What are suited connectors?
Suited connectors are two cards of consecutive rank and the same suit, like the eight and seven of hearts. There are 12 of them, from king-queen suited down to three-deuce suited, but the top ones play as broadway hands and the bottom ones rarely play at all, so most players mean the middle six: ten-nine, nine-eight, eight-seven, seven-six, six-five and five-four suited. You are dealt one of those six once every 55 hands. They are a small part of a bigger rule: being suited matters most for low, connected cards, as our offsuit guide measures.
How often do suited connectors hit the flop?
Rarely hard, often a little. Across all 19,600 flops for eight-seven suited, counted exactly:
| On the flop | How often |
|---|---|
| Pair or better with a hole card | 32.4% |
| Gutshot straight draw | 16.8% |
| Flush draw | 10.9% |
| Open-ended straight draw | 9.7% |
| Straight | 1.31% |
| Flush | 0.84% |
A made straight or flush on the flop is a 2% event. The value comes from the draws: about one flop in five gives a flush draw or an open-ended straight draw, hands that can win a big pot when they hit and can bet as a bluff when they do not.
How often do suited connectors win?
Against one random hand, all in before the flop, ten-nine suited wins 54.0%, eight-seven suited 47.9% and five-four suited 41.5%. Against the hands that raise, they are underdogs, but not by as much as their rank suggests:
| Eight-seven suited against | Wins |
|---|---|
| Ace-king offsuit | 41.2% |
| Pocket aces | 22.5% |
| Pocket queens | 21.7% |
Those three are exact, counted over every board. Against pocket aces, eight-seven suited does better than pocket kings (18.1%), because it can win without pairing.
Suited connectors also hold up as players join: against six random hands, all to the river, eight-seven suited wins 15.7% of the time, above its fair share of one in seven (14.3%), while pocket deuces win 13.9%.
When should you open suited connectors?
From late position, almost always; from early position, only some of the time. In PlusEV’s 6-max cash solver ranges at 100 big blinds, averaged over the six middle suited connectors:
| Seat, first in | Share of suited connectors played |
|---|---|
| Under the gun | 37.9% |
| Hijack | 65.3% |
| Cutoff | 94.7% |
| Button | 100% |
| Small blind | 100% (raise 57%, limp 43%) |
We average the six because single hands in this class are mixed in early seats and jump around from hand to hand: a solver finds them close to break-even there, so small changes swing them. The full grids are in our Texas Hold’em charts.
Should you call a raise with suited connectors?
From the big blind, always continue; from other seats, it depends on who raised. Facing a single raise, PlusEV’s ranges play the six middle suited connectors like this:
| Spot | Call | 3-bet | Fold |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big blind vs a button open | 44.7% | 55.3% | 0% |
| Big blind vs an under-the-gun open | 79.3% | 20.7% | 0% |
| Button vs an under-the-gun open | 38.6% | 22.2% | 39.2% |
| Button vs a cutoff open | 28.1% | 21.9% | 50.0% |
| Cutoff vs an under-the-gun open | 11.3% | 11.0% | 77.8% |
| Small blind vs a button open | 0% | 16.7% | 83.3% |
The big blind never folds them: it has already paid a big blind and closes the action, so the price is good. The small blind never calls with them: it 3-bets or folds, because a call leaves it out of position with the big blind still to act. Our 3-bet guide covers the re-raise.
Should you call a 3-bet with suited connectors?
Usually, if you opened them. Counting each hand by how often the opener plays it, the button calls a small-blind 3-bet with these hands every time and folds 54.5% against a big-blind 3-bet, which is bigger. The cutoff calls a button 3-bet 79.6% of the time, and under the gun calls a hijack 3-bet 90.1% of the time with the few it opened. They are almost never 4-bet.
How well do players play suited connectors?
Worse than average. Across PlusEV’s 1M+ recorded training decisions, counting only spots where the solver has one clear answer and weighting every difficulty level equally, players choose the right action with the six middle suited connectors 81.5% of the time on average, against 86.5% for the median hand. Nine-eight suited is the worst: 75.3% (8,553 answers), the 11th most misplayed of all 169 starting hands.
The reason is visible in the tables above. The right answer changes with the seat more than for almost any other hand: an open from the cutoff, mostly a fold from under the gun, a call from the big blind against an early open and a fold from the small blind against a button open.
How do you play suited connectors after the flop?
This part is standard theory rather than our data. Suited connectors make their money when they make strong hands or strong draws, so they need implied odds: position, deep stacks and pots where opponents hold big pairs that will pay off. With a flush draw or open-ended straight draw, bet or raise as a semi-bluff when you have position or the initiative. With one pair, usually bottom or middle pair, play small: it is the hand that loses the most when overplayed.
Suited connectors are worth playing from late position and the big blind, and mostly a fold from early position: PlusEV’s ranges open them 38% of the time under the gun and every time on the button. The PlusEV preflop trainer drills the seat-by-seat answer, which players get wrong more often than for most hands.
Quick answers
What are suited connectors in poker?
Two cards of consecutive rank and the same suit, like the eight and seven of hearts. From king-queen suited down to three-deuce suited there are 12 of them; most players mean the middle ones, ten-nine to five-four suited.
Are suited connectors worth playing?
From late position, yes: in PlusEV's 6-max solver ranges the cutoff opens ten-nine to five-four suited 95% of the time and the button always. Under the gun they are opened only 38% of the time.
How often do suited connectors make a straight or a flush?
On the flop, eight-seven suited makes a flush 0.84% of the time and a straight 1.31%. It flops a flush draw 10.9% of the time and an open-ended straight draw 9.7%.
How do suited connectors do against pocket aces?
Better than most hands. Eight-seven suited wins 22.5% of the time against aces all in before the flop, counted over every board; pocket kings win 18.1%.
Should you call a 3-bet with suited connectors?
Usually, if you opened them: in PlusEV's ranges the button calls a small-blind 3-bet with them every time and under the gun calls a hijack 3-bet 90% of the time. Against the big blind's bigger 3-bet, the button folds them about half the time.
What is a suited gapper?
Two suited cards with one rank missing between them, like nine-seven suited. They play like suited connectors but make fewer straights, because fewer five-card runs contain both cards.