Are you one of those players that always play suited connectors, regardless of position or cost? If so you need to read on to learn where you are making a potentially grave mistake.
Suited connectors are great to have pre flop. Their suited-ness gives you a chance to make a flush, and their connectedness gives you a chance to make a straight. Together this gives you so many outs it would seem a no- brainier to call almost anything to play a suited connector. However, it could cost you.
A suited connector has to connect to be of value. The higher the cards the better (except if the flop comes low, but you can’t control that.) Why wouldn’t you always play a 3 4 of hearts, for example? What happens if you spike your flush and your opponent has a higher heart in his hand? You not only don’t win, you lose in a big way because you’ll think “yay, my clever play of suited connectors paid off!” and won’t realize you are about to be crushed with the guy who played the Ace Nine of hearts.
Suited connectors are a wonderful big blind hand, where you can play them for free or at a discount. They are a horrible calling hand if they are too low, however, or if the prize to play gets too high.
They are seductive because they are full with possibility, and poker is a game of dreams. In order to play them correctly, however, you need to take some smelling salts, wake up, and treat them as cards and not magic tokens.
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