Introducing Duplicate Poker

So, here’s the dirt: Duplicate Poker is a new poker hybrid that basically consists on playing Pot Limit and No Limit Texas Hold’em under most of the existing general rules, but with a special exception that distinguishes it from regular poker.

Multiple tables. The game is always played in at least 2 tables, sometimes more according to the number of players.

Identical decks. Each table has the same number of players and identically shuffled decks for each hand to be played. This ensures that players seated in the same position at each table receive the same cards, and that the same common cards are placed on each table as well.

Same stakes. All players begin each hand with the same amount of chips, regardless of their previous hand’s winnings or losses.

Table twins play against each other. Unlike regular poker, where you only have to worry about your table opponents, in Duplicate Poker, same-card holders in each table play against each other, which means that the winner of each hand is the player with the most chips of all his or her card twins at the other tables.

Elimination Point. Some Duplicate poker games have an established elimination point that must not be surpassed. The elimination point is the limit of lost chips in a game. For example, if a regular duplicate tournament establishes the elimination point at -30,000 chips, players who lose more than that number of chips will be eliminated. The elimination point is also determined by comparing total chip amounts obtained by all card-twins at the end of each session, in which case when a player does not meet a minimum quota of chips according to the amount accumulated by his/her card peers, he/she will be eliminated.

Duplicate Poker is conquered by skill. It doesn’t really matter if you have good or bad cards. All it takes is for you to use your best bluffing and judgment to win as many hands as possible and accumulate chips. Therefore, all hands qualify to win, as long as your poker strategies work.

A session of Duplicate Poker involves a set number of hands determined by the amount of players listed, and the score results also depend on the rank on which twin-table players fall, according to their session’s total chip amount.

Next week we will talk about the different kinds of Duplicate Poker games available to play, which accommodate to all tastes and personalities.