Fairness of Player Couples?

dajebriza · #1 (**permalink**) 06-28-2006, 09:29 AM

What are your feelings on players at your games that are couples? If all players at the table are individual unrelated players and 2 players who want to come to the game are married, is it fair for to the rest of the players to allow couples to play?

I only ask because if the game has a cash payout, it seems to me like those two married individuals are in reality splitting the pot, increasing their chances of winning a payout over evetyone else.

It seems the same to me as if two unrelated players met before the game and agreed to split all winnings.

Am I way off-base on this or does this issue ever come up? What are your feelings on it? I want to be fair to the players in my home game, so I thought I would ask.

Button Potato · #2 (**permalink**) 06-28-2006, 09:40 AM

My wife plays in my game once in a while but I think my situation is different - all she wants to do is bust me and tell me about it all week.

Guma · #3 (**permalink**) 06-28-2006, 09:41 AM

Well I am one of those couples, and in my situation I will say you are way off base. I started my GF playing poker about 2 months ago. I have a bankroll that I play poker with and nothing more. I explained this concept to her, and I told her if she wanted to learn and play and be serious about playing poker that she had to do the same. So she did! Wow a woman did what man told her to do... Should we call Guiness Book of World Records?

Cross my heart, hope to die, poke a needle in my eye, i swear that at the end of the night of a cash game we do NOT split the pot. She takes hers and I take mine.

I have played with other couples where they both sit down and the guy (usually, sorry if offend any ladies on here) throws money her way and at the end of the night he collects for the both. This I do not agree with, and I feel your pain!

But how do you rectify this? Invite both, but only ask one to sit in on the game? Touchy situation!

harry24 · #4 (**permalink**) 06-28-2006, 09:41 AM

We play our home games with about 10 people on average and i have 3 couples playing every week, my wife and I included. I never had a problem with the whole couple thing. My wife and I are very competitive and would never think of folding hands to one another or anything like that. But all the people at my home games have been friends with us for a long time. I can see where this could be a problem with outside people showing up.
Harry

Guma · #5 (**permalink**) 06-28-2006, 09:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Button Potato

My wife plays in my game once in a while but I think my situation is different - all she wants to do is bust me and tell me about it all week.

OMG my GF busted me up pretty bad when she flopped a straight and I flopped top 2 pair. She kept calling me all the way down, never raised, never squirmed nothing, just sat there calling me. I still here about it and that was almost a month ago! Guess I am teaching her well. Course it doesn't help that she wears a low cut shirt at the table... again I told her to do that too!!!

Strange · #6 (**permalink**) 06-28-2006, 09:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dajebriza

What are your feelings on players at your games that are couples? If all players at the table are individual unrelated players and 2 players who want to come to the game are married, is it fair for to the rest of the players to allow couples to play?

I only ask because if the game has a cash payout, it seems to me like those two married individuals are in reality splitting the pot, increasing their chances of winning a payout over evetyone else.

It seems the same to me as if two unrelated players met before the game and agreed to split all winnings.

Am I way off-base on this or does this issue ever come up? What are your feelings on it? I want to be fair to the players in my home game, so I thought I would ask.

Just so that we are clear, altering your play to favour another player (playing soft) is a form of collusion, and collusion is cheating.

So, how do you stop people colluding? You tell them up front that they are not allowed to collude in any way, and then, if you feel that they have ignored the warning, you exclude them.

easier said than done, I know, but I think that you have to give people the benefit of doubt that they won't cheat, rather than assuming that they will.

Harlequin011 · #7 (**permalink**) 06-28-2006, 09:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dajebriza

What are your feelings on players at your games that are couples? If all players at the table are individual unrelated players and 2 players who want to come to the game are married, is it fair for to the rest of the players to allow couples to play?

I only ask because if the game has a cash payout, it seems to me like those two married individuals are in reality splitting the pot, increasing their chances of winning a payout over evetyone else.

It seems the same to me as if two unrelated players met before the game and agreed to split all winnings.

Am I way off-base on this or does this issue ever come up? What are your feelings on it? I want to be fair to the players in my home game, so I thought I would ask.

BlondeWidow and I play in a lot of games together. I feel just the opposite. I feel like we are adding more to the pot with less of a payout. It is no different than suspecting anyone of collusion.

If you think two people are in a road gang then you shouldn't allow them at all. It makes no difference if they are a couple or not. Besides, they still need to be good enough to place.

In many of my games the lowest placement only covers the buy-in. That means both of us have to place to make any money, which is difficult to do.

BlondWidow · #8 (**permalink**) 06-28-2006, 10:03 AM

(I apologize in advance if this sounds harsh.)

Well... it never ceases to amaze me that people think that a couple playing the same game/tournament has some big advantage over other players at the table. Contrary to popular belief, you aren't bestowed with some Super Couple Poker Team Power when you tie the knot!

Is the couple cheating or something? How would it be an advantage? How often do both people place in the money? I can see how their chances of winning might be better if they are better players than everyone else, but simply by being a couple? Come on...

You also have to consider that they are ponying up 2 buy-ins for the game. So, if you're playing a tournament, for example, and it's a $50 buy-in, it will cost the couple $100 collectively to play and if only one of those people ends up in the money, his/her winnings are actually diminished by the loss of the other buy in. It can be a disadvantage in that respect.

Sorry, this subject is sort of a sore spot with me. HQ and I play in a lot of tournaments together (mostly home games) and quite a few cash games at the nearby casino, where often we end up at the same table. I can't even count how many times people have made comments like "well, it all goes to the same place anyway..." when he has beaten me out of a pot or vice versa. While we're friends with these people, it's still irritating to hear that. Even if they aren't, it feels like they're accusing us of something, you know? Now I can only speak for us here, I don't know what other couples do, but, we don't let each other off of hands or 'team up' and go after other people in the game. If anything, he plays me harder than other players and has knocked me out on more than one occasion.

What difference does it make if 2 unrelated people agree to split winnings anyway? As long as there is no cheating of any kind going on, I don't see what that matters. Maybe 2 players enter into the WSOP and agree that they split whatever they win. Is that wrong? Who is at the disadvantage there? The person who wins when the other busts out early!

Strange · #9 (**permalink**) 06-28-2006, 10:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlondWidow

What difference does it make if 2 unrelated people agree to split winnings anyway? As long as there is no cheating of any kind going on, I don't see what that matters. Maybe 2 players enter into the WSOP and agree that they split whatever they win. Is that wrong? Who is at the disadvantage there? The person who wins when the other busts out early!

This has been an issue of late where you have player 1 is staking player 2 in a tourney. The suggestion is that there is a 'conflict of interests'.

As you quite rightly say though, it SHOULD be possible for that conflict of interests to exist without ANY collusion going on.

In a home game it really should NOT be a problem, nor should any other form of cheating for that matter (why would you try to rip off your firends?).

galwaylad7 · #10 (**permalink**) 06-28-2006, 10:13 AM

My girlfriend and I have played in a lot of games together and because of her ultra-competitive nature, there's never any reason for anyone to think that we're not on the level. She's busted my sorry ass enough times for everyone to know that. (And it's usually accompanied by the fake, girlie "Oh....sorry" just so she can twist the dagger a bit more)

The only time I'd be leery about letting couples play is if one or the other person is new to the game, and his or her partner begins to start coaching at the table. For me, that's a big no-no.