So a pretty unique thing happened last time I played at Bay 101. It sit down in seat 6. Player in seat 5 has a missed blind button and the button is currently in seat 4 as the cards are about to be dealt.

At Bay 101, you can "buy the button" (seat 5) by paying both the big and small blinds. That means on the following hand the button will move to you.

I decide to post in. The dealer says you can't do that because the player in seat 5 is buying the button. I respond I have never been told I can't post at anytime. The dealer responds that she knows what she is doing and to just let her manage the table. (This dealer is generally an ******* and has no sense of dealing nicely with the public). I call the floor. The floor says the the dealer is right.

So now, I say, look I don't want to slow the game down anymore, but I do want a ruling for the future and I pull back my post and ask for the poker room shift manager.

The poker room shift manager tells me that he has never seen such a situation, but will talk to the casino manager. The casino manager agrees I can post and in the next hand (when the button is in seat 5), I will post small blind and then get the button the following hand. This makes perfect sense to me because it is as if I posted the big blind.

Totally wrong.

Seat 7 should have already had the BB.
When you take the SB, he is forced to take the BB again.

Not true. When the player in seat 5 buys the button, seat 7 does not put in the big blind. He will put in his big blind when the player in seat 5 has the button.

Angus may be right. Presumably, the hand before OP got to the table, Seat 3 was the button, Seat 4 was the SB, seats 5 and 6 were empty and Seat 7 posted the BB. If this was the case, then allowing OP to post in Seat 6 when Seat 5 buys the button would seem fine, but there would be a problem in the next hand. Seat 5 is the button, Seat 6, the OP would be the SB and Seat 7 would have to post the BB again.

p4594spa,

Is this information correct?


Previous Hand
Seat 3: Button
Seat 4: Small Blind
Seat 5: away from Table/missed blinds
Seat 6: empty (to be occupied by p4594spa)
Seat 7: Big Blind
Seat 8:


Disputed Hand
Seat 3:
Seat 4: Button
Seat 5: Buying the Button (posting both blinds)
Seat 6: ??? allowed to post ???
Seat 7:
Seat 8:


Next Hand
Seat 3:
Seat 4:
Seat 5: Button
Seat 6: ???
Seat 7: due to post small blind
Seat 8: due to post big blind

Hand After Next
Seat 3:
Seat 4:
Seat 5:
Seat 6: ???
Seat 7: due to have button
Seat 8: due to post small blind

If Seat 7 has already posted the BB and SB, then neither Seat 5 nor Seat 6 should be allowed to buy the button, button moves to Seat 7 and

Hand -1: Seat 4 (BTN), Seat 5 (missed), Seat 6 (empty), Seat 7 (SB)
Hand 0: Seat 4 (BTN), Seat 5 (posts SB+BB), Seat 6 (posts BB), Seat 7 (BTN) [normal]

If Seat 7 has already posted a BB but not the SB, then OP should be forced to wait one hand in which Seat 4 gets an extra hand on the button. OP can post SB+BB when Seat 5 has the button, Seat 7 then posts nothing. The following hand OP has the button and Seat 7 plays the SB as usual.

Hand -1: Seat 4 (BTN), Seat 5 (missed), Seat 6 (SB, leaves), Seat 7 (BB)
Hand 0: Seat 4 (BTN), Seat 5 (posts SB+BB), Seat 6 (WAIT), Seat 7 (UTG)
Hand 1: Seat 4 (CO), Seat 5 (BTN), Seat 6 (posts SB+BB), Seat 7 (UTG)
Hand 2: Seat 4 (HJ), Seat 5 (CO), Seat 6 (BTN), Seat 7 (SB) [normal]

If Seat 7 has neither posted the BB or the SB, then the easiest thing is to allow Seat 6 to post the BB only while Seat 5 posts both SB and BB, and then Seat 6 plays the SB the next hand.

Hand -1: Seat 4 (BTN), Seat 5 (missed), Seat 6 (BB, leaves), Seat 7 (UTG)
Hand 0: Seat 4 (BTN), Seat 5 (posts SB+BB), Seat 6 (posts BB), Seat 7 (UTG)
Hand 1: Seat 4 (CO), Seat 5 (BTN), Seat 6 (SB), Seat 7 (BB) [normal]

if seat 7 posted the SB then on the next hand seat 5 buys the button and seat six posts the BB then seat 7 doesn't do anything. Seat 5 buys the button and seat six posts the BB to play the hand. seat seven just gets a free hand UTG. then on the next hand, the button moves to seat 6 who also posts a SB on the button, seat 7 also posts a SB and seat 8 posts a BB.

Yes?

Looks like Angus, the dealer, and the floorman are right, and the shift manager is wrong.

Seat 7 must have posted the BB and seat 4 posted the SB since seats 5 and 6 were empty. So if seat 5 buys the button on the next hand, seat 6 as a new player cannot post only a BB. If he did, on the following hand, seat 5 would have the button, seat six would be the SB, and seat 7 would be forced to post a BB again, which can't happen. And seat 7 can't wait, since in California with the forward moving button rule, you have to have (at least) a BB and a SB.

Therefore, seat 6's options are to wait one hand, then buy the button, or wait two hands and come in behind the button for a BB + SB. His third option is to wait one hand, then post "in-between" and have the button skip over him (if Bay 101 has the in-between rule).

The dealer is right here and the shift manager is incorrect and there isn't any debate. Here's why:

your first hand you post in, guy to your right buys button. The guy to your left is due the sb next hand. The guy two to your left will be due bb the next hand.

Next hand: guy to your right has the button. No problem. You would post the sb. Who posts the bb? It should be the guy two to your left since he's due to post it. The guy between you is due sb. Also who gets the button next hand? It should ne guy to your left. It just doesn't work. If you wait one hand to post, problem solved. The strange thing is that i've never seen this come up, and I've played a ton at the bay over the years.

This is a rare occurence but I have seen it multiple times. If the player is a regular who understands the game I will allow him to take a hand (we don't require new players to post) if he/she agrees to buy the button the very next hand.
This way everyone is happy. Seat 5 gets to buy the button and play the hand. Seat 6 does not have to wait. Seat 7 does not have to post the BB twice.

The rule I use when two players sit down between the small blind and the button (where either of them could buy the button if the other one wasn't there) is that the player that is furthest clockwise from the button has the first option to buy the button. If the other player then chooses to post in he will not get the button. I prefer this as the whole idea of buy the button is that you can get in action right now without waiting a hand.

This is how I'd prefer to do it.

Hand #1, Seat 4 has button, Seat 5 buys button, Seat 6 posts, Seat 7 free hand.

Hand #2, Seat 5 has button, Seat 6 free hand, Seat 7 small blind, Seat 8 Big Blind.

Hand #3 Seat 7 has button, Seat 8 small blind, etc.

End result is Seat 6 posts but doesn't get the button and gets a free hand in the worst position. What's the harm?

Pre-flop, when does Seat 6 act in Hand #2? After the Button and before SB? Like he is UTG?
Won't work.

I think the one thing I failed to mention was when I sat down, the person in seat 6 (my seat) had just put up the big blind, gone broke and stood up. I think that takes care of the "missing big blind" that some were speaking of.

At any rate, an interesting situation, that I had never run into before.

And they filled the seat that fast?
This is Bay101?

Minor detail, huh?

Seat 7 never plays the big blind. Seat 6 wants to post in on Seat 5's post, technically, this is a "rollback" hand to when Seat 5 should have played the big blind.

The easiest way to settle this is outlined in my post above - allow seat 6 to post in as UTG for one BB, then pay the SB the next hand when Seat 5 has the button.

This information was not given until after my post. It was assumed that Seat 7 had played the big blind previous to this new player sitting down because it's otherwise impossible for anyone to buy the button. Also, there's no problem with the player receiving a free hand in between the button and small blind. The action pre-flop begins left of the big blind or straddle as normal.