Slowplaying Poker
Categories: Poker, Strategy, Tips
Slowplaying is the act of playing a hand that is strong in a manner that would indicate that it is not so strong. The slowplay is used with the intent of trapping other players into the hand and trying to get more chips out of them. Although it is a useful concept, it is often misused and abused. Slowplaying is useful if you have a hand that is so strong that you need other players to catch up just so they can call with an improved, but losing hand. It is not a useful strategy if those players that catch up have a decent chance of making stronger hand than your hand. Slowplaying is also not a useful strategy if your opponents were willing to call your bets or raises anyway. Here are some situations to think about.
1. You have Q♦J♦ and 5 players see the Flop for one raise. Your hand: Q♦J♦
Flop: Q♠J♠J♣
You have a full house. This is a great Flop for your hand. There are all sorts of possible hands that other players may be drawing to with a Flop like this. They could have two spades for a flush draw, they could have a straight draw with AK, AT, KT, K9, T9, T8, they could even have trips with the fourth J. This is a time to ram and jam and try to get more money into the pot as there are many ways that other players will call anyway. If you wait until the Turn to make the raise, other players will naturally be afraid that you have a monster, but being aggressive on the Flop could be read by other players as a strong drawing hand or a Q with an A or K kicker. When one of the draws gets their card on the Turn or River, they may think they have drawn out and even raise you at that point.
2. You have Q♦J♦ and raise in late position. Only the big blind calls. Your hand: Q♦J♦
Flop: Q♠J♠J♣
You have flopped a monster, a full house. Now you may think about slowplaying and hope he catches up. If the player is aware though, you may have to put in a bet on the Flop and hope that he calls. Most players will expect you to bet on the Flop with anything, so if you do not bet, they may get a strange feeling wondering why you did not bet, and think you are slowplaying a monster hand. Against players who are less aware, a check may get some bets from them on the Turn or River if they pair up one of their hole cards.
3. You have A♣A♥. Flop: A♠2♣3♦
If you had raised before the Flop, it is usually difficult not to bet on the Flop. It is usually best to bet with the hopes that another player has the case A or is drawing to a straight with a 4 or 5. In order to make a successful slowplay here, you would need a player to catch a pair with a hand like KJ on the Turn. But players who are aware will usually be very careful with an A on the board.
4. You have 55 in a three way pot. Your hand: 55
Flop #1: A-5-5
This is a monster hand that has almost no chance of losing. Many players will play with an A in their hand, so even if there are only two other players in the pot, they may be willing to call or even raise. Slowplaying here will probably just reduce the amount of your win. If you bet and everyone folds, it is likely that they had no piece of the Flop and would not have put in much after that anyway. If the Flop had a J instead of an A, then the situation is different.
Your hand: 55
Flop #2: J-5-5
This is a situation where a slowplay may be useful. A player with A7 may not call a bet when there is a J on the board since he may figure you for a J and think he only has 3 outs. But if he senses weakness when you check to him, it may get him to play on. All players are more likely to play a hand containing an A than a hand containing a J. So it is less likely any given player has a pair of J’s when the Flop is J-5-5 than has a pair of A’s when the Flop is A-5-5.
5. You are in the big blind with J♠T♠ and call a late position player’s open-raise. Your hand: J♠T♠
Flop: 9♣8♦7♠
You have the nut straight. In this case you need to determine the looseness of the pre-Flop raiser. If you think he is willing to call all the way to the River with a hand like AK, you may want to check-raise on the Flop and take the lead. If he is willing to play hard with a hand like AT, then you do not mind betting and raising at every opportunity. If there is a greater probability that he will give you more credit and fold to your aggressive play on the Flop and Turn, then it may be best to just check and call his bets, until an A or K show up, then a check-raise may get more money into the pot if he indeed has a pair. The correct usage of slowplaying will depend on how you think your opponent will play.
6. You have AK in early position and raise pre-Flop. A couple of decent players call behind you.
Flop: A-8-4
You bet out and get called by one player. Turn: 4
Now you may want to put the slowplay into gear. Since your opponent did not re-raise before the Flop, it is likely that he did not have a big pocket pair and instead has a hand like AQ, AJ, AT. If you check, it should give him the idea that you have a big pocket pair and are afraid of the A. You can now check with the intention of check-raising on the Turn, or wait until the River to pull off your check-raise. This slowplay will work best against decent players who respect your play yet
are willing to get all the edge they can get. You do not want to try this slowplay against opponents who are loose enough that they could have called your pre-Flop raise with a hand like 98, because then they will likely not bet after you have checked. You also would not want to try this slowplay against opponents who are very timid and may be afraid to bet a weaker pair of A’s even after you check to him.
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