I guess that would be “strong” emotions, but then it wouldn’t flow as well in the headline. Anyway, when I think of the most irritating slow rolls of all time, that last “magic” hand in Maverick comes to mind immediately. Not only did Gibson slow roll, but he slow played his hand (not even looking at his last card before betting). I’d have opened fire on him too, even if I did try to cheat on the same hand.

Of course, real life isn’t the movies, and slow rolling probably won’t get you shot (in most states), but it’s considered extremely poor etiquette and likely will get you blackballed from more than a few regular games if you do it consistently.

For those who need a quick refresher, slow rolling is when a Titan Poker player waits at the end of a hand to show you what he’s got. Either delays showing entirely, or flips up one card at a time until his full hand is revealed. This often offers the other players false hope that their hand is good. I’m sure it’s happened to you before, and you know the feeling of thinking your make a smart bet with your top two-pair only to see the jerk slow roll that third seven up at the last second. It makes your blood boil, and you just sit there shaking your head.

In one sense, it’s a smart strategic move, because it can infuriate players into making rash, anger-driven plays in future hands, but when you have to resort to that as the slow roller, you need to reassess your poker strategy as a whole.

But what can you really do as the recipient of the slow roll? Especially if it’s on an internet poker site, you’ll only empower the guy to do it again if you start to make a fuss. Like someone who posts a comment and then never returns to the thread, a slow roller is probably just doing it to make themselves feel better – a childish move to be sure – and the best medicine against it is for you to just come back and knock him down a peg with smart betting. And, if you happen to take a nice PlayersOnly pot off him, thank him kindly and then leave the table or room (causing him to simmer a little in the process), hey, nothing wrong with that. You’re fighting fire with water instead of fire with fire there.

Of course, all of us reading this are probably guilty of slow rolling at one time or another ourselves. Let’s be honest, it’s fun because it gives us a little taste of control, of knowing what others don’t know. It can develop into a bad habit if you indulge too often, though, and the last thing you want to be known for in poker circles is pissing off other regulars for the wrong reasons.