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- What Are Suited Connectors?
- High vs. Low Suited Connectors
- 5 Tips for Playing Suited Connectors
- Tip #1. Avoid 3-Betting Against Stacks Under 60 BB
- Tip #2. Don’t 3-Bet Against “Calling Stations”
- Tip #3. Almost Never 4-Bet Suited Connectors
- Tip #4. Don’t Overvalue Overcalling
- Tip #5. Don’t Cold-Call 3-Bets
- Conclusion
Everyone loves suited connectors. These are incredibly attractive hands that can hit the flop in various ways and offer plenty of options. However, many players don’t fully understand how to actually play these hands. Our goal in this article is to explain suited connectors and teach you how to play them correctly.
What Are Suited Connectors?
This might seem like a very basic question, but before we dive into how to play them, we need to clearly define what suited connectors are. Simply put, they are cards of the same suit that are consecutive, such as T9s, 87s, and 54s. Hands like T8s or 64s don’t qualify as suited connectors, and this is an important distinction to keep in mind.
Playing suited connectors in poker is no easy task. If you don’t account for key factors like stack sizes and your opponents’ tendencies, you can make costly mistakes. Examples of suited connectors:
T♠9♠
8♦7♦
5♦4♦
6♣5♣
There are also suited gappers—hands with a gap between the cards (e.g., J9s, T8s, etc.). Players often overlook this crucial concept and start playing with various “gapped” connectors, leading them to use overly wide hand ranges. For instance, opening a hand like 98s with a 100bb stack from an early position is theoretically acceptable, but opening 97s in the same spot is too weak. If you look at optimal preflop charts, you’ll notice that suited connectors are among the first hands added to various opening and 3-betting ranges, while gappers only come into play with significantly wider ranges.
So, keep in mind that when we talk about suited connectors, we mean only those hands where the cards are consecutive, which is a fairly narrow range of combinations.
High vs. Low Suited Connectors
Just as there’s a difference between suited connectors and gappers, there’s also a distinction between high and low suited connectors.
There are many reasons why high suited connectors are better to play in almost all situations compared to low ones, and this is clearly reflected in optimal ranges at all levels of play. If you examine opening ranges, 3-betting ranges, or calling ranges, you’ll see that solvers prefer high suited connectors over low ones in every scenario.
Some reasons why high connectors are favored include:
- Higher equity against opponents’ ranges;
- More frequent top-pair on the flop;
- More frequent overcards on the flop;
- More frequent top-end straight draws on the flop;
- Stronger flush draws.
Low suited connectors, like 65s or 54s, may have the same chance of hitting a pair or a draw as higher ones, but the pairs and draws they make are significantly weaker. For example, 54s has just a 1% chance of flopping top pair. On most boards, if you hit a pair with such a hand, it means very little, as it’s rarely the best hand by showdown.
In addition, the straight and flush draws that low suited connectors hit can sometimes run into higher draws, leading to expensive coolers. On the flip side, high suited connectors like JTs and T9s often flop top pairs and make straights and flushes that can end up on the winning side of those coolers.
Low suited connectors aren’t very valuable, especially against aggressive or passive players. They lose much of their fold equity and can put you in tough spots. Now, let’s move on to some practical tips for playing these hands!
5 Tips for Playing Suited Connectors
Next, we’ll break down five key aspects to help you avoid common mistakes when playing suited connectors and maximize your profits with them.
Tip #1. Avoid 3-Betting Against Stacks Under 60 BB
When your opponent has less than 60 big blinds, you should 3-bet suited connectors—especially low ones like 65s or 76s—less often.
With deep stacks, these hands are great for bluff 3-bets for three reasons:
- You force a lot of stronger hands to fold preflop.
- You have excellent postflop playability, allowing you to find profitable bluffing spots.
- Occasionally, you’ll hit two pairs, trips, a straight, or a flush and win a massive pot (high implied odds).
However, against short stacks:
- A smaller stack-to-pot ratio limits your postflop playability.
- Implied odds drop because your opponent has fewer chips to his name.
As a result, low suited connectors lose their value as 3-bets.
Tip #2. Don’t 3-Bet Against “Calling Stations”
3-betting suited connectors as a bluff against an opponent who hates folding is a bad idea. First, if your opponent never folds, you lose one of the main reasons to 3-bet.
Second, calling stations often enter pots with hands that dominate your connectors, such as:
- A6s vs. 65s;
- K7s vs. 76s;
- J8s vs. 87s.
If both players hit a flush or trips, the dominating hand will almost always win, landing you in a nasty cooler. So, while 3-betting connectors against tight players can work, against loose calling stations, it’s better to abandon this strategy.
Tip #3. Almost Never 4-Bet Suited Connectors
The strategy here is that when choosing hands for a 4-bet bluff, three factors matter:
- Blockers—reducing the likelihood of strong hands in your opponent’s range;
- Postflop playability—the ability to play the hand after the flop;
- Implied odds—the potential to win a big pot if you connect with the board.
Of these three, blockers are the most critical in 4-bet pots since ranges are very tight in these situations. The problem with connectors is that they have negative blockers. They block hands your opponents might fold (e.g., A5s, A6s) but don’t block the strong hands that will continue (e.g., AA, KK, AK).
Yes, connectors have good playability and implied odds, but in 4-bet pots, the stack-to-pot ratio is too low to fully realize these advantages. Conclusion: 4-betting connectors is almost always a bad idea.
Tip #4. Don’t Overvalue Overcalling
An overcall is when you call a raise that one or more players have already called. While it might be tempting to overcall with suited connectors, this is usually a losing play (unless you’re on the Button or in the Big Blind).
Let’s break it down with an example. Suppose you’re playing 6-max with 100bb stacks. The UTG player raises to 2.5bb, the next player calls, and you’re in the Cutoff with 6♦5♦. If you call, the pot will be 9bb, and you’re risking 2.5bb.
2.5 / 9 = 0.27, or 27% equity needed for a profitable call.
(Note: This is without rake. With a 5% rake, you’d need 29% equity.)
The initial raiser’s range might look something like this:
The second caller’s range will likely include many pairs and strong suited cards. Let’s say it looks like this:
Now, let’s see how 6♦5♦ performs against these two ranges:
However, there’s a positive side to it: you’re in position with a playable hand, meaning you can likely over-realize your equity postflop.
That said, you must consider the threat of a squeeze raise from players behind you. With three players left to act, there’s a chance someone will 3-bet and force you to fold, costing you equity. This happens about 20% of the time if your opponents have solid preflop strategies.
Players behind you may also call often, further reducing your equity. Factoring in all this—plus the fact that you don’t have the required 27% equity—it’s clear that calling is a losing strategy.
Tip: If you know the players behind you are weak and unlikely to 3-bet, or if the players already in the pot are exploitable, an overcall might make sense. But be cautious—don’t do it too often, and never overcall with aggressive players behind you.
Tip #5. Don’t Cold-Call 3-Bets
A cold-call is when you enter a pot for the first time by calling a raise (not as the initial raiser). Example:
- A player opens with a raise.
- Another player 3-bets.
- You’re behind them and want to call.
Never cold-call a 3-bet with connectors! It’s a different story if you’re calling a 3-bet after opening yourself. In that case, two key differences apply:
- Better pot odds—since you’ve already invested chips, calling is cheaper.
- You often close the action—no one behind you can 4-bet and force you out.
But in a cold-call scenario, it’s much worse:
- You get poor pot odds (you’re putting in a lot of chips without initiative).
- A player behind you could still 4-bet and knock you out of the pot.
Conclusion: If there have already been two raises before you, ditch the suited connectors. They’re not worth putting in extra chips.
By following these five tips, you’ll avoid costly mistakes and maximize profits with these hands. As you’ve learned, suited connectors have strengths and weaknesses. Playing them becomes much easier when you understand the situations where they shouldn’t be played. Often, the challenge isn’t the strategy itself but the discipline—these hands look appealing, but that doesn’t mean you should always play them.
Conclusion
In summary, playing suited connectors requires not just theoretical knowledge but also practice to identify the best spots for preflop aggression. As shown in the example of 3-betting with T♦9♦, you can win pots not only by improving your hand on the flop but also by applying pressure on opponents if you stay aggressive postflop.
To better analyze and improve your game with suited connectors, it’s essential to regularly review your played hands and draw conclusions based on stats and opponent behavior. This is where hand history mining with HisHands comes in handy. With this service, you can analyze past hands, spot mistakes in your plays with suited connectors, and adjust your strategy to boost your win rate.
In essence, HisHands helps you pick the right moments for 3-bets and aggression while eliminating unprofitable plays, enhancing your overall strategy and winnings. To start using the service, reach out to their support team via your preferred messenger, and within 4 minutes, they’ll get back to you with a personalized package tailored to your needs!
