7♠6♠ SB vs BTN, preflop, 90 bb
The spot
- You: SB
- Opponent: BTN
- Your hand: 7♠6♠
- Board: preflop, no board yet
- Effective stack: 90 bb
- Pot: 5 bb
Folded to hero preflop in 6‑max.
What is the strongest default preflop action?
See the answer
Best play: Raise / 3-bet
Why
Folded to hero in the SB, this is a first-in open, not a 3‑bet. With 7♠6♠ (seven-six suited) the SB plays a raise-or-fold strategy, and a suited connector is well inside the SB opening range: it makes straights and flushes, plays cleanly heads-up versus the BB, and folding away that equity is too tight. Open-raise.
Key idea
From the SB you cannot just call to enter the pot profitably, so playable suited connectors like 76s become open-raises. The SB raise-or-fold structure means good speculative hands open rather than fold.
Common mistake
Calling the SB completes versus the BB out of position, which surrenders initiative and lets the BB realize equity for free; first-in from the SB you raise or fold.