The Right and Wrong Way to Slow Play a Hand in Poker

Slow playing is a common move in poker where you disguise the strength of a strong hand by checking or calling instead of raising. Slow playing is a deceptive move. It’s technically the opposite of bluffing your opponents. The point of slow playing is so that the your opponent gets a chance to build a hand that is second best.

Slow playing fits into David Sklanskys original teachings into bluffing – "when your opponents act strong, they’re weak & when they act weak, they’re strong." It’s a natural instinct to act the opposite of how we want people to perceive us at the poker table - Of course you want to keep people in the hand and try and extract as much money from them as possible. Slow playing may seem like a safe move, but nothing is foolproof in poker and even slow playing can backfire.

Before you consider whether to slow play a hand or not, there are a few things you must consider. Your position at the table is the most important factor. If possible, It is much better to slow play a hand from late position. Checking all the way to the river may not induce any betting from your opponents and if you’re in early position you may miss out entirely on getting any more money into the pot.

I will usually only slow play a hand if there are no obvious drawing hands on the flop. If I manage to flop a set , but there is a potential flush or straight on the board, I want to make sure that I bet enough to chase out any drawing hands. In these situations it is best to just lead out with a standard bet or raise.

It is generally never a good idea to give your opponents a free card in any situation. Slow playing can be a very dangerous because you’re giving your opponents a free opportunity to beat you on the turn or the river with a lucky card.

You will also need to take your table image into account. If you have a loose image and frequently bluff or reraise the table, you are better off betting as usual because your slow play will be seen for what they are and few players will bet into you. Playing a hand out of character is a huge tell to anyone at the table who is paying attention.

There are situations where slow playing is the best choice regardless of any of the factors we’ve just covered. If you flop an absolute monster hand, like quads, and you know there’s no way that you can be beaten, then there is no point in scaring off the competition. In these situations it’s best to give the other players at the table the opportunity to make a hand or have a stab at the pot.

To sum up, slow playing can be a great part of your arsenal when you are starting to learn how to play poker. It is a move that must be used sparingly and in the right situations. Make sure that you pay attention to your position at the table and what communal cards are already in play so that your slow plays are not so obvious and you will hopefully get some action.