7♠6♠ HJ vs CO, preflop, 75 bb
The spot
- You: HJ
- Opponent: CO
- Your hand: 7♠6♠
- Board: preflop, no board yet
- Effective stack: 75 bb
- Pot: 2 bb
Villain opens and action is on hero preflop.
Which action keeps the best EV baseline?
See the answer
Best play: Call
Why
Hero has 76s (7♠6♠, a suited connector) in the HJ facing a CO open. Flatting is standard: 76s realizes equity well in position, makes disguised straights and flushes, and has too little high-card value to 3‑bet for value — it prefers to keep the pot small and see flops against the CO's wide opening range. Calling captures its implied odds without exposing it to a 4‑bet that would deny its postflop upside.
Key idea
Suited connectors are textbook in-position flats versus a late open: low high-card value but high implied odds make calling, not 3-betting, the right tool.
Common mistake
3‑bet-bluffing 76s out of position-value confusion; flatting in position keeps its straight and flush implied odds alive and avoids folding out worse.