I'm actually considering to stop attending some tournies that never start on time. The host running the games, keeps saying just waiting for the last two players. Sometimes the games start 45 minutes late because of late players.
I say screw the late players, let them get blinded off if they can't make the game on time.

This is a peeve of mine as well, if I go to a home tournament and it's more than 10 minutes late in starting I usually don't come back. One thing I use in my own tournaments that always guarantees 9 out of 10 players are on time is bonus starting chips for being on time. And we start without other players for sure. They learn pretty quickly to be punctual, not only do we blind them out but they miss out on the bonus chips.

people will always be late. if you wait 10 minutes for a couple people, the real start time is 10 after, so they start coming at 20 after...

If you've ever dealt with fedex, you know they have cutoff times for dropoffs. If you show up at their door by 5, they'll ship your package. At 5:00 on the dot, they walk over and lock the door and ignore you if you come knocking at 5:01. This is fantastic. Now I know the target, and can tell the boss I have to leave NOW to make the cutoff, not "if I leave now, there's a 90% chance I'll make it, but in 5 minutes that drops to 75%, and in 20 minutes there's still about a 30% chance there's still someone there..."

Tournament starts at 7. If you're late, you know what happens. It's not like blinding off a couple levels is the end of the world.

Yes, I'd consider not going to a game that didn't run on time. Usually, winning a tournament means staying later that you'd like already.

It's currently a tiny bit more inconveniencing for me to start the tournament "on time" than it is to start a few minutes late. But I keep a hard stop time at :15 after and seat people then.

You're allowed to show up late for my tournaments without being blinded off, provided you make it by the first break. [Yeah, I could remove a few blind levels, but fussing with giving people 3925 chips instead of 4k isn't worth the effort of me educating everyone who might run a game.]

I'd say just mentally view the tournaments as starting 45 minutes later, but don't let it affect when you show up. Instead, view that 45 minutes as socializing time. That is, if you want a way to be able to play the tournaments without becoming upset. Just gotta re-frame it in your mind. Anger grows in the gulf between expectation and reality. You can't change reality, so shift your expectation.

That was happening at our tournies as well, so I put a stop to it. Here are the rules we ended up with, perhaps you can suggest it to your host(s). It's worked out well (I bolded the two key items):

1. Game sign-up is done via this web site. Sign-up is to allow us to know how many people to expect on a given night for cash games/tournaments.
2. Seating is done based on arrival time. You must sign up to play, but you will not have a seat locked up until you arrive on the premises.
3. It works just like a call-in at a casino: signing up puts you on the list, but seating priority is given to people as they arrive.
4. You have to be there yourself to buy-in for a cash game seat or tournament; people cannot buy in for you to lock up a seat.
5. If we don’t have a minimum of 6 players 24 hours prior to game start, the game is cancelled for that day.
6. Tournaments start at their designated times. If you are signed up for a tournament, but are not there when the tournament starts, you may still buy into the tournament for a full stack up to 30 minutes from the starting time of the tournament. After that, tournament buy-ins are closed.

We were waiting for people to show up before starting the tournament, and people started showing up later and later. We also had people "phone in" and have others buy in the tourney for them... which was a hassle for everyone else at the table who had to blind them off, deal for them, etc.

Now it starts on time, people don't get a seat until they are physically there, and they are completely out of luck if they don't get there by 30 minutes after the tourney starts.

I'm with the OP here. If it's happens once or twice, that's one thing. Same thing over and over...no way.

Thats what is happening. Players know the tourney will not start at the announced time, so they show up late. Pisses me off really. Me, if it starts at 7PM, I'll be there at 6:45 just so the hosts knows I am playing

The host should come up with some rules and enforce them. Things will change quickly.

We blind people off. A little extra work, but not a big deal. Usually people let us know beforehand.

OP,

Have you talked to the host? Try to reason with him. If that doesn't work (which it looks like it won't), try one of these:

1. Host your own tourney with a hard start time.
2. Suggest to the host to Early Bonus. In my game, the early bonus if for all players who arrive 10-minutes prior to the scheduled start time (Not just on time).
3. Show up a half hour late.
4. Live with it know that you'll hang out for about an hour before actually playing cards.

I do not mind a 10-15 minute wait if the stragglers have made it known they are close to arrival. Otheriwse start on time, blind them off and, after a level or two, pull the stacks.

I despise twiddling my thumbs while the host is stuck because people have so little consideration as to actually show up on time, or make their apologies beforehand.

All good suggestions.

Understanding that they may start late should let you adjust your expectations. pfapfap is on the money. Only you can make yourself upset. If it really tilts you, then skip those events.

Talking to the host with suggestions is always a good option. Find out from others if they mind, or if it's just you.

I've always been in favor of bonus chips for starting on time, but it's been years since late arrivals have been an issue in my regular games. For an occasional tourney, late arrivals are blinded off. Stacks are for 'confirmed' players. Only once has a stack been blinded down and removed after an hour.

I'm with you. Start times are start times. I knew that a 5pm start meant 5pm breaking out the table and setting up stacks for a while. I learned to adjust and that 5pm start really meant 5:30 cards in the air (slow group).

We do the same things Manzoni describes. There's basically a 10% chip bonus for being 10 minutes early. So if tourney starts at 7pm anyone who is PAID and in their seat by 650pm will get the chip bonus, and any late players are not allowed after the first break which is about an hour to 90 minutes in. This formula works great and the tourney always starts within 5 minutes of 7pm with everyone seated and cards in the air. This allows the host to have the stacks set up, the seating chart up, and everything ready to go.

Also as far as late players are concerned, I would always leave one extra stack on each table that would get blinded off until first break. So if any late players called me and wanted a seat, they could claim one of these stacks and I would have the tournament director program seat them randomly at one of those open stacks. In the program I would buy-in Player 1, Player 2, Player 3 and if anyone claimed the seat, I could just edit their name into the seat that was randomly given. Any open stacks after the first break concluded would be removed from each table.

I'm always a few minutes late unless the tourney is a huge buy in or a big drive. I think if a tourney starts at 7 then starting it by 7:15 is fine. Giving people a few minutes to socialize is probably okay.

However when I'm late if I end up getting blinded out I don't really care. I often tell people just to start it and blind me down if they have to.

^^ that creates extra work for people, though.


The problem is that if people start assuming the game doesn't start until 5:30, they start showing up after that... in order to get the game off on time, people need to be there before the starting time.

So, if you didn't want to play with this group, why'd you start in the first place?

Maybe you should come an hour late a few times, see if the host has any problem with it.

Thank you, oh Zen Kittah!

Sure you can. Try to get the host to change their policy so the tournament starts on time... or at least offer some suggestions, and see if they are interested.

Yeah, but that's you. And it's also me. I would get slightly peeved when people showed up late to tourneys. Hell, "on time" isn't even on time, because if everybody shows up at 7pm for a 7pm tourney, it takes time to process their entries.

It might be you, and it might be me, but it's not them. They are them.

If this host is okay with how it is, you can't really do much about it. But you can take steps not to let it bother you.

For sure, especially if the host is becoming frustrated. But if not, and if you want to keep playing, I feel the best course of action is to learn how not to let it bother you.

I thought that was mildew. No wonder bleach didn't kill it.

All joking aside, though, pfap is right. You can certainly try to convince the host to be more strict about starting time - just understand that it may not work, and you'll have to either accept the late start time as normal or stop playing.

Agreed. I think he may find that others, possibly including the host, share his frustration though.

Worth a shot... if not, yeah, chant some zen koans, etc.

+1.

since he's not the host, there is a clear limit to what he can do to change anything. Might be worth a one-time public statement voicing an objection to the late start (and resulting late finish), and then simply deciding whether to accept it or not.

My comments above are recommendations for catherders.