Slow playing your premium pairs

Andymac37

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How do you guys play your AA KK QQ? ? I slow played my KK from the small blind today and the BB flopped a straight. I slow played a QQ 2 days ago from the button and some1 flopped a flush. The only reason I doneed this is because every1 else folded and I wanted to get some action on it but it obviously back fired. If I'm late to act and there are already a few ppl in the pot then I will always raise them up but even if every1 folds gaining some chips is better than loosing some. What do u think and how do you play your big pairs from late position wen every 1 has folded.
 
PokerNuts01

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Slow play is very risky when you play online, Jokerstars obviously likes to "burn" any big pairs lol.. For this reason I always play aggressive with AA, KK.. 3bet, 4bet or shove, it depends on situation.
 
smallfrie

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so many call stations... No need to slow play.
 
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Napkins420

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Slow play went out in 2005 bro
 
whiskers77

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I would not slowplay such a hand. Only when I have a really good read on someone, where I can expect, that this one will be raising when I limp to them.
 
great_young

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I only slowplay these types of hands when my stack is relatively smaller than the medium one. So that other players think I am unsure, raise and then I make a big re-raise.
 
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ucdengboss

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I don't really slow play my premium hands at a table of 6 or more. I would say that I probably never slow play QQ or KK for that matter. QQ is a great starting hand, but it is no where near as strong as AA. AA may be the only starting hand worthy of slow playing and that should only be done under the exact right situations. In general bet your strong hands just like you would 99, TT, AK, AQs, etc.

If you have a very aggressive player that is always raising pre and he is acting after you then maybe you can limp with AA. I would still raise and hope he will re-raise and get even more $ in the pot pre. If someone flops a set, striaght, or flush then so be it... keep putting money in the pot while you are ahead.
 
godblessiraq

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Never slow play premium starting hands...Slow play quads or SF all you want (post flop), but slow playing high pocket pairs is asking for trouble...
 
chicopaw

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I don't really slow play my premo hands at a table , i usually carry on with my regular raises unless there is someone really agg an is shoving many hands.then i will call/raise to the turn and put it allin
 
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MrSamsa

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How do you guys play your AA KK QQ? ? I slow played my KK from the small blind today and the BB flopped a straight. I slow played a QQ 2 days ago from the button and some1 flopped a flush. The only reason I doneed this is because every1 else folded and I wanted to get some action on it but it obviously back fired. If I'm late to act and there are already a few ppl in the pot then I will always raise them up but even if every1 folds gaining some chips is better than loosing some. What do u think and how do you play your big pairs from late position wen every 1 has folded.

I think the plan is to play them the way you would with any top pair hand but with that extra street of value (preflop). You obviously want action but that isn't something you can force. As with everything in poker there are a ton of variables to consider but generally that's the overall strategy. But, also gerneally speaking, unless you hit your set your hand will decrease in value the closer to the river you get. That's why its a good idea to bet bigger on earlier streets including preflop as you deny equity to drawing hands, and then taper off towards later ones when the board gets more connected

I understand your pain though; I've laid to rest so many tournaments with button (me) vs blind and I have QQ+ but you have to realize that when you 3X they can call pretty light looking to hit trips or a flush/straight that breaks your hand- its just a cheap price early/mid tournament


People like to defend their blinds super light these days for that very reason. Experiment with opening for like 4X or 5X and overbetting flops and turns would be something id recommend then mix in slow playing/calling down sometimes for balance. This also opens you up to bet/bluff with suited connectors and if people are paying attention to your game they might call you down light when you make a nutted hand with them


let me know what you think man this is something i struggle with as well- not hitting that fold button when holding premiums that is:D
 
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Ryan Laplante

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You generally want to play your big hands aggressively pre-flop!

How are you going to win a big pot if you are passive pre?
 
Acesinthebig

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Sometimes taking a little pot is better than trying to win a big pot and getting stacked
 
Kenzie 96

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Slow playing big hands is obviously a situational decision, but, usually not a good habit to get into. Variance is going to cost you at times & adding missed opportunities to build up pots where you are favorite & giving free cards to weaker hands is going to cost you in the long run.
 
AshK44

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I find more often then not slow playing can lead to losing. Aggression and playing with conviction is much better especially in the long run.
 
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Fastone2

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Good luck slow playing anything with low steaks...
 
deform fedot

deform fedot

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For starters, if you have a monster's hand, you must raise the bet and not less than 3 big blinds before the flop.
 
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sbarnhouse

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If you're ever bluffing when it folds to you bvb or on the BTN (you should be a decent amount), then you should also be mixing in raises with your good hands to balance. If it folds to me on the button I'm raising like 65% of my hands or something, so like half of those are good hands...
 
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Denver225

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AA, KK is possible to play slowly in late position if we stay with superaggressive player who always comes to raises and bets anywhere on the Board every street...we show the weakness of our hand and he's all paid off
 
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discintildeath

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Slow play monsters

Unless you are against the BB in the SB with a monster pair its tough to slow play. But the other side is if you let the BB with a free flop they could hit it big and then you have to decide if it is worth trusting this person. You have little to no info on the BB's hand if you limp to get them to play with you and that makes them harder to read. I would say that a lot of times you will get no action but as you have seen it is better to pick up blinds and move on that it is to lose a bunch thinking you can trap someone into a big pot with a top pair.

Having said that I think a lot of donks online at lower stakes will play along with you if you can get them to flop a middle or top pair and not hit anything more.
 
nutthink

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we can slow play with AA QQ and KK or any strong hand only against opponent that have call habit with marginal hand.. so is important to figure out our opponent style.. becouse over play AA,QQ,KK etc its not good idea too, specialy in early tournament..
 
Vorem

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In freerolls except as than All-In, I can not play premium pairs, because many people want to see the flop and they are not afraid of my 3-betting
 
Peppinotom

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Exactly, in freerolls it's all in with any pair, at least you have double chance to hit the Flush. I suggest playing Heads-Up all in on 888, then you don't have to worry about your aces anymore ;)
 
milka1605

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Play with premium pairs without raising a big mistake. you give the opportunity to enter the game players with small cards.
 
Vilgeoforc

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If you have the opportunity to raise a lot of money in the bank with the monsters, you have to do it as early as possible.
 
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Wball4443

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Excellent question, and one which I believe could be answered with a number of different plays that would make sense. For me, I believe the way one should play these hands depends on what kind of game you are in, what kind of chip stack you and everyone else has, as well as the "look" of your recent play...

It never makes sense to me to simply call the blind with these cards, but I do think it often makes sense to restrain the bet to a soft raise when in the position you were in. 2.5 times the BB seems perfect to me, because you don't want a terrible hand sitting on BB to be able to limp in and then luck into something big on the flop. The soft raise also empowers you to "see" your opponents with more clarity, because the soft raise is still inviting to middling hands. From there, I would continue to bet soft so long as a flush or straight draw isn't on the board. If one of those two draws are on the board, then I would over bet hard as shit on both the flop and turn - unless they made their hand, then I would just check, and only call small raises - so you put pressure on your opponent to fold. That style of play is the most profitable way to play those hands, other than going all in pre-flop. Think of it this way, getting dealt pairs statistically gets weaker over the life of a hand, which means you need to play with a style that defends against draws to maximize one's profitability.


Just my own questionable opinion ;) Best of luck moving forward friend!
 
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