When Slow Rolling Goes Wrong (and Quads Save the Day)

Micro-stakes poker is a strange and wonderful place. People play loose, emotions run high, and every now and then the deck delivers a reminder that *anything* can happen.

This hand started harmless enough. I’m holding 7♥4♥, just playing for fun. One opponent wakes up with KK and makes a small raise. At micro stakes, that sizing almost feels like an invitation, so I call. Another player with Q♠10♦** tags along.

The flop comes K♥ 9♦ 7♠

Top set for Kings. Bottom pair for me. Q-10, short-stacked, shoves all in. Kings just *calls* — a classic slow roll. He’s trapping, trying to keep weaker hands involved instead of protecting his monster. I call as well, mostly because it’s cheap and I’ve got a piece.

Here’s where slow rolling starts to get dangerous.

The turn is another 7

Suddenly, I’ve made trips. Now I’m very much *in* the hand. I raise. Kings calls again, still slow playing, still convinced he’s miles ahead.

Then the river drops the final 7. Quads. 7♠7♦7♥7♣

At this point there’s no subtlety left. I shove all in. Kings has no real choice — maybe he puts me on **AK**, maybe he thinks I’m bluffing, or maybe he’s just too committed to fold. Either way, he calls… and is probably not thrilled to see quads staring back at him.

That’s the danger of slow rolling.

By not betting or raising earlier, Kings gave everyone else a cheap chance to improve. In poker, monsters don’t stay monsters for long if you let the deck keep peeling cards for free. Slow rolling *can* work, but when it fails, it fails spectacularly.

Hands like this are rare — especially with small cards. Most of the time when we hit quads with junk, we’ve already folded preflop. That’s why this one felt extra sweet. For once, the fun hand got there, and I was on the right side of it. Here’s hoping for more chaos like this — just not against me next time.