Going for the kill

Learn how to get the most out of your game. Find out more about the kill in a game of Texas Hold’em and Omaha 8/b

These games offer players a chance to enjoy a different version of Hold’em and Omaha 8/b. The main thing to remember is that the stakes will rise sharply as soon as one player wins two successive qualifying hands. Read on to find out more about the “kill”.
Kill
The following steps are involved in a “kill”:
• A player must win a pot outright (i.e. they win the whole pot)
• The total pot value prior to the rake must be equivalent to, or more than, 5 times the value of the big blind.
• Once this occurs, the player places a “partial kill” button just in front of their position.
• In Omaha 8/b, the player needs to scoop the pot which involves winning both the high and low value hands
• If the player manages to win the next hand, a potential Kill game is in order with raised stakes.
• The player must first win the pot outright with a value equivalent to, or more than, 5 times the value of the big blind.
• Only once all this has achieved, does a Kill game occur with the stakes rising high.

A Working Example:
• You are playing $2/$4 game and have just succeeding in obtaining your second qualifying hand.
• The small blind= $1, the big blind = $2, and you= $4.
• The minimum call amount is therefore $4 which the other players must match in order to remain in the games stay in.
• Remember that players act in turn. Some card rooms do, however, leave the Kill blind to last.
• The rest plays as a $4/$8 game.
• The game will keep going up until the player with the Kill button fails to win the whole pot.
• Once the Kill game is not in operation, the stakes will go back to their standard levels.
• If no player holds the partial kill button, it will remain in the centre of the playing table.

Half Kill Games
Half-kill Equals Little Kill?
These are similar to Kill games but the stakes increase by half the amount hence the name. Others may refer to the first stage of the full game as “half-kill” or “first leg” but we use the phrase “partial kill” to avoid confusion. The “Half-Kill” is available in Omaha 8/b in addition to Hold’em games”.