We have all been there (unless your luck is crazy bad): we flop the nuts and our heart gives a little jump as we start to think about how to bust all the fools who decided it would be a good idea to mix it up with us. The first decision we need to make is, do we come out firing or do we try to slow play our huge hand? While slow playing can most definitely work, it is not foolproof, so let’s examine this strategy further. As you likely know, the idea behind slow playing a strong hand is to sucker your opponent into thinking he is in the lead so that he coughs up chips to you. For example, say you called a pre-flop raise with 8-8 and flopped top set on a 2-3-8 board. Suspecting your opponent has a high pair, you sit back and let him be the aggressor, feeling confident that you will win the hand. Typically, in a situation such as this, you will win a significant pot. Of course, the correct time to slow play is not always this apparent. In general, slow playing can be the proper course of action if you have ...