Cindy’s Other Blog

When 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.

I’m not saying that you should never slow play. I do think that you need the right situation to do it. Most players slow play at the wrong times. Let’s look at why you should be careful.

Let’s look at a classic slow play as it goes terribly wrong. Your hand is AA. With the blinds at 10/20 you bet 40 from under the gun. There are two callers. The flop comes out A 6 10 rainbow.

You now bet the minimum, hoping to keep someone interested. You get one call. The turn is a 9. You bet the minimum, again hoping he thinks you’re weak.

Now, you get what you think you’re looking for. He throws in a big fat raise. You call, and the river brings an innocent 2. Now, your thinking, how much can I bet and get a call. You bet that amount and hope he calls. To your surprise he goes all in.

You’re surprised, but thinking you’ve got this in the bag you call. You are shocked when he shows 7 8, making a straight. Did you just do that?

When you bet small pre flop, you let people in. When you bet small on the flop, you kept them around. When he pushes all in, you have to call, and you’re done.

Most players then think about how unlucky they were in this hand. Are they right? Well, a little, but not completely. Let’s take a closer look.

All the bets you made were designed to keep players in the hand. By doing so you helped someone hit a long shot. When you call at the end you plan on seeing two pair, or a smaller set. But, when you think about it, these hands would be calling big bets too. You didn’t need to slow play against these hand that you’d beat.

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.