Suited connectors in tournaments

[TightEnd]

I'm talking about the 8 9, 7 8, 10 9 type of suited hands at the stages of a tournament when there is plenty of play and you have average-ish chips. Or even one gappers etc

Do you guys routinely try and play these hands cheaply in tournaments?

I know the pay off value if they hit can be enormous but I find that I rarely hit, or partially hit so am faced with tricky decisions as the hand develops

Furthermore, I'm often limping and then folding to raises pre-flop..perhaps I shouldn't be folding to a single raise behind me, but then I'm playing a marginal hand out of position

Thoughts please

[tikay]

Limping too often, in the words of Garry Bush, "burns chips".

I have taken to playing them more aggressively if I am in late position, make a R, reduce the opponents to one. Then, if I miss, and mathematically I will miss more than I hit, then I can represent a bigger hand & try & move the opponent off his hand, especially as I have position. From early position, I still play them "traditionally", as the benefit in these hands is really that with a family pot, you are getting the odds you need, & if you hit, you want to be well paid.

Does it work for me? Hell, no. Not unless Thewy, or Rookie Wilson are at the table.

[Milkybarkid]

My rule with suited connectors 56, 67, 78, 89, TJ

If its early in the tournament and i have over 50 BB i nearly always try and see a flop with them... unless there is a raise and a reraise.

I sometimes like to raise with them in any position as you have added deception if you get a good flop. Even if i miss i can still bet the flop to represent a big hand.

The less big blinds i have the more chance that i will muck them. They are trash in early position when the blinds are high because if you limp you will nearly always face a raise for a decent amount of chips.

[ariston]

You should not be playing suited connectors unless you are willing to pass a partially hit flop. Top pair with the 9ten clubs is not worth putting all your stack at risk. I agree with milkybar that the good thing about suited/conns is the deception factor, too many players cant put you on 56 when you catch the dream flop. Be careful against the more advanced opponent who plays them alot too, not only will he refuse to pay when you hit he will try and catch you with similar hands (eg 56 is a dream on a 478 flop but you find him sat there with the 9ten hoping to catch a J).

[Maroon]

Great thread.