Props, or side bets, are extra wagers made at the poker table on top of the normal betting that goes along with the online poker game. These are ways to keep the action high and create a continuous feeling of gambling at the table. Most times, the side betting is miniscule in comparison to the table stakes. It’s not so much a money making opportunity as it is a fun way to stay active in hands that you’re not involved in. In the recent Poker After Dark episodes, the prop betting got a little out of control. Four of the six poker online players chose suits and a trump card from their suit. When a flop came out with their suit, the other players would have to pay them; likewise when another player’s suit flopped, you would have to pay them. If their trump card came out, they would collect double. Well, the fourth party, Tom Dwan backed out of the prop early on after “sleeping” his suit (forgetting to call out that his suit flopped). Action died down a little with the 3 remaining players, so Phil Ivey and Ziigmund decided to prop colors for $50,000 a hand. One claimed red and the other black. Whichever color came out in the majority on the flop (2/3) denoted the winner. The price of this prop changed the texture of the game. Since so much more money could be won in the side bet than was likely to be wagered in any one hand, it took over as the higher incentive. Players began to gestate on what color cards they thought the two in the prop had. If someone made a big overbet, they were assumed to be holding cards of their own color - making them not want to see a flop where they were likely to lose. They’d rather win a small pot than risk losing a much bigger one by seeing a bad flop. This was a big game, and all of the players in it gamble regularly at the nosebleed stakes. I guess sometimes poker isn’t as fun as gambling on arbitrary events!
