Re: Playing Weak Tight in a Kill Game?
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I was in a game a couple weeks ago around Chicago with a "leg up" button. Does that just mean you need to win two pots in a row before its a kill pot? That's what I assumed, but on the west coast I haven't seen it called "leg up". In my local cardrooms, you get the kill button with "kill off" or something facing up to start, then flip it over if you win that pot and its at least $30....
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The "leg up" button signifies winning the first pot of the two consecutive pots needed to get to a "kill." That is the way it is played in the NW IN and Potawatomie poker rooms that I frequent around the Chicago-area.
In my experience, most of the time, the play tightens up considerably in these games during a "kill" pot, so there are stealing opportunities that are more profitable (and more likely to be successful) than in normal stakes. For example, in a 3/6 game, there are normally $4 in blinds that can be stolen for a raise to $6. Players are more likely to call off $3 in the BB with any two.
However, turn this into a kill with the kill blind of $6 being posted in addition to the $4. Here you are stealing $10 for a bet of $12. While you have 3 posters, rather than 2 to get through, your odds are better, especially because the players are generally more reluctant to call off the BB amount in this game. Even if called from out of the blind, any continuation bet is very likely to take down the pot following the preflop raise.
So while I would rarely if ever raise solely to steal blinds in the 3/6, I find myself looking for steal opportunities in late position in a kill pot in that game.
Of course, on rare occasion, there are players who get looser and more aggressive in kill pots. They should be fairly easy to spot. But by and large, my observations is that in these small stakes games with a kill, the players get very weak tight.
I also forgot to mention that I tighten up considerably with the leg up button. It's a real pisser to win a small second pot when you have that thing sitting in front of you.
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