Dear Mark,
In Texas Hold'em, if two players have the exact same hand, is the pot divided
evenly? What happens if there are left over chips? Dale D.
Because all five cards on the board (the flop, the turn and the river) in Texas
Hold'em are communal, it is not uncommon for two or more players to end up with
identical winning hands.
When that happens, players with equal hands split the pot evenly amongst themselves.
Bear in mind, Dale, that only the best five cards of a player's hand in Texas
Hold'em are used in a showdown. If those best five cards produce a tie, the
two additional unused cards on the board, or in a player's hand, do not break
a tie, nor does any specific suit.
After divvying up the pot, if an extra chip remains, it is customary to award
it to the first winning player clockwise from the dealer.
Dear Mark,
I saw a player double down with a soft 19 against a six, lose the hand, but
he still claimed it was the correct play. I'm thinking that can't possibly be
right since the player had a near winning hand. Who’s right? Justin A.
Any time your chances of winning the hand are better than those of the dealer,
you should always want to double your bet. Doubling down is an offensive strategy
that allows you to earn more of a profit than you'd rake in just by hitting
the hand, or in the case of a 19 versus a six, just standing pat.
The player you mentioned correctly saw doubling his 19 against a six as a favorable
opportunity, but only IF he happened to be on a multiple deck game, and the
dealer hits a soft 17. If the house rules force the dealer to stand on a soft
17, than the player should also have stood, even if the dealer was showing a
six as his or her up-card. Sticky thing about probability: no warrantees on
a single event; he played right and lost. Happens.
Dear Mark,
Your column in the past has recommended surrendering a hard 16 versus a 10 with
the exception of a pair of 8s. What are your rules for a 15 versus a 10? Todd
K.
Surrender is an option in which the casino allows players to "surrender"
half of their original bet total after both viewing the dealer's up-card and
examining their own first two cards.
Here is the simple late surrender rule when you have a hard 15 on a multi-deck
game: Surrender a hard 15 versus 10 with one exception. If your 15 consists
of a 7 and an 8, just hit it. The reasoning is that when you hit a 15, you are
hoping primarily for a 5 or 6. Either hand combination: a 9-6 or a 10-5 has
one of those needed cards, while the 7-8 uses two cards that you don't want
to receive. Therefore, with a 7-8 you are a bit more likely to receive a better
hit card, so proceed with just hitting it.
Gambling Wisdom of the Week: "Some players wait until they start
to shake and that gives them a warning that they have reached their limit of
betting." -- Mike Goodman, "How To Win"
