Sitting out on final table?

So had a 2 tournaments today where I made final table, both games had players sit out through the blinds to take bigger prize. Thoughts on this? I realise there is no rule about it, but I think its weak and ruins the game for the ones playing.

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Correct there is no rule against players sitting out in final table. I agree it does ruin the games for those playing and cash out below the sitters. All we can do is play aggresive enough, with the right cards to overtake them if mathematically possable.

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Sometimes ppl. like me (old and tired lol) sit out after making the money or getting to the final table, sorry:).

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I have had to also sit out when an unexpected contractor or visitor arrived, but hope I never do due to tired and old. lol

There is nothing wrong with sitting out. It is an advantage to everyone else at the table if anyone, regardless of stack size sits out.

A sitter pays the blinds on every orbit and the antes on every hand. He folds every hand unless the entire table folds to him on the BB.

If this player were to be in his seat for …

1 ~ … a crappy hand, he folds anyways and it’s no different than sitting out. No difference to you.

2 ~ … a playable or strong hand, he would play and have a chance to win your chips (especially if he has a larger stack). This is bad for you.

3 ~ … any hand on the BB in a limp pot, he can steal or close the action and have a chance to hit and suck you out. This is bad for you.

A player sitting out will fold AA pre. You don’t want that? You think that’s not fair to YOU?

Some people will sit out until they get a good hand. But they are still posting blinds and antes and would be folding all those sitting out hands anyways. This does speed up the play. This is not always in the best interest of the sitter. If the tournament is near the bubble (or a payout level) and there is more than one table, you want your table to run SLOWER than the other(s) and hope that someone on another table busts before you do. Replay (regrettably) does not have a hand-for-hand feature, so all of the short stacks near the bubble love to “tank to survive” and slow the game right down. If you have a bigger stack you have less concern over this, but even the 2nd placed stack can get sucked out with AA and felt 14th. If the table plays slower and a couple of players felt on the other table, that 14th could be 12th, so there is no advantage to the big stack sitting out.

And hey, if the player on your left is sitting out, no matter the stacks, this is a HUGE advantage for you. You get the button TWICE per orbit! Cha-ching! Party time! Gift from heaven!

Any time that Villain sits out, no matter the stacks, it is GOOD for hero.

Napkin_holder is 100% right, no advantage to us sitting out–we are basically giving our chips away by sitting out—we could play n just fold every hand:).

I think it is disrespectful to the other players and it unfairly changes the dynamics when it is at a final table especially. One Player gets a double button, tighter players play even tighter since they want to blind away the ghost. Do you call a truce and just quick play to blind out the ghost? Or do you play normally and have the ghost reanimate once you knocked everyone else out? It annoys the hell out of me. I understand sometimes it will happen and you have to leave and dumping chips isn’t right either, but I have also seen several individuals who will do the sit out untill heads up stategy (granted they are usually at a huge chip disadvantage but not always). It annoys me but I’m happy to ladder up and/or win because they do it.

No collusion.

Not sure how you collude against someone who quit the game. Blinding them out is good strategy and creates a level playing field for the players that actually want to finish the game.

You cannot deliberately coordinate strategies with anyone else at the table. The sitter isn’t doing anything wrong. He is entitled to survive while others bust out before him. If you did this at a casino (say someone went to the bathroom), you would get warned, penalized or even thrown out.

They are not entitled to anything. If they leave the tournament that’s on them. Not talking about sitting out a hand to goto the bathroom, talking about some who leaves and has been gone for several orbits

I’m not at Final Table often, but I will continually fold to achieve a higher position in the money. I’ll also run out the clock to hopefully get in the money because delaying may result in someone else going out. Since you aren’t permitted to chastise overbetting bullies, bingos and buyers, the clock is your only weapon.

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LMAO-Disrespectful lol–If someone is good enough (or lucky enough) to make the final table they can sit out or just leave ( i done it a lot). This is a fun free site–REAL money i would HOPE everyone sat out at the final table if i was playing:)

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OK, just made final table and was i think in 2nd or 3rd BUT tired and achieved my goal (ticket 2 second week and 20k chips) and was thinking of Southwestmba as i was about to sit out n leave:) so i just went all in 2 times after the flop with rags and even got a helping hand by someone:)…

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No, you are wrong. Someone sitting out is entitled to blind out slowly as a strategy in hopes that others might felt before him. It’s no different than folding any hand, except that they will also fold to a call. This is the same as in a casino. I can’t say that it’s a smart strategy but they are entitled to do that.

You cannot collude to blind them down whether they are at their seat or not. It is totally against the rules and it is very bad etiquette.

The sitter is doing absolutely nothing wrong. If you coordinate strategy to take him down “Hey, wanna blind that guy out?” “Sure, let’s just check every street until he’s gone.” That is very very wrong. It is not allowed and any casino or website that will let you do that should be ashamed of themselves.

I don;t see what the big deal is about players sitting out. The sitter is doing YOU a favor. If you can’t beat a player who will fold to any call then there’s not much that anyone can say to you.

I do get annoyed when someone is sitting out. But I know when I’m on final tables myself, I play VERY tight. I am folding most hands anyway. If someone bets big, I would only call with AA, possible KK, otherwise I’d fold. If two people bet big or go all-in, I’ll even fold AA. I’d rather other people battle it out. So, while I’m at the table, I’m essentially sitting out… the result is pretty much the same.

The other day I was playing ring games, and my wife asked me something. I was automatically sitting out because I didn’t do anything within the timeframe. The following hand I was dealt QQ, but missed it due to sitting out. I was annoyed, but that was my fault.

So while I don’t like people sitting out, I see all the points here and would have to agree… it “feels” wrong to me, but logically isn’t an issue.

they should come back for thier blind. or make it look like sitting out and only play the top 5 hands…

Agree, except awww mucking AA is RIDICILIOUS and called " playing scared" and that is RIDICILIOUS to muck:):):):):slight_smile: