What do you do when the chip lead leaves?

warewulf · #1 09-14-2006, 02:09 AM

I was at a game Sunday. We started with 15 and we were down to 6. One guy was the dominant chip lead, got a phone call from a family member and announced he had to leave and wasn't coming back.

What would you do? I suggested blinding him out. He had so many chips that he was still likely to make the money.

The host split up his chips among the players left. I didn't agree, but didn't make a big deal either.

lmcjaho · #2 09-14-2006, 06:15 AM

Blind him out. If he manages to make the money that way he deserves it.

Dangeresque · #3 09-14-2006, 08:03 AM

blind him out, yep.

Mr. Orange · #4 09-14-2006, 04:28 PM

Blind him out. If he makes the money- pay him. If a player buys into the tournament they have the same right to win as anyone else. This question has been asked before and I don't understand why so many people have such a huge problem with someone who has to leave being blinded into the money. (That's what the real question is here right. I assume if he was a short stack you'd just blind him off until he was done)

NickMPK · #5 09-14-2006, 04:32 PM

I would blind him out as long as you are down to a single table. If you still have multiple tables and there is no way the person leaving can make the money if blinded out, I think it is more fair to split the chips among all players left in the tournament.

Wongboy · #6 09-14-2006, 04:43 PM

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I would blind him out as long as you are down to a single table. If you still have multiple tables and there is no way the person leaving can make the money if blinded out, I think it is more fair to split the chips among all players left in the tournament.

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I'm curious as to your reasoning for this distinction. As far as I know, standard tourney rules (at least at tourneys I have played in, including WSOP prelim events) allow for blinding off regardless. It does not seem fair to penalize the larger remaining stacks by dividing his chips equally. Also, why is there a distinction in treatment between players who leave for a while, versus those who do not plan on coming back.

Given that it is a home game, any rule is fine as long as it is agreed ahead of time. Dividing up the chips at all differs from what is done in larger tourneys and doing so evenly is inherently unfair, but its ultimately up to the host of the game.

Grasshopp3r · #7 09-14-2006, 05:25 PM

I think that the larger tourneys will blind you off until a break, then will remove your chips from play. That is more equitable to the field than dividing the chips amongst the players at the table.

Wongboy · #8 09-14-2006, 05:42 PM

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I think that the larger tourneys will blind you off until a break, then will remove your chips from play. That is more equitable to the field than dividing the chips amongst the players at the table.

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I could be mistaken, but I am almost certain that the WSOP, etc will not remove your chips from play if you have started to play. For example, if you sit down and play the first hour, but then leave, you would just be blinded off until you are out of chips. The rule is different if someone registers and never shows up.

BTW, I agree that removing chips from play is more equitable than dividing them equally among remaining players.

In my home games, I think I'll change the rule to say that the host gets all chips from anyone who misses 3 orbits.

warewulf · #9 09-14-2006, 05:43 PM

I agree -- I was one of the big stacks at the time. When thinking out loud, the host said that since I was next to him and was a big stack, that I would end up with all his chips. I didn't understand the logic and didn't like it when he split up the chips especially since two players were short stacked and then had more power to double up.

His reasoning was that if he removed the chips (his 2nd choice) then the game would end too soon. Blinding out was never an option. Again, given everyones stacks, I'm about 80% certain that the guy would have finished in the money if we just blinded him out.

Wongboy · #10 09-14-2006, 05:56 PM

Next time, the guy should just say that he may be coming back. I think it would be difficult to deny him a money spot if he legitimately could have finished in the money by folding every hand and this is demonstrated through play of the tourney.

I agree that the big stack has a better chance of stealing the dead blinds, but then again the big stack should get more of the guys chips anyway (if you were to keep the relative stack sizes consistent).

In summary, I completely disagree with this ruling and think that the other large stacks and those near the guy leaving got screwed. Since its a home game, I also think that the host has the final say. A rule should be established to address this situation in the future.