[OnTheButton]

Every week we have a low limit ring game.

Players straggle in, and we usually start playing when there are 5 players including the wife and I, and end up with 9-10 by the peak of the night.

From the time we start dealing, the new players show up one or 2 at a time, buy-in and start playing.

I've never known exactly how to handle their blinds, so I just make every (joining) player post an extra big blind on their first hand in, regardless of their postition at the table.

My question is based on where the blinds currently would be and where they sit down, and the empty chairs. It can get pretty wierd.

What if the button is sitting to the right of two empty seats, and those seats are now filled, I will usually skip them with the button and penalize them a BB for the first hand. But then the button moves to the player that WAS just the SB, and he/she gets to skip the BB because of the new players.

But it gets real confusing when say, two seats are filled, and one of the new players "should" be posting the SB based on his/her position, and the next seat would be the BB. If I'm going to penalize the SB up to a BB, should I penalize the BB to the same amount, BB+SB?

Are there simple rules for this?

It just came up as a very minor issue last week, and I just kept it simple, and life went on. However I would be interested if anyone knows the exact proceedure for posting blinds and joining players in a ring game.

[Pavel6969]

Just keep dealing like normal, and once the button is too the seat on the left of the new player, make the new player post a big blind and deal him/her in.

[OnTheButton]

Originally Posted by Pavel6969

Just keep dealing like normal, and once the button is too the seat on the left of the new player, make the new player post a big blind and deal him/her in.

So I should be making them wait to even get dealt a hand until the button passes them, and THEN make them post a BB once it does...

OK anyone else confirm this, and is what I said, a correct translation of what he said?

[tripod22]

I think I understand your example, but please excuse me if not.

In this example, the button goes to the person who was just the SB, as you said, but it's not that they get to skip the BB, they were just the BB the hand before.

The button essentially makes its way around the table as if the 2 new players weren't there. For them to join the hand however, they both need to post the amount of the BB.

Regarding your other question as to when the new players sit in the seats that would be the SB and BB that hand, I can only tell you what happens online. Anyone joining the table immediately in front of the button is not permitted to start playing until after the button passes them. It's only a matter of the new person waiting one hand, so it's an easy solution. The new person in the BB can simply post the BB and start since that doesn't change the progression.

Did this help or harm?

Originally Posted by OnTheButton

What if the button is sitting to the right of two empty seats, and those seats are now filled, I will usually skip them with the button and penalize them a BB for the first hand. But then the button moves to the player that WAS just the SB, and he/she gets to skip the BB because of the new players.

[Pavel6969]

Originally Posted by OnTheButton

So I should be making them wait to even get dealt a hand until the button passes them, and THEN make them post a BB once it does...

OK anyone else confirm this, and is what I said, a correct translation of what he said?

That is what I do, and seems to be the way most online poker sites I play at handle. Never been to a casino to say for sure nor read any poker books.

[brett freeman]

heres what my large group of players, plus the casinos ive gone to have always done.
lets say for your example there is a table with ten seats, and seats 2 and 3 are empty.
the button is about to move to seat 1 when players occupy seat 2 and 3. the correct ruling is to skip them. a player is not allowed to come into a game on the small blind. so the person in seat 2 is automatically out. that means that in this situation the person in seat 3 must also be skipped, since he would once again be coming in on a small blind. So these two players sit out of the hand and you have the following situation: Dealer is seat one. SB is seat 4, BB is seat 5. Now after this hand the button skips over seats 2 and 3, and seat 4 becomes the dealer. after this the button can just pass freely. having a player post is entirely up to the person running the game, i personally do not do it, but as i said, matter of opinion. i hope you could translate through that

[tripod22]

Yeah, go with what Brett said, I see the mistake I made in my scenario with the new person in seat 3. They both need to be skipped for the two hands.

The reason I would make them post in other seats is because otherwise they're getting free hands in a rotation of the button that they haven't earned by being the SB and BB previously.

[OnTheButton]

Originally Posted by brett freeman

heres what my large group of players, plus the casinos ive gone to have always done.
lets say for your example there is a table with ten seats, and seats 2 and 3 are empty.
the button is about to move to seat 1 when players occupy seat 2 and 3. the correct ruling is to skip them. a player is not allowed to come into a game on the small blind. so the person in seat 2 is automatically out. that means that in this situation the person in seat 3 must also be skipped, since he would once again be coming in on a small blind. So these two players sit out of the hand and you have the following situation: Dealer is seat one. SB is seat 4, BB is seat 5. Now after this hand the button skips over seats 2 and 3, and seat 4 becomes the dealer. after this the button can just pass freely. having a player post is entirely up to the person running the game, i personally do not do it, but as i said, matter of opinion. i hope you could translate through that

This does make sense to me, as far as the button goes, let me see if I have this part right though with the blinds.

Since the button was on seat 1, and 2 and 3 were empty, seat 4 just posted the BB and 5 the SB.

Once seats 2 and 3 are filled, the button moves to seat 4, and 5 is the SB, and was just the BB, and 6 is the BB.

Now that the button has passed the new players, they post a BB, correct?

So according to this scenario now that the button has skipped the new players, Seat 2 (new) Seat 3 (new) and seat 6 (old) all post a BB, and seat 5 (old) posts a SB.

From there everything goes as normal.

So if I have this right, ANY time someone sits at an active table, they are penalized a BB for their first hand.

However it they sit infront of the button, (how many seats away?) they are skipped for the deal, and once they are passed by the button, they are hit with a BB.

If you sit behind the button, you just post a BB, and get playing.

That pretty much it?

[Q10 soooted]

A slightly simpler way (also done at about 50% of the casinos I played at in Vegas)

If you sit down and the BB is on you or coming up (1-2 hands) you pay it.
If you sit down and the BB is more than 2 hands away from you then you get cards and play (don't have to post).

I think the having to post to play is kind of stupid and I look it as more of an online tool for making money and insuring that people don't jump all over tables playing for free. In an established game where people are coming in and playing all night one BB isn't going to make a difference so I'd just assume let them sit and play w/o having to post additional blinds.

[PocketRocket]

Using California cardrooms as an example of real life play, considering the amount of time that it may take before a player is seated at a table, it would not behove any player to be skipping around just to avoid blinds.

Originally Posted by Q10 soooted

A slightly simpler way (also done at about 50% of the casinos I played at in Vegas)