Taking it slow

	When choosing to slow-play big hands, you have to be prepared to sacrifice the hand if things do not go as planned

Allow me to start with a much- needed disclaimer: slow-playing is a very dangerous practice, especially when you are not prepared to immediately get away from the hand. When done correctly, a slow-play can be extremely successful.

When choosing to slow-play big hands like A-K, A-A, K-K, Q-Q, you have to be prepared to sacrifice the hand if things do not go as planned. When slow-playing (usually in early position), the first thing you want to occur is for someone behind you to raise, so that you can re-raise and isolate one or two players.

In the event that no one raised after you and you end up on the flop with more than three limpers, you must hit the deck hard. If not, and there is sufficient action between the other players (raise, re-raise, etc), then be prepared to muck the hand immediately as you are most likely behind and will continue to trail, drawing to very few outs.

It is the price you have to be willing to pay in order to increase your earning potential in the hand. If you do not feel you are capable of getting away from the hand post-flop, then don’t slow-play it.

In this article I want to explore two surefire methods of trapping your opponent into paying you off in no- limit hold’em cash games. Both involve slow-playing your hand. We will first explore setting up an opponent at the beginning of the hand and then we will look at how we can set an opponent up during the middle.

Early set-up

On the eve of the WPT Championship in Vegas this year, I went down to the high-stakes poker room at the Bellagio to partake in the activities.

About an hour into the game, Michael Mizrachi, Gus Hansen and Chad Brown joined me at the table. Chad and Gus were both playing rather tight, not getting involved in too many hands. Mizrachi, on the other hand, was enjoying his usual aggressive style. He was either raising pre-flop or calling a raise, and then immediately coming out firing post-flop. He took down quite a few pots uncontested. I decided that the situation might present a good opportunity for me to win a big pot.

About half an hour after Mizrachi had joined the table, I picked up 7♥-7♦ in early position. Mizrachi was in the cut-off. I decided to limp, limiting my investment, but still prepared to get away from it in the event I did not like the texture of the flop. Mizrachi raised, the big blind called, and so did I.

The flop came 6♦-7♣-J♠ and the big blind checked. I decided with mid-set that a small bet would be well camouflaged on this board as it may appear as a ‘feeler’ bet; just a little something to see where I stood in the hand. So I bet out a little over 1/3 the pot and was immediately raised by Mizrachi. The big blind folded. I went into the tank and finally called the bet. The turn was a 2♦. I checked and Mizrachi immediately bet out.

In most instances I would check-raise here and would, most likely, take the pot down uncontested about 80% of the time. But with such an aggressive player acting behind me, I was certain he would fire at the pot on the river. My only concern was that a second diamond had hit the board on the turn, and a third diamond on the river might discourage him from betting.

Nevertheless, I decided to take the chance and called the bet. The river was the 3♣. I checked again, and as predicted, Mizrachi fired out a pot-sized bet. I immediately came over the top and was called. Mizrachi had raised pre-flop with J-3 off- suit. He had flopped top pair and made two pair on the river. The hand could not have played out better for me.

KEY POINT

If you flop a big hand against an aggressive player out of position, there’s no harm in letting them bet into you on every street – you want to build the pot as much as you can. Don’t pull the trigger until the very last moment

Changing mid-hand

All too often you will see players that have raised pre- flop immediately lead out with a continuation bet. Most likely, they have missed the flop three out of four times, but they choose to fire away nonetheless. This is common practice as your opponent may very well have missed the flop as well and you may be able to take the pot down right there and then. After implementing a continuation bet and facing the slightest signs of resistance, a player is usually prepared to abandon the hand and move on. This is exactly the sort of situation I often look to exploit.

It came up in a $50/$100 no-limit hold’em game – the biggest the Bellagio had during the aforementioned WPT Championships. I took my seat and realised that sitting two places to my left was the current reigning World Champion, Jamie Gold. Much to my surprise and contrary to the rumours I had heard about him, I found him to be a very nice and pleasant man, who was very courteous and gracious throughout the day.

I decided to take it slow in the beginning and get a feel for the table. I soon realised that Gold, given the opportunity, was willing to bluff his chips away at any pot – if he smelled a weakness. As a result, I waited for the right moment to set up a hand. In one particular hand – while I was on the small blind – Gold had decided to straddle. Two players limped into the pot, calling the straddle. I decided to put out a large raise of $1,900 (19 times the big blind), which was big enough to make it appear that I was trying to steal the pot. The big blind folded and Gold called instantly. I was holding Q♥-Q♦.

The flop came 10♣-A♠-A♣. I immediately led out with a bet of 3/4 of the pot – which looked very much like a continuation bet. Gold called. Had he had been holding an Ace, he would have, most likely, raised the pot – especially with two clubs on board. The turn was a 7♦. I immediately checked, and Gold misread my move as a sign of weakness. He immediately led out with a huge bet, putting me all-in. I called. Gold was playing J♠-J♦. The big blind admitted he had laid down J-10 and Jamie was dead apart from one card – the case Jack.

Although he hit it on the river and took down the pot, I have no qualms about my play – it had worked out beautifully. He took the bait when I applied the brakes on the turn and tried to take down the pot, giving me the exact showdown I wanted. He assumed what most players would have assumed, that I had completely missed the flop and was going to lay down the hand at the first sign of resistance.

Unfortunately, even though I was a 97% favourite going to the river, I got cracked. At the end of the day, your hand still needs to hold up, no matter how brilliant your play was.

KEY POINT

If you’re up against a player who you know will try and pounce at the very first sign of weakness, oblige by acting weak – just make sure you have a big hand