As you expand your poker skills, acquiring new strategies and learning proper gambling
etiquette, here's one move to avoid making: 4️⃣ the "slow roll".
What is a Slow Roll?
A
slow roll in poker is where the player with the very best hand 4️⃣ ("the nuts") makes a
scene of calling a large final bet, adding unnecessary drama to the hand. One of the
4️⃣ most frowned-upon moves in poker, slow rolling is likely to lose you respect and may
even anger your opponents.
The slow 4️⃣ roll should not be confused with "slow play",
"sandbagging" or "trapping" – three terms that refer to playing a strong 4️⃣ hand weakly to
encourage your opponent to bet. The slow roll comes at the end of the hand, when you
4️⃣ delay showing your cards in order to taunt your opponent.
For example, on the final
round of betting, if one player 4️⃣ goes all-in and shows a king-high flush, and their
opponent, holding the ace-high flush, pretends to make a tough decision, 4️⃣ this would be
a seen as a slow roll.
In this case, it is likely to make the all-in player think 4️⃣ they
have the best hand, making it a doubly crushing blow when the slow roller reveals that
they have the 4️⃣ nuts.
Why Would Someone Slow Roll?
Slow rolling is done to irritate or
upset an opponent, often because the two poker players 4️⃣ involved have some history. It
may also be done, in larger or televised poker games, simply to gain attention - 4️⃣ but
while a slow roller may find their move amusing, other players will not.
Be wary,
though - a slow roll 4️⃣ might also be done by mistake, when a player doesn't actually
realise that they have as strong a hand as 4️⃣ the bettor. In the Showdown at the Sands,
“Poker Brat" Phil Hellmuth famously made a scene on international television with 4️⃣ a
tirade against poker legend T.J. Cloutier, as he thought that he had been slow
rolled.
Cloutier, however, genuinely had not 4️⃣ realised that he had made his flush, and
it was Hellmuth who came away looking bitter in defeat.
So, while you 4️⃣ should avoid
making the move yourself, it's also wise to avoid becoming heated with players who do
slow roll, as 4️⃣ the aim of the move is to goad you into losing your composure.
Slow
Rolling in the Casino and Online
Poker and 4️⃣ casino etiquette strongly dictates that you
should not slow roll, but it is not a written rule, and you're unlikely 4️⃣ to be thrown
out of a game - or a casino - for doing it. However, it certainly won't make 4️⃣ you any
friends around the table.
Slow rolling in online poker is far less easy to spot, as
there are several 4️⃣ reasons why a player might take a long time to call a bet.
Distractions away from the computer, slow internet 4️⃣ connections and playing multiple
games are all possible causes for what might appear to be a slow roll.
It is also 4️⃣ less
likely for there to be history between online poker players (if you're playing with the
vast pool of players 4️⃣ at Poker Stars, for instance) making slow rolling less
common.
Still, if you visit Winner Poker to sit down and play 4️⃣ poker today, be sure not
to slow roll - good etiquette always matters!
