4 Reasons Why Rabbit Hunting Is Bad (And 1 Positive)

Rabbit hunting in poker is not something we’re a huge fan of. But we get why it happens so regularly too. And sometimes we’re even tempted to do it.

So this article is designed to serve as a reminder why in most, if not all, cases, rabbit hunting doesn’t do you any favours. It doesn’t matter if you’re playing Texas Hold’em, Pot Limit Omaha, Six Plus or any other type of poker game, don’t do it. And here’s why.

Rabbit hunting in poker defined

If we’ve already lost you, we’re sorry. Let’s start at the beginning and tell you exactly what rabbit hunting in poker is.

Rabbit hunting in poker is when play ends somewhere before the river is revealed, and then the board that could have been is revealed. The outcome obviously doesn’t change. The only thing that changes is you can see what cards would have been added to the board.

Availability of rabbit hunting

Whether or not you can rabbit hunt during a game of poker depends hugely on where you’re playing. A lot of casinos and card rooms don’t allow rabbit hunting. And it’s rare to be able to rabbit hunt when you’re playing online in places like bet365 (bet365 bonus code here, if you’re interested).

But as you’ll soon learn, that isn’t a bad thing.

Reasons rabbit hunting is bad

Let’s cut to the chase. We’re not here to sit on the fence, we’re here to give you real advice. And here’s why, tempting as it might be, you should avoid rabbit hunting.

1. Revealing more information than you want to

If you call for a rabbit hunt, every player at your table is going to be looking for a reaction when the remaining cards are revealed. Under that amount of scrutiny, it’s going to be hard not to let any little twitch slip.

At the same time, even calling for a rabbit hunt to begin with tells your table something. You were waiting for something to hit. You’re way better off keeping those thoughts to yourself.

2. Rabbit hunting poker games makes them way slower

There is nothing we hate more than poker games that get constantly interrupted by stupid things that aren’t part of the actual game play.

Rabbit hunting poker games is that all over. If you or other players at the table constantly call for a rabbit hunt, it takes away from precious time you could be spending actually getting down to the action of the next hand.

3. A common cause of tilt

A rabbit hunt that gives you unsatisfactory results (for example, finding out you could’ve blown your opponents out of the water if only you kept on playing), can rile you up. If you’re worked up, tilt creeps in. And that is not good news for your game playing abilities.

4. There’s no benefit to knowing what could’ve been

A whole lot of players out there, particularly those new to the game, are full of what ifs. But the truth is, it doesn’t ever matter what cards would have been laid on the table next.

The hand is over. You played to the best of your abilities based on your hand, your opponents actions and the pot odds. You probably had a good reason to fold. That’s when the play ended, no matter what the deck had left to reveal.

Most decent poker strategy books or poker podcasts will tell you the exact same thing.

Is there any way to rabbit hunt smarter?

To be honest, not really. The more you rabbit hunt, the more you annoy your fellow players and leave yourself open in ways you don’t want to be. But if you have to rabbit hunt, we’d just suggest to do it as sparingly as possible.

The one positive thing that comes from rabbit hunting in poker

Rabbit hunting in poker can tell you a whole lot about your other players. When an opponent calls for a rabbit hunt, it’s a negative for them. You can use this to your advantage, finding out what cards they likely held and seeing if they succumb to the dreaded tilt.