How to Play Suited Connectors

Suited connectors are hands consisting of two consecutive cards of the same suit, such as T9s or 67s. Players of all skill levels, from professionals to amateurs, love to play these hands.

The reason is that they have tremendous postflop potential, as they can form straights, flushes, or even straight flushes, making them very appealing to play.

However, despite their strong potential, playing suited connectors requires a strategic approach. In this article, we will explore when you should play these hands aggressively and when it’s better to adopt a more cautious strategy.

Table of Contents:

- Utilize Bluff 3-Bets

- Don’t Bluff Against Calling Stations

- Avoid Bluff 4-Bets Against Tight Players

- Play Aggressively Post-Flop

Utilize Bluff 3-Bets

When facing an open raise preflop, beginners often prefer to simply call with suited connectors to see the flop cheaply, continuing only when the flop is favorable. While this approach is viable, it is not optimal.

Suited connectors are ideal for bluff 3-bets, which allow you to put pressure on your opponent and potentially win the pot preflop. The bluff 3-bet is highly effective because it creates several favorable scenarios.

First, you can hit a strong hand in a 3-bet pot, and in that case, you win more money than in a single-raised pot.

Second, your opponent may fold in response to your aggression, allowing you to take down the pot without paying rake - a significant factor at micro stakes where rake is very high.

Third, if your opponent calls your 3-bet, you can continue your aggression by making a continuation bet on the flop, especially if the board texture suits your range. Dry boards with one or two high cards are ideal for this strategy.

In this way, you increase your chances of winning the pot even if you don’t make a strong hand.

In Hand2Note 4 reports, I filtered for scenarios where I made a 3-bet facing an open-raise preflop:

The Action Profit indicator shows that I average a win of 2.9 BB per hand with a 3-bet, compared to only 0.6 BB when calling.

Let’s switch to the “Graph” tab and see how the graph behaves:

The sharp rise in the red line indicates that the profit from 3-bets is mainly generated through winning without showdown.

Thus, aggressive play with suited connectors through bluff 3-bets on the preflop, supported by postflop aggression, is much more promising than a passive call with the hope of hitting the nuts post-flop.

Nevertheless, before making a bluff 3-bet with a suited connector, you must assess your opponent’s range. If they are opening with a tight range, such as from early positions, the likelihood that they will fold to your 3-bet is significantly reduced. In such situations, it is better to avoid aggressive play.

Don’t Bluff Against Calling Stations

Against fish who don’t like to fold before seeing the flop, your strategy with suited connectors should be more flexible. If the fish often folds to continuation bets post-flop, the bluff 3-bet remains a profitable tactic.

However, if you’re dealing with a “calling station” who goes to showdown with any pair or even Ace-high, you should reconsider your approach.

Bluff 3-bets lose their effectiveness against calling stations because these players are highly resistant. Therefore, it’s better to call to see the flop cheaply and try to hit a strong hand postflop. Calling stations are typically willing to pay you off when you hit the board, making the call profitable over time.

That said, this only works with deep enough stacks. If the fish has a short stack, calling also becomes unprofitable, and it’s better to fold preflop.

We were dealt 65 suited on the Button, and a fish open-raised from the Cutoff. As you know, our hand is a good candidate for a bluff 3-bet, but let’s study our opponent’s statistic.

In the Hand2Note 4 HUD, we see that this player folds to 3-bets preflop only 33% of the time, or 4 out of 12 times. On the flop, he folds to continuation bets just 41% of the time and goes to showdown 42% of the time.

Given that we’re dealing with a typical calling station, it’s better to avoid an aggressive 3-bet in favor of a call. Although we won’t often hit the nuts, such an opponent will pay us off generously when we do.

Avoid Bluff 4-Bets Against Tight Players

Many regular players, when facing a 3-bet, often overplay suited connectors and make bluff 4-bets. This is a very risky strategy, especially against tight players, as their 3-bet range is usually very narrow and strong.

Suited connectors are not the best hands for bluff 4-bets. Without high cards, you don’t block your opponent’s premium combinations, such as AA, KK, or AK, which increases the likelihood of running into a strong hand. As a result, your opponent will often either call your 4-bet or shove, causing you to lose money.

If you are in position, you can call your opponent’s 3-bet with suited connectors, aiming either to hit the flop or outplay them postflop thanks to your positional advantage. If you’re out of position, folding is usually the best option.

We opened with 98 suited from the Early Position and faced a 3-bet from a tight regular player in the Middle Position.

The dynamic HUD in Hand2Note 4 shows us that our opponent’s 3-bet frequency in this situation is only 2.9%. This indicates a very strong range. Consequently, they fold to 4-bets only 31% of the time. Based on this data, it’s better to fold our hand rather than burn money with a bluff 4-bet.

Play Aggressively Post-Flop

The main value of suited connectors lies in their ability to hit straight draws or flush draws on the flop. However, to maximize this potential, it’s important to know how to play your draws optimally.

One of the most common mistakes beginners make is playing too passively with draw hands out of position. They continuously check-call, intending first to hit a strong hand and only then invest more money in the pot. This play is too predictable and unprofitable in the long run.

Experienced opponents extract maximum value from them while the draw isn’t complete, and when it does complete, they simply fold their hand. As a result, even when beginners hit a straight or a flush, they rarely get paid off.

Aggressive postflop play creates more difficult situations for your opponents. Instead of check-calling with a draw, try playing a check-raise, applying a semi-bluff. This forces your opponent to fold weak hands and bluffs, and it puts them in a tough spot with medium-strength hands.

Even if your opponent calls your check-raise, you still have the chance to hit a strong hand on later streets and win at showdown, or continue applying pressure to take down the pot without a showdown.

In Hand2Note 4 reports, I selected all situations where I had a draw on the flop and raised my opponent’s continuation bet while out of position:

Comparing the Action Profit indicators, we see that check-raising with a draw is more profitable in the long run than passive check-calling.

Suited connectors are a powerful tool, but using them effectively requires a thoughtful strategy. To determine when to apply aggression and when to favor a passive approach, it’s crucial to accurately assess your opponents’ play styles and tendencies.

Using Hand2Note 4 helps you more precisely analyze your opponents’ statistics and ranges. This allows you to make optimal decisions with suited connectors, fully leverage the potential of these hands, and increase your long-term profit.