Buying chips from other players

We play a very friendly game and have allowed guys to re-buy when they bust out. A lot of times its easier to buy chips off another player who has a big stack. I've brought up that this money should stay on the table as 'live' money like chips and a player can't pocket that money. Had a new guy last night that freaked out over this. Isn't the same as 'going south'- couldn't find other threads on this.
Thanks!!

Yeah, just make a rule that all chips have to be brought from the house or all $$ have to stay on the table. Selling chips and putting the $$s in your pocket should not be tolerated.

Sounds like going south to me! I would get them to realize this isn't standard and shouldn't be done. Of course it is a home game and subject to house rules though. If they aren't willing to change and if you don't like it I would just find other game to play.

The only time a player should pocket his money is if he's done playing. Personally I hate playing home cash games. Much easier to play tourney style.

Money should NEVER be taken off the table unless that player is leaving the game.

No ifs ands or buts

Technically yes, it's the same as going south.

In a friendly home game it's almost always a good idea to let things like this slide though, particularly if it's a good game that you want to keep running. Piss people off by being a rules nit and you risk having them take all their money off the table and not come back. Usually it's better to keep them happy and keep them playing - totally your call though since you're the one that knows the game.

I have been playing poker 31 years in Los Angeles Casino's.
If you were playing in that game someone at the table made
the chip leader rich that night. They have a right to try and
win the money back. So with that said money stays put untill
you say see ya later. Home games should be played tournament
style try limit early with a switch to no limit at a set time.

If my friends were hosting a limit tourney I would just stay home. So would most of the action junkies I play with(although by the way they bet and raise it seems they are playing FL). FL makes me want to pull my hair out!!!

I just re-read this and noticed the one bitching was the new guy. Tell him if he don't like go find another game! No new guy is coming to my home game and gonna whine about standard rules. If he don't like it tell him to go home and play with himself cause no one ever plays like this.

Even if he's dead money in the game? Little bit short sighted IMO.

Plus here's a crazy idea - what's to stop the player that's selling the chips from converting the cash back to chips between hands? Or if it's an issue with one player wanting to take the cash south after they've sold chips how about the smart players just not buy chips off him in the first place?

People can run their home games however they like. I'm just saying there's more than one way to skin a cat and being a slave to the technical rules can sometimes be counter-productive. Think about the big picture before you decide how to deal with something like this.

^^^^^

If it's just a friendly home game no one takes seriously so what? It's unlikely it will have any real effect in the long run...

Final thoughts and then I'm done with this because it's a silly discussion to be having in the first place, given that it's a home game and people can do whatever they want:

- Converting the cash back to chips shouldn't affect anything because the player had that amount in chips already. Say it's a $100 max buyin, a player is sitting with $500 in chips in front of him and he sells $100 of them to a player that's just busted. If he converts the $100 in cash back to chips he's still got $500. It's not like he's sitting with $500 and then decides to buy another $100 to take him up to $600. The amount he's sitting with is unaffected, it's just a question of whether he's playing the amount as cash or chips.

- Following on from that, it's not going south until the money is taken off the table. Buying the chips isn't the problem, it's what the player does with the cash afterwards.

- Games with uncapped buyins aren't as rare as you seem to think and they don't just happen on TV. Speaking of televised games though, occasionally I've seen players buy chips off each other in televised cash games and FWIW nobody accused anyone of going south or doing anything improper.

- Problems if we allow the player to take the money off the table: maybe one buyin gets taken out of play, rules nits get their panties in a bunch.

- Problems if we don't allow the player to take the money off the table: maybe they don't come back to the game next time or maybe they quit on the spot and take all their money off the table. Rules nits are happy though.

- Problems if you don't allow players to buy chips off each other: maybe the player that's just busted has time to think and decides to leave the game instead of rebuy. If they buy chips that are already on the table they're back in the game on the next hand and then they're likely going to stay.

In a perfect world sure, everybody buys their chips from off the table. In the real world though sometimes you compromise or take the lesser of two evils.

When i play poker with my friends we do the same thing, no problem. I n my opinion if I was the big stack I would like it better because i'm guaranteed money.