In response to requests from players the format of race-offs is changing at Aspers.  100 Point chips will no longer be raced-off after the 700-1400 level.  100 point chips will remain in play until the 3000-6000 level enabling players to bet in 100 point units for an additional four levels.  After discussions with some players it was decided that this was a fairer method, as it eliminates the possibility of rounding from 100 to 500 points at the 700-1400 level.  A 400 point difference at the 3000-6000 level would have much less of an effect on a players stack.

Players have also expressed an interest in playing Sit n’ Go satellites for the £100 freezeout tournament.  To accommodate these players’ satellites will commence this week from 9pm every tournament night.  The buy-in will be set at £20 resulting in two seats for the Sunday event.  For those that are unfamiliar with Sit n’ Go Satellites, they are one table tournaments of ten players with the winners gaining entry to a larger tournament.  For a £20 entry, players will have the opportunity to qualify for the guaranteed £5,000 prize pool on offer every Sunday.

The Sit N’ Go’s will start as soon as ten names are added to the interest list and will continue throughout the evening.  Players that find themselves on the rails early in the night need no longer watch on as others play to the final; Sunday’s £100 freezeout is only a £20 entry away.

The Poker League is still in its early stages with plenty of opportunity for players to win their way to The Aussie Millions in Australia.  John Stamas has taken the overall League from last week’s leader, Majid Taghavi, after another consistent week of making final tables.  Having lived in Melbourne for a number of years John is looking forward to returning and hopefully bringing back the dollars from next years Aussie Millions. For your chance to win, visit the Poker Room and play in any of Aspers Poker tournaments.

Aspers remains committed to providing the best Poker Room in the North East and welcomes suggestions from players.

I look forward to seeing you at Aspers.
David Parlor
Poker Room Manager
ASPERS CASINO
Newcastle upon Tyne

Assume a player raises in the first round of betting and all players fold around to the Big Blind who has not yet acted, then the raiser folds his cards. How should this be treated?

The first argument is that the player who raised, losses his chips as he must protect his hand. This would assume that the Big Blind had sufficient chips to call the raise and would then be awarded the pot. If the Big Blind did not have sufficient chips he would be awarded an amount equal to his total stack of chips. Does the Big Blind need to state “call” to be awarded the pot or does he automatically win?

Another argument is that the Big Blind would only win the size of the Big Blind and the raiser would be permitted to take his raise back. The problem with this is that a raiser that believes he may get reraised may deliberately fold his hand to get his raise back. Other issues to consider include; was the raiser instructed to pass his cards by the dealer, and were the Big Blind’s cards visible to the table? How would you treat the situation in both of these cases?

I am interested in comments as to how this situation would be treated.