To Slowplay or Not? That is the Question!

There are many traditional and online poker strategies that help poker players win the games they play. Some of them are more effective, while others are less. Many seasoned poker players consider slowplaying one of the most uncomplicated and almost zero skill requiring strategies that help players overcome obstacles on their path to victory. When used wisely, slowplay is very likely to provide a player with a tangible advantage over his opponents. But, first and foremost, what is 'slowplay' about?

What is slowplay?

Slowplay (also referred to as 'sandbagging') is a deceptive technique designed to help a player throw his opponents off regarding his hand's value. Generally speaking, slowplaying is the opposite of bluffing. While a poker bluffer typically holds a weak hand but is trying to project strength, a slowplayer holds a hand of a very high value but is trying to mislead others by projecting weakness. Among good examples to slowplay is 'flat calling.' Flat calling involves calling a wager when a raise is the most appropriate move. A slowplayer's main goal is to keep in the pot players who are very likely to fold to a raise. Naturally, the fatter the pot the happier a slowplayer is!

When to slowplay?

Prominent poker expert David Sklansky, the author of 'Theory of Poker," has named a number of game table conditions which make slowplaying highly recommended: 1. A player must hold a very rich hand. 2. The jackpot must not yet be very fat. 3. A player must be convinced that, if playing aggressively, he would cause his opponents to fold. However, he should be able to nab the pot regardless to whether or not his opponents stay in the hand. There are also other conditions, but if you stick to these basic  above you are going to be OK.

Slowplay vs. Bluffing

Although they are essentially one the opposite of another, slowplaying and bluffing have a mutual goal. Both of these strategies are meant to misguide opponents and facilitate a poker player's win. Additionally, both use projection as the key tool expected to lead to success. Slowplaying and bluffing are also connected in terms of application frequency. A seasoned opponent with developed observation skills will eventually figure out when a player is bluffing. This will, in turn, damage the effectiveness of slowplay. What we mean to say is that predictability is a major damaging factor when it comes to slowplaying and bluffing.

Disadvantages

Don't get us wrong. Although slowplaying is a rather uncomplicated strategy to master, you need to be extremely careful when using it. There is something we haven't discussed yet and it is the fact that 'slowplaying' might cause irreparable damage against hands with improvement potential. That is why, according to Sklansky, you should slowplay only when you are absolutely sure of your hand strength. Slowplaying results may turn out as disastrous for a player who ignores this advice. In short, in certain situations slow playing is the less attractive strategy to rely on.