Free Poker Guide to the Slow Play

All poker games from the high stake bright light games for sin city to the free poker games come down to the ability to win cash from small opportunities. The strategy is to attempt to play reasonable in every game possible- sounds almost defeatist, but the truth is you simply can't win every game. One way to achieve this to out bet the opposition and a way of achieving this is through slow play.

The Art of the Slow-play
The slow-play is when you deliberately under bet so as to disguise the strength of your hand and trap your opponent with a weaker hand.

Unlike the bluff bet, the slow-play is effective against strong and weak opponents. Bad opponents simply bet their hand, so if they have something or they are simply on a draw, they are going to pay you off.

When not to Slow-Play
You shouldn't slow play when there is a flush or straight draw on the board. You should only slow play when your opponent has a hand that is not likely to improve enough to beat yours. Suppose the flop is AD-7H-KC and you hold 7D-7C, and you put your opponent on an A or K. It's usually more profitable to bet the hand aggressively on the turn.

If you slow-play the turn, you are sacrificing an opportunity to make money on the turn. The only reason to slow-play here is if your read on your opponents is that they will fold with any bet you make.

If you manage to get quads or a full house don't over play the hand- if the opposition are not strategically sitting right, they don't seem to gamble often on the river, instead they check or call. By slow playing this turn, this type of opposition wont raise or re raise on the river.

Therefore, just keep betting the turn, despite the improvement. They rarely put you on quads, so try to get some action on the turn.

How to Represent Your Hand
A strong bet can represent a strong hand. This is especially true when betting after the flop. If an A or K shows on the flop, you can represent an A or K in your hand by betting. Often, it is what you represent that is more important than what you actually have, especially if you have put your opponent on a medium or weak hand.

So there you have it a fast guide to the slow play. Typically it works better with money games than free poker where you'll find many beginners who don't pick up the nuances and throw all in regardless! But of you find yourself in a free online poker freeroll with real money up for grabs then think about how and when you might apply it.