In a recent update issued by Full Tilt Poker, the world’s second largest online poker site, the ability to Run it Twice was introduced, as were Cashout Tournaments. Details of the update were posted by ftpdoug on October 15th and have received a largely mixed response by members of the online poker community. Nevertheless, Full Tilt Poker, like its archrival PokerStars, continues to roll out innovative promotions and features. Let’s take a look at the most recent additions to Full Tilt Poker.The option to Run it Twice is now available in select ring games. Run it Twice tables can be found in No Limit Hold’em, Omaha, and Mixed games in Ivey’s Room and are offered in hands featuring two players where one is all-in before the river. Half of the pot will be given to the winner of the first board, while the winner of the second board will scoop the other half. The option to see multiple boards is available by clicking the aptly-named “Run it Twice” box in the lower left corner of the table. ftpdoug added that Run it Twice, while only available on select cash game tables right now, will be expanded in the coming weeks. Here’s a look:
Text found on Full Tilt’s site explains the rationale for running it twice: “When there’s a lot of action at a table, it’s easy to get involved in a pot where a player’s entire stack is committed before all of the community cards have been dealt. Instead of letting one large pot be decided by a single turn of card, players can choose to Run it Twice.” Players on shows like GSN’s “High Stakes Poker” run boards two times or more constantly, making for entertaining television. For the foreseeable future, boards can only be run exactly twice on Full Tilt.
Full Tilt also rolled out Cashout Tournaments, which allow players to redeem tournament chips for real money before an event has concluded. A player’s buy-in is split evenly between the prize pool and the cashout pool. When Full Tilt Poker members grow weary of playing, they can cash out in increments of one-tenth of their starting chip stack, which is equal in value to one-half of the buy-in. For example, if a tournament had a price tag of $20, then $10 would go towards the prize pool and $10 would be allocated for cashouts. If the same event began with 1,500 starting chips, then 1,500 chips would be worth $10. You can cash out in increments of 150 chips, which are worth $1. Here’s an example:
Cashout amounts are paid on top of any in the money finishes and are available until the final table is set. Then, any remaining cashout funds will be split among the final table participants according to chip stack size. A green “C” icon in the Full Tilt Poker lobby designates Cashout Tournaments.
The reaction to Cashout Tournaments has been mixed, with posters noting that cashing out means lowering the number of chips in play. However, PocketFiver mindtrip954 responded, “I would think that good tourney players would be all for the cashout tourneys. Players cashing out partial stacks are putting themselves at a disadvantage, increasing your odds of winning the tourney. You are losing out on the cashout portion of the pot, but your odds of winning the tournament [are] greater as people are giving up equity in the tourney pool.”
Also introduced by Full Tilt Poker were Seven-Game Tournaments, which will be featured in Event #2 of the upcoming Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS). In addition, Super Turbo tournaments will take on a yellow “T” icon in the lobby. The Last Hand Replayer for Stud now shows up-cards and duplicate card issues were addressed.
Check out the thread in Poker Discussion for full details on Full Tilt Poker’s latest software update.
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