7-6s NOT a volume hand?

From D.R. Sherer's "No fold'em Hold'em"--his argument being that small pairs can often be played and if trips don't hit to fold


(ok, no newflash there!)


But then he goes on to state that 7-6s and presumably other mid range suited connectors play poorly in multiway pots.


"You've probably heard that 7-6s is a playable hand, and so it is"


"It is a sin to limp in with small conectors..'


"To protect the hand requires that you open with a raise . So what has happened to the 'volume hand ' theory? It never existed!"


Sherer IS referring to limit games. And, no, position is not brought in as a factor in playing suited connectors; though he does adress it in playing pairs.


Ok, sorry if I'm mathematically challenged but other than as a purely pschological ploy, does his advice make sense to you?


And if so, why?


Thanx in advance.

>>And, no, position is not brought in as a factor in playing >>suited connectors; though he does adress it in playing pairs.


Burn the books!!!!


Burn the books!!!!


Burn the books!!!!


Seriously though, would you rather play 76x with 2 opps

or 5?


I think you know the answer.

I agree with CreamPuff on this one- burn that damn book. 76s is a multiway hand and near garbage short handed. Raising to protect a suited connector is a joke, it's supposed to be the other way around- raise with hands that have some current value (big pairs, AK etc..) so as not to allow hands like76s to get the proper implied odds to call.

Before everyone tells you that this is crazy because you want a big pot for your draws and good odds, give it a shot for a month or so and let us know your results while we continue to fold this hand with few callers. I'll be interested in what happens.

And if you do flop a draw, be sure to raise all your

opponents out, just in case you spike a 6 or 7 on the

turn...You want it to hold up don't you?

I read this a while ago but don't have a copy to refer to. I think Sherer says that the easiest way to hit the hand is by hitting a pair on the flop. But if you haven't raised the pot you're letting in all the mediocre hands behind you that would have folded to your raise and may flop a higher pair. He is assuming a tight game here where you get respect for your raises and you can then either outplay your opponent or flop a pair. Even though you only have 7-6(s), your opponents don't know that so they may give you respect.

"..Sherer says that the easiest way to hit the hand is by hitting a pair on the flop. But if you haven't raised the pot you're letting in all the mediocre hands behind you that would have folded to your raise and may flop a higher pair.."


By this reasoning you should raise with pretty much any hand you are going to play, which won't get you respect in any game with opponents who aren't sleeping. In fact, you should become the victim of frequent isolation reraises from tough players who have position on you. I would hate to be playing heads up for 3 bets with this hand very often when I'm out of position against a decent opponent who started with a better hand than mine.

It's hard to tell exactly what Sherer's reasoning is, but if he's suggesting that you'd rather have the blinds than volume callers, he's right. But as Coilean points out, if you normally open-raise with these hands early and middle, good luck getting the blinds.


One play that you frequently see weak-tight players make is to open-limp late with 98s 2 or 3 off the button and 87s/76s in the button and cutoff. This might be okay in a loose passive game where none of the downstream players will fold, but these hands are usually better played as open-raise-or-fold in the last two seats.

I haven't read the book, but couldn't he be implying that, if you are in a game that doesn't respect raises, by raising preflop you will create the necessary pot odds to call later on


(i.e. on a flop of like 3 4 J with one of your suit)?


Just a thought,


Worm

Gentlemen:


Since nobody has the book handy, I'll elaborate. The title of the chapter is "Pairs vs Connectors"


He ends the chapter by stating that in limit hold'em they 'have nothing to do with each other' i.e; "Little pairs are volume hands. Small connectors are not and never have been . . .your mission is to be as agressive as your heart will allow with the connectors and as timid as your brain will allow with pairs"


In other words raise with 7-6s and limp with a pair of 6.


None of this is about stealing the blinds. (unless you're near them and you think a raise with ANYTHING will cause the BB to be a wuss and fold, but that's not newsflash either).


As to playing the blinds or button when several people have entered the pot Sherer concedes that 'isolation is impossible' and both pairs and connectors should make a crying call to see the flop. This is the one exception to his 'be as agressive with suited connectors maxim'


The weird thing (I know it's weird enough) is his rationale for raising :


"Suppose you were given the following proposition: You play 7-6s. Four players including you play each flop. You are guaranteed...each hand you'll have a flush draw or open ended straight BUT never win the ranks, pairs, trips and so on.."


(aprox 8-9 outs with 2 possible hits)


Then he goes on to show why this is a bad proposition mathematically and how a player with a pocket pairs would love to take you on--Ok, fair enough , I follow the odds and his reasoning--however, here comes the corker:


(therefore) the ONLY way the hand is playable is to have the added value in ranks . ..1 pair, 2 pairs, an open set. It follows then that if you play it you MUST protect your hand...open with a raise..."


That's where I'm befuddled


How many times can one get away with this without, (as has been already been pointed out in this thread) getting re-raised?


This is NOT analogous to S&M's advice of calling suited connectors once in a blue moon from early postion to be unpredictable; This is Sherer's rule of thumb for how low/med suited connectors should be played in most situations


Yes, the focus of the whole book is on isolation, Playing against 'soft rocks' (weak tight) and Sherer is primaraly a tournament player but this is advice geared to limit hold'em, even in tough games against pros and not so 'soft'


Am I missing something in his argument?