Suited connectors can definitely make a difference. They are small; you might be tempted to throw them away. But if there ever a time where we really don’t want to throw them away? You want to consider 54s and 87s to be good hands in no-limit poker games because you can get a decent flush as well as a straight. If you really get the right flop, you could get a straight flush. That’s the perfect situation to lure someone into your pot and then bust them out from the table. It’s completely up to you figure out how you’re going to make it work.
You want to make sure that you’re playing form the right position. You don’t want to be in early position for something like this. Pot odds need to be amazing, and you want to have t least 4 other people in the pot with you. While you don’t have to slowplay this type of hand, you really want to make sure that you don’t do any wild raises. Be prepared to fold if things get too hot. Just because you have suited connectors doesn’t mean that you’re going to get what you automatically win. Remember that we think about poker in terms of long term value. So if we find that the odds are looking good long term, then that’s the decision that we make.
Let’s say that you’re calling big blind and you have 54s in the last position. You have a total of 5 in the pot. The flop might come down like:
5d-4-s-Tc
At this point, you have two pair. The big blind bets about 75% of the pot. Everybody else gets scared but you decide to hang in there. That means that you’ve got some choices to make. Do you bet again? In this case, you do. You can do 3 times the pot fairly safely.
But oh no — that big blind is ALL IN.
The showdown comes to you and the big blind. At this point, it doesn’t matter what the other 2 cards are.
Let’s say the big blind has the best pocket pair he can possibly make — AA. You still have two pair. No matter how scary the pair looks, the reality is that you can beat them. That’s something that you really do need to pay close attention to. It might sound tempting to ignore this, but it’s in your best interest to follow a set strategy.
You also want to be willing to fold — it cannot be stressed enough. If you don’t get it on the flop, fold and let it go. Likewise if someone raises heavy pre-flop, let your suited connectors go. The long term odds just aren’t in your favor.
Keep playing, and enjoying your games. It’s supposed to be fun, you know!