Two-Connected
Two-connected flops present same of the same problems as two-suited flops,
especially when the two connected cards are medium to high. Your opponents
could have open-ended or gut-shot straight draws along with overcards. so you
want to be sure that they pay for their draws. Two pair is also a concern
Your opponents are often getting decent pot odds to try for gut-shot draws for only
one small bet; therefore, raise your strong hands if given the opportunity so that any
remaining opponents acting behind you will have to call a raise cold on their weak
draw.
if your pair is vulnerable to overcards. you should protect your pair as discussed in
the previous sections. When your top pair is not very high and your kicker is weak,
you may need to fold your hand if several players are playing the hand and there is
a lot of action. For example, if you hold T ♣ 9 ♠ and the flop is 9
♦ 6
♥ 5 ♣, you should
usually fold if there are several callers on the flop or the flop is raised. The two
connected cards give your opponents more outs to draw and beat you if you are
ahead. In fact, with the above flop, the only cards that can come that are not
dangerous to your hand are another ten or 9!
NEXT...Three-Connected
