Proforma Texas Holdem

The following document describes Proforma Texas Holdem and also additional tourney rules for Poker West. This page assumes you have a working knowledge of Texas Holdem. If you don't, you can either just play the games and learn, or read one of the many resources online.

On this site we play No Limit Proforma Texas Holdem Tournaments.

Quick Overview Of Proforma Additional Rules

• Blind Reductions: No two players are put allin by the blinds at the same time.
• Big Blind Allin Move ("BAM"): A player allin in the big blind has an additional move, "correct" or "incorrect."
• Players get 20% of their chips back if their wager had equal or better Expected Value.

Description

As you learned poker you find out there are lots of different structures and games, from limit and no limit, to tourney and cash games, to heads up, shorthanded and ring play, to even kill and mixed games. And with the Internet and computers allowing fast play and calculations, we're now able to play games like never before. It's a great time to be a poker player since there are so many options. One of the newest structures to come out is Proforma rules/structure.

• Texas Holdem is "best hand poker." Best hand poker means that whomever has the best five cards at the end of the hand gets the pot.
• Proforma Texas Holdem awards 80% of the wagers based on the best hand, and 20% based on if the players played correctly with the odds.

Rules Detail

Blind Reductions: No two players are put allin by forced blinds at once.

• if ante causes an allin, it is removed that hand.
• if big blind is larger than a player's remaining stack, it is reduced to his remaining stack amount.
• if small blind is larger than player's remaining stack it is reduced to half his remaining stack, followed by the big blind set to double the new small blind amount.
• players are never put allin in the small blind seat.

Proforma Chips: Players get 20% of their chips back if their wager had equal or better Expected Value.

• At the end of each betting round, all player's still in the hand, with wagers that betting round have their play deemed correct or incorrect. It is correct if it has even or better Expected Value. (You can look up what Expected Value or "EV" is online. It is a common concept for determining decisions in poker.)
  - If correct, then 20% of their wager is set aside and will be returned to player at the end of the hand.
  - If incorrect, then 100% of their wager is awarded based on the best hand.
  - folding does not forfeit skill chips earned in previous rounds, but it does best hand chips.

BBSpecialOption: A player in the big blind who is allin gets a special option to provide input.

• If the big blind player is allin because of the big blind, then he gets a special option. The option is CORRECT or INCORRECT. The question asked is: Given the situation, is my big blind bet with the odds, equal or positive EV?
  - If the player answers right, then he gets skill chips reserved out of his big blind bet, otherwise all the money wagered is based on the best hand.

FAQs

How should I view this game?

The site as a whole you should view as a way to play and hone your skills as well as winning money and/or building your bankroll.

Proforma Texas Holdem should be viewed as another game structure. We love poker. Each game, from Limit Holdem to Pot Limit Omaha has its own flavor. And while each game is different, they all share common aspects. If you are serious about poker, you shouldn't limit yourself to one game. Everyone has a game they prefer, but the more games you play the better each becomes, including your favorite structure.

Few Examples:

• HU Limit Holdem helps your reading skills and endurance.
• Short Handed Games (all structures) help your aggression and defense of blinds.
• No Limit Games teach you how to get value and lay down hands.
• Pot Limit Games teach you draws.
• Tourney play teaches you money management since you can't pull out another rack from your pocket.

Will I see this game in live casinos/cardrooms?

Most likely not. Some games fair better online than off. The main reason for this is the speed and difficulty of the game to deal. For many years NL Holdem wasn't a popular game in cardrooms simply because it was so slow. Heads Up and shorthanded games are also rarely played in cardrooms (except at high limit) for the same reason. Proforma requires lots of calculations so the only option would be to play via an electronic table, which takes a lot of fun out of playing live.

Are there any tips for playing this well?

1. Purify your moves, meaning try to get more value on your good hands and try to lose less on your bad hands. This is true of all poker, but especially Proforma structures.
2. Don't give up even if you get down very low in chips. A small stack is still in the tournament and as long as you keep playing well, you'll remain alive. A bad move can end your tourney at any time, but a good move, even if you get bad beated, you'll still be hanging on.
3. Make sure you understand the rating system that decides who wins the money for each event.
   

Additional Tourney Rules

Tourney Placement Allin Ties

Bob has 10k chips and goes allin.
Bill, Joe and Tom all call allin with 1k each.
Bob wins.
Who gets 2nd, 3rd, 4th?
If multiple players go allin at the same time and lose to another hand, the placement ranking is resolved in the following way:

1. The players are ranked by how many chips they started the hand with.
2. If players have the same amount of chips, then the hand strength of each player decides the ranking.
3. If players have the same amount of chips and same hand strength, then the prize money or score is split amongst the tied players.
   

Dealer Button Assignment/Movement

Tournament Start:

After players are randomly sat at a table, the first dealer button is given to the player in seat 1.

Dealer Button/Blinds:

Our system gives precedence to the big blind. Since the big blind is inherently negative, the system makes sure a player doesn't get assigned it twice in a row nor does it allow a player to skip his big blind. The big blind moves a seat once clockwise, then the dealer button is set, followed by the small blind. Because of this, there are two special, yet appropriate, types of hands:

1. No small blind: No small blind seat.
2. Dead dealer button: The dealer button is placed on a seat where there was a player the previous hand but had busted out.

In HU situations, the dealer button is on the small blind seat and the big blind is place on the big blind seat.

Disconnection Policy

If a player doesn't act in time or loses his connection during a tournament, then the following will happen:

• If player can check, he will check.
• If player can't check because there is a bet, he will fold.
• If player is in the BBSpecialOption, then no move will be entered, meaning regardless of the outcome, no skill chips will be awarded.
  

A player will remain in the tournament until the player's chips are gone.

Skill/Proforma Chips

• EV is calculated at the end of each betting round for all wagers made that round. Skill/Proforma chips calculated based on those results.
• Antes don't count.
• There are no skill/proforma chips are on the river, obviously because there are no more cards to come. A winning hand is the winner and a loser the loser.