A Slow Play Destined to Fail

Certain games are better suited than others for a well-timed slow play. Hold'em, especially no-limit, is usually the best game in which to pull one off. Other forms of poker, especially split-pot games like seven-card stud eight-or-better or Omaha eight-or-better (Omaha/8), call for more straightforward play. By their very nature, these games attract looser players, who will often call bets without getting anything close to the correct pot odds. But, if you go for a slow play and the action gets checked around, you just made a major faux pas. You let all the loose players draw to their hands for free, in effect giving them infinite pot odds. You're not giving them the chance to make the mistake of calling, and that, in turn, becomes your mistake.

I was in a $6-$12 Omaha/8 game recently. It was very loose, somewhat passive, and definitely profitable. In one particular hand I was on the button with unplayable cards, but seven players, including the two blinds, saw the flop for the minimum.

The flop came 9 6 5. The first two players checked, and the under-the-gun (UTG) player bet. Everyone called! Right away you know that half of those players don't belong in the pot, but that is the beauty of loose Omaha/8 games. Certainly, there are all types of possibilities out there, including a possible straight, a flush draw, a low draw, and who knows what else. Anyone with a draw to the nuts in either direction can be justified in calling a flop bet. But, with a bet and six callers, several players must have been drawing to less than the nuts.

The turn card was the 6. This time, the action got checked around. The river card was the 2. Now, the small blind (SB) bet out, the UTG player and one other player called, and the other four all folded. The SB then turned over the 6 6 5 2 for quads! The UTG player showed us A-2-4-X for an A-4 low, and the third player flashed the 8-7 that was in his hand before pitching it in the muck. The SB turned to me and said, "Man, I was hoping someone would bet the turn!" I just nodded sympathetically, but inside I was counting all the bets he missed.

No, the worst slow plays are the ones that cost you the pot because you gave out a free card. The times that you check top set, the turn card lets someone pick up a flush draw, and he hits that flush on the river are usually worse (depending on the size of the pot). In this case, the SB had a virtual lock on the high side of the pot, barring a miracle straight flush or quad nines, so giving a free card wasn't going to put that in danger. If he had bet the turn, the UTG player certainly would have called, and still would have ended up with half the pot. So, in the grand scheme of things, the pot went where it would have gone anyway, and his failure to bet the turn was not that big a mistake. However, there is no question that the pot was much smaller than it could have been.

I think so. I probably would call half a bet from the small blind in order to see the flop, and then I strongly agree that a check-call is the correct play on the flop. The only other play that I could accept would be checking and folding, and that would become the preferred play if the action was bet and raised in front of him. If you're in the habit of leading out (or, even worse, check-raising!) with middle set in a loose Omaha/8 game when there is a possible straight, two suited cards, and two low cards all on the same flop, I wish you luck; you will need it.

Now to the turn card. His mistake was checking instinctively. Many players do that when they hit a big hand. Their greatest fear is that they will tip off the strength of their hand and send everyone running. He should have taken a moment to consider the whole picture. In other words, if he checks, who can he expect to bet his hand for him? The only two hands that would have any business betting the turn would be nines full or fives full, but even in a loose game, could a player be expected to hold two nines or two fives in his hand? Probably not. Add the fact that the SB has one of the fives in his hand, making the possibility of fives full that much lower, and the chances that someone else will bet the turn for him are pretty slim. Keep in mind that someone out there had the 8-7 for the straight, and he too decided (correctly) not to bet once the board paired.

If the SB had bet the turn, very few players should call. They should assume that he has at least a full house (especially since he is betting into such a large field), and should fold straights, straight draws, flush draws, overpairs – basically anything other than a full house, an A-2, and maybe an A-3. They should fold all those hands, but that doesn't mean they will. In such a loose game, players will call with all sorts of subpar hands, and that's where the majority of your profit comes from. It usually does not come from making tricky plays, attempting check-raises, or slow-playing big hands.

Just because players are loose doesn't mean they're blindly aggressive. When they're in there with a hand that they know is inferior, they would love to get a free card. If you're holding the nuts, do yourself a favor, and don't oblige them.

Matt can be found playing online at www.royalvegaspoker.com, where he is a member of its team of experts. You can also find other articles of his in the Online Poker News, which is at www.cardplayer.com.