Slow/fast playing strong hands

[mclay]

I think slowplaying strong hands is a bad strategy at the microlimits. You are just losing a lot of value.

 

[No Bologna]

No Bologna

I love slow playing strong hands, especially when you got some sucker doing all the betting for you. The cards show and you see the mediocre hand they were playing, gives me a chuckle. You do get burnt sometimes, but to me it's worth it.

 

[Hsac]

Do you prefer to slow play or fast play strong hands after the flop? Obviously context matters, but this is meant as sort of a general question for the borderline cases.

I ask because I just played a few hands where I chose to slow play strong (but not absolute nut) hands and got outdrawn, and now I'm second guessing if I did the right thing.

First hand was KK. Flop came K-A-7 rainbow, and I checked and got checked back on. 5c on the turn and get a small bet which I call. 2c comes on the river, and the opponent bets the pot, appearing to have completed a club flush. I call, and sure enough they did. I feel like if I had it to do over, I probably wouldn't have played differently, and that in the long run I'd make more from playing those cards/board that way than not.

Second hand I initially thought I might play differently, but as I think it through, it probably played out best the way it did. I had A4c in the BB, and called a raise from the CO. Flop came Ad4h8c. Checked and got checked back to me. Kh on the turn, check/check. Ks on the river. They makes a 2/3 pot bet, and I call. They have A-10, and with the board pairing, I'm outkicked. If I had bet the flop, he would have almost guaranteed called, and likely called the the turn. I probably would have lost more chips fast playing.

Thoughts on these hands or on slow/fast playing in general?

Unless I flop the absolute nuts, I tend to make the other players pay dearly for their draws. Better to win a small pot than lose a big one.

 

[NightStalker]

Depends on the villain.
But I like to play fast.

 

[reraee1]

I love slow play.I like to sit and watch my opponent

 

[KRANKES]

As you never know, what opp holds, there's never a perfect way to play a hand. It mostly depends on position, stacksize and position. If I hit two pairs OOP, I'd always bet out, but as you see, slowplying is sometimes better on these "random" runouts in online poker. best is to check until the river and go all in. Poker skills are overevaluated in these days, where they call down bottom pair or one overcard and suck you out anyway.

 

[BelFish]

More often you need to play hands without slowplay. But you also need to slowplay with a certain frequency for balance!

 

[mushthebush]

Good question and got me thinking. It's very scenario specific. I sometimes play it aggressively and sometimes slow play according to the "board texture" and the players in the pot. However, I have learned to sometimes fold even a set of kings or aces when I know the other player has completed a flush or a straight. Some players are really keen to tell you when they have. Yes, I still lose a big pot now and then but not the whole stack. But with aces or kings I always try to build the pot pre-flop and continue aggressively on the flop, particularly on wet boards,, for the simple reason that they might fold a draw on flop or turn. If they complete it on river, happy days for them, if not I win a lot when they don't complete or when I make them fold. Slow playing is great when you have a set of kings on the flop and you slow play to wait for an ace or a queen so they can have a chance to be aggressive and donate their money with an AK or an AQ. Otherwise, there's no point.

 

[alibaba194]

I enjoy slow play. I like to sit and observe my opponent

 

[aorodrigo]

I think it depends on position. I simple love slow play when I am on early positions.
One thing that helps me a lot when deciding fast/slow play is using a HUD, especially VPIP, PFR and CBET stats =)

 

[Rachidao]

Depends on the situation, the standard is to fast play them.

 

[john_entony]

I like to play slow, but to grab more chips from my opponent. A lot depends on the opponent's style of play. This is probably the most important criterion for playing hands on the board.

 

[Igor G]

There are different situations, different tournaments, different opponents, so in each situation there are factors that will influence my actions and decisions. But basically, I try not to take unnecessary risks, and therefore, with good, strong cards in the postflop, I would rather play fast and aggressive than slow.

 

[istbno]

The frequency of slow-playing or fast-playing strong hands should be balanced and context-dependent. Generally, slow-playing can be effective against aggressive opponents or in situations where you want to induce bluffs or build a larger pot. Fast-playing, or betting aggressively, is often better to protect your hand from drawing hands and to maximize value. Mixing these strategies unpredictably keeps opponents guessing and prevents them from easily reading your play style. Adapt your approach based on table dynamics, opponent tendencies, and board texture for optimal results.