Before I discuss the art of slow playing, I want to offer a few words of advice. In a nutshell, I don’t recommend that beginning players attempt to slow play their hands. When you are starting out, just get the damn chips in the middle when you have a good hand, and play straightforward until you gain experience. Once you get a better grasp of the nuances of the game, then you can start slow playing and mixing up your play.

Slow playing in poker refers to checking (or limping) when you have a massive hand. The idea is to make your opponent think you are weak and get him to make a bet at the pot. Once he makes a bet, you can then lower the boom and throw out a check raise. Depending on the situation you may also elect to smooth call, in order to get your opponent to bet again on a later street.

Slow playing has advantages and disadvantages.

Advantage – When slow playing works, it is an extremely effective weapon in no limit games. Since all of the chips can get in the middle at any time, slow playing a big hand can induce an opponent to bluff and possibly move all in. Slow playing also mixes up your game, making it very difficult for an opponent to put you on a hand.

Disadvantage – Like I said, all of the chips can get in the middle at any time, and sometimes slow playing ends up getting you in a world of hurt. When you give an opponent free cards, you run the risk of letting him make some kind of hand. If this happens and you can’t let go of your pocket aces, you will often find yourself sucking wind on the rail.

So when should you slow play? Like everything in poker, it depends. You have to take into account the nature of an opponent and the texture of the flop. If you hold AA and the flop comes 6 7 8 of one suit, you have to make a good bet to try and pick up the pot right there (this board is very scary). On the other hand, if you hold 88 and the flop comes A 8 4 rainbow, checking is the best play. A check here allows aggressive opponents or anyone holding an ace to donate some chips to your stack (sets are perfect hands to slow play, as they are well disguised and usually hold up).

So once you start feeling good about your game, try slow playing some hands. Sometimes you’ll win a big pot, and occasionally you’ll lose, but that’s just poker. In order to live you have to be willing to die.