The cards have been dealt and it’s time to take a look. You draw a deep breath, reach out, take a quick peek and lay the cards back down. You take a quick peek at your pocket cards and they are 9 and 8. The problem is, it’s a red nine and a black 8. What do you do?

Taking Stock

Being dealt unsuited connectors is a normal hazard in poker – not necessarily good, not necessarily bad. After all, there are still five board cards from which you can form a good hand so it’s reasonable to suppose that there’s a chance to recover on the flop, turn or river. This is true, yes, but playing with unsuited low connectors (those below 10) moves you out of playing based on skill and experience into one of real ‘gambling’ or risk taking.

Keep in mind that, at best, unsuited connectors can give you a straight. If you do get a straight, though, there are still five card combinations that can beat you. If you are playing at a full table, this becomes even more of a problem.

DON’T start thinking that your unsuited connectors are the start of something big – especially if your cards are in the low end, say, 32. The best you can make will be three of a kind – but even then, you’re probably going to have low kickers.

Good Poker Sense

If you get dealt unsuited connectors, it is better to bail out on the flop. In fact, if you really want to be careful, you can fold even before the flop. Certainly, you can try to bluff your opponents by raising high with unsuited connectors, but you should set the stage early by playing aggressively before the flop. Even then, you risk having it out against opponents that have better starting hands than you do.

Playing unsuited connectors can be worth it, though, as long as you have minimal risks or better chances. For instance, you can wait for the flop before giving up if you’re in the low blind position, which means you can raise with a minimum of chips but are still in a position to bail out. Likewise, if you’ve got unsuited high/face cards, you may have a better chance because you’ve got high card kickers that can turn the hand your way.

Holding unsuited high card connectors gives you a lot of options – risk-taking is not as hazardous and there’s always the chance of being able to bluff your opponents out. High cards are always a confidence booster – there are just simply a lot more options when they’re in your pocket.

And as for the 9-8 unsuited? The best play will be to check until the flop and if your hand does not improve after that, you fold. If you don’t have the option of checking and it would cost too much to see the flop, it would be simpler and safer to fold pre-flop.