The Skill Poker Index and the logic of distribution of the pot

To better understand the Skill Poker Index and the concept of partial allocation of the pot in favor of the enhancement of skills, it is necessary to add a reflection, on a further intrinsic characteristic of the discipline, the analysis of the origin of the same and the logic of the actors involved.

The “Suck” in Texas Hold’em poker

The most feared effect of the variance by any sports poker player  is the so-called “Suck” when in all-in before the river card. 

In thirteen years of assiduous observation on the field, elbow to elbow with all categories of players present in the live sector, it can reasonably be said that the terror of the crack and the frustration that entails are almost homogeneous.

Online poker pros are the ones who react best for various factors, ranging from the habit, natural consequence of the high frequency of play, to the complete assimilation of “The Five Realities of Poker”.

The Skill Poker Index pot allocation Logic 

One of the most important skills a good player needs to master is to induce their opponent to go all-in or call an all-in, in any of the rounds of the hand. As demonstrated, despite the perfect use of this ability, the opponent who tables the worst hand at the show down, could improve his result, subverting the outcome of the spot. From the analytical point of view, in the perspective of enhancing skills in live tournaments, no player should jeopardize their stay at the tournament, risking the entire stack in a spot that has not yet reached the river. Although the experienced player induced his opponent to bet his entire stack with a worse hand, at the same time, he didn’t bother to keep his stack and/or his stay at the tournament, in case the board was against his initial combination.  

This is the logic of the division of the Skill Poker Index, which sees, on the one hand favor the player who in the phase of all-in pre-river presents the best hand, on the other hand, it sanctions the same person who has renounced his skills to preserve his stack and/or stay in the tournament. 

Go to the next article to not miss the thread of the Skill Poker Index speech, or go to the first article of the series to resume it.

Pietro Semeraro

Transl. by Margherita Basile