Slow-playing after the flop in Texas Holdem is much more common. In fact, we think it’s too common. Many Texas Holdem pros, perhaps trying to live up to their tricky, trappy image, overuse the slow-play concept. Our natural move is to bet good poker hands for value. When we do slow-play, we’re careful about picking our spots and we’re looking for very specific criteria.

An aggressive opponent. When we check our strong poker hand, We want our holdem opponent to bet out. A loose, aggressive poker player is most likely to do just that. A tight poker player, obviously, is a poorer candidate for slow-playing in Texas Holdem.
A single opponent. Slow-playing in Texas Holdem best against a single holdem opponent. With a very strong poker hand, you can consider slow-playing two holdem opponents. We would only slow-play three or more opponents with a real monster, something close to the nuts. The problem with multiple holdem opponents is twofold: there are more chances that someone is drawing to poker hand that can beat you, and it’s more likely that someone has poker hand that could actually call (or raise) your value bet. Remember that there’s no need to slow-play if a straight value bet is likely to be called.

Always bear in mind that the immediate goal of Texas Holdem slow-playing is to win an extra bet. Instead of the sequence "bet, fold," you’re hoping for the sequence "check, bet, raise, fold." Some Texas Holdem beginners get carried away by the idea of setting an elaborate trap which slowly causes holdem opponent to lose all his chips. That certainly can happen, but only when your holdem opponent has a strong poker hand of his own which he’s inclined to keep pushing. If he has a weak poker hand and thinks, from your check, that you have a weak poker hand too, then it’s only his first bet that you’ll win. Once he realizes that you actually have a hand, he’s not going to put more money in the pot.

Read more:

Candidate Hands
The Check-Raise and The Check-Call

Good luck.

Also recommended:

1. Slow-Playing Before the Flop in Texas Holdem
2. Slow playing After the Flop in Texas Holdem: Candidate Hands
3. Slow-Playing in Texas Holdem
4. Playing Monster Hands in No-Limit Cash Games
5. Texas Holdem tricks