As you expand your poker skills, acquiring new strategies and learning proper gambling
etiquette, here's one move to avoid making: 😄 the "slow roll".
What is a Slow Roll?
A
slow roll in poker is where the player with the very best hand 😄 ("the nuts") makes a
scene of calling a large final bet, adding unnecessary drama to the hand. One of the
😄 most frowned-upon moves in poker, slow rolling is likely to lose you respect and may
even anger your opponents.
The slow 😄 roll should not be confused with "slow play",
"sandbagging" or "trapping" – three terms that refer to playing a strong 😄 hand weakly to
encourage your opponent to bet. The slow roll comes at the end of the hand, when you
😄 delay showing your cards in order to taunt your opponent.
For example, on the final
round of betting, if one player 😄 goes all-in and shows a king-high flush, and their
opponent, holding the ace-high flush, pretends to make a tough decision, 😄 this would be
a seen as a slow roll.
In this case, it is likely to make the all-in player think 😄 they
have the best hand, making it a doubly crushing blow when the slow roller reveals that
they have the 😄 nuts.
Why Would Someone Slow Roll?
Slow rolling is done to irritate or
upset an opponent, often because the two poker players 😄 involved have some history. It
may also be done, in larger or televised poker games, simply to gain attention - 😄 but
while a slow roller may find their move amusing, other players will not.
Be wary,
though - a slow roll 😄 might also be done by mistake, when a player doesn't actually
realise that they have as strong a hand as 😄 the bettor. In the Showdown at the Sands,
“Poker Brat" Phil Hellmuth famously made a scene on international television with 😄 a
tirade against poker legend T.J. Cloutier, as he thought that he had been slow
rolled.
Cloutier, however, genuinely had not 😄 realised that he had made his flush, and
it was Hellmuth who came away looking bitter in defeat.
So, while you 😄 should avoid
making the move yourself, it's also wise to avoid becoming heated with players who do
slow roll, as 😄 the aim of the move is to goad you into losing your composure.
Slow
Rolling in the Casino and Online
Poker and 😄 casino etiquette strongly dictates that you
should not slow roll, but it is not a written rule, and you're unlikely 😄 to be thrown
out of a game - or a casino - for doing it. However, it certainly won't make 😄 you any
friends around the table.
Slow rolling in online poker is far less easy to spot, as
there are several 😄 reasons why a player might take a long time to call a bet.
Distractions away from the computer, slow internet 😄 connections and playing multiple
games are all possible causes for what might appear to be a slow roll.
It is also 😄 less
likely for there to be history between online poker players (if you're playing with the
vast pool of players 😄 at Poker Stars, for instance) making slow rolling less
common.
Still, if you visit Winner Poker to sit down and play 😄 poker today, be sure not
to slow roll - good etiquette always matters!
