Hit and Run Poker Player

Hit and Run Poker Players

Hit and runners are one of the reasons why many poker players despise playing online poker. A hit and run in poker is when a player wins a pot and then immediately leaves the game. Hit and runs only happen in cash games as you can’t run with profits in a Sit and Go or a tournament.

These players are looked down upon because they are no good for the game as a whole. When a player sits down, plays a few hands, takes a decent amount of money, and then runs away they have depleted the games. There is no way that poker would be able to continually exist if everyone had the mentality of a hit and runner.

There is nothing wrong with hit and running when you look at the actual rules, but it is an issue of breaking the ethics of a poker player (if such a set of rules exist). It angers everyone at the table when a player just plays a few hands and runs away. If you are scared to play you probably shouldn’t be playing at all.

There is a big difference between players who play a long session, finally take down a decent pot, and then want to quit and a hit and runner.

The players who endure a long session have put in the time and effort and might just want to book a winning session. Players who hit and run, however, are not even what many would consider to be true poker players. If your only intent is to hope for one quick win you might as well go and play some type of casino game. When you hit and run you are only hurting the game of poker for everyone else involved.

Heads Up Play – Hit and Run Poker

Players who hit and run are particularly problematic in the heads up arena. When a player hits and runs in a 6-Max or full ring game they will have probably waited a few hands and ended up in a very fortunate situation. There is a good chance in a 6-Max or full ring game that a hit and run attempt will fail. In a heads up game, however, a hit and run is pretty easy to accomplish.

Some players who hit and run in heads up games are going to be happy with a 20 big blind profit, but others will hang around long enough to get involved in a 200 big blind (or larger) pot. These players are looked down upon because they aren’t sitting at the poker table to play poker, instead they are sitting down to try and catch their opponent off guard.

Heads up players would deny action to a lot of hit and run players if they knew that it was their intent. There will be times where a potential hit and run fails miserably and the player ends up donating money at the heads up table, but most people would prefer that hit and runners weren’t around at all.

Remember that you are going to lose respect from anyone who witnesses you purposefully hit and run at a poker table. You aren’t breaking any technical rules when you hit and run, but it violates the common law of poker players.

SUMMARY: What is a Hit and Run Player

A hit and run in poker is when a player wins a sizable pot and then immediately flees the scene. This type of behavior is frowned upon because it disallows the other players at the table an opportunity to win back any of the money that they lost. There is no rule strictly against a hit and run, but that doesn’t make it right.