Handling Suited Cards in No Limit Hold'em

When you start out in no limit Holdem, you will be faced with the decision of which hands to play. Your safest poker strategy as a beginner is to limit your starting hands to premium holdings, such as pairs and big cards. However, many beginners find suited cards to have great appeal. Here are some thoughts on suited cards.

Players like suited cards because they are more likely to make a flush than two non-suited cards. While this is nice, it is nothing to base a Texas Holdem strategy on. Playing suited cards like A J or even K T suited is often a good idea, because they are big cards likely to flop the best pair when they flop a pair, and their straight and flush draws give them added value. Regularly playing cards like 9 2 suited, even when there is no raise, is usually a mistake. Here's why.

You will flop a complete flush less than one percent of the time. When you do, one of three things will happen. 1) The moment you make any bet everyone will fold and you will win only the blinds. 2) Someone else will have a flush. If you are playing non-premium cards, most of the time this will be a higher flush than yours and you will lose all your chips. 3) Someone will have the lone ace or king of the suit in question. They will call your bets, which will probably be small bets designed to build a pot, and then get away cheaply if another of the suit doesn't come or break you if it does.

You will flop a flush draw around 11 percent of the time. This means a little less than 90 percent of the time you will have to fold your suited cards and have wasted whatever money you put in before the flop. If you flop one of your suit and a pair you may feel obligated to put in more money and the odds will still be against you. When you do flop your flush draw, you will have to avoid A) another player betting so much that you no longer have correct poker odds to draw, B) Missing your flush draw and losing whatever chips you have invested unless you choose to bluff at the pot and C) Hitting your flush draw and losing all your chips to a bigger flush draw. Worse yet, once observant players notice that you play any two suited cards, they will put you on a flush every time you bet when three of a suit come and never pay you off.

As you can see, playing cards simply because they are suited can often be a losing proposition. When you become more proficient, you can expand your range of hands. When starting out, focus mainly on the rank of your cards. Your cards being suited should be considered nothing but a nice added bonus. Find out more about poker at Learn Texas Hold`em.