Playing Suited Cards:
Because a flush is such a powerful hand many poor poker players, as well as those new to the game, will tend to play any two suited hole cards as a matter of routine, even the likes of 9-4, in the hope of hitting a flush.
There’s no doubting that when a flush does hit it has a better than average chance of taking the pot and can be very profitable indeed. However, the chances of two suited cards becoming a flush in poker are about 6.5% so if you do play them routinely then, in all likelihood, you’re going to lose far more than you win with them in the long run.
If you’re hoping to flop a flush straight away then you should know that the odds of that happening are just 0.8%. Hardly the kind of odds to go chasing!
Suited Aces and connected cards at least give you the chance to make other hands, such as a high two pair, or a straight, so there is far more merit in playing them. Simply playing any two suited cards because they’re suited is a losing policy, especially as a hand such as 9-4 can lead you into other kinds of trouble.
If the flop were to come down J-7-4 there’s a very good chance that you’d stay in the hand because you had a pair of 4’s, hoping that they were either good enough to win the pot or you might hit a 9 to make two pair, or even another 4. Again, this invariably leads to more chips being lost in the long run.
On those occasions when you do flop four to the flush with your two suited cards then they will go on to make that flush about 35% of the time, which is still only one time in three.
If you are going to play two suited cards then try to make them high ones, or at least cards that will give you the chance to make other hands, apart from a flush.
