hero raises to $22,00, BU raises to $96,00 (all-in), Hero calls $96,00

Why is this profitable?

After a check raise, you only need to pay another $74 to call the all-in. This means you'll have $74 in a $200 pot, which corresponds to 37% required equity.

Do you have 37%?

Take on two ranges for the button: with range 1 he makes a contibet, with range 2 he goes broke against you.  Range 3 is  for passive players who tell themselves he's only holding aces anyway if he's playing aggressively.

Range 1: 44+, A8s+, KTs+, QTs+, JTs, T9s, 98s, 87s, 76s, A8o+, KTo+, Qjo
Range 2: TT+, 44-66,AdKd,AdQd
Range 3: AA

Results of range 1:

Board: 6d 5d 4h
Dead:
Equity Won Draw Loss Hand
Player 1: 68.922% 67.302% 3.241% 29.457% 7h6h
Player 2: 31.078% 29.457% 3.241% 67.302% 44+, A8s+, KTs+, QTs+, JTs, T9s, 98s, 87s, 76s, A8o+, KTo+, Qjo

Results of range 2:

Board: 6d 5d 4h
Dead:
Equity Won Draw Loss Hand
Player 1: 44.100% 42.963% 2.274% 54.763% 7h6h
Player 2: 55.900% 54.763% 2.274% 42.963% TT+, 44-66,AdKd,AdQd

Results of range 3:

Board: 6d 5d 4h
Dead:
Equity Won Draw Loss Hand
Player 1: 47.980% 46.768% 2.424% 50.808% 7h6h
Player 2: 52.020% 50.808% 2.424% 46.768% AsAh

As you can see, you're not only in a good position against range 2 (and range 3), which is incredibly strong, but you also have a profitable call following your check raise.

This play is necessary as there is now a looser approach in the fight for the blinds. in this way, you generate fold equity on the flop and can prove to your opponent that you aren't the type of player who can easily be challenged for his blind. Some do this preflop with a 3-bet, you've done that here. If it goes wrong, you'll still be unusually strong from an equity perspective, as demonstrated above.

The problem is the alternatives. You'll find two here, albeit without comment.

Flop: ($8.00) 5, 6, 4 (2 players)
Hero checks, BU bets $6.00, Hero folds

Flop: ($8.00) 5, 6, 4 (2 players)
Hero checks, BU bets $6.00, Hero calls $6.00

Turn: ($20.00) K (2 players)
Hero...