Running it twice is when players agree to deal the remaining community cards two separate times after going all-in—usually post-flop, on the turn, or even preflop. The goal is to reduce variance (the swingy ups and downs) by splitting the pot into two smaller outcomes instead of one big one.
Each “run” uses a fresh deck of remaining cards, and the pot is divided: one half goes to the winner of the first run, and the other half to the winner of the second. If the same player wins both, they scoop the full pot. If the wins are split, each player gets half.
It’s most commonly seen in cash games—especially high-stakes or private games—and not allowed in most tournaments.
Running it twice doesn’t change the math of your hand—it just smooths out the luck in the short term. It’s poker’s version of “let’s not flip one giant coin—let’s flip two smaller ones.”
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