Clusterf!ck bomb pot (4 Viewers)

Adding to the cluster: The host was in the hand — Z.

As such made it difficult for Z to jump in and rule.

(What is the etiquette for hosts ruling on their own hand?)
Holy wow! That changes the way the whole story reads.

• The host ALWAYS rules. If you can’t trust the host to rule, even against himself, don’t play there.
THIS! I've had to rule against myself as host... just recently in a very big situation that cost me my tournament life in a WSOP satellite qualifier.

The etiquette is that the host should regain order, explain his/her stance on the correct ruling, and confirm that this is an accurate and acceptable ruling to the other player(s) in the hand first. At such point that those 2 players agree, I would then ask the rest of the players if they saw it differently and ask for their explanation. Once again, the idea is that order is established and more knowledgeable players still have a chance to communicate their interpretation. The host facilitates the conversation, hears the best explanation, makes a ruling, and play moves forward.
 
Adding to the cluster: The host was in the hand — Z.

As such made it difficult for Z to jump in and rule.

(What is the etiquette for hosts ruling on their own hand?)

At my game, I have a player that I trust to be my proxy. All players are aware he is my proxy, and if we are ever in a hand together that needs a ruling, we have a third that we trust to make a fair decision (has literally never happened).

I would never, ever rule on a hand I was involved in, talk about a conflict of interests.
 
Running multiple boards multiple times is one of the dumbest ideas I've heard of.

Agreed, but I see it happen all the time in private/home games.

At another game I played on Saturday night, a similar thing happened with a double-board bomb pot run twice. The dealer (different dealer!) split the pot and started to push it. Before he did, a number of us jumped in and said hold on, let’s double-check. In fact it was a 3/4-1/4 split.

The host decided no more running double boards twice. Phew
 
I would simply discourage running it twice on a doable board hand or split pot games. Running it multiple times is at odds with the whole point of the bomb pot gimmick. Also in general run it once or run it three times. There must be pain.

Dealer: deal it right, none of that 6 card board nonsense. Tell everyone else at the table to STFU while we read the table hands and get it right. As others have mentioned other players "helping" just adds noise.
Player A: Under no obligation to correct for dealer error of course, but do the right thing and refund Player Z.
Player Z: Advocate more for themselves. It's not hard to read the cards. Designate an alternate who can make rulings in case of a conflict of interest.

One note on designating an alternate, have a rulebook printed out and ready to refer to to assist them in their ruling.
 
Last edited:
I have no problems with bomb pots. They actually help move the game faster.

Just got rid of them at my game because they were slowing the game way down. In the year we were playing them, I don't think we've ever had one take less than 10 minutes, and the straw that broke the camel's back was a 20+ minute bomb pot at our last game.
 
Just got rid of them at my game because they were slowing the game way down. In the year we were playing them, I don't think we've ever had one take less than 10 minutes, and the straw that broke the camel's back was a 20+ minute bomb pot at our last game.
Jeeze that’s ridiculous. I’d get new players or a shot clock. But every game is different.
 
Stand up dealer, admitting his mistake and trying to make Player Z right.

Player A also right. Next hand has started. You can't go back and re-award the pot (assuming there are no cameras). That said, if I'm A and I know I lost one board, I offer Z ¼ish of the pot.

Player Z should have stopped the game until he was satisfied with who won all 4 boards. Better to look dumb and make sure the result is correct.
 
Just got rid of them at my game because they were slowing the game way down. In the year we were playing them, I don't think we've ever had one take less than 10 minutes, and the straw that broke the camel's back was a 20+ minute bomb pot at our last game.

Why would a bomb pot slow anything down? Everybody makes the same pre-flop bet and you go directly to a flop.

Bomb pots don't have to be multiple board.
 
Time for a talk with the dealer to ensure that EVERY pot is correct before pushing. Slow down and get it right. I get it, more hands, more tips, but a little thing like this happening again could really lead to some long term problems.
 
Why would a bomb pot slow anything down? Everybody makes the same pre-flop bet and you go directly to a flop.

Bomb pots don't have to be multiple board.
They take a long time because possibly 10 players are seeing a PLO flop that is artificially inflated. Usually many of those hands would be folded preflop. Everyone starts chasing their “pot odds” and having 4 side pots is not unusual. Figuring them all out takes a lot of time.
 
They take a long time because possibly 10 players are seeing a PLO flop that is artificially inflated. Usually many of those hands would be folded preflop. Everyone starts chasing their “pot odds” and having 4 side pots is not unusual. Figuring them all out takes a lot of time.
Maybe 5 minute hand. But 10-20, cmon!
 
I do enjoy razzing the players tho and when a player takes a long time I call it BPC. Bomb Pot Confusion. Got it from a diff player at another game and it lightens the mood and people laugh about it.
 
They take a long time because possibly 10 players are seeing a PLO flop that is artificially inflated. Usually many of those hands would be folded preflop. Everyone starts chasing their “pot odds” and having 4 side pots is not unusual. Figuring them all out takes a lot of time.

To have 4 side pots means you have 5 players all in. That can't happen that often in a night unless people are buying in/reloading for 5-10BB at a time.

And we use bomb pots only rarely for Omaha. It's usually simple HE, or Pineapple/Crazy Pineapple.
 
I play in three games with bomb pots. Double board PLO with varying ante sizes depending on the host.

While sometimes these slow the game down, other times they’re over quickly.

Often someone flops a big hand (two pair+) on one board which needs protection, and pots it to try to scoop right there.

Unless someone else has a similarly big hand plus a draw on the other board, that flop bet takes it down a good 2/3rds of the time or at least gets it heads up.
 
If you need to incorporate gimmicks to encourage action (last man standing, bomb pots, double board bomb pots, seven-deuce) then your betting limits, game selection, and / or player line up needs adjusting.

Super Unhelpful Man, away!

giphy.gif
 
If you need to incorporate gimmicks to encourage action (last man standing, bomb pots, double board bomb pots, seven-deuce) then your betting limits, game selection, and / or player line up needs adjusting.

Super Unhelpful Man, away!

View attachment 1324900
I have the same attitude generally, but it’s presumptuous. A NLHE game could be perfectly wonderful, yet somebody might want to try a gimmick just because it seems like fun.
 
I have the same attitude generally, but it’s presumptuous. A NLHE game could be perfectly wonderful, yet somebody might want to try a gimmick just because it seems like fun.
A round of darts from the table every 8-9 hands sounds fun! Sure to get your game talked about!
 
I tried a bunch of gimmicks just because I thought they'd be "fun", and they were ... for a while. I now realize that they artificially raise the stakes, cause people to bust more often, and generally are a waste of time that could be better spent playing "real" poker. ;)
 
I tried a bunch of gimmicks just because I thought they'd be "fun", and they were ... for a while. I now realize that they artificially raise the stakes, cause people to bust more often, and generally are a waste of time that could be better spent playing "real" poker. ;)

the-office-thank-you.gif
 
I think a bomb pot every 9 to 10 hands is too often. Once an hour is our sweet spot.
:ROFL: :ROFLMAO: :ROFL: :ROFLMAO: :ROFL: :ROFLMAO:

My weekly cash game does bomb pots so frequently that it has become basically the default game, and two-blind Hold'em is the odd one.

Not gonna lie, playing flop games starting on the flop with an ante-bloated pot is a pretty fun format.
 
My rulings as host:

1. No bomb pots

2. All split-pot games are run-it-once only

3. Players may agree to run-it-once (default), run-it-thrice, true-equity-split, or just chop as-is (house rabbit-hunting rules apply) if a player is all-in in any single-pot game. Cannot run-it-twice.

Alternately, I've given some thought to allowing players to run-it-twice with a caveat that pots are never chopped:
~ hand leader wins both run-outs = scoop
~ hand trailer wins both run-outs = scoop
~ each hand wins once = leader wins 2/3 pot
 

Create an account or login to comment

You must be a member in order to leave a comment

Create account

Create an account and join our community. It's easy!

Log in

Already have an account? Log in here.

Back
Top Bottom