During last week's 1000 SCR poker tournament on Scorum Poker, I suffered a heart-breaking loss at the hands of @librarian (known as @geekgirl on Steemit), which inspired me to put a bounty on her head. My pocket jacks were beaten by her 39 suited. I offered 5 SCR to whoever could knock her out of the tournament, which was eventually claimed by @yazp.
Bounties are an interesting part of the game of poker that have risen in popularity. I'm taking this opportunity to explain what a bounty in poker is, my experience with them, why they are placed, and how they work.
What Are Bounties in Poker?
A bounty is simply an amount of money, or in our case, coins, that one player gets for knocking out a specific player. A bounties can be placed as a side bet, or be an official part of the competition. In my example above, I decided to offer up a bounty prize for whoever knocked out @librarian. However, there are tournaments, both online and offline, that offer bounties for every player you knock out of the tournament. This allows players to win money even if they do not finish near the top of the final standings.
My Experience with Bounties
"Anyone who takes out 'Michigan State' gets 300 bucks!" At a poker tournament in Indiana wearing a Michigan State Spartans baseball cap, a bounty was put on my head. I was red hot and close to the lead in chips at a team tournament. To help their team claim victory, a player who had been knocked out offered a hefty reward for anyone who knocked me out. The bounty worked as I was knocked out in third place by a player making a bad call and getting a lucky card on the river to win.
These days we occasionally see bounties in the Steem Poker League and Scorum Poker League. They are a fun way to make the game a little more interesting. A bounty placed on my head always makes me a little bit more anxious, and it impacts my play, meaning that a bounty can be an effective way of getting someone else off of their game.
Why Place a Bounty on a Player?
Bounties can be a lot of fun and add difficulty to a poker game. And as mentioned above, they may slightly influence how a player plays, and even a small advantage in a poker game can go a long way.
How to Place a Bounty
If placing a bounty on a player's head, simply state your intentions to the players playing. On Scorum Poker, you can announce the bounty in Discord and at each of the tables. After placing the bounty, I simply went to each of the three tables and made the announcement. After the tournament was over, I asked around to find out who had knocked @librarian out of the tournament and transferred 5 SCR to @yazp.
What do you think of bounties in poker? Comment below! And if you haven't yet, join us at ScorumPoker.com for freeroll poker action.
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