Are there good reasons to slow-roll your hand?

kunkgreen · May 20, 2026

Well, first of all, I'd like to say that I was rooting along with Kate for the K to come.

After that, I mean, if something is allowed then I understand it's something that can be done, however, it's still a very unpleasant attitude, and I really don't want to be that person at the table (although I still agree that many opponents deserve it).

Maybe I've done it a few times, which I don't even remember... This was a genuine issue; in online poker, delays can have other reasons.

Hollywooding, does that term really exist to describe slowplay?

fundiver199 · May 21, 2026

kunkgreen said:
Hollywooding, does that term really exist to describe slowplay?

Hollywooding is a live poker term and refer to taking a lot of time before a decision while also sort of overacting in an attempt to make your opponent think, you are weak, when you are strong, or vice versa. This hand is a classic example. Hollywooding can easily be overdone, and after the hand a tilted Phil Helmuth indicated, that Fishman propably reduced his chance of getting paid by all his acting.

kunkgreen · May 21, 2026

fundiver199 said:
Hollywooding is a live poker term and refer to taking a lot of time before a decision while also sort of overacting in an attempt to make your opponent think, you are weak, when you are strong, or vice versa. This hand is a classic example. Hollywooding can easily be overdone, and after the hand a tilted Phil Helmuth indicated, that Fishman propably reduced his chance of getting paid by all his acting.

The name is quite suggestive! hehe
But I'd never heard of it before!

I'd seen it before, but only remembered it after rewatching the video!

mammadduke · May 22, 2026

In playing live I like to slow roll sometimes… trying to tell by the way, other players act and play at first .. So I watch their reactions and face eyes and hand movements .. that’s tell a lot..

christovam · May 24, 2026

hardongear said:
De fato, são, e é por isso que eu pessoalmente prefiro jogar online do que no meu cassino local, mesmo que seja apenas a 15-20 minutos de distância e os jogos sejam muito mais fáceis. Quanto mais velho fico, menos quero lidar com bêbados, idiotas e completos babacas... mesmo que eu seja bom em lidar com eles . Prefiro ser o urso de pelúcia gigante e tranquilo de 1,93m e 113kg do que o urso pardo grande e malvado (mas engraçado para todos os outros).

Saúde!!!

That's right. Wise decision. In tournaments, the first few minutes are only worth playing if you have a premium hand—and even then, bad beats are common.

christovam · May 24, 2026

mammadduke said:
Ao tocar ao vivo, gosto de ir devagar às vezes... tentando perceber, pela forma como os outros músicos agem e tocam inicialmente... Então, observo suas reações, expressões faciais e movimentos das mãos... isso me diz muito.

I haven't had the chance to play live yet, but I know I couldn't hide it. Keeping an impassive expression is not my strong suit. I like to get carried away with my moves.

BillyR23 · May 25, 2026

First of all, very good video and great points about slow-rolling/Hollywooding/being a jerk (especially with that stack size)

Are there good reasons to slow-roll your hand?

If it's a 'show' and or you play with friends and you want to have some fun with people you know and/or that can take this kind of play without creating tension or negatively impact the game atmosphere... I guess it's OK to do it as it has entertainment value, but overall, I'm against slow-rolling and/or some other 'weird' stuff- for example in my home games with my friends (we've played a few times/month for like 10+ years) is that "you won" bullshit counts as a muck... we've noticed things that are widely known: this slows down play for everyone and sometimes, even with how well we know each other and/or good the relationship is, this can end-up relatively badly - I have a few 'funny' stories

Also, in a serious game and/or public poker environment, my advice is to never do it as the risks outweigh any minor upside...

Balou1982 · May 27, 2026

I would say that i dont like slow-rolling or hollywooding a hand but from time to time this could be a possibility @live poker, i usually play online so i dont think this is an important thing in my game but i have seen it also a few times @online poker and did it in the past for sure.
If you are a regular poker player with years of experience you will come in that situation i think but in a tv poker show it isnt really dramatic because poker
pro´s could live with it and also like an exciting show @table.

dreamer13 · May 27, 2026

Slowplay strategy involves calling or checking in situations where a player could easily raise or even reraise. This way, the slowplayer manages to keep as many players in the hand as possible, thereby increasing the pot. The moment one opponent believes their hand is the best, makes a big bet, or goes all-in, they'll find themselves trapped in slowplay.

pjokay · May 27, 2026

It's not a nice way to play. I can see there being a tilt factor to it but seems a really unprofessional way to play. But I don't mind watching it against players that laugh when they knock you out which I rate as a similar type of trait, especially as you cannot tilt someone that is out so just seems a bit nasty. If that's how you need to an edge by slow-rolling players, it's very sad.

steve01991 · May 27, 2026

do unto others as you would like them to do to you!

nasty bent gorilla · May 27, 2026

I don't see slowrolling as meaningfully distinct from other manipulative behaviour to change how your opponent plays.

No problem with it unless it is the final hand of a tournament where the player slowrolling has the unassailable nuts.

bronwen777 · May 31, 2026

My personal experience trying to slow roll has only ever gotten me bad beat. Its like you're giving the oponent opportunity to improve with garbage hands. They get straights, 2 pair etc, while you're letting them. I now rather raise and re-raise aces so that 53o can fold instead of calling and making straights. Rather take a small pot, than lose a big hand. 👍🏻

zorro222_zorro222 · Jun 1, 2026

I have never intentionally slow-rolled someone, I just don't find it enjoyable to do, I have accidentally did it to an opponent once when I misread my hand in PLO and back-doored the nuts without knowing it, but I would never do it on purpose.

anasslaaleg · Jun 1, 2026

In most situations, no. Slow-rolling is often seen as poor etiquette and can create unnecessary tension at the table.
The only acceptable reason might be if you're genuinely unsure whether your hand is the winner. Otherwise, revealing the nuts quickly shows respect for the game and your opponents.
Poker is competitive enough there's no need to make a winning hand painful for someone else.

anasslaaleg · Jun 1, 2026

Poker tells aren't just for live games online players have habits too!
One of the clearest tells I've seen is the player who instantly checks weak hands but suddenly takes extra time before betting strong ones. Another funny one is the player who starts chatting a lot right before making a big bluff.
I've even caught myself giving away tells by playing too fast when I'm confident and overthinking when I'm unsure.
Poker is a game of cards, but it's also a game of patterns. The more attention you pay, the more information you collect.

Lodestone · Jun 1, 2026

fundiver199 said:
It can certainly end up resulting in bad karma and looking pretty silly, if you do it before the river with a hand, that might still get sucked out on. Some might argue, that this is not a slowroll, since Habb "only" had the second nuts. But for sure he was not 3-betting KK with intention to fold them to a 4-bet jam, when he was less than 25BB deep.

So for me this was still a slowroll. And also an angle, since he pretended, he just intended to call, when the action got to him the first time. And I think, everyone other than Habb were happy to see this very ungentleman like behavour punished by the card gods. "Ship it to mamma", as the commentators said

What a loser. The real justice is that dude will never be able to live that down. When you google his name the autopopulate first suggest slow roll lmao

Lodestone · Jun 1, 2026

fundiver199 said:
Hollywooding is a live poker term and refer to taking a lot of time before a decision while also sort of overacting in an attempt to make your opponent think, you are weak, when you are strong, or vice versa. This hand is a classic example. Hollywooding can easily be overdone, and after the hand a tilted Phil Helmuth indicated, that Fishman propably reduced his chance of getting paid by all his acting.

A guy that literally has 'fish' in his name telegraphing a strong hand.

The joke feels so obvious that it feels more like fate than comedy.

acidburnfx · Jun 2, 2026

Depending on the type of player at the table, this dynamic can sometimes be necessary. It's part of the game to extract maximum value from a strong hand and can be crucial at certain times.

Sebbour · Jun 3, 2026

I'm personally for Hollywooding and against slow-rolling in any situation. I have experienced Hollywooding at live private games regularly (and it was fun) but I don't remember that someone slow-rolled somebody else.

JhonnyThe357 · Jun 3, 2026

I personally don't see any benefit in slow-playing when you have a good hand. I think that, due to the rarity of having good pocket hands, you should extract maximum value from them. This also avoids drawing cards that weaken your hand.

In my opinion, if you want to see the next card, you have to pay, and depending on my hand, I have to pay a lot.

csecsey · Jun 4, 2026

It's nice that there are good reasons. I will illustrate with an example that happened to me a few days ago.
I played the role of the big blind. I had Pikk 4.7 in hand. One of my opponents raised to three blinds, and since I held a flush, I called.
The flop: 4, 10, 7, which I called. My opponent called me, which I gave.
The turn: J , and I passed again. Here he calls a higher bet, which I call.
The river: 4, of course I pass. my opponent goes all in, which of course I call.

And in the end, it turns out that he has a royal pair on his hands

Mikus2025 · Jun 4, 2026

If you play with your teammates, you can play with such things for backgammon, but not like playing a serious tournament, because suppose a good pro saw it, after something like that he won't even give you any advice if you want to know some opinion about your hand:/

ratbat615 · Saturday at 2:27 PM

I am not a fan of slow roll. don't like it.

bullkk · Saturday at 2:38 PM

I delay only when I have a lack of time.

Are there good reasons to slow-roll your hand?

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