The Doubling Deep Poker Format

Doubling Deep: A New Variant on Limit Poker


A recent writing gig for a backgammon site brought back the memory
of an old experiment. It involved the use of a doubling cube in Limit
poker play. And so, in conjunction with WiseHandPoker.com, I would
like to share this knowledge.



Note: Doubling Deep, and the use of the doubling cube in poker, is
the intellectual property of Bill Ricardi in association with Wise
Hand Poker. Content is Copyright ( � ), Wise Hand Poker, however it
is being released under the GNU Free Documentation License for free
use!


The GNU Free Documentation License means that anyone can use these
rules for any commercial or non-commercial use, any time they want. In
exchange, they simply must credit Bill Ricardi and Wise Hand Poker as
the source of the document. For the full text of the GNU Public
Documentation License, see http://www.gnu.org/licenses/fdl.txt


So how do we make our money? Bill Ricardi and Wise Hand Poker are
available for consulting on the Doubling Deep (and every other poker)
format. We do presentations, full casino implementations,
Internet/radio/television event coverage, and regular text/audio/video
articles. For details, please visit http://www.WiseHandPoker.com or
E-Mail [email protected] and [email protected] 



Presented here is the basic Doubling Deep format. For implementation
into your casino, marketing options, and education of your dealers and
pit crew, please contact the WiseHandPoker.com team via Gary Wise:
[email protected]


A doubling cube is a six-sided die with the numbers 2, 4, 8, 16, 32,
and 64 on the sides. It normally remains out of play (so the
multiplier is '1') until someone legally announces a �double�, and
then it is placed in the playing area with the �2� side up. Further
doubling causes the cube to be rotated to the �4�, then the �8�, etc.


The concept is simple on the surface. If you introduce a doubling cube
to limit hold�em, and let the cube�s count control the multiplier of
the level that you can raise to (though the forced blinds remain the
same), you add a new level of complexity to the game. The button has
control of the cube. They can only use it pre-flop. However, if they
chose to use it, they must make the bet at the new limit. The cube
resets to 1 (and is thus removed from play) when the blinds would
normally go up. The cube is kept on clear display in proximity to the
dealer, and only the dealer should handle the physical cube itself.


It should be noted that it is possible for the same player to double
twice in one hand. If the button doubles (thus raising) and someone
re-raises, the button can double again when it comes back around to
him, unless pre-flop betting has already been capped at 4 bets (a
raise is required to double, and you cannot raise when the bet has
been capped).


Because it is only used in Limit poker, the use of the word �double�
cannot be confused with an attempt to bet double what the last player
bet (which could happen in pot limit or no limit play), and instead
invokes the button�s right to activate the cube.


For example, at the 5/10 level, betting comes around to the button.
He doubles from 1 to 2, requiring him to put 20 in the pot (base
of 5, raise of 10, doubled). Until the blinds are raised, bets will
be made as in if the table was at the 10/20 blind level. Again,
blinds themselves remain the same.


It is crucial that the blinds themselves remain the same. Patience
should be rewarded in poker at least as much as aggression.  In
simulations that raised the blinds themselves, tournaments were over
in a very quick and quite unfair manner.


Having run simulations, I know that the concept only works in deep
stacks tournaments, with players having 2.5 (suggested) to 3 (longer
format) times the standard number of starting chips than they would
normally have. And the differences between any two tables can be�
amazing. An aggressively doubling table can be half busted before the
third level, while players at a passively doubling table can all be
sitting on their deep stacks well into the fourth level without having
to do much of anything.


Later in the tournament, the doubling cube is effective for putting
the short stacks all in, and creating a near-No Limit environment for
aggressive players. But again, patient players can sit back and use
this to their advantage, re-raising with the better hand, or even
timing a double re-raise with the button.


What does a doubling cube add to the game?

�	Naked aggression in limit poker games.

�	A new dimension in betting strategy.

�	An element that appeals to both the gamblers and the
mathematicians.

�	A new way to revive limit for the mainstream television
audience.


Possible variants include the �beaver� version of the game, which allows
any player to re-double the cube on a hand where the cube has been
invoked at least once. I wouldn�t suggest this for tournament play
however; it is far too volatile.


Feel free to try it out in your home games. A full copy of this text is
available at http://www.geocities.com/rrauwl/index.html . If any casinos
or online poker rooms want to try it out, please contact Gary Wise 
([email protected]) and Bill Ricardi ([email protected])
for consulting options.