Beginner Tips: Slow Playing

Beginner Tips / Dave Allan / 04 March 2010 / Leave a Comment

Photo courtesy of http://www.innercitysnail.blogspot.com

People often think of being sneaky and trapping as the best way to make money in a game like poker, but on the whole this is actually wrong.

One of the biggest mistakes you see beginning players make is to habitually slow play big hands. The logic behind this is pretty simple, with players immediately thinking that a trap will be the best way to win a big pot, and they set about their task of deceit and trickery by checking and calling and acting weak. The problem with this is that it is usually the wrong strategy when playing monster hands.

Although trapping is an important part of any poker players game (particularly against hyper loose or tilting players who are firing at every street), for the most part when you hit big hands you should be looking to bet out and build a pot. Big hands are the things you want in big pots, and building a large pot is achieved through betting and raising. This also has the added advantage of protecting your hand and not letting other players with long shot draws stick around to hit their hand on the cheap.

Although your first instinct when you start playing poker is often to try and act weak when strong, not only does the mechanics of the game not support this idea (as you will not be building the pot and taking the lead in the hand), nearly all vaguely competent players are well aware of the overuse of trapping and will not fall for it. This combined effect means that you need a pretty large reason to not bet out with a big hand - such as a very specific player read or hand that cripples the board, such as four of a kind in hold'em.

People often think of being sneaky and trapping as the best way to make money in a game like poker, but on the whole this is actually wrong. You are much better off leading with your strong hands and also a few weak ones, meaning the trap really comes from keeping your opponents guessing about the actual strength of your hand, not if you are weak or strong in terms of your checks and calls.

Read More Beginners Tips
The Dangers of Slow Playing - Vicky Coren
Slowplaying - Marcus Bateman
When Not To Slow-Play - Matthew Pitt
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