Do you want to be like Doyle Brunson? Or do you want to be a LOSER? Learn to play Suited Connectors

If you want to continue to lose at poker, just keep doing what you’re doing. Fine by me! But wouldn’t you rather be a winner, like the iconic Doyle Brunson? Doyle has been kicking ass at poker for decades, and continues to do so. He also writes great poker books based on what he calls his Super System (the first volume is older than I am!).

One of Doyles tips that stood out to me is how he plays small suited connectors. In short, he loves to play them, especially at full tables.  Pay attention to his strategy  and that could very well win you some hands at PartyPoker.com, Full Tilt Poker, or any other online poker room you like to play on. According to Doyle, his favorite hand is 8-7 Suited. He almost always plays tha thand, and will often raise with it. What do you normally do when you have 87s? You probably fold it, 9 times out of 10. That’s why Doyle is Doyle, and you are a loser.

The reason 87s is so great is that it’s tough for people to put you on it, and it’s easy to get away from. When someone raises pre-Flop, you usually put them on something like Ax, Kx, or a high pair.

So let’s put together a situation for Doyle:

His hand: 8♥ 7♥

Situation: He raises the minimum, and two players call.

The Flop: J♠ 9♥ 5♥

So because of the raise, most people will assume Doyle has nothing, with the possible exception of a Flush draw. In reality, he has 17 outs, with Flush and Inside Straight draws. Doyle bets, anyone with an Ax or Kx is likely to proceed, possibly with a low pair high kicker:

The Turn: 6♣

Doyle has hit the gut-shot straight, and can continue to bet.

The River: A♥

This is where everything works out for Doyle (as they often tend to do). The guy with A9 or AQ or whatever is likely to go all in, only to run nose-first into Doyle’s straight. Ouch!

If Doyle had not his his straight, he didn’t invest much money at all, and can easily get out of the hand.

If the Turn was: K♥ A♠ 10♦

Someone has almost inevitably made a pair or two, and with no chance at a Flush his hand is pretty much worthless and still easy to get away from at little loss.

So if you want to be like Doyle, and not the loser that you are, learn to play more aggressively, and play those suited connectors properly!