PTG Poker applies primarily to community card games such as PTG Holdem™ and PTG Omaha™. The positional advantage is distributed more evenly throughout the hand, thereby minimizing the strength of position and making play fairer for more players. The first round, Pre-Flop, and the third round, the Turn, are played as usual. However, at the second round, the Flop, and the fourth round, the River, the action starts with the player on the dealer button and proceeds in the opposite direction to the other two rounds. In other words, if the Pre-Flop and Turn rounds are clockwise as usual, then the Flop and River rounds are counter-clockwise. So the first player to act on the Flop and River rounds is the dealer button player (or the first player in counter-clockwise direction from the dealer button if the dealer button player is no longer in the game).
On the Pre-Flop round most players in an early position are reluctant to come into the pot without a very strong hand, knowing that in all probability they will be out of position throughout the hand if there is a caller behind them. With PTG Poker, the player coming in with a raise (when the blinds do not call) is in the last, and the best, position on the Flop and River rounds - the two most important betting rounds.. Therefore the starting hand requirement to come into the pot, with either a call or a raise, has reduced with PTG Poker. As a consequence, more players will be more justified in participating in each hand. Also the small blind has more incentive to call Pre-Flop, and both the small blind and big blind have more incentive to call a raise Pre-Flop. These dynamic structural changes enable weaker players to enter the pot without being intimidated by stronger players having positional advantage over them throughout the hand. Players whose primary playing skill has been to play conservatively, except when in position against weaker players, will be forced to change this playing method for PTG Poker. The overall impact will be that the less skilled players have more equity in the game and more fun. Truly skillful players will enjoy the challenge of PTG Poker and with time will successfully adapt to the new structure. PTG Poker is even more effective in diminishing the positional advantage when alternative blind and ante structures are used as outlined on the structure page.
At poker formats such as tournaments and satellites the seating allocation is based on the random luck of the draw. Unlike in cash games, there is no chance of changing the allocated seating. In conventional poker, a player being dominated by a larger-stacked player acting afterwards on every hand (except when the dominated player has the dealer button) can be devastating. With PTG Poker, as the sequence reverses on two of the four betting rounds, the advantage of the position of the dominating stack is diminished. Therefore PTG Poker results in minimizing the luck of the draw of seating allocation.
