Giving Up On a Straight

Suited connectors are a popular hand to play from late position in Texas Hold’em poker because of the wide range of possibilities they offer. Flopping two pairs or a set is a cause for celebration, as is the one-in-sixty times that the board reveals three cards of the same suit which complete your flush. However, there are times when the board looks favourable but should be treated with extreme caution.

Let’s say, for example, that you are dealt the J-T diamonds and the flop shows 9c-8c-3h. Whereas you have an open-ended draw with a queen or 7, should either of those cards be a club your hand is at risk from being busted out by a flush draw. The chances of you completing your straight are 34% (or one-in three) if disregarding the flush, or 25% (one-in-four) when you take it into account.

These odds are pretty measly when compared to an opponent’ s odds of making the flush draw (39%)or taking on one individual player with an already made hand. Even a pair of threes is a 3/1 favourite over your hand as it stands, and if a jack or ten were to come out in one of the later community cards that will be of more assistance to a player entering the pot with Q-J or Q-T.

Not only do these potential pitfalls affect your pot odds, they also damage your implied odds as well. Implied odds take into account the amount of money you will be able to take from a pot should the card you need to complete your hand be drawn. Even if you complete your straight on the turn, you are still at risk from a better ranking straight or the flush stealing the pot away from you.

With so many threats to your hand, semi-bluffing is also not an option. Most players will be able to calculate that it is unlikely you have flopped a set (with such low cards on the board), and any player with an overpair – or even a solitary nine with a decent kicker – will provide opposition to your betting action.

Hands like suited connectors have their value, but cannot be relied on to provide the best hand in every situation. Often, when you have a troublesome board you can get valuable information from your opponents by focusing on their betting actions, but sometimes it is just better (and cheaper) to give up on a straight.

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