Thoughts On Slow Playing
June 23, 2008 – 11:15 pmWhen you “slow play” a hand, you don’t bet, or bet like you have a weak hand. This is done in order to hide a strong hand. If you get carried away, you can make a mess of a good hand.
A slow play can work well at times. There are times when it’s the right move. But, many times, players use this tactic when it’s just not worth it. Let’s look at a hand that shows this.
Here is a classic bad slow play. You have AA. It’s early in the tournament and everyone has plenty of chips. You make a small raise looking for action. You get a couple of callers, and the on flop out comes A 6 10 rainbow.
You continue with a small bet to disguise your big hand. One opponent calls you. The turn card is a 9. You make another small raise hoping to keep him around.
Then your opponents make a big raise. Convinced he has no idea what you have you happily call. The river is a harmless 2, so you make a bet hoping for a call. Your opponent immediately pushes all in.
Well, you can’t fold, can you? You call, and when he flips over 78 of diamonds, your jaw drops. You’re out of the tournament. Out because you slow played yourself out.
The small bets, with your big hand, seemed to have backfired on you. You got someone to stay in the hand long enough to get yourself beat. When you get to the end you can’t fold, you’ve really out smarted yourself.
Were you just unlucky? Most players just think they got a raw deal. Are they right? Let’s consider this.
With deep stacks, a minimum raise will be called by a lot of hands. By minimum raising on the flop, you will get called by long shot hands. When you call at the end you are expecting to see a smaller set, or two pair. If he had these hands you didn’t need to slow play.
By not betting much, you wouldn’t have made that many chips against some hands that would have been calling you. On the other hand, you get creamed when you make it cheap for someone to hit a long shot.
This is a good example of the risk of slow playing. There is a time and place for this tactic. Normally, just bet your good hands, and take what you can get.
Tags: Games
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