It is a common misconception that by playing your hand slower you will win more games. Sometimes this may be true, but in many cases it isn't, especially when you have a big hand. I see slow playing happen so much more often than necessary when I am playing both live and free poker tournaments online but I think that playing a more simple tactic works better.

It is definitely dangerous to slow play big hands for many the reasons-not the least of which is getting outdrawn by your opponents. However, there is another even more important reason why slow playing is a bad idea. Slow playing is oftentimes less profitable than playing your hand fast.

Better Betting

If you want to build a big pot with a big hand like a set, you need to be betting. You need to raise pre-flop, bet on the flop, bet on the turn, and fire your last bullet on the river. In other words, you want to gradually get all-in.

You may think you'll scare away opponents with continuous betting, but this won't be the case if they hold a reasonably strong hand. Big pots happen when a big hand runs into an even bigger hand. If your opponent folds before you get all your chips in the middle, it simply wasn't meant to be.

You need to be realistic about betting and avoid scaring away your fellow players by betting too big. For example, no player is going to call you if you bet $300 in a £30 pot. You will not get called if you raise $500 with an opening bet of $20. Its important to keep your bets and raises realistic to avoid frightening away your opponents.

Practice this approach on free poker games and free poker tournaments where you can get a feel for what's OK without messing it up bigtime with proper money!

You must persuade your fellow players that they have a good enough hand to continue playing so that they don't fold.

You want your opponent to be pot committed. You can't do that with an oversized bet. You're basically declaring that you own the best hand.

There is also a downside to not betting and just checking. Obviously, you can get outdrawn on. That's a common concern.

However, checking also fails to build up the pot. You may eventually get your opponent to bet at you, but you he or she may just check behind-and thus, you'll be losing some profit from winning one less bet.

Exceptions to the rule

There will be occasions when it is best to slow play. For example, it's a smart move to slow play when you flop a royal flush, a straight flush, quads, a full house, the nut flush, or the nut straight. Those are very strong hands. There's little chance to you'll be beat. You want to give your opponent every chance possible to bet his second best hand.

You may also consider slow playing against a characteristically loose and aggressive player. Their first instinct is to bet when players check. You can take advantage of that aggression.

Yet, in most cases, you do want to bet out or raise. You want to build big pots slowly by betting every chance that you get. Remember, its well worth practicing these tips by playing free poker tournaments sites, such as NoPayPOKER.com where you wont lose any of your own money but can still win real cash. That way when you get into a higher stakes cash situation you'll play it right and hopefully scoop it up!