How to deal with a player leaving a tourny

Pokerbrat · #1 12-04-2006, 08:28 PM

Does anyone have suggestions on what to do if a player has to leave in the middle of a tournament that we play? All of us are seniors in high school, and some other guys' parents are really strict about curfews. Occasionally, the game lasts longer or we started later than usual. A person will be chip leader and realize that it is midnight and they have to leave. I don't think it is fair for that person to have to leave with nothing, since it is usually unlikely they can fold into the money. Also, it would not be fair to let them cash out their money. Does anyone here have a suggestion on how to handle this situation (No sarcastic responses please)?

Esection · #2 12-04-2006, 08:32 PM

(1) take the chips out of play and he gets nothing.
(2) let his stack sit there, so he blinds out, but maybe he will cash if his stack size is large enough.
(3) postpone the tournament until the next time you meet (a two day tourny kind of thing etc).
(4) start playing earlier so this doesnt happen.
(5) change the tournment structure so they take less time.

Wongboy · #3 12-04-2006, 08:49 PM

[ QUOTE ]
(1) take the chips out of play and he gets nothing.
(2) let his stack sit there, so he blinds out, but maybe he will cash if his stack size is large enough.
(3) postpone the tournament until the next time you meet (a two day tourny kind of thing etc).
(4) start playing earlier so this doesnt happen.
(5) change the tournment structure so they take less time.

[/ QUOTE ]

Do anything you want, but be consistent and make sure that the rules are communicated up-front before anyone puts money at risk. Personally, I like the idea of a set ending time, and if the tourney is not finished, you could either mandate a chip-equity deal, or finish the tourney the next time you play.

If your tourneys are routinely going past people's bed time and people want to play 1 day tourneys, then you should revisit the structure.

Pokerbrat · #4 12-04-2006, 10:22 PM

I understand what you guys are saying, but is there any option available that allows the person to leave and still get some money? Is getting back 1/2 of their stack fair? 3/4?

Wongboy · #5 12-04-2006, 10:28 PM

The trouble with that is that it messes up the tournament dynamics for the remaining players a bit since the average stack changes pretty dramatically.

If you and the other players think that a solution along those lines is acceptable, then by all means go ahead and put it in place. As long as everyone agrees, you can do whatever you want.

pfapfap · #6 12-04-2006, 10:33 PM

It's not really fair to anyone else, who could just say, "oops, mom wants me home" when his/her stack is big. Also, when you think about it, the winner of the tourney doesn't get 100% of the stack back (I assume at least second place also gets something), so it's just not fair at all. It's a tournament for a reason.

If this person always has to leave at a certain time, then there are ways to structure the tournament so that it's likely over by that time. I had a similar problem with my tourneys running late, and after a few times adjusting have gotten it under control. Maybe if you gave more details as to how long it runs, the structure, etc, people here could offer more suggestion.

But letting him "cash out" of a tournament is extremely unfair to everybody else.

Rottersod · #7 12-05-2006, 01:40 AM

"Occasionally, the game lasts longer or we started later than usual. A person will be chip leader and realize that it is midnight and they have to leave."

These 2 sentences seem to be the key to your problem. Since this only happens occasionally you shouldn't need to adjust your tournament payouts. If you start later than usual you could agree to adjust the blind schedule in advance. If the tourney lasts longer than usual and the person who leaves is chip leader then I would think he could be blinded into the money. It's not fair to the others to take his chips out of play and/or pay him for not finishing.

skibandit · #8 12-05-2006, 03:02 AM

You are kids in high school... gambling for minors is illegal.

GoAheadRiverMe · #9 12-05-2006, 03:42 AM

nm

NickMPK · #10 12-05-2006, 10:09 AM

The best solution is to start on time. It is much better to have latecomers blinded out when the blinds are low than force someone who has to leave early to blind out their whole stack.

Since the curfew is known beforehand and affects more than one person, the tournament should really end before this time, and if it doesn't I would force a chip equity deal.

In the case where someone has to leave unexpectedly, I would blind him out if he has any chance of making the money, but just remove his stack if it is early in the tournament, but this is a somewhat different situation.