PP: no disconnect-protect in tourneys

[Toopskees]

As of April 15, PartyPoker no longer has disconnect protection for any of their tournaments. According to their web site, this was done "at the request of a large number of players." If a player is disconnected during play, his hand is automatically folded and does not have all-in protection. Why would any player want such a policy and place themselves at risk of a disconnection themselves? I realize that abuse can occur, but the downside of you losing your connection in the later stages of a tournament is potentially far more costly. For example, I was watching a friend of mine last night in a 1500 player 20+2 MTT. It was down to around 250 players left, and he was the second chipleader at his table. He was involved in a multiway pot with two players (including another big stack) who were all-in. He had the best hand (subsequently confirmed after reconnection) and had most of his chips committed to the pot when he got disconnected. Instead of winning a huge pot and having a commanding chip lead at his table, his hand was folded. He was essentially busted and got blinded out several hands later. Does this seem right? What do savvy 2+2'ers think of this new policy?

[Nick-Zack]

I am not a savvy 2+2'er really but I still think it has to be this way. For every legitimate disconnect that costs a pot there are/used to be 10 people that just unplugged their internet connection to draw for free at their flush.

[PokerGoblin]

The abuse is the classic example of a few assholes ruining a good thing.

It's disappointing, the DP has saved me a couple times legitamately.

PG

[Toopskees]

[ QUOTE ]
For every legitimate disconnect that costs a pot there are/used to be 10 people that just unplugged their internet connection to draw for free at their flush.

[/ QUOTE ]
Losing one partial pot to a bogus disconnection is far less costly than losing an entire pot in the later stages of a tournament with thousands on the line.

[GrunchCan]

[ QUOTE ]
this was done "at the request of a large number of players."

[/ QUOTE ]

I was one such player. And I wish they would extend this to cash games as well. Its unfortunate that the legitimate use of DP is gone for those who need it. But I feel - and I admit this opinion might be biased - that it is more fair to fold all disconnected hands and protect legitimate play from cheating than to keep someone involved in a hand when thier connection actually is broken. Lesser of two evils.

[Sheriff Fatman]

I thought they'd got rid of this from tournaments ages ago!

In any case, in my experience the deliberate disconnects far outnumber the genuine ones - I'll be happy when they get rid of the protection from all games.

In the last 18 months I've been disconnected probably no more than 5 times when this feature has been enabled. Personally, I'm always quite relieved when I don't win the side pot as a result because of the suspicion that any disconnect now brings about.

Unfortunately there are just too many abusers. I've definitely lost more money to them than I have saved due to genuine disconnects so I'm happy to take my chances on a connection problem.

Sheriff

[Toopskees]

I can see everyone's argument in favor of doing away with DP since intentional disconnection is clearly cheating. However, why does PP still have DP for cash games? They only did away with it for their tournaments. Why not allow one or two DPs per month to protect the legitimate tournament player against this type of disaster?

This particular problem last night, by the way, was clearly a regional router issue. I was watching the tournament from my home using a cable modem connection. My friend who was playing was using a DSL connection. Both of us lost contact with PP at exactly the same time, so the problem was not limited to his computer or ISP.

And finally, what if you were at a final table holding a monster. You make a bet and get one or two players to raise behind you when you hold the nuts. You could be in position to win the tournament. You get ready to go all-in when...poof...you're disconnected, your hand is folded, and you not only lose the chips you would have won but also lose everything you've put into the pot to that point. Wouldn't you want to have DP under those circumstances?

[ScottTheFish]

Nobody is saying no DP is a perfect world, obviously it would suck if a disconnect cost you thousands of dollars.

But if you play for money on the Internet, you take that risk. What we're saying is the risk of being cheated is far greater than the risk of losing out because of a real problem.

Unless you have an inherently unstable connection, in which case you shouldn't be playing online with a lot of money at stake at all, IMO.

[HC5831]

I've complained to PP about the all in protection many times. It has been abused against me in many tournies and has cost me money. Obviously I like the games without the all in protection.

If getting disconnected is a worry for you, you can get a backup connection. Have a friend you can call if your internet goes down. Or get a better connection. I'm tired of people screwing me over.

If you lose money because of your bad connection, that's not my problem. Unfortunately for some, the policy was being abused and was axed.

HC

[TheNoodleMan]

DP abuse is rampant. If anything, DP should just give you extra time to reconnect. I don't have a problem with holding up an final table for a couple of minutes one time due to a connection problem, but I have a big problem with all the abuse that has been going on.