Intermediate Mixing in Suited Connectors and Small Pairs UTG Owen Gaines Owen Gaines is a professional poker player and author who has played an estimated ten million hands and written four poker strategy books. April 23, 2026 You can include marginal hands from early position without weakening your overall range Opening under the gun (UTG) defines your table image and range integrity. UTG sits at the bottom of positional advantage, so every hand you include must justify playing out of position against multiple opponents. Standard ranges lean tight for a reason: you act first on every post-flop street. Still, selective inclusion of suited connectors and small pairs can add balance and prevent your range from becoming predictable. Suited connectors such as 65s–98s perform best in deep-stack environments. Their value comes from implied odds, not immediate equity. If stacks are 100 big blinds or more and the table tends to call rather than 3-bet aggressively, mixing a small frequency open with these hands can work. The key is frequency control. You are not widening your range permanently; you are adding occasional coverage so opponents cannot assign you only high-card strength. Small pairs serve a clearer purpose: set mining. Opening hands like 22–66 UTG requires discipline. You need stacks behind that can pay off when you hit. If effective stacks are shallow, these hands lose value quickly because they rarely win unimproved. Avoid calling 3-bets with them unless stack depth supports the implied odds. Post-flop play is where mistakes compound. With suited connectors, avoid marginal continuation bets into multiple players without equity. With small pairs, abandon boards that miss your set unless texture heavily favors your perceived range. The adjustment is subtle. You are not becoming loose UTG. You are protecting your range composition while maintaining strict control over position-driven risk.