Don't slow-play a flopped flush

[frob23]

There are a lot of times you can slow-play a hand. But a hand I never ever slow-play is the flopped flush. Be it the nut flush or otherwise. I originally read this advice in a book but I forget which one it was. It immediately fixed a weak point in my game and increased the profits from the times when I flopped a flush. I wasn't making as much as I should have been from those hands.

First off, if its not the nut flush, you will be getting action from people with the Ace of that suit or the King of that suit. They might even believe you already have a flush but that they can win a big pot if they hit. This makes sense and depending on the size of the bet, pot, and stacks involved... it is certainly fine to take a card if you're holding the Ace of the suit.

Second, a lot of people love to play suited cards. I can't even count the number of times that two people flopped a flush and slow-played it to death. So that they only got a small bet on the river. And they were both waiting for the other person to show interest.

Third, anyone with a set is going to come along. This is especially true since many people will bet a top pair or a one card draw on coordinated boards like that.

But what happens if none of those cases are true? Well, you still should bet. If no one has anything strong enough to play on that flop, they're not going to go broke on the turn or river unless they improve enough to beat the flush anyway. Worse, they might peel a card with top pair on the flop but if the turn puts a 4th suited card up, they're going to completely shut down. The flop might be your best bet to win a little extra money, instead of nothing at all, from these marginal hands.

And then there are the dream cases. Where you flop the nuts and bet it. And some maniac decides that if you had the nuts, you wouldn't be betting. This happens fairly often at the micro limits. Recently, I flopped the nut flush and led right out with a pot sized bet (5xBB). Another player made it 20xBB to go. It folds back around to me and I just call. This is slightly different from slow-playing. But I did it because the raiser was a maniac and I suspected he'd bet again on the turn but wouldn't call a raise on the flop. The turn is a blank and I check to him. He shoves all-in (he had me covered so it was 78xBB). Of course, I insta-call. This is perfect for me. He turns over top pair with a Jack of the suit. There's nothing like having someone put in 78xBB when they're drawing completely dead. And if I had just checked to him, I doubt the pot would have grown large enough on the flop (without him knowing he was beat) for him to make a mistake that huge.

There's just very little reason to slow-play a flopped flush. If you're going to win a big pot with it, you need to start building it right away. If you can't build a big pot because no one wants to play with you, you might as well find that out on the flop instead of realizing you left money on the table when the river comes and someone else turns over a hand that would have paid more.

Note: There will be times when you flop a flush and the bigger flush is out there. This is like a set over set scenario. You're just going to get hurt. It sucks and about the only thing that can save you is a 4th card of the suit coming before you've got your entire stack in. But you can't worry too much about this. When you flop a flush, it means there are fewer ways for someone out there to hold the higher flush and most of the time they'll be playing hands you beat.

[travz21]

I very much agree. The easiest way to make money with your big hands is to play them aggressively instead of trapping, excluding special circumstances. Check-raises on the turn and river signify a lot of strength, and people will not be very willing to put their money to the test with top pair or middle two anymore. Building the pot early (preflop and flop) is essential to creating big pots, obviously, and slowplaying hands is really counterproductive when trying to felt someone unless you're playing someone very insane who will instapush.

[big_rob187]

its true you shouldn't slow play but you can't go to fast bet what you think they will call

[Huskers314]

its true you shouldn't slow play but you can't go to fast bet what you think they will call

First sober Big Rob post ever?!?

[rudy4759]

your right on that lol i been slow playing betting small min bet then they river on me then they raise big on river im learning lol

[Clearwheezy]

Yeah, I love how you mention how he had a jack of that suit...I had top pair and ace of hearts on a 3 heart flop. Guy bets, I raise all in. He called with j4 hearts....that's what just cleared me of my bankroll. So much for bankroll management in that situation. I was upset, but hey, I proved to myself I can play good poker by pushing a 25 dollar bankroll up to 80 in one day

[frob23]

Yeah, I love how you mention how he had a jack of that suit...I had top pair and ace of hearts on a 3 heart flop. Guy bets, I raise all in. He called with j4 hearts....that's what just cleared me of my bankroll. So much for bankroll management in that situation. I was upset, but hey, I proved to myself I can play good poker by pushing a 25 dollar bankroll up to 80 in one day

You might have played good poker but that's questionable bankroll management. If you keep playing that fast, I wouldn't be shocked if you dropped $55 as fast as you gained it.

Unless you were playing super small games and just kept getting run over by the deck, over and over... still a 300% bankroll gain in a day is a lot.

[Clearwheezy]

I mentioned in an earlier post about my poor bankroll management in that instance.

[gamer4life27]

But to go from $25 to $80 isn't poor bankroll management. It could mean that he won a tourney with a low buy-in.

But of course, you stated that you put it all in the cash game and according to proper bankroll management that is THE WORST thing you can do.

Yeah, you may have stated earlier about your poor bankroll management, but if you were doing any bankroll management at all, then it wouldn't even have gotten to that point.

I remember the $25 I won on the PTOTW a few weeks ago. I ran it up to $168 in 4 days ($60 1st day, $100 2nd day, $140 3rd day, and $168 4th day). I was playing stakes in which I knew I was a winning player, but at the same I was having fun. I knew I wasn't playing proper bankroll management, but I was playing to prove to myself that I can have fun at the game and still win.

By the second day, I was playing at the $1/$2 Limit Holdem Bad Beat tables on PN for a HUGE chunk of my bankroll. I would sit down with anywhere from $12-$21 at any given time with a bankroll between $60-$100. I already knew that only at $1/$2 I was a winning player because I would move up to the $2/$4 Limit Holdem tables with $40 and would lose it so fast it wasn't even funny.

I was admitting to myself that I could play high stakes and that I wasn't a losing player because I couldn't beat the micro limits. I simply didn't know how to play with them. I now know and have yet to try out my strategy, but I hope it's going to work.

The point I am trying to make is that as long as you can admit that you are not playing with proper bankroll management, yet that you are playing to have fun and/or to see if you can make a profit in this section is acceptable. AS LONG AS you are not spending over $50 to do it. After you spend $50 once doing this, then try it again with another $50, but this time doing proper bankroll management to build up again to re-gain that $50 loss.

Once in a while, you need a reminder that poker is a game in which it's not all about business, but about people. If you can have fun with people while playing the game, then thats all the reminder you need for reality. If you are simply grinding out on the tables 24/7, for months upon months, you forgot that many people play this for the simple fact that it brings people together in one area to enjoy a little fun action that you both can and can't control.

If that means spending $50 once every month, why not? I say $50 is a GREAT price to spend as a reminder to yourself how great this game is. If you know you can make up that $50 with proper bankroll management and good playing, then I say splurge every once in a while. Have fun with the game, refresh your people skills and eventually you will improve your playing because of it.

That is just my oppinion though...

[frob23]

I mentioned in an earlier post about my poor bankroll management in that instance.

Sorry, I had missed that before I read this and responded. Oh well, it's free money. No real harm done. There's always another PTOTW tournament around the corner.

[Guidugli]

Very nice post! Agree with everything, but I like to slowplay flopped flushes when there was a raise pf AND a A or K hits. If I check here, my opponent can make a bet for info with his A or K that i just call, as if i´m waiting for another card of the same suit. A blank hits, I check, villain bets pot, I shove. Of course this works against overagressive players that just won´t belive i flopped a flush, but i´ve won some big pots playing that way in small stakes.