In  No Limit Holdem , certain hands called suited connectors can be played for great financial effect. A suited connector is a hand that has two cards that are of the same suit and consecutive, so they have the greatest straight and flush potential, for example Kh-Qh or As-Ks. While any suited connectors can be good, especially in late position, big suited connectors are extremely good.

Multiple potentials

The reason these cards are so good is that not only do they have great straight and flush potential, they also have a great chance to make top pair, which is often enough to win the pot. More than that, when they do make a straight or flush, they will almost always make the “nut” (best) straight or flush, and so take a great deal of money from other players who have made weaker straights or flushes.

The nice thing about these hands is that there really is no incorrect way to play them. Raising pre-flop to thin the field is good for high cards, and lots of callers is good for suited connectors, so it is hard to go wrong. Generally, you are probably best served by raising with these hands in early position to thin the field, and limping or betting a small amount in later position to get a multi-way pot which can become quite large, a very beneficial situation when you make your straight or flush.

Raising in early position

The reason for raising when you are one of the first to act is that you never mind ending a hand abruptly when you are in early position because your opponents act after you on every street, thus gaining information about your hand based on your play. Therefore, even if you flop a big hand, it may be difficult to extract as much money as you would like. Furthermore, if you miss the flop entirely, your opponents will put more pressure on you to give up on the hand.

Limping along when late

In late position, you can see how your opponents respond to the flop before acting. If you make your straight or flush right away, you can slow play if you feel your opponents have made a hand good enough to bet. If you make a great draw, you can either bet a little to build a pot that you can drag on a later street, or bet a lot to try to take it right there. If you hit your top pair and think your opponents are drawing to flushes and straights that could beat you, you can confidently bet big to get them out.

Big-suited connectors can be some of the best hands to get in  Texas Holdem , but like any other Holdem hand, you need to be prepared to release them if the flop does not fit your hand. If your As, Ks is facing a bet with a board of 7h, 8h, 9h, it’s time to let the hand go and live to fight another day. Most flops miss most people, but when a hand like this hits the flop, it’s likely to be extremely profitable for you.

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