Calling Blinds With OS Connectors?

I was wondering if, in low stakes games, people will call the .25 blinds with a hand like 10,9 os to see if they flop the straight?

I usually say "eh, its just a quarter" and go ahead and call.

I try not to make a habit of it though if the cards are lower.

"eh, it's just a quarter" can be defined as a leak at times. If you flop a weak draw, you end up paying to see it through. You're better off holding out for suited or better.

That quarter adds up. Wait to limp in with suited connectors or a strong hand.

Common odds when holding connectors from 54 to JT

Code:
flopping a straight (including the slight chance of a straight flush in some cases) 1.306%
flopping an 8 out straight draw* 10.449%

People put too much stock into if it's suited or not. If you have something like a 9-10 then just call the blinds or even the minimum raise. If you flop an open ended straight draw then you're in good shape, just don't put too much money into the pot praying for a miracle. If somebody makes a sizeable raise, throw em in, it's not worth it.

Middle connecters are one of my favorite hands along with small pocket pairs, they're easy to fold and if it's cheap to seep the flop then it can pay off handsomely.

Originally Posted by aislephive

People put too much stock into if it's suited or not. If you have something like a 9-10 then just call the blinds or even the minimum raise. If you flop an open ended straight draw then you're in good shape, just don't put too much money into the pot praying for a miracle. If somebody makes a sizeable raise, throw em in, it's not worth it.

Middle connecters are one of my favorite hands along with small pocket pairs, they're easy to fold and if it's cheap to seep the flop then it can pay off handsomely.

Thats sort of the way I feel about it.

However, I believe at higher stakes with the blinds alot higher, I probably wouldnt play them at all.

Werddown wrote:

However, I believe at higher stakes with the blinds alot higher, I probably wouldnt play them at all.

IMHO, if a hand is good enough to play for Y bbs, it shouldn't matter whether bb = .25 or $25. Just because the stakes are higher doesn't mean a hand loses or gains value.

Originally Posted by mdwav

Werddown wrote:

However, I believe at higher stakes with the blinds alot higher, I probably wouldnt play them at all.

IMHO, if a hand is good enough to play for Y bbs, it shouldn't matter whether bb = .25 or $25. Just because the stakes are higher doesn't mean a hand loses or gains value.

It would be a larger percentage of my entire bank roll.

I would probably play alot tighter on a higher stakes tables, because of the stakes / skill level.

Originally Posted by Werddown

It would be a larger percentage of my entire bank roll.

I would probably play alot tighter on a higher stakes tables, because of the stakes / skill level.

Ok, if you are worried about a big blind being a "larger percentage of my bankroll", then maybe you need to check up on bankroll management (see thread in new players section). 15 buyin bare mininum for NL. So for example, if you hare playing $0.25 big blind NL, then you should have at least $375 in your bankroll to throw at the game. Any less than that and you are risking losing it all to a streak of bad luck.

And to answer the question in this thread, at NL25 I guess it kind of depends on your game, but you should be folding at least 75% of the hands you see. This means folding AJo ATs.... and everything below it, including those crappy cards you are talking about. The exception to this rule is on the button or cutoff. The later your position, the greater your implied odds on any hand you hold goes up, so I MIGHT limp 9To into a hand on the button...sometimes. Generally, I fold unsuited connectors in all positions except small blind, and suited connectors unless I have late position. I hope this gives you some perspective.

whether it's suited or not, i play connectors from time to time. if i have an open ender and the pot odds are good. i go for it. i tend not to play gutshot draws unless i get to see the next card for free

First of all, let me say I am new to the forum but have been a visitor to FTR for months. Before I respond I would like to take the opportunity to thank everyone here for all of the great advice. The strategies and tactics here have really improved my play and have helped me to win 2 MTT's with over 850 entrants in the last two weeks.

That being said, I am married with three kids and do not have as much money as I would like to devote to poker - but I am working on that. So I play at the micro-limit games with $0.01/$0.02 blinds. In this case I will limp in with 9-10, suited or unsuited, from late position, strictly looking for the straight. You can't believe how many times TPTK calls your pot sized bets down all the way to the river without improving.

Usually when a lot of people limp in it checks around after the flop. I will fold to just about any bet unless I am really getting the right pot odds. But that is rare at these limits since usually 1-2 people have hit the flop and there are re-raises galore.

That's why I love to limp with low pocket pairs and mid to big connectors (9-10 is about as low as I'll go, however). When they hit the flop you get paid off big time at these low limits.

Again, thanks to all on these forums! I hope to get to where I can play with you guys, but for now I'm working on building my bankroll up from just about nothing.

Originally Posted by Werddown

I was wondering if, in low stakes games, people will call the .25 blinds with a hand like 10,9 os to see if they flop the straight?

I usually say "eh, its just a quarter" and go ahead and call.

I try not to make a habit of it though if the cards are lower.

Only in late position.

As with any non premium hand, if you're going to see a flop with them, you better know when to let go. I see people play 56 suited and the flop comes out 2 3 6. They go bonkers, and get busted by someone holding 77.

Know why you are playing a hand, and stick to the expectation you are realizing when you play it. With 56 suited for example, you want to flop an OESD or Flush draw and pay the correct price to draw. You can't get married to top pair or the ill fated worse two pair that sometimes gets beat by a higher two pair, or by a board pairing to counterfeit the lower pair. Even flopping trips can be dangerous, as someone could have you kicked with the same trips.

This is what's meant by "Only play weird hands when you're a strong postflop player"

I was looking at a hand history with Soupie and Petethebeat at the end of a high stakes multi table tourny. Petethe beat played 84 offsuit from the small blind and lost all his chips to 99 when the flop came 2 5 8. It's not verbatum, but the hand was something like that.