Intermediate Poker Strategy: Playing Small Suited Connectors

by Dougie Goguen | Nov 23 2011

Find out how to get the most out of smaller suited connectors.

If you hit the right flop, hands like 4-5 suited and 7-8 suited can make you real money at the table, especially when you're playing no-limit poker. Doyle Brunson has said in the past that they're his favorite type of hand to play because they draw to both a straight and a flush (and the occasional straight flush) and if you've built the right table image, they're close to invisible to the other players.

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All of this said, it's important to make sure that you play these hands in the right place at the right time. I highly recommend that beginners looking to expand stick with playing this type of hand from middle to late position with lots of others in the hand to make sure that pot odds are on your side. Add in the fact that implied odds are also higher on suited connectors and that means you can make a lot more from your opponents that are overplaying a pocket pair, especially a larger one.

These hands should very rarely be played for more than the minimum bet and if there are raises at the table, you need to be the one doing them to establish or keep control of the board. You shouldn't raise often with small suited connectors, but it can be a good idea to throw one in every once in a while to throw off your opponents and mix up your game.

In addition to the strength of the small suited connectors (especially with the right flop,) you also have to be smart enough to know when to fold them. If you're playing suited connectors and the flop doesn't benefit you, walk away. It doesn't matter if you "sort of" hit the flop; unless you've gotten at least two of the cards you need to make the straight or flush happen, let go if someone bets at you. Don't get me wrong: I've won hands I shouldn't have played, doing just this, but it's honestly just a slow leak in the game for most players.

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So, let's review how you should play small suited connectors in poker: stay cheap, play from a position of strength and when they hit, play them hard. You should always remember that these hands are very vulnerable until the flop has been deployed, so when you do hit with them, you need to go in fast and dominate the table as much as possible.

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