Running it Twice

I am sure you have heard the term "let's run it twice" before. Running it twice is a common occurrence in poker cash games. You will not see this kind of deal in a poker tournament. Currently only one online poker site that allows you to "run it twice." Running it twice provides a way to determine the winner of the hand when all of the betting is completed before the last community card has been dealt. This is only done in a heads-up scenario and can be done after the flop or turn.

Here is how running it twice works:

Running it twice is done on either the flop or river. One or both of the player involved in the hand must be all-in with each player agreeing before it can be dealt twice. Once confirmed the players must notify the dealer accordingly. This kind of arrangement is usually done in Hold'em games. I have never seen it done in Omaha although I am sure that it is possible. You must have community cards in order to run it twice and hold'em and Omaha are the only two games that allow this kind of arrangement.

Finally, the dealer deals two sets of the turn and river or two river cards depending on what arrangement the players agree to. This creates two different scenarios. If either players wins both they win the entire pot. If both players win one of the scenarios then the pot is split. You can even run it three times if you absolutely wanted to establish a winner.

Why do people run it twice?

Running it twice evens out the playing field so to speak. It takes some of the variance out of the hand and minimizes the risk of either player losing their entire stack on any single hand.