It’s happened to all of us. Whether by accident or with malice, we’ve all been slowrolled by someone at a poker table. It’s quite possibly the worst feeling in poker to wait anxiously for your opponent to make a critical decision only to watch them roll over the nuts.
This practice occurs at every level of poker — even the highest stakes. Ask any online pro who they have on their slowroll list and many will likely show you Kevin “ImaLuckSac” MacPhee near the top. The tournament specialist from Idaho is notorious for performing one of poker’s most dishonorable acts and has been publicly criticized by his peers for it on numerous occasions.
But is there a method to MacPhee’s madness? In a thread on PocketFives.com, MacPhee enlightened the online poker community as to why slowrolling was part of his approach to the game. “Slowrolling is plus-EV (expected value) if people get eliminated while the slowroll is in progress,” said MacPhee, who won the PokerStars EPT Berlin Main Event for $1.4 million in March. “Doing anything within the rules is OK as long as it’s plus-EV over the long term.”
So how is one of the game’s most frowned upon actions considered profitable? MacPhee used the following example to explain: “You have 3,000 chips early in a tournament with 1,000 players left. You get dealt A-A and someone shoves. You time bank down to 5 seconds and call, but by the time you call there are only 984 players left. Even though you still have those 3,000 chips, your stack equity has increased during that time, therefore marginally increasing your EV in the tournament.”
Trivial as it may be, MacPhee has a point. The tactic, referred to as stalling, would be more lucrative during the end stages of a tournament, like near the money bubble, where dollar figures become more significant. But any sort of tangible equity gain during a tournament is going to ensure long-term profitability.
This brings up the morality of slowrolling/stalling. Is it considered angle-shooting? Sure. But in a game where deception and trickery are qualities of the best players, sneaky methods of undermining opponents should be encouraged, right? We are each given time to make decisions in poker. Online, we have a timebank that we can use any way we see fit. What’s wrong with utilizing it to our own benefit? As MacPhee says, “if an angle-shoot is within the rules and plus-EV then do it!”
While I personally don’t condone slowrolling anyone, MacPhee’s assertion that the practice is within the rules and can be effective is certainly valid — and for other reasons than just math. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been slowrolled while multi-tabling online and suddenly all of my focus shifts toward getting revenge on that player. The other tournaments I’m playing in become insignificant. I want blood.
This sort of psyche is damaging to a player’s game and can be looked at as another incentive to use the slowroll as part of your arsenal. We’re all susceptible to tilt. Getting underneath a person’s skin can reveal their weaknesses – both in life and at the poker table. Tony G is known for it. Luke “Full_Flush” Schwartz. Brandon Cantu. Hell, Mike Matusow even does it to his friends.
Let’s face it. Those trying to make a living playing this game aren’t in it to generate rapport. With the game getting tougher by the day, any edge you can find within the rules to increase your overall equity is advantageous. If slowrolling fits into that category, so be it. Just don’t do it to me.