Slowplaying AA: Smart Trap or Big Mistake?

[Grzegorz00pl]

I would slow play till I see the flop, and then go all in.

If I had the nuts, I would go all-in. If I had the nuts, I would have pushed all-in. Otherwise, I would have raised 50%-75% of the pot.
If opponent would play all-in - I would call him.
I can add one advice:
Don't just call (limp behind) – it's passive and risky.
Don't slowplay without reason – there might be an exception for very specific table situations, but in most cases, it's a mistake.

 

[ratbat615]

sometimes . against aggressive players is best and position is important . you just have to be careful . but check out pre flop charts and you will see the best way to slow play them. just be careful.

 

[MTT Database Review]

Same as I said in similar thread:
There is no advice on how to play AA. Or how to play AK, or AQ, or JJ or 87s or anything else. If you want advice, ask how to play on monotone flops CO vs BB at 30bb deep. Or what to 3bet BB vs BTN open at 50bb, or on what flops BTN vs SB SRP 60bb deep we should use the largest cbets and on which the smallest ones. Learn different situations and how to approach them. Not by hands. Every hand is played differently every time. Sometimes 72o is raise preflop and sometimes AK is fold preflop.

Here I attach two spots, both at 38bb deep. In one you need to call with AA and 4bet jamming would be a mistake for more than 3bb, which means on the level of 308bb/100hands winrate.
In the second one we should squeeze non allin and calling is a 1130bb/100h level of mistake.

Btw good regs usually win something like 3-8bb/100h longterm. With 15bb/100h longterm winrate your ROI would be like +50 %. Just so that you have a little comparison. So yeah, you cannot say anything in general about "how to play AA", or any other hand.

 

[sandy358]

I had AA and just called preflop instead of raising.
Flop came dangerous and I lost.
Do you usually slowplay strong hands?😊

Unless you are playing against a maniac who would go bust as a bluff all the time, slowplaying aces is generally not a good idea, and mostly comes from the spots when your opponent is way too behind (when you have sets of aces etc). Overpairs mostly prefer to barrel for value.

 

[alucaa]

I only play strong hands slowly when I see that the other person is very aggressive, otherwise the probability of losing chips and having him set a trap for me is greater because I see the flop for a few chips, I've already lost a lot to play slow

 

[RodrigoMartins]

It depends a lot on the table dynamics, but most of the time I prefer raising AA preflop.

Slowplaying can be risky, especially out of position or against multiple players — you're letting them see a flop too cheap.

That said, sometimes mixing it up can work, especially if you’ve been very aggressive and want to trap.

But yeah, dangerous boards can punish slowplay fast. 😅

What was the flop in your hand?

 

[LUKADONCICMVP]

poker used to be nice when I could win with pocket aces.

 

[renisundernet]

Its mostly a mistake especially when the table is dynamic.

 

[thedarkman]

I had AA and just called preflop instead of raising.
Flop came dangerous and I lost.
Do you usually slowplay strong hands?😊

Nothing wrong with slowplaying aces but you have to be prepared to let them go.

 

[eetenor]

I had AA and just called preflop instead of raising.
Flop came dangerous and I lost.
Do you usually slowplay strong hands?😊

There is an old school poker axiom "never go broke in an unraised pot". If you limp AA you do not narrow your Villains ranges which means AA by the River is not a strong holding as your V can have many weak 2 pair hands.

Slow playing AA is for those times we know someone else will raise not for times when we will see a flop for 1 bb.

 

[AKQ]

I had AA and just called preflop instead of raising.
Flop came dangerous and I lost.
Do you usually slowplay strong hands?😊

You do whatever will get you the most value in that spot . Dont be an A or B choice. Both is good

 

[SPANKYSN]

To me it depends on the stakes. When I play a freeroll, I can try to trap more. If I am playing cash $1-3, I would play aggressively…yes, it could reduce my chances for a big win, but that’s better than losing a huge hand…I play differently when I have some skin in the game.

 

[martDdart]

I usually dont slowplay because of many players in the flop increases the risk of losing big with AA,hard to fold AA.

 

[tihomir_kula]

I have lost the hand due to a slow play so many times! Now I play AA all in as a rule.

 

[TheniT]

I prefer to raise with AA preflop, just calling will bring a lot of opponents to the hand and it will be very complicated post flop.

 

[Poker_Mike]

I had AA and just called preflop instead of raising.
Flop came dangerous and I lost.
Do you usually slowplay strong hands?😊

I think this is a great question.

In general I am not fond of limping with strong hands.

Reasons to raise preflop are to reduce the number of hole cards you are up against (narrow the field) and also to increase the amount of money in the pot while you are ahead. A player's response to your raise can also give you an idea of the cards they are holding.

Again in general - I am not against limping with AA to trap or disguise the strength of your hand.

But then if there are 4 or 5 players seeing a flop - you must be able to fold.

I like the idea of slow-playing if you have an unbeatable hand. And of course the idea there is to disguise the strength of your hand and gain more chips.

I would slow play till I see the flop, and then go all in.

I don't like this play because you are letting other players see a cheap flop.

Then you are "going all in" to make them fold? Or are you trying to get them to call and get their chips?

For example - why not raise preflop? You are giving away the strength of your hand on the flop when you shove anyways.

And even worse - players who call will often have you beat.

Good luck !

 

[gloria_marga]

If you are at a very quiet table you should at least raise 2BB, preventing too weak hands from entering.

 

[antonis32123]

In EP I might try slow playing it , so as to get a raiser and reraiser and then raise even more when my turn comes . If they don't bet of raise , with many limpers in the hand I am n ready to fold AA , especially on wet flop .

 

[bazza155]

Depends on your feel for the table, if it is a tight limpers table then raise, if its an aggressive raising table then slow play let then raise and then re-raise and if you think you have a bingo calling station then all in.