Medium Suited Connectors When I look down at my hole cards and see 89 suited, I immediately think, “I wanna play this.” Notice that I didn't think, “I'm going to play this.” Suited connectors are speculative hands and the conditions need to be right for them to be profitable.

I consider medium suited connectors to be J-10, 10-9, 98 and 89. These hands are great hands to have in a multi-way pot because they need good odds in order to be profitable.

I rarely raise with medium suited connectors in early position, though I will try to steal with them in late position. For example, if I'm in mid position with J-10 suited and there are two limpers in the pot, I'll probably just call and hope to see a cheap flop against a lot of players. I might even call a small raise if the pot is big enough.

When I play J-10 suited in this situation, I'm hoping to flop a monster hand – I want two pair, a straight or a flush. Pairs can be shaky when you hold medium suited connectors. Here's an example of a flop that gets a lot of beginners in trouble:

Let's say there is one limper in the pot and our newbie calls with J-10 of hearts in middle position. Two players in late position call, the small blind folds and the big blind checks. The flop comes down J-8-3 rainbow. Now our beginner is in trouble. Our newbie has flopped top pair with a decent kicker and he remembers reading that he should bet 2/3 the pot to protect his hand. There's $11 in the pot, so our hero bets $7.50. One of the late callers folds, one calls, the big blind calls and the early limper folds. The pot is now $33.50. The turn is a 7. The big blind checks and our hero continues to “protect” his hand (he missed the chapter on pot control). He bets $22, late position calls and the big blind calls. The pot is now $99.50. The river is a Q.

Now our hero is nervous. An overcard has hit. The big blind checks, our hero checks, and late position bets $50. The big blind re-raises all-in for another $75. Our dejected hero folds and the late position player calls. Then our hero sees the truth…

Late position was calling with QJ and the big blind was trapping with 9-10. Our newbie lost $29.50 after the flop and he was behind the whole way. If a Jack or lower hit the river, our newbie would have lost even more.

The above example shows that it takes an advanced player to play medium suited connectors. Here's how the pros handle these difficult hands preflop.

Phil Hellmuth on Medium Suited Connectors

Love him or hate him, it's hard to argue with Hellmuth's tournament results. With 11 World Series of Poker bracelets, he is considered one of the best No-Limit Hold'em players in the world. So what does God's gift to poker have to say about medium suited connectors?

According to Hellmuth, you should only play suited connectors occasionally. Hellmuth recommends that most players play a super-tight style of No-Limit Hold'em and he considers medium suited connectors to be a highly speculative hand that should only be played by advanced players. In fact, even advanced players should only play suited connectors occasional according to Hellmuth. He says:

“Playing the suited connectors requires an excellent read of your opponents, so that you don't get yourself into trouble when you hit some of these hands halfway. Before you try this approach, make sure that you're reading your opponents almost perfectly. I would never recommend this theory to any novice or intermediate-level player!”

Hellmuth recommends that players never risk more than 7% of their chips to see a flop with medium suited connectors. Your goal should be to see a cheap flop and make a big hand.

Ed Miller on Medium Suited Connectors

Miller is all about the numbers. He has studied countless hands and has developed what he believes to be the ideal way to play medium suited connectors preflop depending on what style of play you're using. Here's how Ed Miller recommends playing medium suited connectors preflop.

How Loose Players Should Play Medium Suited Connectors Preflop

Early Position – Limp into an unraised pot and fold to a raise.

Middle Position – Limp into an unraised pot and fold to a raise.

Late Position – Limp into an unraised pot and call a raise, but fold to a re-raise.

Blinds – Complete the small blind and call a raise with the big blind. Fold the small blind to a raise and fold the big blind if you're facing a re-raise.

How Tight Players Should Play Medium Suited Connectors Preflop

Early Position – Fold all medium suited connectors except J-10. You can limp with J-10 suited, but must fold to a raise.

Middle Position – Limp into an unraised pot and fold if you're facing a raise.

Late Position – Limp into an unraised pot and call a raise if it is a multi-way pot. Fold if you're facing a re-raise.

Blinds – Complete the small blind and call a raise with the big blind. Fold the small blind to a raise and fold the big blind if you're facing a re-raise.

Jack-Ten plays a little more aggressively than noted in the loose player recommendations, but in general you should be careful when playing your medium suited connectors.

John Vorhaus on Medium Suited Connectors

You can count on Vorhaus to tell you like it is when it comes to playing marginal hands. If something is too marginal to play, he won't sugar coat it. He'll tell you to put your ego aside and fold. But don't mistakenly think that Vorhaus advocates weak-tight play of any kind. In fact, Vorhaus says,

“Pocket pairs and big slick are all well and good, but if you want to win tournaments you need to play more starting hands.”

Vorhaus considers medium suited connectors to be 10-9, 98 and 87. According to Vorhaus you should tend to fold these hands unless you have a tight image and haven't raised a hand in a while and are facing a lot of limpers. In that situation you should take advantage of your tight image and put in a raise big enough to take the limpers down. If your hand is called and it hits, it will be well disguised.

Even if you don't hit the flop, you should be prepared to make a continuation bet. However, don't get too enthusiastic about your hand and start playing it too fast. Remember that you're raising preflop on a semi-bluff and every bet you make from then on is a stone-cold bluff unless your hand gets some serious help from the flop.

Medium suited connectors can be very profitable. Experienced players can use them to play small pot poker in late position to pick up extra chips in uncontested pots. In addition, these hands have the ability to make monsters that are well disguised.

Personally, I prefer to use medium suited connectors in late position when I'm playing a tight game. When I raise in late position, my opponents are likely to give me credit for a strong hand and I can take down the pot right away or with a continuation bet on the flop. In addition, I'm likely to get paid off when I flop a monster because no one expects a tight player to raise with a hand like 98.

Medium suited connectors are a dangerous holding, but the can be very profitable once you learn how to use them properly.

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