Bounty (poker)

A bounty is a feature in some poker tournaments that rewards a player for eliminating another player. Depending on the tournament, a player might be rewarded for eliminating either a specific player, or any player. The reward is almost always a cash prize, and not tournament currency. Bounties are rare but do occur occasionally in professional tournaments. [ [http://www.bay101.com/maineventstructure.html Bay101.com: Shooting Star] ] They are more commonly only implemented in smaller tournaments, or charitable tournaments.

In bounty tournaments that reward a player for every player they eliminate, the buy-in structure of the tournament may require each player to pay an additional amount for their own bounty chip, or token. This bounty chip is carried by the player throughout the tournament. If the player is eliminated, the bounty chip is given to the player who eliminated them. The bounty chips are cashed in, usually for the amount each player paid for the bounty chip. Players who are not eliminated, can usually cash in their own chip.

Some bounty tournaments assign a bounty to only a few players. This assignment is rarely random, and is usually only prearranged with the bountied players, as such an assignment to a random entrant would significantly affect their game. Some tournaments may feature a celebrity bounty, if the tournament hosts have arranged for a celebrity to play in the tournament. This type of bounty arrangement is usually only the celebrity bounty variety, or if the bountied player is playing for reasons of promoting the tournament.

The aspect of having a bounty in a tournament can significantly effect the play of the tournament. For example, if a player with a lower amount of chips declares that they are all-in, other players may be more enticed to call the bet. Most professional poker players would be well advised to alter their normal playing style, to adapt to this aspect, if they were to enter a bounty tournament.

ee also

*Glossary of poker terms

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