Letters to Doctor Jack
Dear doctor
Lots of good players play suited say 9 & 10, 8 & 7 these never seem to work for me. What am i doing wrong and how or when should you play them
Jason
Suited connecters are lovely little innocuous hands but you must be careful when and how you play them. You must remember that your chances of hitting either a straight or a flush are slim but it is these two possibilities coupled with the cards themselves that give the player so many outs and opportunities they are difficult not to play! One of the great things about this kind of hand is that few people expect it! You are holding 87c your opponent is holding Ac Kh, the flop comes 9c 6c Ad. Your opponent is thinking "happy days top pair and a great kicker" But look at your outs!!! Any 10, Any 5, runner 7 or 8 or ANY club and two cards to do it for the flush, straight, set or two pair. Outs are what poker is all about, but remember so is patience!
So the question is not really "should I be playing this type of hand" the question is, "WHEN should I be playing this kind of hand!" This is a calling hand, you should only raise with it from late position with no prior raise. You should be prepared to put it down if faced with a re-raise. As with most hands the first five cards will make the foundation of your hand so if you flop nothing. Check or lay it down.
Best of luck at the tables
Dr Jack
All about Dr Jack
Dr Jack is one of four brothers from a large family of fifty two. A dapper gent, you will always see him in a suit. Although on the more debauched side, he claims to like a woman with a nice pair and has occasion to get blind drunk on his favoured tipple, “Gin”. He likes to run occasionally and would describe himself as straight, although most people do think he is a bit nuts. He was once caught folding to a gay waiter...
Flush with cash and a member of several affluent clubs, he once ran a marginally successful fresh water lobster farm. Unfortunately the business flopped leaving him feeling like a bit of a cowboy. He left the world of opulence to follow his heart all the way to poker heaven. His peers describe him as a “diamond geezer” and “one of a kind”. Those who have fallen foul to his superior skills refer to him with less gracious terms.
Dr Jack lives in a rather full house in the Cotswold’s with his two dogs Siegfried and Roy and a Bolivian tree frog called Boris.
