4-8 vs. 1-4-8-8 w / half kill Holdem

I usually play 3-6, 4-8 & 5-10 Hold'em in Missippi. I am headed out for a trip Mandalay Bay and will be playing 1-4-8-8 w/ a half kill. Can anyone offer suggestions as to how or if they would play this limit differently? Also, I have never played in a game witha kill. I believe a half kill would bump the game up to 6-12 but I don't know exactly how it works. Any help would be appreciated.


Tunica Guy

The Mandalay Bay 4-8 half-kill game is a structured game (not spread limit which is implied by 1-4-8-8) with $1 and $2 blinds.


You are correct when you say the game will become a 6-12 game on a half-kill. The half-kill goes into effect when a player wins two consecutive pots that see a flop. The killer has to post and additional $3 blind.


I don't think you need to make any adjustments. Most of your opponents will play badly. So, just play tight pre-flop and bet your hands aggressively.


Side note: Chopping isn't allowed at Mandalay Bay or most of the other small poker rooms on the Strip.

Thanks, I should feel right at home.


Tunica Guy

I think there are some adjustments that should be made in these small blind games.


1. Be more inclined than normal to raise with your big paint. Limping with AJ, while fine in a normal game, isn't a good play in these games. You need to destroy the huge implied odds that this structure gives to the drawing hands. Pummel them with preflop raises.


2. Because of said huge implied odds, when in late position in an unraised pot, feel free to limp in with all sorts of crap for that minimum $2 call. Not only are your implied odds huge, you have position and will play better than your opponents.


3. I think that a persuasive case can be made for NEVER folding the sb for that extra buck, though I do fold my very worst hands.

I'm assuming that #2-3 refer to a 1-4-8-8 game, not the 4/8 half kill game?

The Mandalay Bay half kill game is a structured 4-8 game with 1-4-8-8 similarities preflop because of the small blinds. The blinds are $2 and $1. It costs $2 to call. A raise makes it $6. No mini-raises to $4. For the half kill, it is $3 on the kill button, and the BB and SB stay the same.

When I called the poker room the told me 1-4-8-8 with a half kill. That's the only thing I had to go by.


Tunica Guy