There are a few good starting hands in No Limit Holdem, but usually suited connectors have the potential to win the largest pots. Limit Holdem and No Limit Holdem are two entirely different games. This often goes misunderstood or unrecognized. In Limit Holdem, the gist is more about starting hands. I would almost never play suited connectors in Limit Holdem unless both cards were higher than a nine. In No Limit Holdem, though, it’s a totally different story.
No Limit Hold’em is all about betting and the implied odds you might get if you make a huge hand. For instance, if you can make a $15 call with suited connectors pre-flop against an opponent with $400, it would be totally worth it to make the call in definite situations. There are many times when I call a player when I think he has a good hand because of the potential for a huge pay off. This often works, but I do recall one hand specifically: In a No Limit game I had about $900 in front of me. One of the tighter players at the table raised the $5 big blind to $30. It was likely that this player had aces or kings, but he had $800 in front of him that was mine for the taking if things were to go well for me. From previous experience, I knew this player was not capable of laying down huge pairs regardless of the flop, so I called with 54 of clubs. I hit a dream flop when two fives showed up and managed to take all of his chips. The funny thing about the hand is that it was raised, reraised and re-re-raised all-in but the tight player still couldn’t relinquish his hand.
While winning a large pot with suited connector hands is rewarding in itself, it is oftentimes more rewarding later because players are able to see that you are capable of playing any two cards.
Remember this: players that see you turn over hands which are “weak” are going to give you more action in future hands. That is when the value of suited connectors comes into play even more. Your opponents can not put you on premium cards. You will extract a lot more value than you normally would when you play those big pocket pairs.
One of the most important things to remember about playing suited connectors in No Limit Holdem is that you are looking to make a totally huge hand. If you are holding 87 of diamonds for instance, and the flop comes 854 with one diamond, you have to be capable of letting the hand go. You are looking to flop nut straights, open ended flush draws, trips or two pair. Flopping top pair with a weak kicker is not hitting it too big. You must also remember that you cannot risk a large portion of your stack trying to hit a huge hand because the implied odds are what make playing this hand worth the risk. If you don’t have the chips behind you to bet to receive the implied odds, then just fold your hand.
