Run It Once
只发一次
Context: Term: Run It Once In Texas Hold'em, when players are all-in, both agree to deal the community cards only once to determine the winner of the pot.
Overview
Run It Once is a common playing convention in Texas Hold'em, literally meaning "only deal once." When two or more players are all-in before or after the flop, and some community cards remain to be dealt, there are generally two options: either follow the standard procedure and deal the remaining community cards only once (Run It Once), or, with mutual agreement, deal the remaining cards multiple times (usually two or three times), known as Run It Twice or Run It Multiple Times.
Usage Scenarios
Run It Once mainly occurs in cash games, especially high-stakes or home games. After players go all-in, the dealer will ask, "Run It Once or Twice?" If all all-in players agree to run it once, the hand continues with the standard dealing of the remaining cards. In tournaments, due to tournament rules that typically do not allow changing the number of runs, Run It Once is the default method.
Strategic Significance
Choosing Run It Once means accepting raw variance. Since the cards are dealt only once, a hand with a higher win rate is more likely to realize its advantage in a single run, but the underdog also has a chance to hit and suck out. In contrast, running it multiple times reduces short-term variance, making the result closer to the mathematical expected value. Therefore, players who prefer high variance may lean toward Run It Once, while those wanting to reduce variance may choose to run it multiple times.
Notes
- Run It Once is the default option unless all all-in players explicitly agree to run it multiple times.
- In online poker rooms, Run It Once is usually the default, and some platforms offer a "Run It Twice" option.
- In live home games, players should agree on the number of runs beforehand to avoid disputes.