How to Play Six-Four Suited in Cash Games

Six-Four suited (64-suited) is a good-looking hand, but most people don’t play it correctly.

In this guide, I’ll help you eliminate the most frequent mistakes that I see players make with 64-suited.

Here’s what I’m about to cover:

• How to play 64-suited in all the common preflop situations
• 3 tips for playing 64-suited when you miss the flop
• 3 tips for playing 64-suited when you hit the flop

Let’s dive in!

How to Play 64-Suited Preflop

This section will explain how to play 64-suited in all common preflop scenarios. These are the positions that will be referenced throughout:

Unopened Pots

64-suited is only worth open-raising from the Button and Small Blind. You should fold it from all earlier positions because it is simply too weak with 3+ players behind.

That’s the strategic baseline. You can make adjustments based on your opponents if you have reliable reads. For example, if the players behind are very tight, you can loosen up and raise this hand from the Cutoff as well.

Against a Raise

When a player raises, it generally signals that they have a relatively strong hand. Although 64-suited may seem appealing since it has the potential to crack a strong hand, it simply isn’t good enough to play against a raise…

…unless you are the Big Blind.

64-suited can be played from the Big Blind because you are closing the action and have good pot odds to call. In this scenario, it should always be called (never 3-bet).

Against a 3-Bet

64-suited should be thrown into the muck immediately when faced with a 3-bet.

The 3-bettor has a very strong range which completely dominates 64-suited. You need a hand that flops a little bit better, like 65-suited (which will more frequently flop straight draws), to call profitably.

3 Tips for Playing 64-Suited When You Miss the Flop

Around two-thirds of the time, you won’t flop a pair with 64-suited. These tips are for those situations.

Tip #1: Regardless of the Flop, Start with a Check in Multiway Pots

It doesn’t matter if you flop a straight draw, flush draw, or anything else. Always start with a check in multiway pots unless you have position on both players.

Let’s say you’re playing at a tight table and decide to get a little loose by raising from the Cutoff with 64-suited. You get called by the Button and Big Blind, so you’re playing versus two opponents, one of whom has position over you.

The Button’s range is capped, but is concentrated towards hands like pocket pairs and suited Broadways. Because there are so few garbage hands in this player’s range, they are very likely to flop at least a pair. That means you should play more defensively and start with a check.

If you raise from the Button and both blinds call, you can definitely make some bets when the action checks to you. But when you’re out of position against at least 1 player, make sure you play defensively.

Tip #2: Frequently Check-Raise Open-Ended Straight Draws from the Big Blind

A well-balanced check-raising strategy includes both strong hands and bluffs.

Open-ended straight draws make for some of the best bluffs since they have solid equity to improve on the turn or river and can make better hands fold.

So, when you call from the Big Blind with a hand like 6s 4s and the flop comes Jc 5d 3s, you should look to check-raise often when faced with a c-bet.

Tip #3: C-Bet Aggressively When in Position With a Draw

Bluffing is fundamental to poker strategy.

Profitable bluffs often rely on some form of backup equity in case the bluff gets called. Draws like gutshots, open-enders, flush draws, or powerful combo draws are key to this approach.

For instance, say you raise from the Button, the Big Blind calls, and the flop comes Kx 5x 3x rainbow, Tx 7x 5x two-tone, or Ax 5x 2x two-tone.

Placing a bet with these draws is a strong play. This bet becomes even better if you have a backdoor flush draw to go with it!

3 Tips for Playing 64-Suited When You Hit the Flop

Let’s talk about when you actually do flop a pair.

Tip #1: Take a Passive Approach with Pairs on Low Flops as the Preflop Aggressor

In a Button vs Big Blind scenario, low and connected flops like 7x 6x 2x or 8x 6x 3x are generally better for the Big Blind since they have more low cards in their range (due to just calling preflop).

So, while your exact hand might feel like it wants to bet, your overall range prefers a more defensive strategy consisting of mostly checks. Checking protects the weaker parts of your range like overcards. It also prevents you from facing check-raises with hands like overpairs that might only want to play medium-sized pots on these boards.

Therefore, when holding only a marginal pair on these flops, avoid over-committing. Instead, focus on pot control and re-evaluate the situation on the turn.

But tip #2 is a bit of an exception to this…

Tip #2: Mix Between C-Betting and Checking Back with Pairs that have a Straight Draw

Boards like 7x 6x 3x and 8x 5x 4x are generally better for the preflop caller, but that doesn’t mean that the in position preflop raiser has to check-back with everything.

Hands that contain both a pair and a straight draw can mix between betting and checking. These hands make good bets since they can deny equity and improve to a strong hand like a straight. But they also make good checks by protecting your checking range.

Including this type of hand in both your betting and checking range makes you less predictable and tougher to play against.

Tip #3: Fast-Play Your Strongest Hands

When you hit a strong hand with 64-suited (such as a straight, trips, or two pair), fast-playing is an effective strategy for maximizing value.

Trapping is only advantageous against very aggressive opponents. Some players will see your check on the flop and attack on the turn by bluffing often or value betting thinly—but these traits are not typical of most opponents (especially at low stakes). Thus, fast-playing should generally be your default approach.

That’s all for this guide!

I hope you enjoyed it and that you will apply this knowledge in your next session!

Want tips for another starting hand? Check out How to Play Ace-Jack Suited in Cash Games.

Till’ next time, good luck, grinders!