Handling Warning! What is slow play in poker?

What is Slow Play?

Slow play is a strategy where you frequently check or call, even when you have a nut-level strong hand.
The purpose of slow play is to mix checks and calls when holding a nut-level strong hand to ultimately extract more chips from the opponent.

Situations for Slow Play

Proper execution of slow play is vital to not diminishing your profits. It’s essential to accurately understand both your own and your opponent’s situation. A fundamental poker principle is to ”bet with strong hands and fold with weak hands”, making slow play an ”exceptional” strategy.

Considering this, we’ll explain situations where slow play becomes profitable. For slow play to be effective, it’s a prerequisite that you have a nut-level strong hand. Note: There are situations where you might check with top hits or other strong hands (marginal but strong), but this is a different concept and will not be covered in this chapter.
Based on this prerequisite, slow play aimed at the following objectives can be profitable:

• Inducing bluff bets from the opponent by playing passively when they have a wide bluff bet range.
• Inducing misvalue when the opponent completes a draw or develops their hand.
• Mixing nut-level hands into your call range frequently to strengthen your call range and narrow down the opponent’s bet range.

However, the above content involves concepts that are more advanced, so in practice, consider the following situations:

• The opponent might draw, but even if they do, your hand still wins.
• The opponent thinks your hand range is weak and is likely to call in later betting rounds.
• The opponent thinks your hand range is weak and is likely to bluff bet in later betting rounds.

The next section will elaborate on specific situations where slow play can be profitable.

Specific Examples of Slow Play Situations

Pre-flop

Let’s say you are on the BTN. Pre-flop, the opponent (CO) joins with a raise of 600, and you call.

Flop

The flop comes ♦8♠4♥2.
You hit a top set of 8s, and the opponent bets 500.
In this case, although you could raise, given the board, the low likelihood of being outdrawn by the turn or river, and the possibility that CO’s bet of 500 is a bluff, you decide to just call with your strong hand.

The idea here is to hope for cards that favor the opponent on the turn and river, and that the opponent continues to bet.

Turn

The turn brings a ♠2.
You make a full house and are currently only losing to quads of 22. The opponent continues to bet 1500.

Again, you could raise, but given the opponent’s continued betting on the flop and turn and the low probability of being outdrawn on the river, you choose to call.

River

The river brings a ❤A, and the opponent goes all-in, which you call.

Showdown

The opponent has ♠A♠K, having hit an A on the river. You win with your full house, successfully taking all of the opponent’s chips.

Situations Where Slow Play Should Not Be Used

Situations Where Slow Play Should Not Be Used

Even if you currently hold a nut-level strong hand, do not use slow play if there is a high possibility of being outdrawn on the turn or river.

Specific Examples of Situations Where Slow Play Should Not Be Used

Pre-flop

Let’s say you are on the BTN. Pre-flop, you call an opponent’s (CO) raise of 600.

Flop

The flop comes ♣K ❤J ♣7, and you hit a set of 7s, making it a nut-level strong hand. The opponent bets 800.

Not wanting to scare off the opponent, you decide to slow play and call instead of raising.

Turn

The turn is a ♦2, and the opponent bets 2000 again. You continue slow playing and call.

River

The river brings a third ♣ with a ♣3. You call the opponent’s bet of 5000.

Showdown

At showdown, the opponent has ♣6♣5 and has completed a flush on the river. You lose, forfeiting the pot. This slow play was risky.

On the flop:

• There were two ♣ cards, meaning the opponent might have a flush draw with ♣♣.
• Open-ended straights like QT and gutshots like AQ, Q9, T9, T8, 98 are also possible.
• Mixing nut-level hands into your call range strengthens it and narrows the opponent’s bet range.

With many potential draws for the opponent and the possibility of being outdrawn on the turn or river, you should not easily reveal the next card.
Even if you currently hold a strong hand, do not slow play if there is a risk of being outdrawn. Instead, respond with a raise to the opponent’s bet.

Summary

This chapter explained slow play.
Remember that as a fundamental poker principle, ”bet when strong”, slow play is an ”exceptional” strategy.
While slow play can maximize profits when used correctly, it can also drastically reduce them if misused. Read this article carefully and use it appropriately.