Playing Big Connectors Lower Than A-K

A lot of advice has been written about how to play "big slick," but what about the other big connectors? Here is some advice on playing high connectors lower than A-K that T.J. Cloutier and I included in Championship Hold'em. The big connector that has the strongest value second to A-K is A-Q. In unraised pots, A-Q goes way up in value, but if the pot has been raised by a solid player from an early position, A-Q goes down in value and sometimes should not be played at all. It all depends on who did the raising, and how tight he is. If you're up against a player who has a layer of dust on his chips and hasn't played a hand in an hour, and then suddenly raises from first position, what do you think he might have? You can take that A-Q, suited or not, and pitch it in the muck, because that's where it belongs.

Suited vs. Unsuited Cards

Any two big unpaired cards lower than A-K or A-Q naturally go down in value. Being suited is a bonus, but most people magnify its value - being suited isn't worth nearly as much as they think it is. According to the statistics that Mike Caro compiled for Super/System (by Doyle Brunson), if you start with A K, you will flop two diamonds 10.94 percent of the time, making the odds against 8.14-to-1. You will flop a flush less than 0.85 percent of the time. Being suited doesn't even come into play most of the time, which means that if two high cards aren't worth playing on the value of their ranks alone, they probably shouldn't be played at all.

For example, suppose you have the Q J in early position. This is a hand that most hold'em players will play under the gun, but they may be making a mistake when they do that. Lots of these same players will not play a Q-J offsuit (although some of them will even play that), because they know that it usually is a losing hand. The Q-J suited might be a little bit better, but it frequently is still a losing proposition from first or second position in a full ring game. Playing it is a mistake from an early position unless you're in a loose-passive game, in which case I might consider slipping into the pot with two big facecards. Of course, I might raise with that same Q-J suited from a late position if no one has yet entered the pot. But playing it from out of position, even for the minimum bet, is not a good play.

Lots of players use being suited as an excuse to play a hand that they otherwise would not consider playing. Even so-called "good players" who are momentarily stuck or on tilt will enter pots from out of position with inferior holdings because they are suited. Unless you have unusual psychic abilities or X-ray vision that allows you to read what's coming off the deck, you can never know if or when your coveted flush cards will hit the flop. Almost all of us have occasionally succumbed to emotions or hunches - "I just knew the flush was going to come" - and sometimes they're correct, but usually they are not. Anybody could be a world beater if he always knew what was going to come on the flop, but we don't know that, so we have to abide by sound game theory and solid strategies about which cards to enter the pot with.

Throughout their poker careers, most players, even successful pros, lose money on most hands they enter the pot with from the first three positions. So, you have to be very selective about which hands you enter the pot with, and certain big cards (suited or not, connected or not) have to be played with caution, if at all, from the first three positions after the big blind.

When playing suited connectors or even nonconnectors, you should realize that if you flop two cards of your suit, you are still an underdog to make the flush after the flop. You are now committed to call on the flop and usually on fourth street. Thus, if you don't hit the flush, you are burning up at least two bets, and even more in a raised situation. Also, you might make the flush and still lose to a bigger flush if you're in a multiway pot. Remember that when you are playing a flush draw in a multiway pot, it had better be the nut-flush draw. In my next column, I will discuss the play of other high connectors, including J-10. Till then, I hope to meet you in the winner's circle, perhaps at the Poker Derby at Hollywood Park Casino.

Editor's note: Tom McEvoy is the co-author with T.J. Cloutier of Championship Hold'em. Look for their upcoming book, Championship Tournament Hands, after the first of the year. For more information, visit www.pokerbooks.com.

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