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Slow rolling is one of the worst moves a poker player can do at the table, which is why serious players always try to avoid it.
But why is slow roll a bad move? And are there any instances in which slow rolling can be the right thing to do?
We will answer these questions and go over why this play is considered bad and why you need to avoid it.
Before we answer why slow rolling is terrible, let's first explain what is considered “slow rolling” in poker. There are a couple of definitions of slow rolling:
Slow rolling is usually done when there are no more actions to be taken, for example, at the showdown or when one player is all-in, and the other player has the best hand but intentionally waits before calling the all-in.
The main point players who like to slow roll will make when defending their actions is that there is nothing in the official rules to prevent them from slow rolling their opponents. And it is hard to argue against this since nothing states how much time a player can take before showing his cards.
Furthermore, this means that there isn’t an official method of punishment that casinos will use to prevent slow rollers.
However, depending on the casino and the setup, some floor managers might hesitate to give you a spot at a table if you are a know slow roller. This is because they want other players to have fun and keep returning to the casino, something they might not do if they play against a player that irritates them.
Poker managers have the freedom to run their games however they want, and there is nothing you can do about that. This is another reason why slow rolling is not in the players' best interest.
If you are new to the concept of slow rolling, there is a chance that you will miss interpreting some other action, such as Hollywooding, as slow rolling.
This can lead to two things:
Because of this, you must learn how to differentiate between these two concepts. As mentioned, slow rolling can only be done by the player closing the action or when one opponent is all-in and there is only one more player to act.
On the other hand, Hollywooding can be defined as:
In the first situation, the player is taking a lot of time to deceive his opponent and make him believe he does not have a good hand. This can result in the opponent calling with a much worse hand than he would if the player acted immediately.
In the second situation, the player is taking a lot of time to deceive the players acting behind him, hoping they will make the mistake of calling with a worse hand. The important thing to note is that in neither of these situations is the player closing the action.
To sum it up, when a player is the last person to act at a showdown or is the last to act facing an all-in, and he knows that he has the best hand but decides to intentionally stall before calling, he is slow rolling.
If a player knows that he has the best hand but is not the last one to act at a showdown nor the last to act facing an all-in, he takes his time to make an impression that he has a weak hand he is Hollywooding.
Slow rolling is considered a breach of poker etiquette and should be avoided in most situations, while Hollywooding is just a part of a poker strategy you could adopt.
One of the main reasons why slow rolling is bad and is considered a breach of poker etiquette is because the player that is slow rolling gives his opponent false hope that he might win the hand.
Taking your time in situations where you clearly have the best holding is like rubbing salt on an open wound, which you should avoid. In addition to this, you are also wasting everyone's time.
If you play in a private game where the host decides who shows up, you will probably not be invited again if you do this too often, so there are only disadvantages to such play.
You can do several things to avoid being the guy who slow rolls, and most of them are based on the fact that you should never keep your winning cards face down when you know you have the best hand.
Here is some advice on how to avoid slow-rolling other poker players:
With this said, if you slow-roll an opponent by mistake, don’t hesitate to make a genuine apology to prevent any bad blood between you in future games.
Like most other things in poker, slow rolling is relative, meaning there will be occasions when it might be okay to slow roll, and we will mention a few of those situations. However, it would be best to refrain from slow rolling your opponents until you have a good feel for the game and table dynamics.
Experience will help you recognize these situations correctly and help you avoid making mistakes such as slow rolling after you misinterpret your opponent's actions.
With this said, if you are in a hand versus an opponent who had recently slow-rolled somebody else at the table, it might be okay to slow roll them.
Or if you are playing a game with your friends and you slow roll each other all the time, you will not make a mistake by slow rolling one of them just for fun.
Lastly, if you are playing against a player who is being rude and abusive towards you or other players at the table, you can slow-roll them.
An important thing to note is that if you are unsure whether you should slow roll somebody or not, it is better not to do it than to do it and make a mistake.
Another important thing to understand when it comes to slow rolling in poker is that the perception and consequences for slow rolling differ depending on whether you are playing live games or online poker.
There is no doubt that it is much worse to slow roll in live poker, both for the player that is slow rolling and for the player that is being slow rolled.
The main reason for this is that slow rolling in live games is almost always intentional. Live players play one hand at a time, which means that, unlike online grinders who play multiple tables simultaneously, they are always concentrated on one hand.
Another reason why slow rolling is much worse in live poker is that you are face to face with the person you are slow rolling, which means that there is a chance that he and other players at the table might berate you or get into an altercation.
The third reason is that slow rolling might impact the number of games that you can play in the future. And this can be a real problem if you have a limited amount of games that you can play.
Many players believe that slow rolling only happens in live games, so we first need to clarify that slow rolling happens in online poker quite often. With this said, slow rolling is much more forgiving when it is done online.
Most online poker players play more than one table at a time, which means their attention is spread across multiple hands, which can result in them taking time before calling with a winning hand.
In addition, online poker is a virtual game, which means that most players don’t know each other and will not take slow rolling personally, and even if they did, the only thing they can do is write you a message in the chat.
And the third reason why slow rolling is more forgiving in online games is that there is no chance that you will get banned from playing in the future.
To help you understand the concept of slow rolling even better, we have decided to mention a few examples that will show you how slow rolling works in practice.
Player 1 has As Ad
Player 2 has Ac Kd
Player 2 opens from UTG, and everyone folds to Player 2 in the BB, who chooses to 3-bet. The action goes back to Player 1, who 4-bets, and Player 2 moves all in. Player 1 tanks and waits 30 seconds before calling.This is a perfect example of slow rolling in poker because Player 1 has the best possible preflop hand, and he is the last player to act facing an all-in, so he should be snap-calling the all-in from Player 2.
Player 3 has Ac 6c
Player 4 has Kd Qd
UTG and HJ fold, Player 3 opens from the CO, Player 4 3bets from the BTN, SB and BB fold, and Player 3 calls.
The flop comes Ad 5d 6d, Player 3 checks, Player 4 bets 1/3 pot, and Player 3 raises all-in.
Player 4 waits a minute before making a call.
In this situation, Player 4 has the best possible hand on this board - the ace high flush, and there is no reason to take 60 seconds before making a call.
While not technically illegal, slow rolling is frowned upon, and you should avoid it. It irritates other players by giving them false hope and can significantly hurt your image if you keep pulling this move on others.
It might be ok to do this once in a while if playing among close friends to tease each other, but you should avoid it in any regular situation since nothing good can come from it.
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