It is a common misconception that by playing your hand slower you will win more games. Sometimes this may be true, but in many cases it isn't, especially when you have a big hand. I see slow playing happen so much more often than necessary when I am playing both live and free poker tournaments online but I think that playing a more simple tactic works better.
In my opinion it is pretty risky to play big hands slowly. First of all, you are pretty likely to be outdrawn by the other players, and more importantly slow playing is actually, in most cases, much less lucrative than playing a hand faster.
Better Betting
If you want to build a big pot with a big hand like a set, you need to be betting. You need to raise pre-flop, bet on the flop, bet on the turn, and fire your last bullet on the river. In other words, you want to gradually get all-in.
You may think you'll scare away opponents with continuous betting, but this won't be the case if they hold a reasonably strong hand. Big pots happen when a big hand runs into an even bigger hand. If your opponent folds before you get all your chips in the middle, it simply wasn't meant to be.
You need to be realistic about betting and avoid scaring away your fellow players by betting too big. For example, no player is going to call you if you bet $300 in a £30 pot. You will not get called if you raise $500 with an opening bet of $20. Its important to keep your bets and raises realistic to avoid frightening away your opponents.
A good idea is to give this approach a go when playing free online poker and free poker tournaments. This way you can gain experience in this type of play without losing real money.
You want to convince your opponent that he or she may possess a strong enough hand to stay in the game. You want your opponent to make mistakes.
Keep your fellow players pot committed. Avoid betting big and announcing to the table that you have the best hand.
There is also a downside to not betting and just checking. Obviously, you can get outdrawn on. That's a common concern.
However, checking also fails to build up the pot. You may eventually get your opponent to bet at you, but you he or she may just check behind-and thus, you'll be losing some profit from winning one less bet.
Exceptions to the rule
There will be occasions when it is best to slow play. For example, it's a smart move to slow play when you flop a royal flush, a straight flush, quads, a full house, the nut flush, or the nut straight. Those are very strong hands. There's little chance to you'll be beat. You want to give your opponent every chance possible to bet his second best hand.
When playing against aggressive or loose players then its worth playing slow, as they are likely to bet as players check. Make the most of their aggressive play.
Yet, in most cases, you do want to bet out or raise. You want to build big pots slowly by betting every chance that you get. As I say practice playing free poker games and free poker tournaments sites where you can get a feel for what will work and what won't. That way when you get into a higher stakes cash situation you'll play it right and hopefully scoop it up!
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