The solution to the question really lies in minimum defense frequency. Basically how much you need to defend when you are 3-bet. Are you planning on calling these hands and just having to check-fold a tonne of flops out of position when you flop very marginal draws ( suited connectors are much better at resisting pressure when postflop). Basically if your range is too wide you won't be able to defend it against aggression. What I mean is that with 78 we can make 4 straights, with J8s we can make 2. The amount of straight draws and backdoor draws are similiar. This mightn't seem like a lot but it can matter when you are facing an aggressive opponent. If you plan on just folding them pre then you will be run over by players who 3-bet compotently. Basically when UTG you can be 3-bet more often and want to avoid speculative hands which haven't gotten really good playability. In later positions a large portion of the EV these hands generate just comes from stealing the blinds but in earlier positions where this isn't a relevant factor we can't overcome the fact that despite looking pretty these hands just aren't very good especially against a competent aggressive opponent who isn't afraid to 3-bet you a lot and apply pressure to your flimsy range postflop.

The short answer is this (using 87s vs 86s):

1) We flop top pair more often with 87s
2) We flop straights more often with 87s
3) We flop combo draws more often with 87s
4) We flop Open Ended straight draws more often with 87s
5) We flop more gutshots w/ 87s

87s and 86s both flop flush draws/flushes the same amount of the time

We flop TP+ and Gutter+ 43% of the time with 87s vs. 86s flopping TP+ and Gutter+ 39% of the time. That 4+% gap is HUGE when we are looking at a virtual Zero EV open with 87s in the first place from UTG and MP.

In GTO world, 87s is pretty neutral between RFI and Fold pre. GTO world is going to 3 bet better (exploit you by making you fold pre) and play called pots IP very well.

In reality, pools are going to call too often IP and, even though they are fishy for the most part, we will struggle with hands like this OOP.

I would stick to opening like SC's at a frequency of like 50% from UPG/MP and maybe open 86s if I rolled like a 15 or lower. You are not going to hurt yourself playing "too" tight from UTG/MP as you are improving.

I would suggest uysing a program like Flopzilla or something you can look at board hits with certain hands. Look at how often you "hit" a board with certain parameters.

You could read the preflop section in Modern Poker Theory by Michael Acevedo. I wouldn't bother with the later half of the book until you are quite advanced or at least focused on MTT's but the start of it is really quite good for an introduction to game theory in poker. Suited aces in general aren't the best hands against 3-bets because they are often dominated. That being said fine to call A10, AJ, AQ as well as like A5 and A4 sometimes as these hands can make some wheel straights (A2345) As stack sizes increase suited aces go up in value as the implied odds of winning a flush vs flush increases

How do I leave a comment to steve the reply button is no there

Click "reply" arrow under GMJunior's post, it will filter into that thread.