Don’t Slow Wager Your Way Out Of Large Pots!
July 22nd, 2012 at 4:21
Slow play is often a term used in poker – particularly Texas Holdem – for trying to lure your competitors into producing a large bet so that you can trap them and take down a big pot.
It truly is usually used with a really excellent pre-flop hand such as pocket Aces on Kings. Instead of wagering massive, the sluggish gambler will sit back and limp in (call or check) as if he doesn’t have a hand worth wagering, hoping that an opponent will have caught a lower pair or a straight draw and will come in with an enormous bet.
It can be a classic poker manouever and one which has won a great deal of money for poker players down by way of the ages, except it has lost it’s effectiveness. The easy reason for this is that everybody is now sluggish betting their huge hands so it really is pretty much expected.
So how do you use this scenario to your advantage?
In the event you catch an enormous hands, you need to come out wagering. As opposed to trying to tempt your opponents into producing a move so that you simply can come in more than the top, make the wager yourself. Now most amateur gamblers baulk in the thought of this in case the rest of the table folds and they "waste" their huge hand, but in reality you are going to typically always get several betting action from somebody.
By betting your major hand instead of sluggish wagering it, that you are performing a double bluff since most individuals would gradual wager on it. Your competitors will typically assume that you are bluffing and you are going to have a number of wagering action and ultimately win far more money.
The other reason you must wager is that in the event you do not bet, that you are allowing your competitors a no cost look at the cards and every single time a card is turned more than they could be converting a losing hands to a succeeding one.
There is only one circumstance where it will often pay to sluggish bet on your hands – whenever you flop an absolute monster that virtually cannot be beaten. As an example say you might be dealt Ace, Four of clubs and the flop is Queen, Ten, 9 of clubs. You have just flopped the nut flush and you are pretty significantly unbeatable. OK any individual could have a pair of Queens, Tens or 9s and catch a fourth on the turn or river, or they may be holding the King of clubs and catch the Jack for a straight flush, but the odds of you not winning are now remote.
This is the time to sluggish bet on your hand. You’ll find all sorts of hands that someone else may possibly be holding to make them feel they are in a good position here; 2 other clubs, a straight draw, triples or even just a Queen for the top pair, whatever they’ve got the chances are someone will feel it’s worth betting. If the flop or river produces a King, Queen Jack, Ten or Nine you may well get a big raise or even an all-in from somebody.
Now you let them build the pot up by just calling the wagers and take down the pot with your nut flush.