[-Skeme-]

I think lots of people misplay SCs. I believe I am beginning to play them better, but overall, still a little shaky. I think the biggest misconception is that since they look pretty, can make awesome hands with concealment, and are easy to get away from, they should be played frequently. These aren't really 100% misconceptions, but I believe that unless you play them very well, you will be a loser.

Maybe better players can correct my thinking, but these are usually the conditions in which I play SCs:

1) Good position. I rarely limp UTG and EP with them in a normal game. I hate limp-calling, especially OOP, with SCs. Usually the only time I limp-call is with pairs going for set value, and this isn't nearly annoying as they play themselves postflop. SCs make draws.. and as we all know, draws SUCK when you're out of position, and even moreso against a PFR.

2) Facing a raise. If I am facing a raise, I'll only call if I have a decent read on the opponent and position. If I don't have either, I'll only call if a decent amount of opponent's have called inbetween the PFR and I. SCs are multiway hands, indeed.

3) Opponents are not nuts. This could be very wrong, but as I understand it, a big part of playing SCs is getting aggressive with your draws. More often than not you will flop a draw as opposed to a made hand. Obviously more often than not you will miss. It is my understanding, and my old PT SC DB (I sound like an eye chart) back this up, that if you aren't aggressive enough with your draws, you will be a SC loser. Just calling down with your draw made me a loser with SCs.. hopefully I'll change that by playing them more aggressively.

If I have position, sometimes I will raise my draws if I think it will make my opponent either, a) concede the pot immediately, or b) make a mistake by giving me a free card on the turn. If the opponent is aggressive himself, I will just call and try and hit my hand. If I miss by the turn and he bets hard, I'll fold. I try not to tangle with solid, aggressive players with SCs. They'll probably sniff out your draw and make you pay dearly for it, and even when you hit, they'll probably not pay you off.

Anyways, that's my take on SCs. Hopefully it'll generate some more discussion from players with a better understanding of them. Hope I could help.