To kill a pot means to post an overblind that increases
the betting limit. A full kill is double the amount of
the big blind, and doubles the betting limits. A half
kill is one-and-a-half times the big blind, and increases
the betting limits by that amount. A kill may be optional
in a game, and is often used at lowball when a player
wants to be dealt in right away instead of waiting to
take the big blind. A kill may be required in a game for
any time a specified event takes place. In high-low split
games using a required kill, a player who scoops a pot
bigger than a set size must kill the next pot. In other
games using a required kill, a player who wins two consecutive
pots must kill the next pot. In this type of kill game,
a marker called a “kill button” indicates
which player has won the pot, and the winner keeps this
marker until the next hand is completed. If the player
who has the kill button wins a second consecutive pot
and it qualifies monetarily, that player must kill the
next pot.
RULES OF KILL POTS
1. The kill button is neutral (belonging to no player)
if:
(a) It is the first hand of a new game.
(b) The winner of the previous pot has quit the game.
(c) The previous pot was split and neither player had
the kill button.
2. In a kill pot, the killer acts in proper turn (after
the person on the immediate right).
3. There is no pot-size requirement for the first pot
or "leg" of a kill. For the second "leg"
to qualify for a kill, you must win at least one full
bet for whatever limit you are playing, and it cannot
be any part of the blind structure.
4. If a player with one "leg up" splits the
next pot, that player still has a "leg up" for
the next hand. If the player who split the pot was the
kill in the previous hand, then that player must also
kill the next pot.
5. A person who leaves the table with a “leg up”
toward a kill still has a “leg up” upon returning
to the game.
6. A player who is required to post a kill must do so
that same hand even if wishing to quit or be dealt out.
A player who fails to post a required kill blind will
not be allowed to participate in any game until the kill
money is posted.
7. Kill blinds are considered part of the pot. If a
player with a required kill wins again, then that player
must kill it again (for the same amount as the previous
hand).
8. When a player wins both the high and the low pot
(“scoops”) in a split-pot game with a kill
provision, the next hand will be killed only if the pot
is at least five times the size of the upper limit of
the game.
9. If you are unaware that the pot has been killed and
put in a lesser amount, if it is a required kill pot with
the kill button faceup, you must put in the correct amount.
If not, you may withdraw the chips and reconsider your
action.
10. In lowball, an optional rule is allowing players
to look at their first two cards and then opt whether
to kill the pot. The pot may no longer be killed if any
player in the game has received a third card. In order
to kill the pot voluntarily, you must have at least four
times the amount of the kill blind in your stack. For
example: If the big blind is two chips, and the kill blind
is four chips, the voluntary killer must have at least
16 chips prior to posting the kill. If this rule is used,
it is in conjunction with having the killer act last on
the first betting round rather than in proper order.
11. Only one kill is allowed per deal.
12. A new player is not entitled to play in a killed
pot, but may do so by agreeing to kill the next pot.
13. Broken game status is allowed only for players of
the same limit and game type. For this purpose, a game
with a required kill is considered a different type of
game than an otherwise similar game without a required
kill.
