Are there good reasons to slow-roll your hand?

nabmom · Thursday at 3:01 AM

CardChat poker pros Collin Moshman and Katie Dozier shared a video on our YouTube channel about slow-rolling and Hollywooding in a poker game. It's a great video to watch and learn from.

Our questions to you are: Are there ever good reasons to "be that person at the table?" How do you feel about slow-rolling or Hollywooding? Have you ever done this or experienced this at the table?

Poker Orifice · Thursday at 6:29 AM

Sure if you're on the table with Shaun Deeb and you have the opportunity to slowroll him with the absolute nuts... by all means DO IT! He personally loves a good slowroll so it would just be fitting to put it right back on him. I think he'd actually appreciate it.

Yes I have slowrolled players more than once. It typically has been vs. a player who was going out of their way to throw emojis, act poorly on the table (ie. laughing at players when they bust out of the tourney, etc. etc.).

hardongear · Thursday at 6:44 AM

Only a complete asshole would slow roll.

With that said yes I can be a complete asshole so guilty as charged I guess

. In my defense thou I was brought up to treat people how they show you they deserve to be treated. So if one wants to be a complete asshole and slow roll people, be rude or otherwise just douchebag. I'll don't mind dropping to their level and shoving it right back in their face. I'll likely even end up being a better complete asshole cause I'll end up having most the table laughing at them before it's over and they just leave or better yet go on tilt and bust. I can have quite a sharp tongue and good sense humor when the situation requires it. 99% of the time I'm the easy going, easy to get along with and fun player at the table. That dam 1% man

.

Cheers!!!

Sunz of Beaches · Thursday at 7:40 AM

I personally almost never do it but if someone is stalling on purpose or is a known moron then i sometimes do it in the rare case they shove into my nuts. If someone does it to me i dont care about it. Like absolutely zero. Im already prepared to get slowrolled.

fundiver199 · Thursday at 8:33 AM

I think, there are three situations, where a slowroll is acceptable:

1) A friendly home game, where everyone know each other, and people (including the victim) will think, its funny.
2) A poker TV-show or stream, where part of the purpose is to entertain spectators.
3) If the opponent is being an a... themselfes.

As for situation number 2, this is still the best slowroll ever:

hardongear · Thursday at 9:05 AM

fundiver199 said:
I think, there are three situations, where a slowroll is acceptable:

1) A friendly home game, where everyone know each other, and people (including the victim) will think, its funny.
2) A poker TV-show or stream, where part of the purpose is to entertain spectators.
3) If the opponent is being an a... themselfes.

As for situation number 2, this is still the best slowroll ever:

Lmfao this great I'll never forget seeing this for the first time. Almost freaking perfect. Deeb could have slow-rolled it a bit longer, made a bit chat and maybe even a big sigh before saying "I guess I call".

I like Mike as in he's entertaining to watch play poker.....but he's bit of douchebag.

Cheers!!!

najisami · Thursday at 11:51 AM

nabmom said:
Our questions to you are: Are there ever good reasons to "be that person at the table?" How do you feel about slow-rolling or Hollywooding? Have you ever done this or experienced this at the table?

First of all, I think it's disgusting. And yes, I've experienced it a few times, and don't ask me how it feels.
So far, you'd think I wouldn't do it 😛, but you'd be dead wrong!

There's actually one, and only one situation where I wish I can be, and do it:
I wish I can turn the nuts after having called on the flop, and slow roll before calling a 2nd bet, then slow roll even more before calling an all in on the river, but I would only do that against ONE player in the whole world: Will Kassouf.

riff_raff312 · Thursday at 11:55 AM

Well i'm not usually so inclined to play this way but have done so when pushed in that direction or some times just to set someone up

. Slow roll play i find annoying but in some cases a good lesson for someone who play's this way all the time,if you can take the constant stalling of the game good luck and please just have some fun with it!

Oxinthewater · Thursday at 11:59 AM

fundiver199 said:
I think, there are three situations, where a slowroll is acceptable:

1) A friendly home game, where everyone know each other, and people (including the victim) will think, its funny.
2) A poker TV-show or stream, where part of the purpose is to entertain spectators.
3) If the opponent is being an a... themselfes.

As for situation number 2, this is still the best slowroll ever:

Concur on the first reason in the list - used to do a lot of home games in my early twenties, and sometimes we'd pull nonsense on each other like this as a joke, but were all really good friends with each other so we knew it would not lead to anything negative.

rei signo · Friday at 1:35 AM

Usually, when my hand is already very good on the flop, I want to slowly involve my opponent in the hand, waiting for them to see the turn and river and think that their weaker post-board hand is good enough to beat me, and at some point they decide to bet, giving me a lot of chips!

fundiver199 · Friday at 5:16 AM

hardongear said:
Lmfao this great I'll never forget seeing this for the first time. Almost freaking perfect. Deeb could have slow-rolled it a bit longer, made a bit chat and maybe even a big sigh before saying "I guess I call".

I guess, he did not want to waste to much time, since it was a poker show, and everyone wants to keep the action flowing. But yeah it is pretty perfect including the lead-up to the slowroll itself. Matusow bet a little more than pot on the flop, and Deep then just casually throw in a calling chip while chatting with Arnett, as if he is not all that interested in the hand. While of course in reality he is doing his best to not jump out of his seat with excitement

miric007 · Friday at 8:06 AM

I think there’s a difference between intentional disrespect and controlled Hollywood for strategic or psychological reasons. A small pause in a big pot can sometimes give away less information or create future table image value. But excessive slow-rolling just annoys people and usually hurts the atmosphere.

hardongear · Friday at 8:38 AM

sasa2300 said:
Being "that person" at the table usually depends on whether you're trying to win chips or just trying to get under someone's skin. There is a huge difference between strategic Hollywooding and a disrespectful slow-roll.
Most players have experienced a slow-roll at some point, and it never feels good. It creates a toxic atmosphere that usually causes the "fun" players (the ones you want at the table) to leave. I’ve seen players do it as "payback" for a previous hand, but even then, it just drags the whole table's energy down.
As for "being that person," the only time it’s arguably "good" is if you are playing a character to tilt an opponent who is playing too perfectly. If you can get a solver-heavy player off their game by being a bit chatty or "unpredictable," that’s a skill. But there’s a line between being a "character" and being a jerk.

Idk man.....I actually have found most avg players just looking for a decent good time, enjoyment and a night out don't mind when a decent avg person like myself take on the table rude douchebag and put him in his place. Of course you gotten keep it entertaining, fun and be a bit of a comedian for the rest of the table. But in general most people love seeing the douchebag and rude people get what they deserve and having a better table captain(sort of speak). Hell it even helped me get laid once way back when I was single and played a lot of live poker.

Cheers!!!

pltelles · Friday at 8:44 AM

When I'm getting close to making it into the money, I slowroll, and I don't mind if other players do the same. I think time is one of the rules of the game, and we can use it however we see fit, even if it annoys other players.

hardongear · Friday at 8:54 AM

pltelles said:
When I'm getting close to making it into the money, I slowroll, and I don't mind if other players do the same. I think time is one of the rules of the game, and we can use it however we see fit, even if it annoys other players.

That's not a slow roll....that's playing slow. A slow roll is when you have the complete NUTS and take day to call the other player. Completely two different things. One players don't care about and know it's part of MTT poker. The other is just an asshole and douchebag thing to do.

Cheers!!!

JhonnyThe357 · Friday at 9:18 AM

I'll watch the video on the YouTube channel. In my case, whenever I play slow play I end up losing the hand. It's incredible how the cards punish me when I play like that.
Sometimes I'm afraid to bet high and scare away my opponents when I have a good hand, but in the end I always lose on the river when I play slow.🤦🏽‍♂️🤦🏽‍♂️

monkeytilter · Friday at 9:30 AM

I never slow roll and see ZERO benefit in doing so, in fact it can cost you online if you end up time-out folding!

If someone slow rolls me I don't care less, maybe it's a sign I have progressed to worry less about outcomes and more about good decisions getting to an outcome. I want to see showdowns for information, not in an anticipatory "oooooh... have I won?" kind of way, so delaying that has no impact on me.

Tero · Friday at 10:37 AM

Slow-rolling is a good way to lose with aces

In principal I see nothing wrong with it. Poker is a brutal game of deception and everyone should be aware of that fact. But when the opponent is a bullying hot head it makes it just so much more enjoyable to see him fall on to his own sword.

mattiebumpo · Friday at 12:15 PM

The only reason I would slow roll is if I want to see my opponent’s hand, especially when they have been the aggressor in the hand. If I show the winning hand too soon, the opponent may just muck and I will have no information on how strong or weak their hand was.

MAFNL16061986 · Friday at 1:39 PM

sometimes its a good thing to make the openent think you not sure you will win when you mayby have the best hand possible tho

armoko · Saturday at 9:20 AM

For me, slow-rolling doesn’t really have a place in poker, it doesn’t bring any real EV, it just irritates opponents and damages your reputation. Hollywooding is a different story though. That’s more part of live poker psychology and can actually be useful if used in moderation.

gabryyyel31 · Saturday at 1:44 PM

In very casual home games among close friends, it might be used as a joke, though it still risks annoying participants. Personally, I don't do this because I like the saying: ''What you don't like, don't do to others''.

rhoudini · Saturday at 2:13 PM

I think Hollywooding can sometimes be part of the game, especially live, if the table allows you to do that -- like people are laughing and having fun, like in a club in which you know people for a long time. But actual slow-rolling when you already know you’re calling with the nuts? That’s just bad etiquette. The only exception for me is maybe against someone who has been needling people all night or acting disrespectful. Otherwise it just kills the vibe at the table for no real gain 😅

Lodestone · Sunday at 12:17 PM

fundiver199 said:
I think, there are three situations, where a slowroll is acceptable:

1) A friendly home game, where everyone know each other, and people (including the victim) will think, its funny.
2) A poker TV-show or stream, where part of the purpose is to entertain spectators.
3) If the opponent is being an a... themselfes.

As for situation number 2, this is still the best slowroll ever:

Him whining afterwards and then threatening violence as if that is somehow acceptable goes to show how pathetically fried this guy is.

'I never slow rolled anyone and never will'- what a paragon of virtue.

Lying about your profit numbers in order to scam people on the other hand is okay for mike

Mike Matusow called out in forums after inflating 2021 WSOP series profits in Twitter post

Mike Matusow claims overall 2021 WSOP profits in a Twitter post, but fact-checkers find some issues with his claims.

www.poker.org

https://www.pokertube.com/article/mike-matusow-s-wsop-profit-claims-questioned-in-new-controversy

Lodestone · Sunday at 12:28 PM

There was a good Nit Roll on one of the Triton tournaments I watched. I'm not sure if those are better or worse than slowrolls.

I think slowrolling is generally a bad practice because it slows the game down and that sucks for everyone but some people deserve it.

Are there good reasons to slow-roll your hand?

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