So...in the interest of getting a better style of play at a home game i play at (1 of 2-3 venues, same group of around 18-26 players) ive been trying to think of a way to introduce a "donkey tax". The game is a $10 single rebuy or a $25 no rebuy $5 bounty game.

Basically this is how i want it to work, but im not sure how to explain it/figure out the best way to do it, or figure out if it is actually viable/ a good idea.

So player 1 raises and player 2 calls. See a flop, player 1 bets, player 2 has them covered so they shove, player 1 calls. player 1 has AA (or premium hand) player 2 has junk (or what would be deemed junk). Player 2 hits random 2 pair/wins the hand some how, player 1 is out.

I propose that player 2 then is "taxed" for playing a dodgy/crap/junky hand and player 1 recieves some chips back to keep them in the game, keep play better. Hand strength to be determined by the host/td or by some sort of vote.

I understand that people can play any 2 cards if they choose to and that they will often miss more than hit, but im starting to see good players, play rubbish and it massively tilts others, to the point they dont like playing anymore. Or seeing bad players play crap and take out the better players. I get there are swings and roundabouts in poker, but just to try encourage better play...is this possible?

So in a 20 person tournament, 19 of them are going to lose the rest of their stack in some hand. Do you really think that encouraging the bad players to play better somehow makes it more fun to lose? I put it to you that losing will still stink.
In the long run, playing crap crushes the person playing it. You're protecting them from themselves?
Why, are you under the impression that them playing better is somehow good for you? This is clearly incorrect.
Nothing you've described is in any way as bad as calling people donkeys for being bad at poker. This is one of the worst things you can do, short of berating them. The "donkey tax" is in that the worst players tend to win less than the good ones. In unraked home games, the good players will crush quickly. That's what they get, money. If you're not winning, really ask yourself what you're doing that makes it so you don't. It could be luck. It could be that you're bluffing in spots where they'll never fold, and thus you're actually giving your T$ away.

In short, this is a terrible idea.

There are plenty of smart, interesting, and fun to be with that are terrible at poker. Enjoy their company. Enjoy the money they may give you. Don't call them names, because that makes you a terrible person.

these "bad players" are not bad players, they are actually very good players who play bad cards to bluff, to tilt others (we are all good friends and we go after people sometimes as fun) but when that happens, it sucks for the other person.
It would be like having a whole table limp, then BB or dealer raising and getting a couple of callers, having someone playing 72 suited calling because of "value" and then floping a flush etc. While it may appear they had the "right price" to call, the donked it and got lucky. Thats not good play, thats ass.
If you dont think its a good idea, thats fine, im curious to see what others think...
thats why i asked

In my opinion, you should offer a reward for suckouts. Sit back and enjoy the best game in town.

Use this hand as an example, most everyone in the hand is clearly not a very good player if this happens at all often.
By definition, good players don't play badly. I'm saying you've got entitlement tilt issues.

You're just trying to create a game where there is an addition reward for playing "good" starting hands. It is a bigger deal in a tournament, because it protects your "good" holdings from putting you out if you make a mistake post-flop. It isn't really poker. (we'll see what others say). The most miserable bridge games I've played were ones where every hand was dissected afterwards with knowing nods and condescension to people who "played badly". Be aware that your plan is bringing this terrible aspect to your fun MTT. Now this is genius.

i dont plan on putting this into play, it was a theory/idea...but it seems a bad one.
Thanks

I wonder who gets to decide what was good play and what was "donkey" play?

We see all sorts of discussion when a hand gets posted for strategy review, often with wildly different ideas about the best lines.

Also, a hand like AA is not a "donkey" hand preflop but can become one on later streets.

Doubt there is any way to put this kind of idea into practice without being somewhat detrimental to an average home game crowd. Maybe just an annoyance at best. Maybe turning folks off to the game at worst. Likely best to just let folks play their worst or best poker and keep it light. Better play will be rewarded over many sessions and weak play will still win enough of the time to keep the less skillful players coming back.

I at one time had the same line of thinking that I have better results versus good players. That couldn't be further from the truth. Wild players are very good for the overall health of the game. Nothing more boring than everyone playing very solid, tight, aggressive poker.

This idea is beyond awful, and the very premise behind it is pretty obnoxious IMO.

If people are getting their money in as underdogs and sucking out, they're going to lose in the long run. It's understandable to get upset when you lose a pot against a bad play, but it doesn't mean that anyone owes you anything. If it runs out bad, it runs out bad. If you're doing it right, you'll eke out more money in wins than losses. That's the name of the game.

You don't get to "tax" people for getting their money in bad, nor should you. The "tax" is inherent in the play; that's the whole idea behind playing winning poker. If you don't get that—and moreover, if you don't get why a "donkey tax" would be terrible for any poker game—then you can't claim to be any kind of winning player.

You could reduce the rake and kick some back to the best players. That's apparently guaranteed to make the game more fun and have the players flooding in.

Seriously? Everytime someone puts their money in bad they pay a 'donkey tax'. It's called EV. Getting back 20 cents on the dollar is a pretty massive 'tax rate'.

This HAS to be a level.

The donkey tax is when they lose for playing bad. Are you serious?

No. It's for playing badly but winning anyhow. It's for putting a bad beat on another player.

It's not as bad as getting taxed for playing badly and losing, but it's still a terrible idea (as we all agree).

Buzz

Instead of this awful idea, you could just make your tournaments rebuys. Now the bad beat knocked out player can still play.