Getting dealt Seven-Five suited (75-suited) makes me feel like a pirate.

ARGH, I’m about to steal that pot of gold in the middle.

But to play this hand profitably, you must be smart about it. You can’t try to steal the pot every time you’re dealt this suited gapper.

This quick guide to playing 75-suited will cover:

• How to play 75-suited in common preflop situations
• 3 tips for playing it when you miss the flop
• 3 tips for playing it when you hit the flop

Let’s dive in!

How to Play 75-Suited Preflop

The following advice assumes you’re playing a standard cash game (100bb deep, no antes, standard table rake).

These are the positions that will be referenced in this section:

Unopened Pots

75-suited cannot be played profitably from most positions.

When you’re seated in the Cutoff, Button, or Small Blind, you should raise with 75-suited. Simply fold from all of the earlier positions (Under the Gun through the Hijack) unless you have a good reason to loosen up your strategy.

Against a Raise

When facing a raise, 75-suited should be folded from every position except the Big Blind. You can profitably call with it from the Big Blind since you are closing the action and have good pot odds to call.

Against a 3-Bet

When you raise with 75-suited and face a 3-bet, you should fold almost every time. It is simply too weak to call or 4-bet, even in position. The only exception is if the 3-bet is extremely small.

3 Tips For Playing 75-Suited When You Miss the Flop 

You won’t flop a pair most of the time time with 75-suited. These tips are for those situations.

Tip #1: In multiway pots, always start with a check (unless you are last to act)

It doesn’t matter if you have a straight draw, a flush draw, or two undercards, you should always check unless you’re the player with ultimate position.

For example, suppose you raise from the Cutoff and get called by the Button and the Big Blind. You should start with a check on the flop regardless of the specific 3 cards that fell.

The player who calls in position usually has a capped, but more condensed range. This means the likelihood of them holding medium and strong hands is high. This warrants a passive strategy on your part.

If you are in position on both of the other players, you can consider betting (especially with strong draws). But always check if someone else has position on you.

Tip #2: When you flop an open-ended straight draw as the Big Blind, check-raise aggressively

If you only check-raise with premium hands, your strategy becomes predictable and your regular opponents will adjust, costing you value. To avoid this, you need to mix in some bluffs to balance the strong stuff in your check-raising range.

Open-ended straight draws are perfect for check-raise bluffing. They have solid equity to improve on the turn or river, and they can also force better hands to fold. By check-raising, you create opportunities to win the pot by either completing your straight or making your opponent fold a superior hand.

For example, suppose you defend your Big Blind with 7c 5c against a Button raise and the flop is Ks 8d 6c. When you check and face a bet, lean towards raising. You’ll force high card hands (like Qh Jh or Ah Tc) to fold and when you do get called by a hand like Ks Qs, you have 8 outs to take the lead.

Tip #3: When in position, c-bet relentlessly when you have a draw

Bluffing is a fundamental concept in poker strategy. Poker is, in my opinion, hardly worth playing without it.

One of the keys to any good bluffing strategy is to have backup equity in case the bluff doesn’t work.

That is where having a gutshot, open-ender, flush draw or an all-mighty combo draw comes in handy. These hands are the bread and butter of your bluffing strategy.

So, if you’ve open-raised from the Cutoff, the Big Blind called and the flop comes Ks 8d 6h, Jc 9s 6d, or Ah 9h 3s and you have a flush draw, leverage your position and range advantage with a bet.

3 Tips for Playing 75-Suited When You Hit the Flop

Let’s go over some tips for when you actually flop a pair or better with this suited gapper.

Tip #1: When out of position after raising preflop, play passively with pairs on low flops

On low-connected boards (like 7x 6x 3x, 7x 4x 3x, or 8x 5x 2x) as the out of position preflop aggressor, it’s crucial to take a more passive approach with your flopped pair.

These flops typically favor the caller, who is more likely to connect with these low cards. Additionally, much of your range (e.g. high cards) will miss this flop, so it’s important to “protect your checking range” by including some of these decent pairs in it.

When you only hold a vulnerable pair on these flops, avoid bloating the pot unnecessarily. Instead, opt for pot control. Your life will be much easier this way.

Tip #2: When in position, mix between c-betting and checking back with pairs that have a straight draw

When you flop a pair + straight draw on flops like 9x 7x 6x or 8x 5x 4x, you should mix between betting and checking back.

You want to have this type of hand in both your betting and checking range, as this will make you tough to predict and play against.

Tip #3: Fast-play your strong hands

When you hit a strong hand with 75-suited, like a straight, trips, or two pair, fast-playing will usually be the best strategy. You’ll win more on average by doing so.

This is especially true if you have a vulnerable strong hand, like two pair on a Ts 7s 5c flop. You should fast-play to get value and so that your opponent doesn’t get to see all five cards for free/cheap with his draws.

Trapping is only useful against aggressive opponents who bluff too often or value bet too thinly.

Most opponents are not aggressive, thus fast-playing should be your go-to strategy.

Final Thoughts

There you go, the 75-suited crash course. The key takeaway from this should be that you have to reel in your pirating ways, starting from preflop. By timing your attacks wisely, you can turn this hand into a profitable one!

That’s all for this guide! I hope you enjoyed it and that you will apply this knowledge in your next session!

Till’ next time, good luck, grinders!

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