What does 1/2 kill mean?

I was checking out the games at my local room today, and I noticed that their 4-8 Hold 'Em game was 1/2 kill. What does that mean?

When a particular criteria is met, the game will become 6-12 for one hand and an extra blind will be posted. After that one 6-12 hand is played, the game will return to 4-8 unless that same criteria happens to be met again.


At Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, there is a 4-8 half-kill game. When somebody wins two consecutive hands, the next hand becomes 6-12. Also, the "killer" (the player who just won two consecutive pots) posts an additional big blind for that hand.


The criteria can be different. At Foxwoods, if a pot exeeds a certain amount ($100), the next hand will be a "kill hand".


half-kills and full-kills (which would turn a 4-8 game into a 8-16 game) are popular with many players because they create a lot of action with the temporary increased stakes and extra posted blind.