A slow roll is where a player with a remarkably stronger poker hand intentionally delays before revealing their winning hand. This mainly occurs at showdown, which is usually done to make the opponent think he holds the winning hand.
The following are three ways a player can slow roll the opponent while holding a solid hand.
- When a player takes a long time to roll over the winning card after calling out quickly.
- After facing a big bet, a player pauses on the river
- A player admitting defeat or pretending to be frustrated before rolling over the winning card. See the strategies to apply to use on how you can win roulette every time.
Is Slow Rolling Bad in Poker?
Slow rolling is one of the gravest sins you can commit in poker. Although one of the poker goals is to demoralize your opponent and make them make mistakes, there are limits you should not cross. These limits are a set of unwritten poker rules, also known as poker etiquette that most players understand and adhere to.
Apart from irritating and upsetting your opponent, there is nothing to achieve from slow rolling. You will always know when you have the winner, so making your opponent think they will win is terrible and poor sportsmanship.
Furthermore, delaying turning over your winning card slows down the game, which makes everyone at the table suffer.
Slow Roll Strategy
You should not do slow roll as a strategy. The following are steps you should take to avoid doing a slow roll.
- Double check your hand always before getting to showdown to prevent mis-declaring your hand.
- When you have a hand of extreme strength, call an all-in bet immediately.
- Reveal your cards instantly when it is your turn to act.
- If you are a beginner in poker, learning which hand wins the game, you should always turn over your card at showdown. The dealer should tell you which is the winning hand.
Nevertheless, some seasoned players have played slow roller poker rarely when the situations allow it. For instance, if you do it between you and your friend with whom you have a history of slow rolling. However, don’t slow roll a friend in large bets, as this will only add to his frustrations. There are casinos which you do not this kind of things to happen like the spin and win casino.
When to Shuffle in Poker?
It is essential to shuffle cards in poker to randomize the cards. This eliminates the advantages resulting from players focusing on the cards played in the previous hands. There are four scenarios when the deck cards are shuffled, and it includes:
- The beginning of each hand is the most common time when cards are shuffled. Shuffling aims to change the order of cards at the end of every hand, which makes it challenging to apply card counting in poker.
- If a misdeal arises. If an error occurs when the cards are being dealt, also known as a misdeal, the cards are reshuffled. This happens if the order of the deal is disorganized or the card goes off the table.
- If the river, turn, or flop is dealt very early in the game. For instance, if there are speculations by the dealer that the last player finished their play on the loss and had dealt their card without the in-position player dealing their card. In this case, the deck is reshuffled to prevent the in-position player from dealing with their card when they are already aware of the turn card.
- When a stud poker player runs out of cards. Once the dealer runs out of cards, the cards are reshuffled to act as a new deck, and the game will continue from where they left.
Should you Avoid Slow Rolling in Poker?
Although it is not a written rule, Poker etiquette firmly directs that you should not slow roll. The player may not kick you out of a game for slow roller poker, but you will only create hatred with your opponents.
Slow Rolling the Slow Rollers
While slow rolling the slow roller may seem like the best action to take, it is better to follow the golden poker rule. It is all a matter of respect for your opponent. Slow rolling will create enmity between you and other players, and nobody will be willing to play against you. See other strategies that can give you an upper hand like card counting.
