Rules question: Paying the big blind three times in a row at one table

[77rules]

I'm having a mail discussion with the support at Pacific Poker. Here's what happened to me:

The blinds were 75/150 and we were short handed at my table. I was the short stack with about T$ 1200, and it's my turn to post the big blind. During the hand (which I won) a new player gets seated between me and the SB.

Next hand, this guy is now the SB, with me posting the BB again. Next hand, yet another player has arrived, and the exact same thing happens - I have to post the BB again, which makes it three hands in a row.

I've played 50 odd tournaments and about 80 Sit&Go's and I've never seen this. Yes, sometimes you get moved around and have to post the blinds three or four times in as many hands. But I've never seen somebody sit at one table and post the BB more than once.

Plus, I seem to recollect that there's some kind of rule that says that no matter what happens, you shouldn't have to post the BB more than once every orb.

I got pretty upset because with the blinds at 75/150 and my stack at 1500, that was a fifth of my stack (and no, I hadn't been playing that well), so I e-mailed the support and complained about that.

Not surprisingly, they refuse to admit that anything is wrong with this and quote a rule about a forward moving button.

Basically, I have two questions:

1. What do the rules say?
2. Have you ever posted the BB more than once at a tournament table?

[adanthar]

It's a site specific rule, but generally new players should never be seated as the SB. Instead, they must sit out a hand and then start from the CO.

Pacific, of course, does it backwards...but hey, you can always hope that one of their many bugs kicks in and you can win the pot by not calling a bet.

Personally, I'll stick to Party.

[Lloyd]

From Robert's Rules of Poker:

14. In button games, if a player is needed to move from a table to balance tables, the player due for the big blind will be automatically selected to move, and will be given the earliest seat due for the big blind if more than one seat is open.

15. New players are dealt in immediately and take over the obligations of that position, including the small blind or button position.

And more specifically to your point, from the Tournament Directors Association:

Players going from a broken table to fill in seats assume the rights and responsibilities of the position. They can get the big blind, the small blind, or the button. The only place they cannot get a hand is between the small blind and the button. A player moved to balance tables will take the worst position. A dead button situation may occur.

[77rules]

Well, this was just one thing on my list of grievances. Apart from all the things that's wrong with the software that are actually features, I've noticed two other things.

1. The tournaments are usually played short handed. In this tournament for example, after two of the ten players busted out, we were never more than eight players at the table. I checked the other tables, same story. Seven to eight players per tables was the rule.

2. At a two table sit and go, the software introduced 514 T$ in the second or third hand. One guy almost doubled up, but his one opponent only lost T$100 ... so I checked, and sure enough, there was too much money at the table.

Not to talk about the attitude from the so called support. I was really pissed because I thought their software sucked, and I told them so. Their answer is that I should take a break from poker, since I can't seem to handle it ...

I'd be gone in a heartbeat, but the games are so soft they're throwing money after you.

[M.B.E.]

[ QUOTE ]
And more specifically to your point, from the Tournament Directors Association:

Players going from a broken table to fill in seats assume the rights and responsibilities of the position. They can get the big blind, the small blind, or the button. The only place they cannot get a hand is between the small blind and the button. A player moved to balance tables will take the worst position. A dead button situation may occur.

[/ QUOTE ]
So following this rule, as I interpret it, the player who was moved to the OP's table should have sat out one hand because the OP should have been in the SB and the new player would then be "between the small blind and the button".

Incidentally, neither PokerStars nor Party deals with blinds exactly correctly. On PokerStars, for example, if you are UTG while the big blind busts out of the tournament (or leaves the table if it's a cash game), then you will just skip your big blind for that orbit. In a b&m cardroom that would never happen and I don't see why it should happen online.

[Lloyd]

That is according to the rules of the Tournament Directors Association. But, of course, each site is free to do things how they want.