Slowplaying Monsters (Bad Habit)

Replay Poker Poker Strategy
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I have identified one of my biggest leaks :confused:

When I flop a monster, but not the nuts, I check or bet small WAY too often. This is a rookie mistake.

In my mind, I want action and I don’t want to “scare off” my opponents. All too often, I don’t-scare them right into a hand that beats me on the turn or river! And then I have no idea what they have, as my check or small bet on the flop didn’t narrow their range, and I’m left guessing if they are bluffing, trying to rep the hand I have, or simply outdrew me. It’s very hard to fold top trips or 2pair, so more often than not I just lose my whole stack to a speculative hand that never should have made it to the turn.

Don’t do this! :sweat_smile:

Mostly, I should bet my hand. If I have KT and it flops KKJ, the biggest wins will come from dominating hands like K9 or a non-believing J, not from somehow convincing Q9 or AT to keep putting money in because I give them a good price. The draws should have to “pay for it,” I should extract more value from those hands in the first place, and I should accept that often, I’ll simply take down a smaller pot on the flop.

Don’t reverse implied odds yourself, guru! UGH.

EDIT: this is EXTRA bad if like me, you are an aggressive player who often makes big bets without “having it.” The whole point is now we can also bet big when we do have it, and they might still call knowing our image. Ai yaaaaa!

DOUBLE EDIT: also, if someone doesn’t 3bet preflop, checks behind on KKJ, and suddenly goes ALL IN when checked to on KKJT, THEY HAVE A STRAIGHT OR BETTER at a ridiculously high frequency. Ya gotta be able to let it go unless you have notes that they’re a maniac.

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You beat me to this. I was and probably still will put it in the MTT strategy Guide I was working on in the forums. I need to get back to that, btw, as I put it off because lots of typing work, and I wanted to build up my bankroll playing MTT’s, but I digress.

Slowplaying, minbetting, small playing can be ok if:

  1. Your tight, not as aggressive.
  2. If your competition is super loose hyper over aggressive aggro super LAGS, that your trying to trap, milk, etc.
  3. If the board is not extremely drawy, wet.
  4. If there are not 4 to 9 other players in the hand with you postflop.
  5. If your not at limp happy, passive tables.
  6. If ALL of the above points, conditions, situations, etc, met.

On limp happy, passive tables, 99, TT, JJ, QQ, AQs, AKs, should not be slowplayed preflop, postflop, because they are FLOP VULNERABLE hands preflop, and are VULNERABLE hands postflop. And Top Pair Top kicker, small 2 pair are also postflop VULNERABLE hands.

Betting semi bigger, and maybe winning a smaller pot, by not slowplaying, is better then losing a big pot, especially in tournament play.

Now if only up against 1,2 players, and if board not drawy, wet, and no possible draws showing, and if opponents are aggro, then in that situation slowplay, min bet, small bet, etc. Doing that will balance out your checking, minbetting, small bet ranges enough, and will exploit LAGS.

The rest of time, bet, raise, and bet, raise semi bigger.

So players need to go by this and what Guru saying, and this thread, and Guru’s post, and this post need to be STICKIED to the Forum, at the top, where everyone can see this thread, these post.

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Also the odds, percentage chance that slowplaying, minbetting, small betting monsters traps, against tight passive players, is about 2,3,4,5%, compared to how even AA is about 49% to lose by the river, if 5 to 9 handed. And there is only about a 2,3,4,5% chance that if slowplay, minbet, small bet vs limp happy passive, tight passive, etc, players, preflop, postflop, there is only about a 2,3,4,5% chance opponent will wake up with a lesser hand that still a good enough hand that will bet, call, reraise, etc, bail a bad slowplay, minbet, small bet out.

Remember: Minbet, Minbet, Minbet win the minimum, Minbet lose the MAXIMUM