Slow playing works best when you are facing opponents who play a high percentage of hands (are 'loose') and who show a tendency to bet and raise a lot postflop (are 'aggressive'). What factors might encourage you to play non-straighforwardly with it and slow play?ġ. You almost certainly have the strongest hand. Let's imagine a situation when you've flopped very strong and slow playing might be an option - say, you have 8 ♠ 8 ♥ and an eight appears on the flop to give you a set.

(There's no slow playing on the river - the action ends after that betting round!) Slow Playing: Three Do's We're focusing mainly on postflop poker here, though - that is, the flop and the turn, streets on which if you do hold a strong hand, you have an option to play your hand fast or slow. For example, someone with pocket aces in the big blind might watch a very loose player raise from late position, then decide only to call rather than reraise, looking instead to start building a big pot after the flop arrives. The discussion mainly focuses on slow playing after the flop, although a player could slow play before the flop, too. Slow playing is essentially a deceptive play, and if executed smartly can result in your winning a bigger pot than you might have had you played your strong hand 'fast' with bets and raises.īelow are two short lists of 'do's' and 'don'ts' when it comes to slow playing. You have a strong hand, but you choose not to represent strength and just check or call rather than bet or raise. If you think about it, slow playing is a little like other non-straightforward plays like check-raising or bluffing. A player who flops the nuts watches his opponent lead with a bet, and instead of raising he just calls or 'sandbags' in order to disguise the strength of his hand. If you've heard the term 'sandbagging,' the idea is similar. Rather, slow playing usually refers to a player playing a strong hand weakly in order to encourage opponents to stay in the hand and hopefully contribute more chips to a pot the player expects to win. In no-limit hold'em, the term 'slow playing' doesn't typically refer to players thinking about their decisions for a long time and playing their hands too slowly - although that is a commonly discussed topic these days, especially in tournaments.

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