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Slow Play - To play a powerful hand passively at first, until the pot is large or your opponent has committed a
significant number of chips, and then to bet aggressively.
Slow playing is essentially the same thing as
sandbagging. It is an attempt to maximize
expectation by deceiving your
opponents about your hand’s strength. When someone is slow playing, they will act passively even though they have
completed a strong hand. Instead of betting and raising, they will typically check and call, in an effort to disguise
the strength of their holding. The goal of the player who is slowplaying is to allow his opponents to initiate the
action, while he sits on his monster hand, waiting for his opponents to commit, and for the pot to grow. When he is
satisfied with the size of the pot, the player who has been slowplaying will suddenly switch gears and begin betting
and raising. Even if his opponents now recognize the gambit, it will be too late, as they will have already committed
to the pot.
Slowplaying is an excellent tool for maximizing EV in certain situations. It works best against aggressive players who
you can generally count on to bet, if you have checked or shown weakness. It also works best as an occasional ploy
rather than a standard play. If you attempt to slowplay every time that you have a big hand, you opponents will become
suspicious when you check, and they will not bet your hand for you. If you fail to get anyone to bet your hand, your
slowplay is likely to fail miserably. If nobody bets, the pot will remain small and this will discourage your opponents
from chasing, the opposite of the desired effect. Additionally, if you check and it checks around, you will be giving
all of your opponents a free chance to suck out on you. So, failing to get your opponents to bet when you are
slowplaying can often cost you the pot.
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