Slowplaying your Big Hands
Slowplaying your Big Hands
Slowplaying your Big Hands
Slowplaying is defined as playing a big hand as if it were a weak hand. Rather than betting or raising one checks and calls with the intent to deceive an opponent. Slowplaying has two main effects:
Opponents will use the cheap cards you give them to try to improve their hands. They may improve but still remain second best. In this case, your slowplay is designed to induce your opponent to giving you action on later betting rounds with a hand they might have folded to an aggressive bet or raise.
Savvy opponents may suspect a bluff and call you down with weaker hands than they may normally have played.
Some Cautions to Think About When Slowplaying
Never risk a large pot by slowplaying, especially against weaker players who are unable or unwilling to let go of hands that they should never be playing. Remember, slowplaying does not protect your hand by design, a consequence of which is that you leave yourself open to being outdrawn by a player who would call anyway. If you are in a pot against a calling station then slowplaying is not an option because it just causes you to miss bets that would otherwise be profitable.
I slowplayed JJ with a flop of TT8 rainbow. My opponent had AKs. I didn't know much about my opponent as he was new to the table and he was only on his second hand. He had position on me. I opened the betting with a raise to 3x the BB. He raised my bet by making it 4 BBs to go. I was a bit suspicious of this weak raise but I put him on a hand like AK, AQ, AJ, KQ, KJ or QJ. I checked the turn with Jacks up and he min-bet. I called. A 4d pealed off on the turn. I decided to give up on my slowplay and bet out. I bet the size of the pot, thereby pricing my opponent out of the hand. At this point I was sure he had nothing but a draw to an ace, king or queen, maybe 6 outs. With one card to come he was a 7:1 underdog to win this hand and the pot was offering even money. A good player would muck their hand at this point if they were only on a draw. A good player may even lay down KK or QQ in this spot suspecting that their opponent had a made set or AA. But not this guy, he called. The river was an Ah. I was certain I was toast at that point but just in case my read was wrong I put out a small value bet of about a quarter of the pot. He called and I lost. In retrospect, against this opponent slowplaying was probably a mistake only because I didn't know very much about him, however, I would probably play this hand against the same opponent the same way and I would win the hand 7 out of 8 times.
Slowplaying can be a tell. Many players slowplay every time they flop a big hand like 2 pair, a set, a full house, quads or even a big draw. This is incorrect play. In a large pot all but the nuts are vulnerable to being outdrawn on the turn or river. By giving away cheap cards, especially in a multi-way pot, they are actually inviting defeat. If you notice that a player tends to slowplay big hands and you are in position simply check behind and if you are out of position simply check in front of your opponent and see if you make your hand. Then, when you make your hand pounce. As a tactic, slowplaying works well if it is not overused. I tend to slowplay big hands no more than 20% of the time in a tight game and no more than 10% of the time at a loose table using my watch as a random number generator to make the random decision to slowplay or not.
Another consideration to think about when deciding whether to slowplay or not is that you are likely, especially on earlier streets, to get more action by betting than by checking. Don't be one of those crybabies who rant when they are outdrawn on the river after slowplaying a hand. Taking down any pot, even the small ones where everyone folds to your raise on the flop, is a good thing because every pot won is one not lost.
Against Loose Opponents Play Strong
If you are playing in a small stakes game you are likely to be up against unsophisticated players who go too far with weak hands and weak draws. It is unlikely that they are playing your cards at all. The only cards they are concerned with are the two hole cards they have in their hand without considering what their opponents may hold. Against loose, small stakes players I almost never slowplay with my solid to monster hands because I want them to pay for their mistakes and they are likely to call my bets no matter how weak their hand or draw might be. When I do get outdrawn I simply move on to the next hand because I rely on the probabilities and not the specific instances of play. I know why they played the 72 with a flop of 2K9...They are hoping for the 2 out miracle card to come on the river when they are a 22:1 dog. Sure it makes no sense to chase but they do because they can't help themselves.
In spite of this warning, slowplaying against a loose player is sometimes profitable if you have a monster and the pot is relatively small. If a player in front of you bets out on the flop it may be to your advantage to call making your call look reluctant at best. This just may induce your looser opponent to bet again on the turn. You can then decide whether to take the pot down now with a substantial raise or call and wait for the river to bet or raise. My choice is to move on the turn whenever possible because I don't want to give my opponent a free card. This is especially effective when the turn card is an apparent brick and my bet confuses my loose opponent.
A Slowplay Checklist
Slowplaying big hands is an effective tool of deception when used against tight, savvy players. When you do not need to give your opponent a reason to call it is not a tool that works very well as loose opponents will typically build big pots for your really huge hands.
I rarely slowplay against loose, aggressive opponents. It isn't necessary. But, no matter what type of game I am in, before I slowplay I ask myself three basic questions.
If I slowplay will my opponent improve to only a second-best hand or am I allowing an otherwise unprofitable draw to call in order to spike the winner on the river?
Am I willing to sacrifice this pot to the miracle draw that will beat me for an extra few bets?
Is my opponent likely to call or bet whether I slowplay or play this hand fast?
If the answer each of these questions is yes then I will consider slowplaying, depending on what my second-hand tells me to do.
Realtek Alc260 Driver - Don't Take Risks ! Hydration Essentials When Hiking Or Biking Bearings- How It Works How To Build Perfect Shade Sails Palm Pixi Plus - Enjoy Everything At One Platform Versatile Webcam Lg Gt540 Swift - The Finest How To Slim Down Fast Operating your own greeting card shop adhd- Is It Genetic Suning Made "air Initiative" Promoting Rational Consumption - Suning, Gome, Yongle - Hc More Hours of HD TV Is YourNetBiz The Real Deal or Not?