In the game of poker, there are situations when two or more players divide the pot between themselves. This happens when there are the same combinations in each person. Splitting the pot is referred to as a "split" in poker.
When does a split occur?
The probability of the same combination for several players is 1 percent out of 100. After betting on, the cards showdown comes. If he sees two identical "hands", then a split in poker is announced. I can match any: from (the same highest card in hand) to (out of five community cards on the table). There are two types of split in poker:
- Matching pocket cards in the hands of several players.
- Community cards on the table.
Poker Split Examples
A few split situations in poker:
- Example #1. Two players have an ace in their hand. The cards on the table were two, three, four, five, and nine. Both players have low from ace to five. The dealer announces the division of the bank.
- Example #2. Both players have pocket pockets (77 and 55). Ace, king, queen, jack and ten are revealed on the table. The board contains a straight from ten to ace, which belongs to both players. The dealer announces a split in poker.
- Example #3. Two players have low spades (two, three and four, five). On the table opens the peak of the king, queen, ace, seven and eight. Suited cards in the hands of the players no longer give a flush, since they are much lower. A split is announced with a common flush on the table.
- Example number 4. The table showed two fives, two tens and a queen. Two players have a king in their hands. At showdown, there will be a section of the pot with two community pairs and the same kicker (the highest card is king) in hand.
Split pot in poker
Split pot is splitting the pot between some players upon opening. Sometimes two pots form after the river: the main pot and the side pot. A side bet occurs when one player with a small amount of chips goes all-in (bets all his money). After such a bet, he can no longer raise. However, other players keep raising and a second pot is formed. The player who went all-in when winning takes only that part of the money from the players, which was equal to his last bet. The rest of the pot is taken by the player with the second highest hand.
The probability of a split and the impact on it
Split occurs only in 1% of cases, is quite rare. The manifestation of such a situation does not depend on the person and on previous actions. Split occurs absolutely by chance, it cannot be influenced. It is impossible to wrap this situation in your favor or get some benefit from it. Split in poker should be perceived as random circumstance.
Strategy of the game with a possible split
If there is a showdown on the river and a split is found, then the splitting of the pot cannot be affected in any way. However, before a split is discovered, you can influence the game and try to take the whole jackpot on your own. Consider example:
On the table lies a straight from six to ten, cards of different suits. Each player at the table has a straight. At the opening there will be a section of the bank. However, a player can make a big and make it clear that he has a jack. In this case, he imitates a straight from seven to jack. Opponents cannot be completely sure of splitting the pot and will fold their cards. In this way, bank split can be avoided and take all the sweat ourselves.
With a large number of opponents, bluffing should be done with caution. There is a chance that one of the players actually has a jack. Then the street will not be common and split in poker in this situation is cancelled.
Bluffing against the aggressor with the possibility of a split
There is a ready-made high combination on the table ( , straight or flush). On the river, an aggressive player raises big. If you suspect a split, you need to pull the initiative to your side. You can go for broke and put the opponent to a standstill. Even if you call him, you split the pot. However, 80% of the time, an aggressive player will fold due to fear of a higher hand, even if there is a high probability of a split in poker.
All poker fans are attracted to this game, first of all, by the excitement and the element of risk. Nothing compares to the feeling a player gets when they go all-in, risking their entire stack or bankroll to win the hand! It's not uncommon for the best hand to start out unexpectedly losing at the showdown on the river.
PokerDom cares about its customers and does everything possible to provide them with the most comfortable game. Another manifestation of the room's concern is the Run It Twice option, which provides poker players with more chances to win in cash games.
What it is?
The RIT feature is the distribution of a "second" board involving the cards remaining in the deck. Now you can protect yourself from an unexpected move on the river by splitting the pot with your opponent thanks to two boards.
If during the betting round one of the participants in the distribution declares all-in and receives support from the opponent, the community cards remaining not open will be dealt twice and form 2 separate boards. It does not matter on which street the players decide to go all-in - preflop, flop, turn or river.
The total bank is divided into 2 equal parts, and the player with the strongest poker hand made using one of the boards wins. Even if you fail by losing one pot to an opponent who hits a straight or flush on the river, you can still win on the second board.
Let's look at an example:
In the hand, player #1 goes all-in and player #2 backs him up. After this exposure, two boards will be opened:
In the first case, the victory will go to player No. 1, and in the second, to his opponent. As a result, each of them will receive half the bank.
How to activate the option?
In order to start playing poker with two boards, you do not have to dig into the settings. There are special tables in the lobby of the room, where Run it twice is activated automatically after each all-in. All these tables are marked with the "twice" icon.
Please note that the RIT feature is only relevant for Texas Hold'em cash tables and is not available in MTT or SNG tournaments.
PokerDom does not charge any additional fees for playing at the Run it twice tables. This option does not affect the principle of accruing rakeback and VIP points in any way.
Continuation of the strategy about the correct assessment of the texture of the board. In this part, you will learn about the types of dry boards you can encounter in poker, as well as the dependence of the value of community cards on the type of opponents and limits you play.
5. Weakness is relative
We continue. One of the wettest boards I can think of is 7-8-9 with two suited cards.
In fact, even such a flop may not be as bad as it seems at first glance. If we take for analysis the hand histories of some setminer nit, we will find only 6 hands there that would strongly connect with the table, for example, 66-TT. And on such a flop, believe me, the set-miner will give himself away very quickly and clearly, he will not risk getting a bad turn card, which will simply ruin all his efforts.
But in a game against a more experienced opponent 7-8-9 the flop may not be so wet. Our opponent either missed or just super-completed on the flop, so our c-bet with these cards can only mean one thing - a damn strong move. In the eyes of your opponent, your range of hands will narrow down to a flush draw with overcards at the very least. Therefore, the same board can look completely different for different players even in the same hand.
Of course, community cards are relatively easy to divide into "wet" and "dry", but the main violin here is still played by the type of opponent or opponents we play against with such cards.
6. Flop Texture Depends on Preflop
I will give a fairly simple example. You're playing with a 130BB stack out of position against a tight opponent whose 3-betting range almost certainly includes only JJ+/AQ+ . You are in middle position with KK, raise and get a very solid 3-bet from this tight opponent. You're sure a 4-bet from you will force him to definitely fold things like JJ/AQ+, QQ 85% of the time, KK+ never. So 4-betting for very low value will force you to bluff the turn and maybe end up folding your hand and losing all your money. You decide to just call.
A offsuit A-Q-J flop is revealed. Every one of the hands that you've previously listed as Villain's 3-betting range beats your pair, and the worst hand he can possibly have is TPTK . I bow to those who managed to win the pot against a 3-bettor in such a situation.
In the same hand, but on a 7-8-9 board with two cards of the same suit, the community cards would look slightly wet.
7. Board Texture Evaluation Depends on Skill Level
In general, if you are playing at the micros, where the skill level of your opponents leaves much to be desired, then the range of hands to call can be very wide.
For example, Stars 2NL, any flop with an ace can be called wet. Most players at this limit can't afford to fold if they also have an ace at their disposal - the only question then is who wins with the best pair or two on the river. At higher limits, aces will no longer pose such a serious danger.
What is a dry flop?
There are four flops that can become a straight on the turn - K-8-3, K-8-2, K-7-2 and Q-7-2. If these flops are offsuit, they are dry. With two suited cards, such flops can already be called a little wet.
There are several other flops that can covertly complete someone's cards to a draw - 9-4-2, Q-6-3, 10-5-2 and so on. Objectively, from such community cards it follows that if the majority of opponents with speculative hands called such a flop, it can be considered dry.
Another, the last category of boards, which would be nice to recognize, is also noteworthy. Look at the range of hands for potential cold calling and over calling; remove the aces from this list, and leave everything else. Note that most of the hands that match wet flops have their range shifted by 8-J.
All paired flops are generally dry, but all flops between 88x and QQx are actually very dry. When two cards of the same rank appear on the table, it is less likely that one of the opponents received one of the two remaining such cards in the deck. Well, the queen is probably the worst card in the draw, and any nut draw with a queen is simply obvious and rarely rewarded. In addition, the fact that someone will collect thrips from the ladies is unlikely.
Instead of a conclusion
There is another, very specific type of flop that can be called both the wettest and the driest at the same time - JTx. It completes a large number of one-way draws, completes combinations to pairs, two pairs, pair+draws, and everything else you can think of. However, if someone 3-bets this flop, it is very unlikely that the flop completed the hand, so many people will be happy to float at least one street with such community cards.
Although I am personally very against using the word "never" in relation to poker, I would make an exception for micro and low stakes: never, never, never c-bet completely trash on a JTx flop out of position.
Give a regular a good VIP program and he will stay in your room forever. It turns out it doesn't work that way. When chests were introduced at PokerStars, partypoker introduced 40% rakeback. Hundreds of players have left the stars, party traffic has tripled, almost every day more than 2,500 cash players simultaneously play partypoker at peak times - it seemed like a poker idyll.
But regulars still remain dissatisfied.
Discontent #1 - Soft
A poker player's nightmare is a disconnection in the middle of a game session. It would seem that in 2017 there were no people left with bad Internet, and disconnection, as a phenomenon, should have become a thing of the past along with dial-up, monitors with a kinescope and floppy disks. But partypoker regulars are complaining about poor connectivity.
Multi-tabling freezes
The second stumbling block for regulars at partypoker. According to players who have been online since 2007, multi-tabling was implemented worse only, probably, in Ongame. Lag windows and the inability to make a move. The partypoker regular will once again think about whether it is worth loading extra 2-4 tables so that the software does not hang during the session.
Uncomfortable design
This point may seem subjective, but players complain about the appearance of the client. If, after updates to the lobby, it seems like there are not so many complaints, then few people like the tables. Therefore, players have to resort to third-party software - install PartyCaption and set up the standard look of the tables in the "black table on a black background" style. Instead of tearing up the field and earning money, players spend their time tweaking the design of the software. But why can't you make a custom table design the default in the client?
Client login issues
VPN is an abbreviation of three letters that has tightly entered the life of a regular. But due to VPNs, anonymizers, extensions, players are experiencing problems logging into the room.
Grudge #2 - Strong Field
After PokerStars introduced a new VIP system with chests, and partypoker - 40% weekly rakeback, regulars rushed into the room in flocks. In their subconscious, the memories of the “strength” of the old field were still alive.
That's how spontaneously partypoker turned into a room of regs-recomers. If you believe the observations of the regulars, there are no fish in Fastforward (analogue of Zoom). And about ordinary cash tables
we'll talk in the next paragraph.
Grudge #3 - "Anonymous" cached
The cash tables at partypoker are built on the principle of anonymity. That is, in the general lobby you can not see the nicknames of the players at the tables. The names of opponents can only be found out personally by sitting at the table. After the first hand played, the names of the players are revealed, but the nicknames in HM2 and PT4 are not displayed (instead of them "Anonym_1", "Anonym_2", etc.). So it turns out that statistics can be collected only for one game session and only for its duration.
Grudge #4 - Double currency conversion
Almost all regulars know about the double currency conversion chip. The default withdrawal currency for Neteller is the Australian dollar. That is, first the money is converted into Australian dollars, and then back into a regular dollar. On such a conversion, you can lose 7.5-10% of the output. This feature is known, but for some reason forgotten, so there are complaints. On the other hand, in other rooms such a problem does not arise.
The author of the article personally suffered from this ingenious author's idea of partypoker. Indeed, if a person deposited from Neteller to partypoker in US dollars having a Neteller account in US dollars, played in the room on U.S. dollars, it is logical to assume that, most likely, when withdrawing back to Neteller, he will need exactly Australian dollars. Joking aside, all the poker forums have been screaming about this issue for years and partypoker just doesn't notice it.
Dissatisfaction #5 - Turbo Tournament Finals Structure
On the gipsyteam forum, "NoMoneyNoParty" complained about the structure of the final table in the PLO8 turbo tournament.
Partypoker Turbo Final Table Average Stack 7.5 big blinds (at level 25)
At PokerStars, the average stack at level 25 is 16.3bb. Feel the difference.
Let's supplement the list with minor flaws (in my subjective opinion):
- The problem with the display of notes in the lobby of tournaments - is solved using PartyCaption
- Lack of information about the number of tables played in fastforward (analogue of Zoom) - earlier this kind of information was available
- Problems with tournament tickets and support. For example, a ticket for a specific tournament expires on the 26th, but after the 24th there are no such tournaments in the lobby. Logically, this is a jamb of the room, and you need to go towards the player, change the ticket for a similar one. But the support says that you need to be more careful and check for an available tournament in the lobby of the poker room yourself.
And what to do?
The dissatisfaction of the regulars is justified. There is no point in sitting and waiting for problems to resolve themselves. The only good news is that partypoker positions itself as a room ready for criticism and cooperation. There are chances that the management will listen to the complaints and suggestions of the players and improve the room.
The poker industry is very dynamic. Whoever was the first to switch to partypoker after changing the VIP program, they collected the most cream. And if in the summer partypoker was the sweet spot online, now the field has intensified and it becomes more difficult to make money as before.
To earn more, you need to follow new offers from all rooms. If you're having a hard time keeping up with the competition at partypoker, look elsewhere.
TigerGaming - room of the Chico network, where Americans and Canadians play
- There are not as many regulars as at partypoker
- No anonymous tables: you can choose who to play with
- The ability to display statistics on opponents through a special converter
Rupoker is a weak field room where mainly players from Russia play
- Rakeback up to 40%
- First deposit bonus up to $2500 with 10% return
- Reload bonus up to 5000 rubles and SuperBonus 150% for a deposit of 5000 rubles.
- Complete ban on the use of third-party programs. The use of applications is strictly monitored, accounts are banned.
PokerStars - return to Stars and open chests
P.S. Partypoker management can of course spend more money on signing top regs. Olivier Busquet, Timofey Kuznetsov, Eric Seidel and many others remain unsigned, but you can take an easier path and improve the software. It's cheaper, and it will make more sense.
Have questions? Write to us.
If you generate less than $500 in rake per month:
Coordinated boards are very important in Hold'em. Boards like Q-10-9, 6-4-2, 8-7-6 fit a lot of hands and negate the advantage of preflop premium hands like KK, which remain strong on many other boards. In this article, renowned poker player and author of numerous poker books, Ed Miller, provides three tips on how to approach boards where many players tend to misplay many hands.
Not all coordinated boards are the same. Holeless boards such as 10-9-8 and 7-6-5 change the distribution of hand equity the most. A hand like AA will be very weak on a J-10-9 flop. However, on holey coordinated boards, this shift in equity is less noticeable. AA holds much more value on a J-9-7 flop than on a J-10-9 flop.
And in fact, it is often much better to attack coordinated boards with multiple holes. These boards get a lot of hands, but few of them will be the nuts. For example, on a board like J-9-7, hands K-Q, Q-J, J-10, 10-9, 9-8, 8-7 and even 7-6 are hooked, as well as pocket pairs 10-10 and 8- eight. When players with these hands see a flop like this, they likely think they have a very playable hand.
But each of these hands will be way behind a strong hand like top pair KJ. For example, the odds of 10-9 with a pair and a gutshot are about 1 to 2 here against KJ.
10-9 is not only a weak hand in itself, its small number of outs are also hidden. If a ten or eight comes, the player with KJ will realize that he is most likely beaten and may fold his hand. Even a second nine will change the action, and most players with top pair will be cautious.
So calling a turn bet with 10-9 against top pair would be a big mistake since you're way behind, and if something hits you're unlikely to get paid enough for your hand to justify calling.
However, despite the fact that this hand is clearly weak, many players are happy to call it both on the flop and on the turn. Thus, this becomes a very profitable value betting situation for a player with a top pair or an overpair.
So if I find myself on a 10-8-6 flop with a hand like KK, I'll bet big value bets on the flop and turn and reevaluate when I get raised or if the obvious scare cards come.
Tip #2: Bluff on the fourth card to a straight on the river.
Let's say you open with K-Q and get called twice. The flop comes J-9-7 with two clubs. Your opponents check, you bet, and one of them calls.
The turn is a 3 out of suit. Your opponent checks, you bet and he calls.
River 5 is out of suit. Your opponent checks.
This is a great spot for a bluff. Most of the time your opponent will call with a pair plus something like J-10, 10-9, 9-8, J-8, 8-8 and the like. After blanks on the turn and river, these hands won't be pleased to see a big bet on the river. In this situation, most players will quickly fold their hand to the third barrel.
The bluff will be even more profitable if an overcard hits the board, such as a K after a 9-7-5 flop. But an overcard is not necessary for a good bluff against most tight players. Similarly, if a flush draw hits, your bluff will sometimes fail when your opponent has a flush, but in general it's a good spot to bluff.
This logic also works on boards with one or no holes, as long as nothing closes on the turn or river. So if you bet the flop 8-7-6 and the turn and river come 3 and Q, respectively, feel free to bluff.
Tip #3: Beware of ready-made straights on coordinated boards with no holes, as opposed to boards with multiple holes.
Another important difference between boards without holes and boards with multiple holes is that straights are more likely to be made on the former. When the flop comes J-10-9 Villain may already have a straight with KQ, Q-8 and 8-7. All of these hands, both suited and offsuit, tend to be played frequently by many players. If you see this flop along with other players, chances are high that someone already has a made straight from the flop.
Now compare this board to a J-8-7 board with two holes. Only one straight is possible on it - from 10-9. And, accordingly, the probability that someone has a ready straight is much lower. Most likely, someone will have hands like J-10, 10-9, J-9, 9-7 or the like.
Let's say you raise preflop and get called three times. The flop comes J-10-9. You c-bet and someone raises. On this flop and in this situation, you have to assume that the raiser might actually have a made straight on the flop. This doesn't necessarily mean you should fold to a raise, but there is a chance of a straight.
Now imagine the same situation, only on a flop of 8-6-4. You c-bet and someone raises. On a flop like this, you may be less worried about making a straight, since it can only be with 7-5 here, and if suited is still very rare, but possible, then with 7-5 offsuit, many players would not call a raise preflop. In this case, the player can raise with hands like A-8, 10-10, 8-7, 7-7, or 9-7.
I often test my opponents on these boards, especially with deep stacks. Many of them are not ready to continue playing with such hands in a big pot, which they themselves have inflated after I call their raise on the flop and the queen comes on the turn.
conclusions
Coordinated boards help a lot of hands that are usually played preflop, so it's very rare that you can c-bet this flop and take the pot right away. But action on flops without holes is different from those with multiple holes. Holeless boards turn hand equity on its head, often giving hands like 10-9 and 8-7 a distinct advantage over premium pairs like KK.
On the other hand, double-hole boards don't change hand equity distribution as much, but many players don't see this important difference between these textures. They consider coordinated hands to be strong on boards with no holes as well as boards with multiple holes.
This gives a good opportunity for bluffing on holey boards. When you bet the flop and turn on a two-hole board and get called both times, quite often you will have a relatively weak hand against you on the river, unless a draw hits, and you can use these blank rivers as good bluff spots.
In addition, aggressive opponents often overplay their coordinated hands on holey boards by donking or raising cbets on the flop. This aggression is often overkill, as multi-hole flops usually don't improve coordinated hands. If you can identify such players, you can punish them for this excessive aggression and easily take their money.
