Recently played a lot in Macau, I saw in some situations where someone was starting or coming back from a break that instead of posting early or waiting for bb, they would then wait to become wedged between the button and sb for one round of ep instead of 2 or even come in at the button. Is this normal? Did I see what I thought I saw?

More importantly, really made me think if waiting for the bb if worth if, would I be better off letting the blinds skip me and then posting out of turn but in position?

Very common.

It happens when you come back to a table and just missed big and small blind. You are seated between the small blind and the button. Your option is to wait one hand and post after the button passes, or 'buy the button'.

If you buy the button you post a big blind plus dead small, and essentially become the small blind for that hand. For this hand you are last to act pre-flop, and first to act for the rest of the hand. You get the button next hand.

So where you would need to post big and small blind anyways, you get 3 hands for the price of one small blind. (Assuming you don't just wait until big blind comes back around.)

3 hands is probably debatable, but you get small blind, button and cutoff for the same price of just getting cutoff.

I have no idea if its normal for players in macau to wait tto be in between the button and the sb so that they can buy the button rather than simply take the BB.

But if its an intentional strategy I do not think it generally is beneficial.
The player gets one less hand for the round. And while its an early position hand they are actually giving up the hand where they get position over one other player in exchange for a hand where they have position on no players. In both cases they post two blinds but when buying the button they post the small blind dead ..... I just don;t think you are gaining anything by doing this. I have known some extreme nits to intentionally miss the blind and the buy the button because the player 2 to there right straddles the button, these nits don't like having the big blind straddled, so until they can change seats they simply refuse to post a blind while the straddler is on the button.

The second question....whether it makes more sense to wait to post after the blind or Buy the button, or post the natural big blind seems to be a closer call. I still think you gain nothing by waiting. When you wait you get to post your blinds in position and that has value ..... but you you give up 3 hands as compared to posting your blinds in natural position, and you give up 2 hands as opposed to buying the button and in both cases one of the hands you are giving up is the button. And of course your small blind is dead.

Now if you are a new player to the game and posting is required it may be better to wait for the button to pass. This way you post only a live big blind in position there is no dead small blind.

I suppose it depends on how well you play the button and the cutoff and how poorly you play the blinds.

In simple terms, if you lose 1BB every time you are the BB, 1SB every time you are the SB and win 1.5BB every time you are the button then you break even for those 3 hands. Say you then win 1.3BB every time you are the cutoff when you do not have to post. If that is the case then you are losing 0.2BB every time you do this, but you would in theory be winning 1.3BB over that 4 hand stretch if you just played it out normally.

Obviously I have no idea what your normal win rates are per position at the table (I don't know mine, but I do know that I perform better in position than out of position), but this is what you need to think about. Will I make more money playing 4 hands, 2 in position and 2 out with putting in 1.5BB involuntarily out of position or if I play 1 hand from the 2nd best position on the table putting in 1.5BB involuntarily?

One place I play wont let you buy the Button if you were already at the table, only if it's your first hand at the table. Otherwise they force you to post behind the button (wait one hand) or you can come back in the BB (wait a lot of hands). Interesting that they would force you into position on the other players, but that's what they do!!

Most of the rooms I play in would say something to a player if they constantly came back in by buying the button. If the player is standing there, then he will be forced to either take his BB or wait the 2 hands to be behind the button.

As far as a strategy ... If your style of play allows for OOP play, then buy it. If you are a Nit, then let it pass and gain the potential dead money and position on the table. GL

Intentionally missing the BB to buy the button is stupid. You pay the same amount and get one less hand.

It's a close decision if your options are to buy the button or wait to post both blinds in the CO. I always argue that your image and getting back in the game (presumably winning money) tip the scales in favor of buying the button.

Paying the natural BB is best, but if you are a winning player, you are losing money if you just sit there for 7 or so hands.

I've never seen a place that allowed you to come in on the button.

What? this is even worse than intentionally missing the BB to buy the button. You pay the same thing, get 2 less hands and don't get the button if you wait to post in the cutoff.

You could buy the button, fold 100% of your hands when buying it without looking and you're still better off than waiting for the cutoff bc you play the button.

There is some benefit to having a live big blind in the CO. Smaller, but not insignificant, benefit of the dead small blind in the pot when you are CO.

This debate comes up a lot, and I don't think anyone has proven that one is clearly better than the other. I'm not sure if it's possible to prove with online poker databases, since you generally can't buy the button online.

You can't buy the button online but you can filter your HEM (hand history database) by position and see that you lose money from the blinds and win the most from the BTN, Not buying the BTN you would also be diluting your CO w/r as you have to post dead money...the only time I think it may be beneficial is if you are super deep against a table full of aggro regs and aren't comfortable playing deep OOP...still a leak but I could understand it in that 1% scenario

So if you buy the button which entails paying the bb and the sb..what happens to the original bb and sb? Do the players get their money back or does their blinds stay out there..if they get their money back..does that mean that they don't have to pay their blinds for a round because you decided to buy it for them? tks.

Hand you missed:

Seat 1: Button
Seat 2: SB
Seat 3: You in the men's room, I hope you washed your hands
Seat 4: BB
Seat 5: UTG
etc

Next hand:

Seat 2: Button
Seat 3: You, pay BB+SB (SB is dead money)
Seat 4: UTG
Seat 5: UTG+1
etc

Third hand:

Seat 3: You, the Button
Seat 4: SB... he paid the BB in hand 1
Seat 5: BB ... hasn't paid any blinds before this
Seat 6: UTG
etc

Then proceed as normal.

When a player 'Buys the Button' the players that would've been the SB and BB just get a one hand reprieve from paying. The would-be SB becomes UTG and then pays the SB the next hand when the 'buyer' is the Button.

The would-be SB goes from UTG to BB to UTG to SB in a four hand stretch.

Hope I kept that simple .. GL

Thanks Angus and Answer20..had to reread your answers a few times..but I understand now.