Should absent players be removed from a tournament?

[Ontario_Tory]

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Does the player get a refund of the buy-in? If yes, fill your boots (Even though I disagree with it).

If not, you're stealing their money, imho. If I pay for a tourney, I can play it any way I want, which may include sitting out until I have 1 chip left, then trying to comeback.


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it really has nothing to do with money refunding.
Any card room (online or live) depends on players. Making the players happy is the number 1 priority. By removing a player from a tournament for being late, you're gonna piss off a lot of people thereby hurting your business.
There are many other online poker sites. If you start removing players, they're going to go somewhere else.

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I agree with what you're saying - perhaps I wasn't 100% clear in my point:

- With refund: Bad idea based on what you just said.
- Without refund: Pure theft.

[wrschultz]

I personally think you should either remove them just before the tournament begins and give them a full refund, or don't remove them at all. Removing a stack and player 15 minutes into the tournament is a pretty bad policy I think.

[countjam]

it is a big no.

i would never play at a site with that policy thats for sure.

[JFJB]

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Also, there have been times where I've registered for a tourny knowing that I would have to be blinded off for 10-15 mins.


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Yeah, this is an important point. You should allow your customers to show up as late as they feel like.

Also, no one is ever given an advantage/disadvantage in the long run. It's completely random who gets placed at a table with someone sitting out, just like it's random who ends up at a table with bigstacks or experienced players.

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Final table. Down to 3 players and one guy decides to log out and not play!!! When logged out player is on the button I am SB. Basically this situation meant that the other present player had position on me 2 hands out of 3. If I fight him with this disadvantages I have a hudge risk of ending 3rd or I can fold my way to second place money taking a big hit to my stack. That situation totally sucked and I would not have minded absent player being taken out that time.

Early in a tournament, I think players should be allowed to be blinded out if absent.