The most common mistake players make when slow-playing is focusing on their hand's
absolute strength rather than its
comparative strength. For example, many players instinctively slow-play when they make a flush, figuring that it's a big hand, but any opponent with a set will welcome the free chance to fill up. Similarly, even though a straight is normally a strong hand, you wouldn't want to slow-play one if your opponent has a flush draw.
On the other hand, if you put your lone opponent on one pair with one card to come, slow-playing your unbeatable straight could be correct. All that matters is which action you think will maximize your profit. If your opponent is aggressive, and checking will fool him into thinking that his one pair is the best hand, a slow-play is preferred. But if he is a passive calling station, and would call you down with one pair, you have no reason to get fancy.
Recently in a $15-$30 game, within a span of 15 minutes, I watched two players (I'll call them Maurice and Fred) attempt slow-plays at one another - which is something you won't often see at a full table. I think they were excellent demonstrations of these concepts, and they show just how different two slow-plays can be. Let's take a look at them.
Maurice's Play
Six limpers saw a flop of A-J-10 rainbow. After the blinds checked, Maurice came out betting from under the gun (UTG). Three players called behind him, while the blinds folded. The turn paired the ace. Maurice checked and the action got checked around.
The river was a 6, for a final board of A-J-10-A-6. Maurice bet, the next two players folded, and that left only Fred, on the button, who decided to pay him off. Maurice proudly showed A-9 to take the pot. I was seated next to Fred, and he flashed his K-J for me to see before tossing it in the muck.
Maurice looked extremely smug as he dragged the pot, probably because he thought himself clever for checking the turn. But it was very much the wrong play, for several reasons:
1. He was giving a free card to all sorts of straight draws. Anyone with Q-9 or 9-8 had open-end draws. Anybody with a lone king or queen had a gutshot. His opponents could justify calling a bet on the flop with a gutshot, but calling a turn bet would have been a significant mistake, since the pot odds simply weren't there. And if anyone made that call, Maurice was the one who stood to benefit. But by checking the turn, Maurice was not allowing his opponents to make that mistake. Instead, he gave them a gift - a free chance to hit their straight and take down a decent-sized pot.
2. One of the reasons you slow-play is to get action later. But players with naked straight draws offered no potential action unless they could beat him. They were either going to miss and fold, or hit their straight and win. Either way, Maurice did not stand to benefit from his slow-play.
3. Simultaneously, he was increasing his potential loss. Not only would he lose the pot if someone hit a straight, but with trip aces, Maurice was more likely to pay them off, as well. Let's say the river had been a king instead of a 6, putting an A-J-10-A-K board out there. Maurice probably would have checked, and anyone with a straight probably would have bet behind him. If Maurice had only one pair of aces, I think he would have laid them down. But with trip aces - a hand that he had considered strong enough to slow-play - there's a very good chance that he would have called and lost even more money. It all comes back to his mistake of checking the turn.
Maurice was lucky that he did not get burned on that particular hand, but it didn't take long for Fred to get his revenge.
Fred's Play
Exactly one round later, several people limped in, including Maurice from UTG and Fred from the button. The flop came A-8-2 rainbow, and everyone checked. The turn was a king. Maurice came out betting and everyone folded to Fred, who was the lone caller.
The river was a 4, for a final board of A-8-2-K-4. Maurice bet again, but this time Fred raised him. Maurice quickly called, and Fred turned over the A
3
, a much weaker hand than most people were expecting. Maurice threw over his K
Q
and complained, "You raised me with that?" Meanwhile, Fred dragged the pot, having no need to appear smug.
I'm not suggesting that this was a perfect slow-play situation, because it wasn't. Giving a free card with only one pair is always a risky proposition. However, Fred had a lot of things working in his favor:
1. When your one pair is aces, you don't have to worry that an overcard will come, giving someone a higher pair. That makes a slow-play with aces much more effective than one with kings, which is that much better than one with queens, and so on.
2. When you check from last position, it appears much weaker than checking from any other spot. That causes many players to fire with middle pair on the turn, figuring that their hand is probably good. After all, anyone with top pair would have bet on the flop, especially from the button, right?
3. Most likely, that bet will come from early position, since someone in the blinds could easily have checked middle pair, for fear of all the players left to act behind him. That means the rest of the field will have to face that bet before it is your turn to act. If someone unexpectedly raises, you can probably assume your pair is no good, and throw it away at a minimal loss. But the more likely scenario is that no one will seem too happy with his hand, and will either fold or call. That gives you the green light to raise and catch everyone by surprise, and build yourself a decent pot.
4. A lot of players won't even need something as strong as middle pair to bet into you on the turn. Depending on the texture of the board, when everyone checks on the flop, many players will come out betting with bottom pair or even no pair! They figure that since no one took the initiative on the flop, maybe they can steal the pot on the turn. If you can recognize that situation and remain patient like Fred, waiting until the river to raise will suck your opponent in even further and give you your maximum profit.
The Bottom Line
Slow-playing is not something you should constantly be looking to do. It is simply a deviation from your normal strategy, something you mix in once in a while. Just make sure that when you decide to do it, you choose your spots well. Pick situations in which you are not likely to get outdrawn, and in which slow-playing will probably earn you more than just playing your hand straightforwardly. Fred managed to do that nicely. Hopefully, you will, too.
Matt Lessinger is the author of The Book of Bluffs: How to Bluff and Win at Poker, available everywhere. You can find other articles of Matt's at www.CardPlayer.com.
