I think it is interesting you say this behaviour aligns with losing players. I'm not sure the data would bear that out.
There are many reasons to play slowly.
1) You're just ****ing slow. I have a friend who cannot manage
online poker because she is just too ****ing slow. She doesn't find the interface comfortable, and is used to a slow live game full of banter, etc.
2) Multi-tabling. Get more than 4-8 games running and you're going to start to hear that alarm a lot. It can be tough to manage large numbers of tables and inevitably, some timers start to run out.
3) Distractions. Sometimes I'll play poker as a side activity running alongside something else I'm doing. Usually these are
freerolls or micros. So whether it is finishing a game at the dinner table or playing whilst watching a movie, I'll usually not look at the cards until the alarm has beeped...so it can take a little more time.
4) You are incompetent. There are lots of poseurs who like the idea of playing poker but never actually get below the surface of the game. They take time for no reason other than taking time. They have no basis for the decisions they're making so they simply waste time to make it look like something intelligent is going on up there (when it is not).
5) Incompetence Part 2: I see some people who run the clock all the time. Especially in Cards Chat games. To me this is a sign of weakness and misunderstanding of the game. Some people play slowly as they are trying to drive up the blinds. But this is pretty stupid in most cases as it just means fewer hands dealt per hour. The fewer hands you are dealt in on, the fewer hands you are going to win. It's not rocket science. Worse, the overall cost of the hand (in chips) is also more in a slowly played game. The reason why this is incompetence is that you are making it worse on yourself if you take a long time making decisions. it is more costly. to play. If you are a Tight/Aggressive or nitty player, you're waiting for those premiums and high pocket pairs and going to capitalise. But if you have to wait longer, your EV can go down.
6) You know what you are doing. Periodically varying your decision making timing can at least show people you are attempting to think. So when do you do it, strategically? Around the bubble, this can be a good tool for helping you survive into the money.
7) Competence part 2: Late game / Final Table... you might choose to run the clock to minimise the number of hands your opponents are getting. So generally t is better for us to see lots of cheap hands. Funnily enough though, that can also benefit other players too. Late game, when I'm on FT and if I'm one of the larger stacks, I will slow things down to put pressure on the smaller stacks.
8) Competence Part 3: Sometimes there are people who tilt when the game starsts to creep. (I have been known to be one of these players). If you know someone will play worse poker as a result of slow play, well, it is definitely tactical then to slow it down when playing with them. The problem there is that tilty players can be unpredictable and just when you think you've got them, they turn over 72o and have hit a boat.
9) Competence Part 4: If I get into a situation where I have a tough decision to make, I will want to consult opponent stats and look deeper into the HUD data. If I need to uncheck/un-tick boxes for flop/turn/river for example, and then look at the preflop data, it can take some time. Same goes for looking at my notes.
10) Consistency. I typically make my decisions quickly and then enter my decision between a quarter and halfway...ie generally prior to the alarm sounding...or right on it. Even for what would otherwise be snap calls, I tend to do this. This is just to remove any information opponents might glean from extra quick or extra slow decisions.
ASIDE: generally, I don't like strategies which are simply designed to put someone on tilt. I think it is bad sportsmanship. For some, a win is a win, and the end justifies the means. But generally, not for me. I subscribe to the Wil Wheaton "don't be a dick" school of thought...throwables excluded. We want the poker environment to be attractive to people with money but no poker skill. So don't tap the tank...and don't be a dick.
Cheers,
JT
