Counterfeit (poker)
Encyclopedia
In community card poker
, a player or hand is said to be counterfeited when a community card does not change the value of his hand, but makes it more likely that an opponent will beat it. This occurs primarily in Omaha hold 'em
hi-lo split and sometimes in Texas hold 'em
. Counterfeiting also occurs in the Badugi
variant of draw poker
.
, but Alice and Bob are still competing for the low half of the pot. Bob holds an 8-7-6-2-A, ahead of Alice's 8-7-6-3-A. In fact, Bob currently holds the nut low hand; no one can have a better low hand.
However, if the turn card is 2♣, Alice and Bob's fortunes have changed. Alice now has the nut-low of 7-6-3-2-A, while Bob must still play the A-2 from his hand for a low of 8-7-6-2-A. The turn card did not make Bob's hand worse, but it did make Alice's hand better. Bob's only chance at the low pot now is if a 3 comes on the river, counterfeiting Alice's hand and giving both Alice and Bob a 7-6-3-2-A to split the low half of the pot. (If a 3 does come on the river, the nut low hand becomes A-4 to make 6-4-3-2-A.)
On the other hand, on a flop of 8-7-6, a hand containing A-2-3-4 is considered counterfeit-proof, because it currently is the nut low (8-7-6-2-A), and even if an A or a 2 arrives on the turn, it will remain the nut low (7-6-3-2-A) and will remain protected from counterfeiting on the river. A player with this type of protection can be bolder in betting.
Counterfeiting in Texas hold 'em more often leads to ties, like in the example above, but can also result in losses. For example, if the flop is J-T-9, K-Q is the best possible hand. But if the turn card is a queen, a player who held K-Q will now be counterfeited and able to lose to a player with A-K.
In common usage, the term counterfeiting is sometimes applied in a non-standard way to situations where hands do change value. If the flop is J-7-5, a player who has 7-5 would have two pair and be ahead of a player with pocket aces. Another jack on the turn or river, however, will make the first player's hand objectively stronger—from Sevens and Fives to Jacks and Sevens—but now behind the second player's Aces and Jacks, with the original pair of fives being counterfeited by the pair on the board.
Community card poker
Community card poker refers to any game of poker that uses community cards , which are cards dealt face up in the center of the table and shared by all players. In these games, each player is dealt privately an incomplete hand , which are then combined with the community cards to make a complete...
, a player or hand is said to be counterfeited when a community card does not change the value of his hand, but makes it more likely that an opponent will beat it. This occurs primarily in Omaha hold 'em
Omaha hold 'em
Omaha hold 'em is a community card poker game similar to Texas hold 'em, where each player is dealt four cards and must make his best hand using exactly two of them, plus exactly three of the five community cards...
hi-lo split and sometimes in Texas hold 'em
Texas hold 'em
Texas Hold 'em is a variation of the standard card game of poker. The game consists of two cards being dealt face down to each player and then five community cards being placed face-up by the dealer—a series of three then two additional single cards , with...
. Counterfeiting also occurs in the Badugi
Badugi
Badugi is a draw poker variant similar to triple draw, but with hand values not dissimilar to lowball...
variant of draw poker
Draw poker
Draw poker is any poker variant in which each player is dealt a complete hand before the first betting round, and then develops the hand for later rounds by replacing, or "drawing", cards....
.
Omaha hold 'em
The more common occurrence of counterfeiting in Omaha is when a person's best possible low hand, called the "nut low", is counterfeited. As an example, say Alice has A♠ 3♣ J♦ Q♦ while Bob holds A♣ 2♦ 9♦ J♠ and Carol holds 9♥ T♥ K♥ A♥. If the flop comes 6♥ 7♥ 8♥, Carol has a lock on the high hand with her 10-high straight flushStraight Flush
Straight Flush was the name of a B-29 Superfortress participating in the atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945....
, but Alice and Bob are still competing for the low half of the pot. Bob holds an 8-7-6-2-A, ahead of Alice's 8-7-6-3-A. In fact, Bob currently holds the nut low hand; no one can have a better low hand.
However, if the turn card is 2♣, Alice and Bob's fortunes have changed. Alice now has the nut-low of 7-6-3-2-A, while Bob must still play the A-2 from his hand for a low of 8-7-6-2-A. The turn card did not make Bob's hand worse, but it did make Alice's hand better. Bob's only chance at the low pot now is if a 3 comes on the river, counterfeiting Alice's hand and giving both Alice and Bob a 7-6-3-2-A to split the low half of the pot. (If a 3 does come on the river, the nut low hand becomes A-4 to make 6-4-3-2-A.)
On the other hand, on a flop of 8-7-6, a hand containing A-2-3-4 is considered counterfeit-proof, because it currently is the nut low (8-7-6-2-A), and even if an A or a 2 arrives on the turn, it will remain the nut low (7-6-3-2-A) and will remain protected from counterfeiting on the river. A player with this type of protection can be bolder in betting.
Texas hold 'em
Counterfeiting in Texas hold 'em is similar to counterfeiting in Omaha, in that hands do not change value. Often Texas hold 'em counterfeiting is less likely to cause a player to lose an entire pot. On a flop of Q-J-T, a player holding A-K will have flopped an ace-high Broadway straight. If the turn card comes a king, the player with A-K will still have the same straight, but now so will a player with A-7, resulting in a tie. The A-K player's hand didn't get worse in rank, but it becomes less likely to win the entire pot.Counterfeiting in Texas hold 'em more often leads to ties, like in the example above, but can also result in losses. For example, if the flop is J-T-9, K-Q is the best possible hand. But if the turn card is a queen, a player who held K-Q will now be counterfeited and able to lose to a player with A-K.
In common usage, the term counterfeiting is sometimes applied in a non-standard way to situations where hands do change value. If the flop is J-7-5, a player who has 7-5 would have two pair and be ahead of a player with pocket aces. Another jack on the turn or river, however, will make the first player's hand objectively stronger—from Sevens and Fives to Jacks and Sevens—but now behind the second player's Aces and Jacks, with the original pair of fives being counterfeited by the pair on the board.