when is it correct to slow play?

[gates1026 0]

Here is the situation:2 table SNG $5.00 + $.50. I am in early/middle position with the 2nd big stack and pick up AA. The blinds are $75/$150. I make a raise of $500 (last time it was folded around to me when I made the same play with KK). All fold to the SB who calls and BB folds. Flop comes A63 rainbow. He checks, I check behind him hoping he will catch up a little. Turn comes 5. He bets $200, normally I would raise but something just didnt seem right so I call. Next card comes a 10 with no flush possibility. Guy raises $300 and I call. SB turns over 47 offsuit for his straight.I accept the fact that his play wasn't great and that I lost the hand. A call of $350 with 47 out of position is a major mistake in my book. My real question, should I have slow played this hand? I thought I was a lock to take down the hand and was hoping he would catch up. At one point I said to myself "He cant have 47, that would be crazy". What do you think the right play is?

[JSHamm 9]

Here is the situation:2 table SNG $5.00 + $.50.  I am in early/middle position with the 2nd big stack and pick up AA.  The blinds are $75/$150.  I make a raise of $500 (last time it was folded around to me when I made the same play with KK).  All fold to the SB who calls and BB folds.  Flop comes A63 rainbow.  He checks, I check behind him hoping he will catch up a little.  Turn comes 5.  He bets $200, normally I would raise but something just didnt seem right so I call.  Next card comes a 10 with no flush possibility.  Guy raises $300 and I call.  SB turns over 47 offsuit for his straight.I accept the fact that his play wasn't great and that I lost the hand.  A call of $350 with 47 out of position is a major mistake in my book.  My real question, should I have slow played this hand?  I thought I was a lock to take down the hand and was hoping he would catch up.  At one point I said to myself "He cant have 47, that would be crazy".  What do you think the right play is?

I would never ever ever ever ever ever ever put him on 47...I would have lost a lot more chips than you at the very least putting him on two pair A6, A3, A5 maybe. I don't know what kind of read you got on that turn but there's just no way I'm not raising there.

[macphec 0]

This isn't a terrible slow play. Top set on a board like that. No one is paying you off here unless they catch up. I would have checked the flop as well.This is gonna sound stupid but the right play here is to lose all your chips.

[DrawingDeadInDM 0]

This isn't a terrible slow play.  Top set on a board like that.  No one is paying you off here unless they catch up.  I would have checked the flop as well.This is gonna sound stupid but the right play here is to lose all your chips.

I agree.You calling, instead of raising, is..wow. Either brilliance, or exceptionally weak/tight.

[macphec 0]

If you can put villian on 74 or 42 (ie the only hands that beat you) you should seriously consider going pro, then making millions.

[gates1026 0]

I wish I could claim some great poker genious for this play, but all in all it just didn't feel right. This player hadnt been playing a lot of hands and I had been able to make agressive continuation bets on the flop to move him off his hands. This was combined with the fact that I had been burned twice in the previous hour by making plays that seemed logical but didn't feel right. I told myself that I didnt care what the play was, I would lay down a hand if it didn't sit well. The guy just seemed to come alive with much more than a probing bet or something that was meant to merely pick up the pot.The more I think about this play, the more I kick myself in the butt. That was a weak play by me, one that I really should have bet it all with. I am glad I didn't as I finished in the money on that SNG, but it was a weak play still. I will just have to make a note an make sure not the make the same mistake next time!

[TJ_Eckleburg 0]

I think a set of aces is the hardest set to play on the flop.Sneaky sets are waaaaaay easier to play than top sets... all you have to do is bet crazy, lol.On the one hand, you have 3 of the 4 aces in the deck, and most other people are worried about a pair of aces rather than your monster top set.On the other hand, it sucks to check free cards to straights and flushes and not fill up.I don't like slowplaying sets. I think you'll make more money betting all your winners and some of your not-winners so that people think you bet all the time.

[Theraflu 1,035]

The only reason i wouldn't have checked the flop is because it looks a lot more suspicious than just betting out. In his mind, why wouldn't you bet the flop? Because you missed it, even though you've moved him off several hands already? I think checkin screams set. While i think it's better to make a continuation bet there, maybe about 1/3 of the size you'd been making previously. If he calls you go broke anyways, but just a thought.

[petersun 0]

Listening to your gut is important part of poker. Often times it's well informed by your brain recognizing a pattern you don't consciously realize. Nice adjustment gates1026.I, like the others, would have pushed it all on the turn and lost it all.I don't think you can be faulted for slow playing this guy. It's hard to put him on a 4 7. There was no flush draw and the 3 6 hides the straight draw well. I'd certainly consider giving him a card to catch up. When the five hit, I'd more likely put him on 56s than 47.

[ChrisOfSpades 0]

tough beat, cant really fault you for trying to extract more, but i would've bet that flop. here's why:1 - you have position. it makes much less sense to slow play in position.2 - you raised preflop. it looks too tricky when a player raises, then checks in position on the flop.3 - that's a horrible flop. yes, you want your opponent to catch up, but what could he possibly draw to on this flop? you're basically hoping he has the case ace and turns two pair, or that he has middle pair and turns a set. otherwise, your opponent is drawing to a hand that beats yours.so yeah, a flopped set of aces is TOUGH to slow play, especially against a ragged board like that. if you had tens, and the flop came 10 6 3, you can slow play hoping a big card comes off that hits your opponent. in this situation, your opponent cant get to top pair, and is unlikely to have a hand that pays you off, so go ahead and bet it.

[gates1026 0]

Thanks for the reply ChrisOfSpades. I think your thoughts are absolutely correct. Against a good player, a big raise like that from a player with a tight agressive image would be a definite tip to my hand strength. In that situation, I bet at the pot about 90% of the time with anything other than complete garbage to try and pick up the pot right there.I guess the major lesson learned here is to try and just pick up the pot with a bet or hope someone picked up a good hand as well. I dont know why I changed the style that I normally play, as I am usually very content to take down a smaller pot after the flop and not have to see a turn and river card. I guess there is something about those AA's!

[ChrisOfSpades 0]

Thanks for the reply ChrisOfSpades. I think your thoughts are absolutely correct. Against a good player, a big raise like that from a player with a tight agressive image would be a definite tip to my hand strength. In that situation, I bet at the pot about 90% of the time with anything other than complete garbage to try and pick up the pot right there.I guess the major lesson learned here is to try and just pick up the pot with a bet or hope someone picked up a good hand as well. I dont know why I changed the style that I normally play, as I am usually very content to take down a smaller pot after the flop and not have to see a turn and river card. I guess there is something about those AA's!

well it was a safe flop, and you wanted to get paid. you dont need to bet that to protect against a draw, since there werent any obvious draws out there. so you slow play. and you had several of the elements needed to slow play. there were several reasons NOT to slow play in this situation too. i had read a great article on slowplaying awhile back...i'll see if i can dig it up.

[belamorte 0]

This isn't a terrible slow play. Top set on a board like that. No one is paying you off here unless they catch up. I would have checked the flop as well.This is gonna sound stupid but the right play here is to lose all your chips.

I agree.You calling, instead of raising, is..wow. Either brilliance, or exceptionally weak/tight.

/agree

[telescop 0]

While I agree his preflop call is bad AND there is NO WAY you could put him on the str8. Wouldn't it be wise to make a small bet on the flop, looking for a call or better yet a reraise, with the worst being you win the pot right there? Raising pre flop with no continuation bet looks super suspiciious.

[srblan 0]

Bet half the pot on the flop. When the hands are shown down, thank him for the respect.

[acesfull333 0]

most people will check a flopped set of A's.. that's the natural tendency... cause you don't want to scare anyone out... so I'd probably bet with it... hoping he had the case A and would call me... then I'd lead out again... a call or raise on the turn would throw me though.. and I'm not sure what I'd do.. it would depend on my read of the situation and the villain...based off just this one hand though, it would be damn near impossible to put him on 47... calling your PF raise would make me thinkg more like AK - AJ... so I'd still think I was in the driver seat.. until he had all my chips!

[shpaget 0]

If he was willing to call a pf raise with 47, perhaps he'd have called a postflop bet anyway, so I'm not sure what else you could have done, except to push all in and show him your cards before he decides to call. But, as a matter of habit, if you are the type to always make continuation raises/bets, and that is your image, then you should stick to that image, even if you flopped quads or the royal.Because when someone who constantly makes aggressive continuation bets suddenly checks it smells awfully suspicious.

[Steppin Razor 0]

This player hadn't been playing a lot of hands and I had been able to make agressive continuation bets on the flop to move him off his hands.

Weird play for this kind of player. I agree with whoever wrote that a set of Aces is a hard hand to play, but I personally will throw out a bet fishing for the case Ace, or other reasonable calling hand (depending on the flop). For me, slowplaying usually means not betting enough rather than checking.

[copernicus 0]

There are 4 criteria I use when considering whether to slowplay:1. Am I sure that a free card won't lose the hand?2. Am I reasonably sure that the opponents will fold to a bet now?3. Is there a reasonable chance that he will either improve to the point where he won't fold or make a play at me?4. The potential increase in chips is worthwhile (ie the current pot is too small to worry about, he has a stack that can afford to commit more chips etc.)I will only slowplay if all 4 of them exist, with one exception. If I am shortstacked, but not desperate, then I will accept less certainty in 1-3, as long as 4 is true (ie I will gamble more that it will pay off, as long as there is the potential to be paid off).In this hand criterion:1 passes...he couldnt have a draw to a low straight (cough cough)2 questionable..he called a preflop raise, the board isnt horrible, he may call anyway3 passes 2 pair or a lower set are going to give me some action4 questionable...the current pot is pretty valuable at 1,150. We dont know the stacks here, so the its hard to answer.Overall, I am unlikely to slowplay here. Does it make a difference? How much are you going to bet on the flop? Probably a larger end of continuation bets because we dont care if he folds..we like the current pot, and we are unlikely to get caught and so there is no reason to minimize the pot to be able to get away from it. So lets say you bet $750..does he call? Hard to say. 1.75:1, pulling for a 5:1 shot is godawful weak play but it is a $5 tourney, so who knows. I doubt it would happen in a $3o and above.A good slowplaying thread:http://www.fullcontactpoker.com/poker-foru...pic.php?t=40641