Deal or no Deal?

Deal or no Deal?

Tuesday, 2 November 2010

Dear Dr Tom,


What advice would you give for someone considering a deal at the tournament final table?


Lucas, West Drayton

Dear Lucas,


Don’t do it unless you want to. If everyone else seems keen and you are, in reality, indifferent this should be your cue to decide you don’t want a deal, since you like to have people out of their comfort zone. Any attempt by the other players to dress up a deal as morally better or fairer should be treated with the derision it deserves. Multiplayer deals are a staple of casino low buy-in tourneys and the regulars love ’em. If you spoil their arrangements, you’ll often be either the next one out as they soft play each other, or else you’ll go on to win it as they ineptly try to knock you out and “take one for the team”. With several players left, anything that markedly increases your chance of getting the top spot dramatically increases the equity of your chips, so you love this spot.


If, in contrast, you are tempted by the deal, usual haggling rules apply. Let them make the first offer, don’t seem overly interested and, before you start negotiating, decide what you’ll settle for by doing a chip chop calculation (see January’s Poker Infirmary or get online).


Dr Tom



Tags: Tom Sambrook, Strategy, deal