A lot of new players to Texas Holdem Poker and even players who have been playing for years don’t understand when they should slow play there opponents. There aren’t too many times you should really slow play your opponents because normally you could lose too draws and it could make your idea of slow playing your opponent backfire in your face.
Preflop
Before the flop there really is no reason to slow play your opponents because any two cards could still win the hand. Even if you have pocket aces you could easily lose the hand to two pairs, straights and flushes. I always suggest that you raise the pot on www.PokerStar.it when you have a good hand so that you can get the bad hands out of the pot which limits the chances of being on the wrong side of a bad beat. You don’t need to raise the pot much, but when you have a good hand I would raise the pot at least 3X the big blind.
After the Flop
After the flop you might be able to find an opportunity to slow play your opponents depending on what you have. If you have the nuts then you’ll want to slow play down to the river to see if you can make your opponent bet into you. On the other hand if your hand isn’t that strong yet and you could still lose to a draw on the turn or river you need to think about betting. Slow playing only works on PokerStar when you have the nuts or close to the nuts and know you have your opponents beat. It’s hard to slow play two pairs on the flop because there could still be a straight or flush that could potentially hit.
Turn
On the turn you’re going to want to slow play if you still have close to the nuts even if your opponents didn’t bet the flop. If you have a pretty good hand like trips or two pairs and there is still no straight or flush then you could also choose the check the turn and hope the draw doesn’t hit. If the draw doesn’t hit on the river then you might be able to get your opponent to try and bet and steal the pot which is why you would slow play your two pairs or trips on the turn. This could also backfire though, because if the draw does hit and your opponent was on the draw you’re going to lose on the river.
River
You can’t slow play on the river at PokerStar.com anymore and you’re going to need to bet the pot if you think you have the best hand. If you couldn’t draw your opponent into betting the flop or turn then you probably won’t get them to bluff the river so you can’t continue slow playing. If they want to see your hand they will need to pay whatever you bet out.
Sometimes slow playing will pay off and you’ll make a lot of money from a player trying to steal the pot, but at the same time keep your eyes open for hands that can beat yours. Once draw start to appear on the board you might need to pull the string on slow playing and make a bet.
