The Thrill Of Small Suited Connectors

The Thrill Of Small Suited Connectors (No Limit Hold’em)

Call me crazy, call me dumb, call me what you will. I know that I am right. Having small suited connectors are the cards to hold. I get more excited seeing 67s in the hole than I do with pocket rockets, and here’s why:

The small suited connectors, in my opinion, have the largest risk and reward ratio of any other hole cards. You risk very little with a chance to reap great reward. And what bigger thrill can there be in poker than taking your opponents entire chip stack.

So, what are these magical cards, you ask? Well, in the event that you are new to the world’s biggest phenomenon, I’ll share my wisdom. Small suited connectors are pretty much as they are described. Two small cards that are of the same suit and that both are used in the same 5-card straight.

These types of hands can also be separated into different categories as follows:

First you have the ‘pure suited connectors” where your two cards lie directly next to one another. For example, having the 4 and 5 of clubs or the 7 and 8 of diamonds.

Next are your ‘one gappers”. These are cards that have one gap between them such as 4 and 6 or 7 and 9.

And finally you have your ‘two gappers’. Which, as the name suggests are cards with 2 numbers between them, like 3 and 6 or 6 and 9.

And a side note, I also include Ax suited and Kx suited in with these types of hands, as they should be played in a similar way as the small suited connectors.

Pre Flop

When you are holding the small suited connectors, you need to understand that in the majority of hands you play with them, you will be the underdog. But that can be a good thing. Because remember, any player only has a 50% chance of increasing their hand after the flop. And if someone is holding AK to your 5 6 and a flop comes of 3 4 J, you are in a better position to win that hand.

What I’m saying is that you want your opponent to be holding a hand that he has a hard time folding after the flop comes. And especially if you hit that flop, you then reap the reward.

Now, you are first to act in the hand either because you’re under the gun or everyone has folded around to you. What should you do? Well there are a couple different approaches that can be taken, the first being the aggressive approach and the second being the passive approach. Each play style has its advantages and depending on what kind of player you are one of these approaches will be more appealing to you more than the other.

When taking the aggressive approach, you would raise for the amount of the blinds or more. The advantages to doing that are very simple. You are first of all, building a larger pot. And disguising your hand strength (or lack there of), and finally you are giving yourself the opportunity to steal the pot later in the hand.

The other approach is to be a bit more passive, where you would just flat call the Big Blind amount. In this angle your advantage is that you are not investing too much in the hand, which would make it easier to fold if your catch no cards.

So, now you've called or raised the hand, and another player reraises behind you. What do you do at that point? Well in this scenario it is probably best just to flat call, provided that the raise not a major raise, no more than 2-6x the big blind or 2-3x the original raise, and that you opponent has a chip stack of 8-10 times the original raise amount.

We want the raise to be of a reasonable amount, as we want to invest as little as possible in this hand in the event that nothing develops on the flop, turn or river. But we also want our opponent to have a nice stack because it is the implied odds that makes this a worthy play. If you are gambling against the odds then you want the prize (potentially your opponents stack) to be worthy of your risk.

Post Flop And Future Streets

Here is where your best shot for reaping the reward takes place. Quite simply, you are hoping to flop two pair or better, and best yet, a flush or straight draw with your small suited connectors. If you don’t hit anything on the flop then it is easy to fold your hand, which is exactly what you should do in that case.

If you are holding two pair of better after the flop then you are looking to get as much money out of the pot as possible. If you are the first to act, before the player who originally raised then you should always bet in the hopes of getting reraised by a player with an overpair or top pair. Which then gives you the opportunity to reraise or go all in, depending on the size of the pot.

If the player before you raises, you reraise in order to get as large a pot as possible, since you are most likely the favorite at this point.

This is also where your courage will be tested. And in order to make a play with your small suited connectors, you will need courage and confidence. Some players just aren’t able to make a play when holding the small suited connectors. So if you are one of those players, then I’m sorry that I’ve wasted your time.

If you, after the flop, are holding a 7 high flush or a set of 6’s with two 6’s on the board and you are afraid to continue betting, then don’t play the small suited connectors, because that is exactly the kind of flop you should be hoping for.

In this situation, you are hoping that the hidden strength of your hand and the represented value of your opponents’ hand sway in your favor and ultimately give you the pot.

When you are on either a straight or flush draw, you are looking to make your hand as cheaply as possible, provided that you are getting the correct odds to call.

So, the next time you are dealt 5 and 6 of clubs, or any other small suited connectors, give it a try. And if you think you have the courage and confidence to play that hand, then just do it! You may be surprised at the outcome and come to like these small suited connectors just as much as I do.