In Texas Hold’em real cash or free online poker games intermediate connectors are hands such as 8-7 or 7-5 that you play as they are the best hands for hitting Straights with. With an 8,7 for example, you can make 4 Straights (3 of them nuts), and with 7,5 you can look for 3 Straights (2 of them nuts). The difficulty is, as ever, how to play them to the best effect so in this free poker tips article that is what we will give you some pointers on.
Intermediate connectors are not played as strongly if they Pair. For instance, if you have 8-7 and the Flop comes K-7-2, you can be justifiably worried about the King and you can fold.
Also, it is likely you can flop Two-Pair. With 8-7 and a Flop of 8-7-A, you can get a player with A-K in trouble.
If both of you continue until the end, and your opponent’s hand doesn’t improve, he will slow it down trying to show it down. If the hand does improve it will be obvious as when he bets and you can just pay him off. He can pair his kicker or not, and whether he does, you still have a good showdown hand.
The best play (for you) the opponent can make is to call all-in or move all-in on the Flop (in a tournament). However, this is only the case if the difference in chips between you and the all-in’er is large. If you have almost the same amount of chips, your 8-7 may not be good enough because your opponent may be willing only to call you with something like A-8 or, worse, 7-7.
Or he might call you with A-K and suckout when he pairs his Ace, his kicker, or when, say, a 10 hits the Turn, and another Ten hits the river then his Two-Pair is superior. If one stack is small and the other large, and you’ve got the small stack then you have a good hand someone holding an A-K may be willing to call. If you’ve got the large stack, your all-in opponent might be anxious for a call with his A-x (without Two-Pair) until he knows you have him steamrollered.
Usually, you continue playing Two-Pair until you hit a Full House. With that hand, play it just like you would play a made 5-card hand – value betting, pretending to bluff, slow-playing (pick your choice). However, should the Board comes 8-7-5, you may be willing to play it more slowly because if the Board comes Four, 6, or 9, your Two-Pair may be almost unplayable.
During the Flop, bet substantially to push a Straight draw out. If your opponent calls, it may signify a Straight draw. Should your opponent move all-in or pushes you all-in, then call – or not call.
You are still the favorite over a Straight draw. You can also hit a Full House later. But also you can choose not to call because your opponent may have a made Straight. In an 8,7,5 board, the probability of a Flopped Straight is fairly small as players don’t play 9,6, or 6,4 very much.
However, you ought to be careful in a Board of 8-7-J or 8-7-4, because their connectors are consecutive numbers, i.e. 10-9 and 6-5, and players, especially experienced ones, play these more regularly.
However, even if the Board comes something such as 8-7-4-5-Q, so long as you are sure, or even half-sure, that your opponent does not have the Six, bet a small bet on the river. Should your opponent has 9-8 or Q-x, you might be paid off.
Should your opponent have the 6, you might be pushed, but you can fold without losing much. The thing is, you need to maintain your aggression most of the time as part of your image, and you can do this by value-betting. If your opponent didn’t have the 6, he may think that you had the 6, and he may fold, too.
And lastly, here is an addendum to our earlier example. If you have 8-7 and the Flop comes K-7-2, you can fold. But you can also call a bet – you hope that your opponent had A-K – and if an Eight comes and you bet big, how will your opponent know you had another Eight in the hole? So long as you feel your opponent doesn’t have K-8 or K-7 (not likely) both of you can get it all-in on the Turn – and you’ll emerge almost a winner.
This can be a fairly complicated subject so if you’re not quite getting it then go play free poker online at K9win to master it. Here’s a link alternatif k9win in case the platform is not accessible in your region. The only real way possible is to do it for real but learn to play poker free so that any mistakes you make don’t cost you anything apart from time.
