What is a Slow Roll in Poker & How to Avoid it

The Instant Karma Slowroll – Watch the River Card

Our next example is also from a Max Pain Monday matchup, this time featuring Hilary and serial entrepreneur Ronnie Ebanks. On this occasion, however, Hilary’s slow rolling was ultimately unsuccessful as she lost a total pot worth $19,970.

Dealt a pair of nines in the pocket, the first three community cards saw Hilary build a full house. Ronnie had three-of-a-kind (Queens) at the flop. The initial betting rounds saw Hilary take an age to call, while at one point she implored Ronnie to “go easy on her”.

As the pot continued to grow, Hilary continued to engage Ronnie in conversation, even asking him if he had nines or queens before the river. She looked set to seal the win too, but the dealer drew a further Queen at the river, delivering Ebanks the third-highest rank poker hand (four-of-a-kind) and a dramatic win.

There are several lessons to draw from this. Firstly, slow-rolling a strong hand can backfire if you don’t have an unbeatable set of cards. The same is true if you can’t verify whether your opponent has a potentially stronger hand. It also highlights the importance of focusing on your own hand and playing it as efficiently as possible.

The Negreanu Slowroll – Poker Legend Calls for a Ruling

This incident came during a hand in the PCA Main Event in 2013. It happened in a game featuring Chris Oliver and the legendary Daniel Negreanu. It featured a premature and ill-judged clock call from Oliver, as he sought to rush Negreanu. The tactic was to potentially convince him that he had a superior hand.

If you call the clock on an opponent, you’re requesting a tourney official to impose a time limit for decision-making. This is something that Negreanu has actively called for at the pro level. He has done this to minimize instances of slow rolling and time-wasting. In this case, however, Oliver called the clock prematurely, barely 45 seconds after his own call.

Negreanu initially requested a rule check, maintaining his cool before pressing ahead and calling. His pair of pocket kings ultimately saw him win a relatively underwhelming hand, as Oliver himself had just an Ace high. Oliver has done this in previous hands to solicit a fold. However, he didn’t account for Negreanu’s ability on the felt and penchant for reading opponents.

Calling the clock so early is bad etiquette, while it isn’t recommended against skilled and experienced players. This is especially true when playing Negreanu, who is among the richest poker players of all time. It may also be a strong psychological tell that you’re attempting to bluff and rush an opponent, especially when you make the call so quickly.

Tony G Gets Slammed for Bad Etiquette

In an intriguing episode of ‘The Big Game’ back in 2021, Tony G (Antanas Guoga) and Jason Mercer contested several tense and high-stakes hands. Tony G is renowned for his aggressive and abrasive style. However, one particular incident caused others at the table to question his etiquette.

As one hand reached the river, Tony G and Mercier were the only players left in contention. Tony G only had Ace high, whereas Mercier was bluffing with 10 and 9 in the pocket. Tony G calls and Muckier subsequently mucks his hand. Sensationally, Tony G asks his opponent what he had before imploring the dealer to open the hand.

Asking to see a losing hand is undoubtedly bad etiquette, especially in instances where the player was bluffing. Other players were quick to chime in too. This included Phil Hellmuth, who’s hardly renowned for his etiquette and good behavior at the felt. Not only was the consensus that Tony G was out of line, but it seemed apparent that he knew what he was doing too.

Mercier enjoyed some sweet revenge shortly afterward, though. He won consecutive hands directly against Tony G. The second victory saw Mercier win after the river card gave him three-of-a-kind (eights), as he banked a pot worth $87,300 in total.

Disgraceful Slow Roll – Sacha Cornil’s Worst Slow Roll in History

Last, but not least, we come to what’s arguably the most disgraceful slow roll in this history of televised professional poker. This occurred at the 2010 World Cup of Poker (WCOP). Here, players compete in teams and take turns to sit at the felt. If one player is knocked out, the entire team is eliminated from the competition.

This allows teams to call time-outs during matches, affording players the chance to navigate tough or underwhelming hands. When representing Germany against Canada, however, Sacha Cornils leveraged the time-out feature to slow-roll his opponents in the most drawn-out way imaginable.

While Cornils was dealt the best pocket hand in poker (a pair of Aces), his Canadian opponent Darus Suharto held pocket kings in the small blind position. Another player raised before Cornils re-raised to a hefty $8,000. Feeling confident in his hand, Suharto subsequently went all in with his kings.

The others folded before the bet returned to Cornils. Rather than instantly calling, however, he called a dramatic time-out and left the felt to converse with his team. He took a further pause when he returned before calling and showing his hand, with the Canadians decidedly upset at such a blatant example of slow rolling.

Even his teammates were far from impressed, with the German team issuing an apology for their player’s behavior during the hand.