[ovo]

HI Guys,

Just checked out my local card room yesterday. They had a Tournament going so I signed up, but only made 5th alternate . Buy- in was for 20 for 500 chips, plus another 10 to the card room. You could do one re-buy for 20 for 800 chips, but you could do that anytime, without busting out. Blinds started 25-25, 25-50, 75-150. I got in during the third round. Figured I'd buy all 1300 chips at my start. But the dealer only gave me 1175 chips in total if I remember correctly. I asked the reason and he said he took out for the earlier blinds. I've never encountered this before. How common is this ?

[jdunford]

Pretty normal in my book. I've never played a tournament at a casino, but at a local private card room and several home games, this is the way it's always done.

[Vince]

Hm, in the World Series you get your chips to your seat and than the dealer takes your blinds. One rounds takes different time from table to table, so when the cashier goes like "hm yeah, missed 50 min, let me guess this makes three rounds, I keep this and that" is not very professional.
But honestly I think it down to the cardroom woh they handle it.

[whataboutj]

I just played 4 tournies at the TI in Vegas this past weekend. They allowed late entry/alternates for the first hour (first break). You got the full stack of 2000 chips when you bought in late, rebuy or were an alternate (there were only enough seats to fill the orinigal amount of tables at the start of the tourney - that is why I say bought in late or were an alternate). They did not take away chips for the blinds you missed. IMHO that is a terrible rule. I would not play in a tourney structure like that. You are buying in short stacked already when you get in later in a tourney. To take away blinds you missed, when you weren't entered into the game, on top of that is nuts (IMO). I know it is standard procedure to blind someone off if they are already in the tourney and got up from their seat.
J

[jdunford]

Originally Posted by whataboutj

I just played 4 tournies at the TI in Vegas this past weekend. They allowed late entry/alternates for the first hour (first break). You got the full stack of 2000 chips when you bought in late, rebuy or were an alternate (there were only enough seats to fill the orinigal amount of tables at the start of the tourney - that is why I say bought in late or were an alternate). They did not take away chips for the blinds you missed. IMHO that is a terrible rule. I would not play in a tourney structure like that. You are buying in short stacked already when you get in later in a tourney. To take away blinds you missed, when you weren't entered into the game, on top of that is nuts (IMO). I know it is standard procedure to blind someone off if they are already in the tourney and got up from their seat.
J

Well, the way they (and I) look at it is, if you're there but folding every hand, you pay blinds. If you get up to use the bathroom and don't come back for a while, they take blinds. So why would they give a full stack to somebody that didn't even show up on time? That gives an advantage to the late guy, versus the card-dead guy who was on time and has been sitting there folding.

Agreed that usually the chips are already on the table at an empty seat and the dealer just takes the blinds as necessary, deals to the empty seat, and auto-folds to any bet (which means the absent BB could actually steal the SB in theory, although the SB will always raise if it's folded to him - unless he's a moron).

It's different for a cash game. If you take a break and leave the table and miss a blind, you only have to pay one BB when you get dealt back in (or wait for the BB to get to you), regardless of how many orbits you missed - just like online. That's why they sell those cheap "missed blind" buttons.

[TheMightyJim2k]

this is a bad rule and I'm pretty sure is not how it is supposed to be done. The reason being, that these chips that were supposedly "blinded away" were never actually in play, and therefore were not actually blinded away. If the dealer is taking the blinds for a player that is late or not present, their blind is in play for the other players to fight over, and affects play, and the player that is gone has forfeited the right to fight for their blind. However since you were not able to play because you were an alternate your blinds were never in play, noone ever had a chance to win them, and you were never give a chance to defend them.

The final # of chips in play should equal the # of starting stacks, plus the # of rebuys. Under this method some of the chips will have been magically blinded away into tourney neverland. I think your card room doesn't know what they are doing.

[TheMightyJim2k]

from 2007 WSOP rules found here:

79. If an event is sold to capacity when that event begins, all alternates will receive a full
chip stack when their seat becomes available.

[Wooly1]

I have played in quite a few tourneys in Vegas/Nevada with late alternates being added. I have never seen the blinds taken away from anyone. I find this to be a bad practice and very odd. So I am curious... where did the blinds they take go? They should be in play someplace right? How as a tourney director do you keep track of total chips in play with this kind of policy? Just seems whacked all around!!!

[the3rd]

I agree with TMJ2K. Alternate status is different than being away from the table. At the Venetian they allow late comers to enter until the end of the third level which is two hours in the afternoon tournaments. I think this is too late. This may have changed since I was there in April. A lot of people complained. If a player can't make it there by the end of the first level or 40 minutes in this case, he or she should not be allowed to enter, IMO. I know more players equals a bigger prize pool and late comers will have a lower than average M, but two hours is ridiculous.

[ky70]

I can't get past the fact that the starting stacks for this tourney are only 20x the big blind...and even with the addon, you still only start with 52x the big blind. YIKES!

By level 3, the big blind is 30% (12% if you addon) of the starting stacks.