Why do people sit out?

I don't sitout, but I play so tight in the beginning I might as well sitout.

I learned to play hold'em online at Ulitimate Bet by playing in their (not far fewer than used to be) freerolls. Eventually I got good enough at it to begin placing in the money with pretty good frequency and even won a couple here and there.

When you are playing for something like a TEC chip and you have a commanding enough lead, sitting out is actually the only sensible thing to do unless you are "going for bragging rights" (something I've done and lost my way out of the money a time or two before I got smart).

"In the money" is all it takes when the same prize is issued for the top X players in a tourney. Those who manage to solidify their positions strongly enough to know that they need play no more would be silly to put their prize at risk. Sitting out in that case is the most sensible of strategies and to be angry about it or feel as though you (assuming you are fighting tooth and nail to get into the money) are being "done out" of your chance is silly. You've had your chance, your bite at the apple.. they made it to the promised land and as the point is to win the prize, why should they bother giving you a shot at taking away what they've already earned?

The last rounds of tourneys are always a made scramble for the last 10 qualifying places. We've all "been there done that", or if you haven't then you most assuredly will if you continue to play and grow your skills. And, when you do get there, unless you want those bragging rights badly enough to rick your ticket into an Arruba tourney for free, you'll sit out too.

Just my 2 bits..

J. Rabbit

NOT far fewer should read NOW far fewer...

Ultimatebet recently went through a big change up in things... they increased the chips in sit n go's to 1500 from 1000 and also reduced the number of sitngos substantially as well as changing the hours of the freerolls to horrible hours like 315 AM EST. Their free rolls used to be offered quite often throughout the day and they were wonderful places to learn hold'em. I guess the server couldn't take it or the site got well enough established that they could reduce their free offerings substantially. Chip games are still offered and also make a usefull place to learn.

J. Rabbit

im not sure about other sites but i know on Ultimatebet some people join the freerolls and then sit out so they can earn ultimate points while not having to play.i dont mind them i take their blinds :P

I think it's alright to sit out during a tournament, especially if you're doing good. This is just good strategy. You'll give your brain a little rest, you'll still be doing good when you come back to play, and you can't do anything stupid, like 'playing with your chips instead of with your cards'.

Most people who sit out either have a decent amount of chips, or are just not there.

I personally wouldn't sit out for a long time, but I love those who do, just increases my odds of winning hands.

You cannot sit out an entire tournament and win anything, I have tried it in a 5000 pts Ultimatebet tourney. Not intentionally, but I registered then was unable to play.

But if you are lucky enough to be able to get out to a great start, then you have earned a right to sit out, as long as you want if it means you'll win something. That's just my opinion.

I've never sat out unless I've had to use the bathroom, but reading some of this has given me a new perspective on why people do. I guess I like to play and see where my chips lay at the end of it all. Then I know that I did everything I could to try and win.

It all depends on what kind of game. In a tourney I do it because I want to wait out the all-in junkies and avoid getting caught up in stupid bad beat. In a table game I do it sometimes to learn how people are playing or I might have caught a bad beat and just need to take a break from the game or I have seen a cold run of cards and sit out to let cards change up a little bit.

i hate when poeple sit out i have a friend that will sit out every hand until it gets to under 8 people at the table

When I sit out, it is usually b/c I'm distracted by something and want to give the game my full attention, but take a break and not lose my seat--or I like to be a bit of a voyeur and see if I can sense any betting patterns at the table, or see if players seem to have it "in" for each other, in which case I don't want to play there and get caught up in petty rivalries that will only take my money and fun--i'm sure there are many reasons, some are just system connection issues--a player waits too long to post a blind or bet and gets "sat out" by the system

Hi all,
I know it can be annoying to some but occassionally I sit out myself but there is usually a good reason behind it. Usually I sign up for anywhere up to 10 tournaments at maybe 5 or 6 different poker rooms, needless to say that many of these overlap and start at the same times, I don't play more than one tournament at a time but I also don't like to miss out on any so what I do is start playing my favourite tournament, depending on how it's going i'll either play a lot during the first 30 minutes or i'll play very tight, if it looks like it's going to be one where I'm going to play tight then i'll sit out for 30 minutes and go play my next one, if I can get my chips up high enough in any of the tourneys then i''ll sit out for up to 30 minutes at a time while I go play on the next one and so on, it's not ideal but for me it's better than trying to have more than one poker room open at the same time as this causes me major problems with my pc.
Also there are times when I work out the number of chips I need to be able to come in the money, I sometimes do this at Noble's $100 freeroll, I know that if I can get my chip stack to 10,000 or above I can sit out and come in the money, I can go play another tourney for up to an hour and come back to finish playing, my stack gets depleted quite a bit but i've usually still got enough to carry on playing for a while.
That's my reason for sitting out, sorry for the ones who i've annoyed by doing that, it's not intended.
Good luck

Tony ( The Webmaster )

I try never to sit out, but sometimes it cannot be helped. Sometimes I sit because there is a player who is all in all the time. Untill he is moved out or goes bust I wait.
I never get mad when people sit.Their money their choice...

iono maybe they are away doing something.. or just doing muti task at once... i also hate it too but yeah patiant is the key

majority that sit out at a tourney is mainly due to playing for than 1 tourmey at a time and overall results is not very good.

playing in a limit omaha tourny now and out of the whole table there is me and just one other guy playing. i hate this

i understand sometimes somthing may come up forcing a registered player to miss the tourny.However this does reflect the amount of players who do this.
IF U CAN'T PLAY DON'T PLAY!!!!!!!!!!

I've seen just about everything. Some sites removeany players not sitting by the 3rd level, some that sit out in sit'n'go's and take 3rd every time, etc. etc. Ususally if I am short stacked and the money cut off is close I don't sit out but pretty much fold/check every hand unless its the nuts. But yes I have sat out alot, pee break, coffee, (hmm the two go together huh?), to pick up my daughter from down the street etc. Either way you look at it quit worrying about it and just play your game.

i dont have a problem with ppl sitting out unless i get out before them lol.

I get really annoyed when people sit because I like fast paced action and I dont like folding the blinds to someone when I have a terrible hand but it has to be done.

interesting views on the concept of sit out players. I for one do not really like it especially in sit-n-go buy in trnys. In that type of trny, it is a sure thing that they might end up in the payout places. In freerolls, i dont really mind unless the table is overwhelmed with sitting out players.

I guess some people have more important things in life than winning a 5$ multi.

people sit out so dont dont risk not making money or a seat when they all ready r set to be in it

I was playin in a tournament the other day, and there was only 2 of us not sittin out. After I knocked him out..it was just me and 8 people sitting out! So I just sat there and collected their blinds until I was moved to another table....annoying...but profitable.

I sit out for 3 reasons. One is that I'm in the middle of doing something around the house and can't break away at the start. Two is that I'm getting set to play, (gotta have something to drink, the phone, maybe some popcorn). Or, 3, it's strategic when there is a large number at the tables such as over 2,000 players. Let the guppies fight it out and are ready to play serious poker.

I was in a tournament recently, in which the structure gave you two ways to play the first hour.

1.) Be ready to re-buy in 10 times.
2.) Sit out, go to your room and take a nap.

It was an unlimited rebuy in the first hour. It also had a huge add-on after the first hour. Two guys puts stacks of cash in front of them, and without looking at their cards, proceeded to push all-in, every single hand. All while reading a magazine. This is a decent strategy, but I opted for...

2.) Go to my room, come down in an hour purchase the add on, and play from there.

What do you guys think?

I must say that I have been guilty of sitting out from time to time....usually due to signing up for a tourney then forgetting about it. When playing in tourneys I don't let the sitouts bother me, I just take note & when everyone else folds even if I don't have a hand I will raise & steal the sitouts blind. One tourney I played in I did this for the first 45 mins of tourney.....so sitouts can be a blessing if you view them as such.

I only sit out if I am called away froma tourny .....I do avoid the early round rammer jammers ....they load up on chips the first few rounds but bleed out with stupid bets by the second or third level.....avoid running with the mad dogs .....you never make the final table that way and you end up with fleas

I love the sitters because i personally play better short handed and it sure makes for easier blind steals. And if they win money it means people are playing to fast.

I like the freerolls at Poker.com because the blinds increase so rapidly, there's no way someone can get into the money by just sitting out.

My Thoughts:

- Rather have a person sitting out then going all in. You can't play don't give chips away. Not fair to everyone else. Jusy cause that person had a good hand when you wanted to leave.

- I sit out but only when I am thirsty, hungry, potty, gotta take the mutt out or I just had a bad beat and don't want to go on tilt.

- I dislike people just sitting out when its me and one other guy. I can have a sweet hand and bet big but they call so I can't get 15 chips for free. They pull rags into riches and my pocket kings look like crap.

- Times I should have sit out and taken the top 50 (TEC Freeroll) but I wasn't going to be that guy. So I go from 99% top 50 to 64th on pocket kings

I've wondered whether it is possible to pull a "sit out bluff"? Sit by your computer, and when you are BB and SB raises to steal pot, nip back in with good hand and clobber them!

It can be a cheeky tactic but do you really want the rest of the table thinking you are a cheating b*stard and trying to knock you out? And plus you can only do it once, as the guy will be ready for it next time hardly worth it really

I think a point has been overlooked. I agree that there are emergency situations which may occur that would require someone to sit out a few hands, and there may be logistical reasons why someone may miss part of a tournament. But I play sit-and-gos where occasionally there will be one person at a 10-player table who sits out for 20-30 hands in a row near the beginning of the tournament. I think that in many cases this is done as a tactic and it is one that the poker sites should remedy.

The argument that sitting out doesn't hurt anyone and is the same as if that person had simply folded those 20-30 hands misses a key point. It is not the same as simply folding, it is the same as folding out of turn - over and over again! The problem is not that the person is sitting out; the problem is that everyone knows in advance that his hand will be folded. This knowledge affects the way the hand will be played. Specifically, the people sitting in the seats to the right of the person sitting out will have opportunities to pick up extra chips. That's good for them, but it's not so good for the people sitting in the seats to the left who have an unfair disadvantage because they have less access to the free chips.

It seems to me that this problem could be easily remedied. Players should be allowed to sit out, but the poker sites do not need to mark the chair as empty when someone is sitting out. Instead the system should just automatically fold the player's cards in turn when the player is sitting out. That way nobody knows in advance that the player is going to fold and the betting will occur naturally.

I enjoy sitting out at FullTiltPoker. I get into the nine person sit-n-gos and sit out. The other players are usually so bad that they will take themselves out, leaving me in the money. On average, I'm in the money in 10 out of 12 games.

i really dont like to sit out but sometimes my PC lags and want to throw it out the window. But on a occasion i will sit out for a couple to asses the table especially if i havent plyed with them before

Chris

It used to infuriate me when I first moved from FTP to PS, but I finally realised you can take advantage at times which makes up for it