Slow Playing
Whenever you are dealt a good hand, the question
you always ask yourself is, should I slow play this or not. Obviously the
factors that you are weighing over in your head are the fact that by slow
playing you have a chance to win lots more money, but you also have a much
larger chance of getting sucked out on.
So lets go over when you should slow play and
when you shouldn’t
Times you shouldn’t slow play
- When your hand isn’t that good. A bad hand to slow play would be top pair or
even an over pair. These hands are good, but they aren’t that good. They are
very vulnerable to lots of cards that could come on later streets. Generally
betting to thin the crowd is advisable.
- When there are lots of draws. You never want
to give free cards to someone on a draw. Make them pay to chase their flush or
their straight. If they do call, they might win, making it more expensive for
you, but any time they call when you have a higher percentage of winning it is +EV
for you. That is often how much money is made and as long as you aren’t playing
above your bankroll you shouldn’t mind people calling down with crap hands. In
fact that is what you should look for in table selection.
Times that you should slow play
- When you have a great hand that is unlikely to be beat. Lets say you flopped a
full house when there is a flush draw out there, or flopped a nut flush. These
times you should slow play. Give people a chance to hit their losing hand and
lose their whole stack to you. You hit the nut flush? Someone probably has a
lone K or Q of the suit. If they hit they will pay you off.
Other things to consider are the size of a pot. It is generally more advisable
to slow play when there is a small pot, because the implied odds are large in
comparison to the pot size. If there is a large pot you want to win the pot
right then. Forget about milking it to the last dime.
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