Players sitting out... strategy\like it\hate it??

mercyscercy

mercyscercy

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So Obviously we all know playing online poker there is players that will get a nice chip stack then sit out until...well... whenever they think is long enough. I can see the advantage if you have a huge stack and u can sit until the money or way past. But there is nothing more frustrating than playing and you have over double the stack of someone sitting out at your table... Players are getting eliminated and cashing less than this person sitting out. I know I shouldn't get frustrated because it's strategy and I can do the same thing if I want to. Just wondering what everybody's thoughts and opinions were on this?
 
rock0001

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unless its a satellite its a -ev strategy since even if they make money by sitting out, they will never reach a final table or the last tables were most of the money is at stake and thats extremely important since downswings are very common especially in MTT, so running deep at least in a couple of tournaments is essencial in order to be a winning player in the long term.
 
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Agusamc

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Hello

I don't know if it would be a good strategy, as the other user says, the biggest prizes are in the final tables, and by getting sit out I assure you that they will not reach FT hahahahah

On the other hand, I like to meet people sit out, because they are free bb, and it also allows me to put pressure on other players more easily, since there is a position that I am sure will fold.
 
EnigmaTTO

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I mean, I guess it's a good strategy in freerolls if all you care about is a min cash? Like others said though, doing that for long periods of time probably means it's less likely you'll make a super deep run and while you sit you're giving away big blinds for free. I've had one or two instances where everyone at my table was sitting out and it was definitely kinda fun trying to see how many BBs I could get before someone came back lol
 
Newzooozooo

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Hi.
I believe that this is not a strategy, but just insanity. But it is obvious that such tactics do not in any way affect the skills, luck or results of the player.
Good luck.
 
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HungryLyan

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I register the daily freeroll at 8.03pm here in UK and I am sitting out in the beginning as when I finish work at 8pm by the time I'm home, I eventually start to play it from around 9pm onwards. So it is by luck I'm still able to play from short stack and sometimes make it into the money.
 
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jcvd

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I think there is nothing you can do. Try to take his blinds and hope he forget to coming back. :))
 
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CSLysander

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Some people are not wanting to make a misstep before getting in the money. This can get them to the money and they may forget they are in the game.
 
Bobbybones1950

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I've seen this on several occasions where somebody is sitting out until they have a monster hand and then suddenly reenter hoping somebody will raise or shove because they believe they are absent.

If I see somebody sitting out and suddenly renter I proceed very cautiously.

Then of course somebody actually has "sitting-out" for their screen name. I found that somewhat amusing.

:hahaha:
 
sara maria

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Everything is part of some strategy since it is very difficult to reach the bubble and with very few chips of what use, if in the end you only recover the entry and win pennies, it would be good to be among the top 10 in the tournament, to be calm. :joyman:
 
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SharkFinn

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I don't find it frustrating at all, I love seeing players sitting out at my table, it means free chips!

I think most of the players who sit out will recognize that it's a -EV play in terms of ROI, but it could possibly increase their return on time invested and I think that's the rationale these people are using.
 
RimworldDoctor

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I like when other people do it because then I can adjust my calculations and play more hands with a sub-full table.Suddenly 10J looks more playable when the person to my left is sitting out.
 
demesquita

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I've seen this on several occasions where somebody is sitting out until they have a monster hand and then suddenly reenter hoping somebody will raise or shove because they believe they are absent.

If I see somebody sitting out and suddenly renter I proceed very cautiously.

Then of course somebody actually has "sitting-out" for their screen name. I found that somewhat amusing.

:hahaha:



LOL. That was amusing even to read. Kudos! :)
 
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booosteeer23

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This is a very bad strategy and a very boring game)
 
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Fatsmit

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I have one scenario for you that has happened to me a few times. Normally I’m very short on time to play poker, work, family etc. Occasionally when I do, normally mid-evening, the tournament lasts a very long time and it starts to get very late. I don’t have the luxury to do an all nighter as the kids will be up early, so I have been known to sit-out if I just get too tired to carry on...
 
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fundiver199

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As others have said, sitting out is only a viable strategy in freerolls, where it can make sense for some people to accept a lower ROI in return for not spending their time. For me personally though I would rather just not play the freeroll. In order to do this you need to really care about those 10c or whatever, the min-cash will usually be. I dont, but some people apparently do.

I sometimes sit out in regular tournaments, but its certainly not part of any strategy. Its because, I have to go to the bathroom, and this can not wait until the next break. Or I decided to make coffee or take a quick shower during the break and failed to make it back in time. Or my wife called me and asked me to go outside and buy something, she urgently need for cooking. Or the poker client froze and had to be restarted. There can be lots of reasons why, someone is sitting out, that have nothing to do with "strategy".

As for other people sitting out, I love that, especially if its deep in the tournament or maybe even on the final table. Its basically free chips for everyone else to pick up, when they post the blinds and antes :)
 
GeckoAA

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LOL. That was amusing even to read. Kudos! :)


Yes, Ive also seen this happen before too. It has happened to me that I’m SB and the person sitting out is BB and I raise to steal the blinds and the next I thing I know they are present and re-raise. So it is something I pay close attention too also, as it has happened fairly frequently.
I have even played Freerolls where the table I’m sitting at, I am the only one not sitting out, so it has been a great way to build a stack of chips, by just raising they fold and it goes rather quickly.

As for people sitting out after they get a large stack or just sitting out in general. I don’t mind at all. To each his own, they can do as they wish. I also see it as free/easy chips to gain. I have occasionally sat out also when I have gotten a large enough stack but that’s really rare for me so far.
 
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fundiver199

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Yes, Ive also seen this happen before too. It has happened to me that I’m SB and the person sitting out is BB and I raise to steal the blinds and the next I thing I know they are present and re-raise. So it is something I pay close attention too also, as it has happened fairly frequently.

You should obviously always look to see, if they have re-joined, before raising to steal their blinds. Also there is no point in risking more than a min-raise in this situation. I dont think, this can be done deliberately as a trick, since they would have to sit back in exactly in the right splitsecond for you to not notice it. And obviously they dont know, when you are going to bet. So if this has happened, its either purely coincidental, or you were not paying enough attention.

The only reason to not raise preflop in this situation would be stalling on the bubble. If you are sure, they are not going to rejoin the action, you could limp preflop and then check flop, check turn and bet river after taking the maximum time on each round. Be aware though, that "stalling" is against the TOS of some sites like ACR.
 
GeckoAA

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You should obviously always look to see, if they have re-joined, before raising to steal their blinds. Also there is no point in risking more than a min-raise in this situation. I dont think, this can be done deliberately as a trick, since they would have to sit back in exactly in the right splitsecond for you to not notice it. And obviously they dont know, when you are going to bet. So if this has happened, its either purely coincidental, or you were not paying enough attention.

The only reason to not raise preflop in this situation would be stalling on the bubble. If you are sure, they are not going to rejoin the action, you could limp preflop and then check flop, check turn and bet river after taking the maximum time on each round. Be aware though, that "stalling" is against the TOS of some sites like ACR.

It only took 1x for me to learn the lesson and pay close attention, but these were also just in Freerolls where its safe to learn.:). I know its not a trick or anything, but yes sometimes their timing was absolutely perfect.
 
GeckoAA

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I've seen this on several occasions where somebody is sitting out until they have a monster hand and then suddenly reenter hoping somebody will raise or shove because they believe they are absent.

If I see somebody sitting out and suddenly renter I proceed very cautiously.

Then of course somebody actually has "sitting-out" for their screen name. I found that somewhat amusing.

:hahaha:

This was the actual post I meant to quote above :). See above posts :)
 
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Zirkzee

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The idea of ​​sitting out a large stack of chips only benefits you in satellite tournaments. Let's say there are 100 tickets in a satellite tournament. That means the first 100 players all get the same price. If you are already safely in the top 100 with your chip stack, then you don't need to continue playing. It is enough if you sit out. Then you can use the time better and take part in other tournaments. But if the first 100 players would collect different prize money, things will look different again. If you sit out on it, you will miss further increasing your chip stack. It is often the case that the top places get a lot more prize money. So it's worth taking the risk. It usually takes you more to come first than three times third.
 
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TaigaMaster

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What's wrong with that if the player is absent from the table?
 
takinitSLEAZEE

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There could be a number of reasons for a player to sit out, big or small stack. Sometimes there's a connection problem which I, myself, have fallen victim to. If a player is involved in multiple games it's possible to get involved in one game and dismiss another because their interest has peaked due to a nice pot and the payout is worth all the attention. Hell, I've been in a trny, grinding away to a nice stack, and the next thing I know I wake up in my chair w/an empty table on my screen 'cause I fell a-fkng-sleep, lol.
 
TerryBLE

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I like the Stars system where you just have to raise to take off the player out. In any case, if is possible, it is part of the game.
 
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fundiver199

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The idea of ​​sitting out a large stack of chips only benefits you in satellite tournaments. Let's say there are 100 tickets in a satellite tournament. That means the first 100 players all get the same price. If you are already safely in the top 100 with your chip stack, then you don't need to continue playing. It is enough if you sit out. Then you can use the time better and take part in other tournaments. But if the first 100 players would collect different prize money, things will look different again. If you sit out on it, you will miss further increasing your chip stack. It is often the case that the top places get a lot more prize money. So it's worth taking the risk. It usually takes you more to come first than three times third.

Even in that situation you can still increase the chance of cashing by sitting in. If you are sitting out, your hand is insta-folded, and this makes your table play more hands than the other tables increasing the risk, you will eventually get blinded down. So in this situation I always continue to sit in, but I might start doing other things simultaneously, since it dont require a ton of concentration to fold. Even if you have enough chips to cash, you might also sometimes want to aide the process a bit by not giving someone with a short stack a walk or allowing them to pick up the blinds uncontested.
 
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