Recently I’ve been running bad in my MTT’s and Satellites. While my Sit N Go’s and cash games have been running great, I’ve only cashed one out of my last 15 MTT’s and that cash was a satellite into the Pokerstars 500K. Trying to find some rhyme or reason for my recent failure, I consulted my notes about each tourney I entered and found that most times I was simply a victim of a “bad beat”. My set ran into a higher set, my straight got bumped by a runner-runner flush, AK losing to A4, and the list goes on and on and on. I know this is just a normal variance over the long run, but it sure is frustrating when you are in the middle of a cold streak.

I’ve often thought that poker would be the perfect game if not for the bad beats and luck factor. Now I also realize that the luck factor, no matter how big or small, is what keeps the fish coming back for more. If they didn’t catch lucky on occasion and just went broke time after time, then they wouldn’t come back for more. And as we all now, those fish are the driving force behind the booming poker economy. Without them, it would be a lot harder for the everyday skilled player to prosper. But still, if only there was a way to eliminate, or at least REDUCE these bad beats…..

Then it hit me. It has long been a common practice for players to agree to turn the cards multiple times in high stakes cash games, especially pot-limit Omaha, when there is a race situation. For example, if the action is heads-up and the flop gives each player approximately a 50% shot at winning the pot, sometimes the pot is divided in half and the cards are turned twice, awarding half of the pot after each turn. This is done to reduce the “luck” factor and can save the players involved from losing thousands of dollars on a coin-flip situation. If this is done in cash games, why not in a poker tournament?

I propose that a major poker website designs software to support a “No-Bad-Beats Tournament”. It would be identical to a normal tournament except that in certain situations the cards will be dealt multiple times. These situations would be when a player (or players) are all-in, regardless of where they are in the hand (pre-flop, flop, or turn). The number of times the cards are turned doesn’t really matter, since shuffling/dealing time isn’t an issue online, but I think five times would be a good number. For example, late in the tournament I go all-in with QQ and another player calls me with 99. Now the cards are turned all the way down to the river and the winner of the hand is determined. Keeping the QQ and 99, the cards that were left in the deck on the flop are then re-shuffled and turned again. This happens five times or until a player wins three of these hands and the pot is awarded accordingly. While the player with 99 may catch his two-outer once, it is very unlikely that they will catch three out of five times to eliminate me with my pocket queens.

I think that above all else, this type of tournament will allow the better tournament players to win more consistently. I’m sure that the donkeys will still push all-in with their flush draws, but now I have defense when I call with my set. Just try to catch a heart three out of five times! If it happens, it happens, but I will feel better knowing that my better hand had a much better probability of holding up in this given situation. I think that many of the top online players will not like this idea because it lessens the importance of aggression and bullying. The concept of “fold equity” would have to be re-evaluated in these tournaments because players will fear the suck-out less and call with the best hand more often.

Now I understand that this will not COMPLETELY eliminate bad beats, but it will greatly reduce them. I know not all players would like this tournament structure but I for one am all for it. I think at the very least a website should experiment with this idea and see if there is enough player interest to support it. With some sites offering games such as crazy pineapple and five card stud, I think there is definitely room for this tournament structure. I don’t mean to say that this type of tourney should replace the current structure by any means; I am not trying to re-write the rules of poker. I just think this is a good idea that I would love to see happen.