03-16-05, LearnTexasHoldem:
Slow Playing Big Hands In No Limit Holdem
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Both the blinds checked. Given that the blinds probably didn't have anything, and not wanting to scare them off, I checked too. I hoped at least one of them was holding a heart and another heart would come on the turn.
Turn came 8h 5h 5c 7h. Just what I wanted.
Small blind checks, big blind bets the pot. I just called, wanting to let everybody see the river, to make sure somebody made their flush. The small blind called too.
River 8h 5h 5c 7h 9h. Excellent, somebody is sure to have a flush now (maybe even both of them). I'm just hoping somebody has a big heart and is prepared to bet big.
Small blind bets 30 into the 360 pot. I figure he has a low heart, or even a straight, and wants to see what people come back at him with.
Big blind folds and I decide to bet the pot. Small blind thinks for a long time. I'm now thinking he has a medium heart.
He raises all in!!!
I let him stew for a while, before eventually calling his bet while thinking about the huge chip lead I'm about to be enjoying and all the VNHs I知 about to be showered with.
I'm astonished to see the pot slide over the table in his direction, and think there's been a mistake!
I then look at his turned over cards - he has Qd 6h. He beat my quads with a straight flush.
I was so excited about winning the pot GUARANTEED that I failed to even see the straight flush draw on the board.
Just a bad beat, or could I have played it better?
Answer: Did you do anything wrong here? No. I'll write a few things about this specific hand first and then generalize it so we can glean some more lessons. One point that helps me out when I look back and analyze whether or not I played a hand well -- regardless of whether I won it or lost it -- is how would I have played the hand had I known exactly what the other person had. In your situation, would you have preferred him to fold on the flop? No. Would you have preferred him to fold on the turn? No, again.
Let me give another example, say you have KK heads up. You bet the flop, he calls. You bet the turn, he calls. Now an Ace hits on the river and you check and call and he caught you. Knowing that he had what he did, would you have played any differently? Him getting lucky shouldn't have the effect that it makes you more passive, instead it should validate your line of reasoning. Your ideal situation was him to catch something worth going all-in with, but not something that he could actually catch you with. When you have quads, the last thing you are considering is losing and even if you had known he did have a draw to two outs on the turn, you would be happy to put your house, car, and all your families money on that bet.
When you slow play, you are tempting fate a bit but it is for good reason. With a hand like quads, you probably aren't going to get much action so if there was a time to slow play, that was it. Most hands aren't strong enough to warrant slow playing at full tables. If you are heads up though or in a tournament against few opponents, you might assume more risk just for the chance of getting a bigger pot. It just depends on the situation. The greater chance of your hand getting run down, the less you slow play.
For example, you would obviously have an easier time slow playing a set of Aces on the flop as opposed to when you have JJ and the flop is 9TJ. Granted, those two hands are extremes but most hands in holdem aren't so strong where you want to give up lots of free cards -- especially in no limit holdem.
This brings me to my next point: I think many new players over value slow playing. There is a time and place for everything, but the vast majority of the time you would be better off just betting your hand. In no limit holdem, you need to have a number of different plays in your arsenal, of which you can apply to different players at different times to extract the maximum amount of money. Many times though, slow playing isn't your best option.
What can be most confusing and entice a trap more than anything else against a good player is to play a hand straight forwardly -- nothing tricky. You raise preflop, catch your flop, and bet the flop down to the river. Another trap that works better than slow playing is to overbet. You intentionally show too much strength and that can be tragically misread.
Another type of trapping might be to intentionally underbet a pot to feign weakness; this works particularly well against new players if you want to get them to react. If you don't slowplay then, won't everyone just fold if you bet? Do you become easily read? No. First off, some flops are so scary that no one will call anyway so you aren't losing much by just betting and taking it down. That is much better than letting someone catch up and trapping you. Secondly, if your table image is such that whenever you raise everyone folds, exploit that until you have to back off again.
Think about it, if I know everyone will fold whenever I raise, what should I do more of (if they let me)? Raise! Then when they assume I don't have much anymore, then I tone back my play and reap the benefits of being seen as a loose player who plays too many hands. A little goes a long way there, don't go overboard. It only takes bad players one hand before they have a rigid view of your play. Beat them once in a weird way and they will remember it the rest of the night, forgetting all the other good hands you were in with. So if slow playing isn't the Holy Grail of poker moves, what is a good situation for slow playing?
Number one, the stronger your hand is, the more you can slow play. The quads above is the quintessential hand. With hands that strong, it is ok to slow play if you think that is the option you'll make the most with. (Remember what I mentioned above: slow playing isn't always the best way to make the most chips, only sometimes.) The hand strength is also inversely related to the amount of players in.
The more people in, the worse you are. Granted, the more people in the more you stand to make with a slow play, but their numbers drawing against you evens out the extra bets you may make. Next, the longer you wait, the worse it is. It is best to pull the trigger on the turn card and either get the guy to fold or commit fully. You don't want to give away two cards unless there is no way he can catch up. For no limit holdem, I'll slow play much more often if I have a good read on where the opponent is at.
If you have a hand like 5 - 6 and the flop is A - 6 - 5, and you have no idea what the other players in might have, I would be less likely to slow play past the turn card. I would check and call the flop bet and then check raise the turn for an amount enough that I don't want to get called. On the other hand if I had a set, like 66 with the A - 6 - 5, I might check raise for double what the person bet since I want him to actually call. See how much you raise for is entirely based on what reaction you want from the other guy.
Lastly, when you slow play a big pot in no limit, in addition to knowing what your opponent may have, you want to know what his reaction to your play will probably be. If I know someone has a big pair and I flop a set, I'm going to play the hand in such a way to commit him to the pot. For some players, I might be better off just betting the flop and then having him raise all-in. Other players might be better trapped by checking the flop, calling, and check raising the turn. Yet another group might get trapped if I bet the flop, check and call the turn and then check raise the river. It all depends on what I assume they will do.
To finish up, slow playing has its place in poker, but you need to use it sparingly. Checking and calling are inherently weak compared to betting. A bet can win by making a person fold or by getting called and showing down the best hand. You don't want to be a player that checks and calls and only uses check raises as its offensive; that will make it very easy for your opponents to play against you. Make up most of your game by playing good old solid poker, then add some tricky plays in for variety.
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