SPREAD LIMIT (A.K.A. UNSTRUCTURED) POKER
Spread limit poker is also called unstructured poker because there is no structured amount to bet on a given street. Rather there is a minimum bet and maximum bet. A player may wager any amount in between the higher and lower limits at anytime pursuant to the current betting round. Spread limit is most commonly used in low limit games. Common applications are $1-$5 Stud where a player may bet from $1 to $5 at any time; $1-$4-$8-$8 Hold'em or Omaha (a player may bet from $1-4 before the flop and on the flop, and from $1-$8 on the turn and river) and $2-$6 Hold'em. Example: in $2-$10 Hold'em a player may bet anywhere between $2 and $10 dollars. If a player bets $4 a subsequent player may call $4 or make it anywhere between $8 and $14. All raises must be at least the size of the last bet or raise made on that street. When spread limit games are played with a kill, both the minimum and maximum amounts of the bets are increased. (IE $2-$6 becomes $4-$12.)




KILL POT GAMES
All games played with blinds and only games played with blinds can be played for a kill. Kills are most common in Lowball and Omaha High-Low Split, but are not uncommon in Texas Hold'em, Draw and Omaha High. Games played with a kill are indicated on the table sign identifying the game, and there is a Kill Button either in the dealer's tray or in play in the game.




KILL DEFINED
On the happening of a predetermined even--generally either winning two consecutive pots or winning both the high and low portions in a high-low game or winning a pot with more than a certain amount of money in it--a player shall be obligated on the subsequent hand to post an additional blind double the size of the regular big blind for that game, and the betting limits throughout the hand are doubled when the pot is killed. (IE, in a $10-$20 game with $5 and $10 Blinds, the player required to kill shall post a third blind of $20, and that hand shall be played $20-$40.) These events are said to trigger a kill. When a kill is triggered, the player who must kill the pot by posting an additional blind double the amount of the normal big blind is known as "the killer."




WINNING TWO CONSECUTIVE POTS (a.k.a. Natural Kill.)
This kill variation can be used in any game played with blinds and is most common in Lowball, Texas Hold'em and Omaha High. A player who wins two pots consecutively is required to kill the subsequent pot. If a player who has posted a natural kill wins the killed pot, then that player must kill it again (for the same amount as the previous hand). The player who has won the last pot is said to have a "leg up" and the kill button is placed in front of him, with theword KILL face down. If he wins the subsequent pot, he must then post the double blind and for that pot the stakes shall be doubled. If a player with one leg up on a natural kill splits the next pot, that player still has a leg up for the next hand. If the player who split the pot was the killer in the previous hand, then that player must also kill the subsequent pot. (Alternate Rule. If a player with one leg up on a natural kill splits a pot, then the kill button shall become neutral; if a player who killed a previous pot splits the subsequent pot, then the kill button shall become neutral.) A player who splits a pot does not get the kill button or have a leg up, unless he was the killer the previous pot. In such cases the kill button becomes neutral. A player who has a leg up toward a natural kill and leaves the game still has a leg up upon returning to the game. If when he returns to the game either a kill pot is in play or another player has a leg up toward a kill, then the returning player shall get the kill button and be deemed to have a leg up the next available pot. There is no pot-size requirement for the first pot or leg of a kill. For the second leg to qualify for a kill there must be a flop and the player must win at least one full bet for whatever limit is being played, which cannot be any part of the blind structure. (Alternate Rule. A player must win a pot of a certain size to be set by the house for the pot to qualify as the second leg of a kill.) When a player has one leg up toward a natural kill and there is no flop then he keeps the kill button. This is known as a walk. A player who gets a walk keeps the kill button. (Alternate Rule. In the event of a walk, the kill button becomes neutral.)




SCOOPING HIGH AND LOW
In High-Low games played with a kill, a player who wins both the high and low portions of the pot, whether at showdown or by making an unmatched wager, shall kill the subsequent pot. When a player wins both the high and the low pot ("scooper") in a split pot game with a kill provision, the next hand will be killed only if the total pot is at least five times the size of the upper limit of the game (IE $100 in a $10-$20 game.) A player's uncalled bet is not included in determining the pot size.




WINNING A BIG POT
Winning a pot with more than a certain amount of money in it can be the event to trigger a kill. For example, in a $2-10 spread limit game or a $1-4-8-8 game, a player who wins a pot with more than $50 might be required to post a double live blind and the subsequent hand will be played for double stakes. Typically the size of the pot required to trigger a kill is five times the upper limit in a fixed limit game (IE winning $150 in a$15-$30 game.) Other formulae that can be used are five times the lower limit (which is also the amount of the big blind) or an arbitrary amount. What amount triggers a kill when using the size of the pot to trigger the kill is a matter for management to decide in its best business judgment.




KILL GAMES
Kill games are marked by the presence of a Kill Button on the table. The Kill Button has three statuses: neutral; a leg up; and killed. In those games that require a player who wins two consecutive pots to kill the next pot, the facedown kill button indicates which player has won the previous pot. The winner keeps the button until the hand is completed. If the player who has the kill button wins a second consecutive pot and it qualifies monetarily, the player must kill the next pot. 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 (Alternate Rule. The kill button becomes neutral regardless of whether either player in the split pot had the kill button.); d) the previous pot did not meet the monetary requirements for a kill. In a killed pot the dealer shall place the kill button in the pot, with the word KILL face-up.