POTD #288 The Most Dangerous Play in Poker: Slowplaying Aces

Nearing a six figure bubble. I get cute.

Every poker player is aware of the slowplayer’s lament: You think you’ll slowplay because your hand is so strong, and you imagine you will also get the flop, turn, river of your dreams. Then you get a horrible flop and you find yourself asking, Why did I slowplay in the first place? I got too cute. That reaction is an emotional one: It doesn’t mean the slowplay was bad, you’re just upset you got the wrong runout. Having an emotional reaction in the middle of any poker hand is a bad place to be in, but especially after a slowplay gone wrong. You went from having a great hand to having a so-so hand. This is when you need to dive deep and access every ounce of poker skill you have to navigate choppy waters. Instead you’re bemoaning your luck and hoping to get bailed out on the next street.

In today’s hand, we’re approaching a big money bubble of a $75,000 in Triton Cyprus, and while usually I slowplay less preflop as ICM pressure begins to mount, I felt I had a dream spot to slowplay AA. Then I got a nightmare board for my hand, and had to maneuver through a three-way three-pot bot on a connected board. I did not know who had a range advantage or how this hand should play out postflop. I needed to figure things out quickly, but instead, I was thinking man this sucks and played the hand in a way that reflected that thought process.

Triton Cyprus 2022 - Event #5 $75K NLH 8-Handed
(10k/20k/20k) (SB/BB/BBA). 22 Left 12 Cash.

It folds to me UTG7, I (1.16M) makes it 45k with A♥️A♣️, Talal Shakerchi (1.345M) calls next to act, Michael Soyza (835k) makes it 190k, I call, Talal calls.

Flop (610k) K♠️Q♦️J♦️: Soyza checks, I bet 125k, Talal calls, Soyza folds.
Turn (860k) T♥️: I check, Talal checks.
River (860k) 4♥️: I bet 300k, Talal folds.