PASTIMES : poker
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Your support makes all the difference.A new and potentially important development was launched in London this week. The Barracuda in Baker Street and the Victoria in Edgware Road each introduced limit-raise games, on the Vegas model. The idea is to test players' readiness to try low-stake, low-pressure poker, as opposed to the traditional do-or-die style of pot-limit betting.
Pot-limit is like playing with high explosives: the idea is to blast your opponents to smithereens, while running the risk of being busted yourself. Limit-raise games are more like target shooting: you are trying to make, or defend, one more hit at each turn, in the form of an extra bet.
So in 5-and-10 limit Hold 'em, the raises are fixed at pounds 5 and pounds 10 around the flop, with a cap of three raises per card. A typical betting structure is:
Antes: 2-2-5 and 5 to play. Three raises of 10 possible.
Flop: 5 to bet, three raises of 5 possible.
4th and 5th cards: 10 on each, three raises of 10 possible.
Players can see straight away, therefore, what their downside risk on any hand is likely to be. But don't suppose that limit poker is a soft option. If the pros in Las Vegas choose to play this way (albeit up to limits of $300 and $600 per card!) you can be sure it is a tough game. The odds, which may offer over 20-1 for your money, nearly always justify calling an extra bet to hit a straight or a flush at the end. Whereas in pot-limit, going for such outdraws is too costly. The two London clubs' idea in introducing limit-raise games is to attract new players. Many kitchen-table poker players who feel intimidated by the size of pot-limit games may be ready to join a limit-raise game. Unfortunately, unlike like bridge clubs, card rooms may not advertise their wares.
Good news from the Holland Casino, Amsterdam, where the Master Classics of Poker tournament from 6-11 November is sure to attract an enthusiastic landing force of Britons. The house tax on the 10-20 and 20-40- guilders limit-raise games is being cut from 5 per cent to a more reasonable 3 per cent, with a cap of 50 guilders a hand. In poker matters, our Dutch friends are showing the way.
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