[Captn_All_In]

I know that this issue has been addressed in other threads but I have a slightly different problem. This player will be late EVERY week for our season tournaments. He was up front and honest about it and told us he would be at least 30-45min late every time. I can see the need to blind him off, but these are deep stack single table tournaments and may only pay the BB twice a round. Which would be a negligible dent in the stack sizes. (T10K tournaments with opening blind levels of 25-50)

Quite frankly I am a little irritated about him being late, mainly because of the hassle with blinding him off, someone needs to deal for the seat, griping from other players, etc, but I understand the situation he is in {his daughter has basketball games every league night and he works the games}. The main problem is from the other players they are all extremely irritated about it and think he should be penalized more than just paying the blinds.

What do you guys think? Should the penalty be stiffer?


Here are some other questions to go along with the situation:

Should the penalty chips be taken out of play or added to the pot each round? (just like when a player sits out in online tournament)

Should he be dealt cards? ( I say yes, but am not sure on a ruling really.)



Thanks in advance for any and all help/suggestions you have!! I really appreciate it!!!

[EasilyFound]

Your other players need to get over it. In any game I've ever played in, nobody has ever complained about blinding someone in until they arrive. Doing it (the chips go into the pot, by the way) is not a hassle, and if nobody else wants to deal, then you should do it. Just be glad the guy is up front about it and supports the game. I suppose you can't start later to accomodate his schedule?

The technical rule is to deal cards to the absent player. I wouldn't get bent out of shape if you decided not to deal cards until he arrives. But others are more particular about following "the rules" in such a spot.

[TX_kiwi]

I'm with EasilyFound. It's okay in my book. Juggling family commitments and my poker nights can be a bit of a challenge so I fully buy in to his approach. Good for him. Also, sometimes we struggle to keep up numbers in our group so we'd never say "no" to this.

Look at it this way, even though the blind schedule isn't really hurting his stack, he's missing out on opportunities to increase his stack size and get a feel for the table.

Just a random question - is he a good player and usually catches up. If so, is this affecting some opinons in your group?

[Damon]

2nd what EF said. Deal him cards and blind him off. If your group feels the need to penalize him further, just do him a favor and give his seat to someone else.

[Double Eagle]

Just start calling him Phil Helmuth. Any other penalty would be redundant.

[cdnmoose]

You are the host and it's your game. If you have decided to let the guy play there shouldn't be any whining about it. Get some STFU chips and start winging them around until they shut it.

[bostonterrier]

In the league I play in you start with 3000 in chips if you arrive on time,2500 if late.That usually squashes naysayers and encourages you to show up on time.

[develvjd-]

Originally Posted by cdnmoose

Get some STFU chips and start winging them around until they shut it.

[byline9]

I agree with the majority. No penalty, everyone else can just deal with it. It's hard to find dedicated players, with everybody's schedules different these days. Sounds like a solid guy too...he's got his priorities straight, family matters have to come first.

Tell the whiners that if they keep b****ing, this guy might take his money and go home (unless he keeps taking THEIR money and going home, which is what I think is happening.)

[Tatdave]

Originally Posted by byline9

I agree with the majority. No penalty, everyone else can just deal with it. It's hard to find dedicated players, with everybody's schedules different these days. Sounds like a solid guy too...he's got his priorities straight, family matters have to come first.

Absolutely. These days, any parent who is putting his kids as a priority should be applauded. He's dedicated to his family and the game, so blind him off and tell the whiners to appreciate that one of their own is doing right by his family.