Unsuited Connectors
ConnectorsBy Jesse Knight. Connectors - Cards of adjoining rank. In a Holdem game, consecutively ranked hole cards are called “connectors.”. If the connecting hole cards are of the same suit, they are called “suited connectors,” and if they are of two different suits. Suited connectors is a poker term referring to pocket cards that are suited and consecutive, for example Q♥ J♥. These hands are considered stronger than average because they have the highest potential to form straights and flushes when combined with the community cards. In Texas hold'em, suited connectors.
- Cards of adjoining rank.In a Holdem game, consecutively ranked hole cards are called “connectors.” If the connecting hole cards are of the same suit, they are called “suited connectors,” and if they are of two different suits, they are called “unsuited connectors.” For instance, if you were dealt 7♥ 8♥ you would have suited connectors, and if you were dealt 9♣ T♠, you would have unsuited connectors. The reason that hole cards are described this way is that there a significant advantage to being suited over being unsuited, and there is also a significant advantage to having connectors, instead of holding gap hands or unrelated cards. The advantage to being suited, of course, is that it greatly increases you chances of making a flush, which is a very strong hand in Hold’em. The advantage to having connectors is that it greatly increases probability that you will make a straight.
If you are playing low or middle cards, having them suited or connecting (or both) is of tantamount importance. If you are playing high cards, having them suited or connecting is a plus, but having the top kicker (often an Ace or King) is often just as important, if not more so. This means that a hand like 7♣ 8♣ is more valuable than 7♣ 9♣, but depending on the action, a hand like A♣ Q♣ may be much more valuable than K♣ Q♣. The reason for this is that high cards make high pairs, and one high pair is often enough to win the pot. This makes having the top kicker very important when playing high cards, because the kicker will often decide the winner.
On the other hand, low and middle cards will not win very often when making one pair. Even if they do, small differences in the quality of the kicker will not matter nearly as often as it will with hands containing high cards. In other words, a pair of sevens with a nine kicker will not win very many more pots than a pair of sevens with an eight kicker. Low and middle hands are far more likely to win if you complete a straight or a flush. So, when evaluating the strength of low and middle hands, keep in mind that the value lost from having a gap (as opposed to having connectors) is greater than the value gained from having your kicker be one point higher.
Usage: Suited Connectors, Unsuited Connectors
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Suited connectors is a poker term referring to pocket cards that are suited and consecutive, for example Q♥ J♥.[1] These hands are considered stronger than average because they have the highest potential to form straights and flushes when combined with the community cards.
In Texas hold'em, suited connectors play well against multiple players when they can see the flop for cheap. Experienced players will generally not raise with them, because raising usually causes a few players to fold, decreasing the pot odds in the event of a straight or flush draw on the flop. However, a hand like ace-king suited might do well to raise because the cards will also work well if they pair, which is the more likely possibility, so the pot odds are less important.
Suited connectors in cash games[edit]
Suited connectors can be especially effective in deep stack poker. An experienced player might call a loose player when he raises and re-raises with suited connectors in an attempt to win a big pot. Large stacks increase the value of suited connectors because of larger implied odds. In tournament play, where the stacks are normally shallow, suited connectors are very marginal hands. The idea behind playing suited connectors is that they will mostly be folded on the flop, but when they hit a quality draw or a made hand, a player should be looking to win all or a large portion of the opponent's stack. In Harrington on Cash Games, a chapter is dedicated on explaining the poker paradox: 'Big hands' such as AA and KK tend to win small pots, and 'small hands' such as 4♠ 3♠ tend to win big pots, simply because the small hands create well-concealed monsters and will only continue when they hit.
Suited gappers[edit]
Non-consecutive suited pocket cards which are nonetheless close enough to each other in value that they can form a straight on the flop are generally referred to as a 'suited gapper.'[2] For example, A♠ 3♠ is a suited 1-gapper and 5♦ 9♦ is a suited 3-gapper. In general, suited gappers are not as strong as suited connectors because they have a lower likelihood of making a straight.
Probability[edit]
Suited connectors and suited gappers have a higher chance of making a straight or straight draw on the flop than non-connected hands.
The table shows the probability of hitting each outcome.[3]
| Hand | Straight | Straight Draw | Average Straight Draw Outs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ace King | 0.33% | 12.18% | 1.03 |
| King Queen | 0.65% | 16.92% | 1.22 |
| Queen Jack | 0.98% | 22.12% | 1.33 |
| Jack Ten | 1.31% | 27.84% | 1.40 |
| Ace Queen | 0.33% | 12.84% | 1.08 |
| King Jack | 0.65% | 17.06% | 1.25 |
| Queen Ten | 0.98% | 22.78% | 1.35 |
| Ace Jack | 0.33% | 13.31% | 1.1 |
| King Ten | 0.65% | 18.04% | 1.26 |
| Ace Ten | 0.33% | 14.29% | 1.11 |
| King Nine | 0.33% | 12.98% | 1.13 |
There are two main factors that influence the chance of a straight:
- Higher card outs: A hand that is jack-high has a higher chance of making a straight than a hand that is ace-high. This is due to the jack-high being able to include cards higher than itself as outs.
- Low straights: A hand that includes an ace can make a high straight: 10-J-Q-K-A or a low straight: A-2-3-4-5. This causes an ace-ten hand to have a higher straight draw probability than a king-nine hand.
How To Play Unsuited Connectors
References[edit]
- ^http://www.flopturnriver.com/poker-dictionary/suited-connectors.php
- ^http://www.flopturnriver.com/poker-dictionary/suited-gapper-sg.php
- ^'Flop Statistics'.