A Few Thoughts on Improving Casino Poker

A Few Thoughts on Improving Casino Poker
By Rolf Slotboom

I've been playing poker professionally for about four years now and the game has been very good to me. It's a great thing for someone to do something he really likes day in day out; it's a great feeling to make money playing the game you love. Even though I play like five or six days a week, I still can't see my work as work; I still enjoy heading towards the casino as much as when I just started. The fact that poker has been such a joy to me, doesn't mean there is no room for improvement anymore. In this article I'll point out a few things that in my opinion might or should be changed for the benefit of the game.

Stricter Enforcement of the Rules

I'm a European poker player. Most of the time I play poker in Austria, France or The Netherlands, but I have also visited some of the biggest American casinos (Mirage, Bellagio, Commerce, Bay 101). I have noticed that player conduct in general is a little bit better in Europe than in the U.S., where cursing at the dealer, throwing cards etc. are more common. Some American friends of mine have assured me that things are changing for the better now in the U.S., that bad behavior is more and more becoming the exception rather than the rule.

In Europe some of the best players (especially some English and Irish players) behave very well; they keep their calm even under the most extreme circumstances and are always nice and courteous towards dealers and fellow players. There are a few exceptions however, just like in the U.S. where some of the best/most talented players sometimes act like little children when things aren't going their way.

I know casinos have adopted zero-tolerance policies to try to stop this kind of unwanted behavior and that's a good thing. Still, these supposedly great players should know how the game works; they should accept the luck factor in poker rather than cursing at it, and appropriate behavior should come as second nature to them, rather than it being forced onto them by the casino rules. They should take their function of role models more seriously than they seem to be doing now.

Like I said, it's a good thing the casinos are finally trying to protect their employees against abuse and want to create a more pleasant atmosphere for the players as well. Still, there are some other areas where the same strict policies should be, but are not yet, adopted. Some of the most fundamental rules in poker are frequently broken by players who either don't know or don't care they are breaking the rules and they hardly ever get punished by the casino for their behavior; I'm referring to the rules of "English only" and "one player to a hand".

In Vienna, where I've been playing recently, there are many Chinese players talking Chinese all the time, not just between hands, but sometimes during hands as well. In the game I usually play (pot-limit Omaha) it is VERY important people don't talk to each other in their own language during the hand. Still, when I mentioned the problem to casino management, they acknowledged the problem but said "there was nothing much they could do about it". In my opinion, there is a lot they can do about it. Talking in a foreign language during the hand should equal losing the hand, period; if the conversation is going on with someone who is not in the hand, they should both be given one final warning and that's it. Talking in a foreign language during the hand is a serious offense and casinos should regard it as such.

Another rule that is VERY important in poker, yet isn't always strictly enforced, is "one player to a hand". In my opinion it is no problem to have people sit behind players, and I don't mind if they look at the cards the player receives. However, if they start making remarks about the board, or the opponents in the hand for example, or in one way or another try to give advice to the player they sit behind (or if railbirds publicly analyze that the river bet by seat # 1 might very well be a bluff), then the offenders should be punished according to the seriousness of the offense (and casino management should not just shrug its shoulders, like often happens now). It is very important to keep the poker games clean. We, the players, have our own responsibility here but the house also has to show they consider enforcing some of the cardinal rules in poker their duty; in fact, it should be top priority for casino management to try to keep its games honest.

Improving Specific Poker Games

People who know me (or have read my works) know my favorite games are limit hold'em and pot-limit Omaha. I occasionally play stud (when there's a game with a very soft line-up), but I don't really like the game. In fact, the only place I know of where stud is still popular is Vienna, and even there its popularity is dwindling. One of the main reasons people don't like the game anymore is it's too boring; the game is too slow compared to hold'em. In my opinion, five betting rounds in stud is simply one too many.

A possible solution in making the game more attractive is combining fourth and fifth street. In the present situation, each player receives one card on fourth street, which is the last 'cheap' street (unless there's an open pair, in which case a double bet is possible, but not obligatory), before the betting limits double on the next round. A better situation would be combining these two streets. That is: your starting hand consists of three cards (betting round # 1), after that you get two more cards (betting round # 2), then the sixth card (betting round # 3) and finally card # 7 (betting round # 4). By making this simple change, stud will become less boring for the players and a more balanced game overall.*

Another game that has lost popularity is draw poker. As you all know, draw poker is dead; it is hardly ever played anymore. How come? Well, just like stud has (in my opinion) too many betting rounds, draw poker has too few. I think an extra betting round should be added to the game. Why not deal three cards first (betting round # 1), then two additional cards (betting round # 2), and then the draw, followed by the final betting round. The "jacks-or-better to open" should be taken out of the game (why encourage people to play tight?), and the recommended betting limits would be 1-2-3 for the respective betting rounds, giving the bluff a reasonable chance to succeed. Draw poker is in fact a beautiful game and making just a few simple changes like these might give the game the injection it needs.

One of the things I've never understood is why poker is always played limit, pot-limit or no-limit. A combination of these three structures might make a very interesting (and potentially profitable) game. Example: before the flop the game is played limit (like it is now), on the flop the limits double, on the turn betting the pot is possible and no-limit on the river. Especially when played pineapple-style (everybody gets a starting hand consisting of three cards and one of them is discarded before or after the flop), this will make an exciting game. People are interested in playing new poker variations; if some of the weaknesses of the separate structures can be avoided (limit poker/too boring, pot-limit poker/too complicated, no-limit poker/too dangerous), combining all three of them into one game might prove very successful. **

*At the time of this writing, I wasn't aware the suggestions I made regarding stud had already been incorporated into a new stud game. Although I have never played the game, it seems Mississippi Stud has just four betting rounds rather than the usual five, because fourth and fifth street are combined here, speeding up play. If I'm not mistaken, another difference with regular stud is the seventh (and last) card is dealt face up in Mississippi Stud, rather than face down.

**On July 9th, 2001, the introduction of Potnopine Hold'em took place in Poker World, Vienna. This game (which has in fact been created by me) combines limit, pot-limit and no-limit poker into one new fast and exciting hold'em game, played pineapple-style.

The introduction in Austria turned out to be a huge success: a record number of players entered, who seemed to be enjoying themselves more than in any other (regular) poker tournament game. If people in the U.S. will respond the same way, this game might very well be the (exciting) future of tournament poker, or at least be a very welcome addition to the poker tournament forms that already exist. Read a report on the event, "Fresh hold'em game lightens up Vienna. Poker World thrilled by new kid on the block."

Some Final Words

Poker is a beautiful game, and it's great to see its popularity keeps growing and growing. We've got to make sure the game will continue to grow, however. When a new player comes to the casino and sees players throwing cards, cursing at the dealer or lecturing their opponents, he might think: this is not the way I like to play, and decide to leave. Also when someone comes to the casino to see only one or two games are being offered rather than a variety of games (rather than the games he likes best), this is not good for poker.

We should do our best to try to improve the general atmosphere in the casino and change the structure of some of the games for the better; if we do this I don't see any reason why the growth of poker should end now.