Poker Betting Strategy: Slow Playing Basics

Betting Strategy, Beginner Strategies
June 12 2008

If there’s a tactic that beginner poker players fall in love with way too much, it’s got to be slow playing. Everyone loves to hit a big hand and lure their opponent into a trap before taking a ton of their chips. The only problem is by utilizing the slow play too often and at the wrong time, they’re giving up more chips than they’re winning in the long run.

Where many players go wrong is thinking they can slow-play any good hand they make on the flop. That is not true at all. You should only always slow-play a hand that is practically unbeatable. This would be hands like four of a kind, or a nut flush or a high straight.

Let’s go over three examples of when to slow-play and when not to:

The first example is a quick one. You’ve got pocket 10s:

and the flop gives you four of a kind:

  

This is a perfect time to slow-play because unless someone has pocket aces and catches another ace, or has an ace and gets runner-runner on the turn and river, you’re assured a win.

In the next example you’ve got the same hand, pocket 10s.

This time the flop shows this:

  

You’ve got three kings, but on that flop, slow-playing could be a killer. The reason is obviously because of the flush draw and straight draw on the board. By giving away free cards on that flop, you’re just asking for trouble.

Finally, let’s say you’ve got 7-8 suited clubs.

The flop shows the following:

  

You’ve flopped a flush. Good time to slow-play, right? Nope! You’ve got the flush, but by no means is it a high flush. If you give away a free card and another club hits on the board, you’ve given a free win to anyone holding a club that’s higher than an 8. Bet it right away, or you could easily suffer a beat down the line.

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