How To Play Suited Cards In Texas Holdem

Many players learning how to play No-Limit Texas Holdem habitually over-value suited cards – incorrectly believing that the chance of making a flush outweighs any vulnerability in the rank of the cards themselves. This article examines several different categories of suited cards with the newer player in mind – showing you that different suited holdings require different circumstances in order to be played profitably.

We start my outlining the major categories of suited hands. Next we list each in turn, noting the strengths and weaknesses of each. Finally we bring the subject together – noting that both implied odds and position are key factors in the decision of whether or not to play these holdings.

Suited hands before the flop can be broken down into the following categories: Suited aces, Suited connectors, suited broadways and suited junk. Let us take each in turn.

Suited Aces: Often an ace with a small suited side-card (known as a ‘kicker’) these hands can be played profitably before the flop when there are no big raises. Advantages include the ability to hit the best possible flush or a disguised two-pair holding. Discipline is required, pairing the ace or the kicker on the flop could easily lead to losing a big pot in the wrong hands!

Suited Connectors: Suited and connected cards from 4-5 suited up to 9-10 suited can be profitably played in many situations. Ideally you’d like to flop a straight or a small flush and win the entire stack of an opponent (for example) with an overpair. More often you will hit a draw to a flush or straight (that is, another card is required on the turn or river to complete your hand). Here how you act will depend on your position – being last to act is an advantage – and whether your opponents are timid or aggressive.

Suited Broadways: High card hands containing an ace certainly benefit from being suited. Those without an ace also benefit – however they are also vulnerable. The problem is that pairing one of your cards runs the risk of an opponent with a higher side card also hitting the flop. For example if you hold King-Jack and hit a King, only to find your opponent has Ace-King you are likely to lose a significant number of chips. Picture cards with a small suited kicker are not generally playable against competent opponents.

Suited Junk: That is everything else! While you will undoubtedly see opponents play random suited cards and win big pots from time to time, this is not a profitable play in the long run. Avoiding suited junk will help you to avoid tricky situations where you are unsure whether you have the best hand and see the pot growing large – at least with the speculative hands listed above you have a better idea of whether you are ahead or behind.

To summarize, suiteness adds value to many hands and makes certain hands which should otherwise be folded pre-flop playable. The strength of these hands is in making a well disguised monster hand and hopefully finding an opponent with an overpair who is willing to pay off several bets. Ensuring you act after your opponents post-flop where possible, and that opponents have enough chips to reward you with a big pot those times you do hit the flop will improve those profits even further!

Related articles:

How To Play Small Pairs In Texas Holdem

How To Play Medium Pairs In Texas Holdem