A lot of players like to slow play a lot of their hands. It gives you a disguised hand, and often you can get extra chips from aggressive players. Let's see when it is a good idea, and a bad, to slow play in a poker tournament.
When you under bet to disguise the true value of your hand, you are slow playing. An example of this would be flopping the nut straight, and checking instead of betting.
Often, inexperienced players overdo the slow play. Slow playing moderately strong hands, especially with deep stacks, can prove costly. Letting people hit their draws for cheap, when you have top two pair, for example, is a recipe for disaster.
There are times in a tournament when slow playing a hand is the right play. When the blinds go up, people will be pushing all-in pre flop almost any time they can. Limping into the pot with AA or KK from early positions will get raised more often than not. Then you can push all-in pre flop and win more chips right there, or have a nice double-up opportunity.
This works because everyone is looking for opportunities to get chips. The blinds have most of the players under pressure to take action. You can take advantage of this aggression by limping in, and hoping someone goes after the pot. If they do you have a nice chance to double your stack.
Here's an example of a bad slow play. We are at the beginning of the tournament. Blinds are at 10-20, and we all have 3,000 chips. A player limps AA from the middle. Only the two blinds call.
Now the flop comes Ac-7s-9d. The blinds check, and "Mr. Slow Play" decides to check also. The turn brings a harmless looking Jh. The big blind now makes a small raise. Mr. Slow Play thinks he's got his man now and makes a minimum re-raise, hoping to build the pot. When the big blind goes all-in, Mr. Slow Play thinks he has a winner. When the big blind shows 8d-10d for a straight, poor Mr. Slow Play needs to hit a card on the river, or he's out of the tournament.
There are two reasons why you should avoid slow playing a hand. The first reason is the more obvious example we just looked at, where you let someone make their hand and beat you. The second reason is that you might not make as many chips as you should on a hand. Let's look at an example of that.
Let's say you have called a raise and are holding 3c-3s. The flop is As-Jd-3h. Your opponent had raised pre flop, and when he continues by making a bet of about the pot, you think he probably has an A. You just call hoping he will keep betting.
The turn is the Qd. He checks, you make a small bet, and he calls. The river is the 10d and now he makes a small raise. You now face the problem of whether he has A-K, possibly even Ad-Kd, and is setting you up. You can only call with this board. When he shows Ac-Js you realize the mess you've made by slow playing.
If you had played more aggressively, and raised his post flop bet, you probably take all his chips. This shows why slow playing can be a mistake. If your opponent has a weak hand it doesn't help to slow play, but slow playing definitely kept you form making a lot more chips.
Slow playing can work like a charm in the right situation. But, often it is a killer, and can get you knocked out of tournaments. Knowing when it's the right time, and situation, to slow play is the key.
When you under bet to disguise the true value of your hand, you are slow playing. An example of this would be flopping the nut straight, and checking instead of betting.
Often, inexperienced players overdo the slow play. Slow playing moderately strong hands, especially with deep stacks, can prove costly. Letting people hit their draws for cheap, when you have top two pair, for example, is a recipe for disaster.
There are times in a tournament when slow playing a hand is the right play. When the blinds go up, people will be pushing all-in pre flop almost any time they can. Limping into the pot with AA or KK from early positions will get raised more often than not. Then you can push all-in pre flop and win more chips right there, or have a nice double-up opportunity.
This works because everyone is looking for opportunities to get chips. The blinds have most of the players under pressure to take action. You can take advantage of this aggression by limping in, and hoping someone goes after the pot. If they do you have a nice chance to double your stack.
Here's an example of a bad slow play. We are at the beginning of the tournament. Blinds are at 10-20, and we all have 3,000 chips. A player limps AA from the middle. Only the two blinds call.
Now the flop comes Ac-7s-9d. The blinds check, and "Mr. Slow Play" decides to check also. The turn brings a harmless looking Jh. The big blind now makes a small raise. Mr. Slow Play thinks he's got his man now and makes a minimum re-raise, hoping to build the pot. When the big blind goes all-in, Mr. Slow Play thinks he has a winner. When the big blind shows 8d-10d for a straight, poor Mr. Slow Play needs to hit a card on the river, or he's out of the tournament.
There are two reasons why you should avoid slow playing a hand. The first reason is the more obvious example we just looked at, where you let someone make their hand and beat you. The second reason is that you might not make as many chips as you should on a hand. Let's look at an example of that.
Let's say you have called a raise and are holding 3c-3s. The flop is As-Jd-3h. Your opponent had raised pre flop, and when he continues by making a bet of about the pot, you think he probably has an A. You just call hoping he will keep betting.
The turn is the Qd. He checks, you make a small bet, and he calls. The river is the 10d and now he makes a small raise. You now face the problem of whether he has A-K, possibly even Ad-Kd, and is setting you up. You can only call with this board. When he shows Ac-Js you realize the mess you've made by slow playing.
If you had played more aggressively, and raised his post flop bet, you probably take all his chips. This shows why slow playing can be a mistake. If your opponent has a weak hand it doesn't help to slow play, but slow playing definitely kept you form making a lot more chips.
Slow playing can work like a charm in the right situation. But, often it is a killer, and can get you knocked out of tournaments. Knowing when it's the right time, and situation, to slow play is the key.
About the Author:
Which poker player do you prefer? Is it the godfather of poker doyle brunson? Is the abrasive "poker brat" phil helmuth your man? Or, is it one of the silent assassins, like phil ivey? Poker Strategy
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