The poker world is one that is of course full of its risks, with most players doing their best to narrow down the level of risk involved in their game. But sometimes risks have to be taken in order to progress anywhere in poker; it appears that two online players have taken the theory of ‘risk taking’ to a whole new level.
The game in hand took place recently on FullTilt Poker and had $100/$200 blinds and was No-Limit Hold’em. Two players under the names of Bebop86 and OMGClayAiken were playing together on a heads-up table, and it was suggested by OMGClayAiken that the pair should perform a $20,000 flip. This would involve both players agreeing to move their entire stacks into the pot regardless of what quality hand they hand. Obviously the players’ actions would involve no skill at all, taking away the whole purpose of poker and turning the game into a complete gamble.
On the other hand each of the players has basically a 50/50 chance of winning the other players entire stack before the hand is dealt, with both knowing full well that the other is going to push everything they have at the table into the middle regardless of their hand. Bebop86 hesitated to come up with his decisions on whether or not to play the $20k one hand flip, but he surely would not have regretted his decision to go ahead with the play after winning two consecutive hands winning him a total of $40,000.
This kind of play may is sure set to prove controversial as many enthusiasts agree that it is taking away the true ethics of the game. Some poker fans may hold the view that if this kind of play continues to escalate into other areas of the game, then the large skill factor which set asides the good and bad players in the game may be drawn away gradually. This is obviously an unlikely situation to occur, as a large majority of new players that are attracted towards the game are initially attracted by the fact that a large level of skill is involved and that it is not just simply gambling. Many online players that play at low stakes can be seen to play with a large reliance on luck, but then again players need to start small and develop their skills in order to progress onto higher places.
