Borgata 1/2nl last night.

The 10 seat has just returned from being away and buys the button. I'm in the 1 seat and as the deal is going around I say "He can't buy the button, can he? I just straddled last hand." If he buys the button, he gets the button the next hand, I'm SB and I've never been BB.

Dealer says next hand 10 is the button, I'm BB and there's no SB, then the next hand he keeps the button, I'm SB and 2 seat is BB.

Is that kosher? I agreed and we moved on, but it seemed at least unusual. We'll leave the button if, say, the SB bust out or leaves...next hand button stays, one big, no button on an empty seat. But I don't think I've seen it stay with everyone present and playing.


Complicating the story, I'm pretty sure (now...I didn't notice it at the time) the button moved twice and we shouldn't have been in that spot to begin with: If I straddled, the button was 3 seats to my right, seat 7 (since 10 was absent). So why is the button on seat 9 the next hand?

Bad dealer for not stopping the action and calling a floor to most likely declare a misdeal. What should happen is the hand should be a misdeal, and the ten seat should be big blind as normal because the button will move to 8 and the sequence will continue as normal, no harm no foul.

It's not clear what happened to the person who posted BB last hand. Is that person away from the table and getting a missed SB button? Are they now the BUT?

It seems obvious that the button is in the wrong place now, which should get corrected. Once it's corrected then seat 10 can just post BB normally (and you can straddle again if you want).

If the button is in the correct position, and the SB is sitting out for some reason, then the button should stay dead and I guess allowing 10 to BTB is fine. Next hand 10 is BUT and you are BB. The hand after is another dead button and you are SB.

Yeah your question should have been, "Why is the button in seat 9? I just straddled."

Should be a misdeal if no significant action.

Yeah, the button position thing went totally unremarked. I only realised thinking about it later to post. "Can he actually buy the button" covered it up. Presumably a player moved it without saying so and then the dealer moved it again. I don't know if someone else at that end got up (I don't think so, but...), or if they were just all out of position without noticing. The 8 seat was a reg who should have a clue, the others probably not. I thought about leaving that whole issue out of the post so it wouldn't distract from my actual question, but figured someone would notice if I did.

What I'm questioning is the sequence of hands (if we ignore the button placement issue):

9 BUT
10 BTB

10 BUT
1 BB

10 BUT
1 SB
2 BB

Because if the guy on my right buys the button, I should be SB the next hand, and if that's not correct he's usually told he has to wait for the button to pass.

"That's not gonna work for me. FLOOR."

^^^^. Totally with steam.

It's kind of hard to say ignore the wrong button placement and just address the current situation as who will be the small blind is key to the solution. But if we are sticking with seat 9 being the button and the small blind is somehow vanished, then it seems to me that seat 10 could come in as a single big blind. Then next hand the button stays in 9 and 10is the small blind and you are big blind.

Nope, not allowing someone buying the button to be the button twice in a row unless something else happens which would naturally cause his seat to be the button twice. If we have a single big blind and the missed blind player wants to come in between the single big blind and the button, then I'm allowing him to come in for only his big blind. Next hand, the button won't move and this player will then pay his small blind and the hand after that he'll get the button. You want to get back to two blinds as quickly as possible and waiting until next hand to have a single big blind won't work.

Forgetting the possible button misplacement, assuming that someone left after playing their big and a new player sat right away. I wouldn't let someone get the button twice after buying it.

In my room, they could either wait two hands or be the big blind by themselves, next hand the button stays where it is and they are the small.

If that is not allowed, then they wait a hand and can buy it then.

What’s the practical difference between someone that paid their blinds normally and someone who bought the button?

Anyway forward moving button rules you wouldn’t have the problem of someone receiving the button twice.

It works ok by me if btn is 9 and 10 pays big with no sb this hand. Next hand button is dead and stays on 9 seat. Then 10 is sh with op in 1 now bb. Plays like sb left or busted when bb so going to have a dead button next hand anyway. We lose the sb this hand but we’re losing our hat anyway.

But if the real problem is button wrong seat then that really should be corrected and a misdial. Get the button right and then figure out the rest.

at the very least OP should be small on the button

Sounds like the button was in the wrong place. Should be a misdeal and fix that first. Sounds like seat 10 can just come in as BB in that case unless seat 8 or 9 is now absent but wasn't on the prior hand??

Hell no.

I don't think anyplace outside of California ever does this.

Button moving twice overrides everything else. Button must have been 7 seat, 8SB, 9BB, 10-away, 1UTG. When button moves to the 8, the 9 is the SB and the 10 can pay his BB and you can straddle again as UTG (or not).

Calling the floor would have reconciled that.

I'm not super well versed on these things, but the dealers and at least some players should have spoken up and figured things out. Just tell them it would void the BBJ and they will get things fixed