This article will address the main question of whether to slowplay or be aggressive. Probably more than once you've thought: "Hey I have the nuts! I'll let villain hit his hand so I can get valued from him!"
It has happened me sometimes, but it is not always the right mindset to have. Let me start by defining what slowplay is:
Slow play is when you check or call a bet in order to "under-represent" your hand vs. villain, so he may "over-play" his own hand.
Keep in mind that to slow play, you really need to have a near-unbeatable hand, such as a set in a super dry flop, or the nut straight in a non-flush non-paired board.
Also, you cannot slow play (well you can't but will be unprofitable) against a player who is passive. Player needs to really be a maniac to play, because otherwise you're going to get checked behind.
Duc Volpe 2c 2d
3 more players enter the pot.
Flop: 2s, 7c, 8s
In this example we see that Duc_Volpe has a set of deuces. It would be unprofitable for him to slow play here because it's a multi-way pot and it's a drawy board; it's bound to happen often that a player here may hold here a flush draw and most likely chase it until the river.
If Duc_Volpe decides to slow play here two things may happen:
A player may complete the flush with a non 7 spade and we become 22:77 underdogs
Everyone checks and Duc_Volpe loses here the right way to play the hand is to go ahead bet or check-raise. I like check-raise here because it gets more money in the pot and because I don't like to bet in front of everyone when I don't have the initiative (that is: I didn't raise preflop, but called instead).
HOWEVER....
One thing that happens in micros with slow playing is the next: you're not going to profit much from this strategy.
People in micros like to call a bet rather than make it themselves. And it sounds logical as they're weak players who don't like to "risk money" when they do not have a hand yet, but are willing to pay up to the river to see if they complete their hand.
So in general, being aggressive is a much better way to go, because even in flops as dry as they can get, if people hold suited cards they might be willing to call to see if the turn brings them a draw, or to see if their overcard hit.
So let's wrap it up very quickly:
In order to slow play, you need both a monster hand and an aggressive player. You also need to be somewhat consistent with your actions because if you've never slow played any hand, it will look extremely suspicious even to fishes that do not pay attention.
Slow playing might work if the condition above is fulfilled, otherwise, you're going to have a much easier time extracting value out of your monsters by playing the hand straight-forwardly. Remember that people in micros like to call more than they like to bet!
Good Luck At The Tables!
It has happened me sometimes, but it is not always the right mindset to have. Let me start by defining what slowplay is:
Slow play is when you check or call a bet in order to "under-represent" your hand vs. villain, so he may "over-play" his own hand.
Keep in mind that to slow play, you really need to have a near-unbeatable hand, such as a set in a super dry flop, or the nut straight in a non-flush non-paired board.
Also, you cannot slow play (well you can't but will be unprofitable) against a player who is passive. Player needs to really be a maniac to play, because otherwise you're going to get checked behind.
Duc Volpe 2c 2d
3 more players enter the pot.
Flop: 2s, 7c, 8s
In this example we see that Duc_Volpe has a set of deuces. It would be unprofitable for him to slow play here because it's a multi-way pot and it's a drawy board; it's bound to happen often that a player here may hold here a flush draw and most likely chase it until the river.
If Duc_Volpe decides to slow play here two things may happen:
A player may complete the flush with a non 7 spade and we become 22:77 underdogs
Everyone checks and Duc_Volpe loses here the right way to play the hand is to go ahead bet or check-raise. I like check-raise here because it gets more money in the pot and because I don't like to bet in front of everyone when I don't have the initiative (that is: I didn't raise preflop, but called instead).
HOWEVER....
One thing that happens in micros with slow playing is the next: you're not going to profit much from this strategy.
People in micros like to call a bet rather than make it themselves. And it sounds logical as they're weak players who don't like to "risk money" when they do not have a hand yet, but are willing to pay up to the river to see if they complete their hand.
So in general, being aggressive is a much better way to go, because even in flops as dry as they can get, if people hold suited cards they might be willing to call to see if the turn brings them a draw, or to see if their overcard hit.
So let's wrap it up very quickly:
In order to slow play, you need both a monster hand and an aggressive player. You also need to be somewhat consistent with your actions because if you've never slow played any hand, it will look extremely suspicious even to fishes that do not pay attention.
Slow playing might work if the condition above is fulfilled, otherwise, you're going to have a much easier time extracting value out of your monsters by playing the hand straight-forwardly. Remember that people in micros like to call more than they like to bet!
Good Luck At The Tables!
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