Jonathan Little Turns the Nuts and Slow Plays, and Trouble Follows
This week we examine another hand I played during last year's World Series of Poker Main Event, this one coming late on Day 1.
The blinds were 200/400 with a 50 ante, and the hand begins with a tight-aggressive player raising to 1,000 from under the gun. Three players call before the action reaches me in the small blind where I have about 24,000 (well covered by others) and I've been dealt A♦Q♦.
I choose to call as well — I explain in the video some reasons why — and the BB calls as well.
The flop is a good one for me, coming K♦J♣7♦ to give me both a flush draw and a gutshot to Broadway. I start out with a check, the entire table checks around, then the 4♦ falls on the turn.
Here I decide to check again, choosing to slow play my nut flush. One of the preflop callers bets 3,000, the others fold, I decide to call, and the big blind calls as well.
The J♦ then comes on the river to pair the board — and to present me with a potentially tricky situation. I check, and the big blind (a tight-aggressive player) leads with a nearly pot-sized bet. The other player folds, and I'm put to a tough decision. Take a look:
When you slow play, bad things occasionally happen, and when they do you must use your hand-reading abilities to figure out your opponents' ranges and alter your strategy accordingly.
Would you have folded the ace-high flush in this situation? Let me know in a comment below.
Jonathan Little is a professional poker player and author with over $6,200,000 in live tournament earnings. He writes a weekly educational blog and hosts a podcast at JonathanLittlePoker.com. You can follow him on Twitter @JonathanLittle.
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