Article - Suited Aces and Connectors

[pokerwhiz]

These two types of hands, suited Aces and suited connectors, are definitely a love-hate relationship. They can win you a lot of money, or cost you a lot of money. Much of it depends on the game you are playing.

In a limit game people especially like suited connectors such as 7-8 suited or 9-10 suited. In a no-limit game, be very aware of boards that finish with potential straights using connecting cards. If a board were to end something like this: K-9-8-2 5 it looks very innocent at first. Look again. Don't get trapped with two pair when a player goes all in!

Notice that a 7-6 would give someone a nut straight, 5-6-7-8-9. Further notice that it was logical for them to stay in after the flop because they flopped an open-ended straight draw.The board must be studied at all times to see if connected cards would make a straight. Don't play with blinders on. Look at all possibilities.

The more players in a hand, the more likely what you see is what is possible.Now, let's talk some about suited Aces...sigh. These are the hands that can cost more money lost than any single hand. You have to realize something. I don't know the exact figures, but it's something like less than one in 10 hands will end with three to a flush. If we assume that to be somewhat close, then throw in the fact that there are four suits, it makes it around 40 to 1 that you will get your suit by the river. Then, you have to hope the board doesn't pair to give someone a full house.

As you approach your hand with a suited Ace and a small card such as A-6, remember to think of that as nothing more than an Ace and a six. Disregard the fact they are suited. Then, make your judgement as to whether or not you would play the hand. Never put all yours chips in the pot on come hands unless it's your last chips and the blinds are quickly approaching. Obviously, suited A's with 10 or higher is preferable. Small suited cards with an Ace will trap you when an Ace falls. How many times have you caught yourself saying, "Well, if the 6 hits, I'll have Aces up. Remember, if there are any cards higher than your 6, you may be drawing dead already.

Be sure you have at least three other players in a hand before depending on a come hand to bail you out. One other note on suited connectors. Once it is determined that your suit does not apply, you now just have straight possibilities. Be very very careful about playing 9-10 suited or unsuited. To make the bottom end of the straight, such as 9-10-J-Q-K, you have J-Q-K on the board. These are cards often played by most players. The likelihood that there are pairs is high, so you solely are depending on the straight coming to you.

I rarely play 9-10 because they can trap you into calling to a dead hand, one that you might make and lose anyway. Good Luck and Good Rivers to You.

Pokerwhiz © 2002-2006

[AllEars]

Here are the accurate odds for making flushes and flush draws with 2 suited cards in hand :

Flopping a flush 118:1
Flopping a flush draw (four of a suit) - 8.3:1
Flopping three of a suit: 1.4:1
Making a flush by the river 15:1

Now it's important to remember that with suited connectors your ideal situation is to get the straight, and the nut straight preferrably (duh ). People go all-in with small flushes far too often, and it's also worth thinking about the fact that having 76 with 89T on the table is far from the nut flush (J7 and QJ beats you). The original poster said this already, but I think it bears repeating. I'm not saying to fold flushes or straights too easily, but even that will be necessary at times.

Now as far as suited aces are concerned I'd say they work two ways, of which the fact that they are suited is much more important. In low-limit fixed games people play way too loose pre-flop and hence having a hand like A7s can be great, since when you do get your flush you're getting paid big time. Note that you have to have a lot of limpers before you (or a loose-passive game in which you know that a lot of people will call and only call pre-flop ). This is because the pot has to be large enough so that when you hit that flush you'll get paid off (and when the pot is big you'll probably get calls on the turn/river).
The fact that the hand works as a Ax hand in general, well that is sort of just gravy, since Ax is very hard to play if a lot of people have limped in. You should mostly fold weak aces even if you hit your ace, since your kicker is not worth a darn. This depends on the types of players you are facing and the amount of limpers, but in general people like their aces on low-limit tables and hence an A5 that pairs it's ace will be outkickered (by A6-AT). If the pot was raised pre-flop I *always* fold that bad ace if I missed the flush draw.

[pokerwhiz]

Well put. I did forget to mention that Ax, where "x" is 9 or under, should be dropped like a hot potato when there are raises in front of you.... as you said AllEars

[setareh]

great article...I often get trapped in those flush draw situations and I was just talking about this the other day I have lost more to AX suited than any other hand.

[honest99]

Thanks for the good material. What I think is missing is when to bluff a flush.
I really would like to hear your thoughts about that.

[Fictive]

That was a good article. I don't get trapped with flush draws much, because I look at the pot odds quite carefully in those situations. If there are only two players (myself included), I don't usually draw because if the third card of my suit hits, I won't get money out of my opponent. Naturally, there are tons of different situations, but that goes as a rule of thumb, so to speak.

Suited aces however... Those still give me some trouble, even though I should've learned from my mistakes by now. From late position I always play them if it gets folded to me, or there are a few limpers before me. If it gets folded to me, I raise most of the time, and limp in if there are other limpers. However, I've learned to like very small suited aces a little better (,A3,A4,A5, but not A2), because they have a little chance of making a straight as well. Cards like A8 and A9 have been the worst for me.

What it comes to other suited aces, I find AT extremely difficult to play. It's a tough hand (for me at least) no matter how I play it.

[CRUDEFINDER]

Thanks for the good material. What I think is missing is when to bluff a flush.
I really would like to hear your thoughts about that.

Personally, If I have made a low to mid pair on the flop and the bets are low enough to afford a flat call on the turn and the flop had 2 of a suit; when the third suited card comes on the river I will sometimes place a fair size bet to bluff at the flush, if your raised....RUN !