Slow Death

I will not slow play. I will not slow play. I will not slow play.

Arhg. Why are some lessons are so hard to learn? I know that I should rarely slow play a strong hand, so then why do I do it anyway? Greed? Stupidity? Arrogance? All the above?

Yes, some hands you can slow play, but most you shouldn't. If you flop the nut flush, a boat, or quads, slow playing is perfectly acceptable. But pretty much any other hand, especially sets and two pairs should be pushed hard. It's that old rule: never let someone see a free card on the turn and/or river. Make 'em pay to play. Don't let 'em suck out on you with cheap cards.

I played a $5 SnG this morning and wasn't getting a lot of cards. My VPIP was 0% after 15 hands or so when I picked up ATo in the BB. The UTG player limped, it folded around to the SB, who completed, and I checked. So far, so good. (There is an argument for raising big here and just taking it down, but I tend to follow the guru's advice that you only raise AA and KK from the big blind in "average" game situations.)

Anyway, the flop come A-8-3 with two spades (I had hearts and clubs). SB checks, I check my top pair (strike one), and the UTG player checks. Turn is a blank. SB checks, I min-bet in an effort to make it look like I hit a small card (strike two), UTG calls. River is--you guessed it--a spade. I check, he bets about 1/4 of pot and I know I'm beat, but call anyway and watch him slow roll the K-4 of spades. Strike three. Just like that, I lose a third of my chips and am short stack after playing one lousy hand out of 15. If I'd bet big on the flop to discourage draws like this, I probably would have won a little instead of losing a lot.

The only good news is that I picked up AA a few hands later and flopped a set. Yes, I pushed it hard and doubled up. Then I went card dead again, but managed to squeek into the money. The other two players were playing weak-tight, so I started pushing them hard. Twice they each folded to a reraise and I was back in the thick of it... until I pushed one too many times. Yes, the big stack finally figured me out and min-raised AQ into me. I pushed with AJ and he called in a heartbeat. The flop brought insult to injury with a queen, and I drew dead on my way out of the tourney in third place. Sigh.

I will not be so aggressive. I will not be so aggressive. I will not be so aggressive.
All-in for now...
-Bug