My buddy who I am backing in some WSOP events came to my Vegas home tonight. We got to talking and we were telling stories about our series so far. He said that in one of the events this series he lost chips and almost busted to a guy WHO WASN”T EVEN IN THE TOURNAMENT! That’s right, the guy who he lost chips to was sitting at the table and right after he won some chips off of my buddy, the guy said, “Man isn’t this great to be only 5 handed in a shoot out?” My buddy said, “Uh, this ain’t a shoot out.” They called the floor over and sure enough the dealer forgot to check his registration card and the guy walked to a WSOP $1,500 buy in event when he was really registered for some shoot out that was on another day!
The floor came over and the man was told to leave the table and come back for the event he registered in. My buddy, told the floor, “Hey, we’ve got another problem here. Is it possible that I can lose chips to someone not even in the tournament?” The floor crew got together and ruled that my buddy lost his chips “in good faith” to his opponent. My buddy was stunned.
Now I understand it can work both ways. My buddy could have easily won some chips and it would have stunk to have to give them back. But my God, how on earth can you lose chips to someone not even playing in the event? Can you imagine this happening in any other sport? What if Lebron James just walked onto the basketball court and scored a bunch of points for the team you were playing against? Do the points count? In golf, if I just show up to the Masters and make my way past the guards with my golf clubs, can I go out on the course and try and win the Masters? I mean c’mon! How on earth can they get together and come up with THAT ruling? What if my buddy had gotten busted by someone not even registered for the event? I can say one thing, if I got busted in a $10,000 buy in event by someone not even registered in the tournament, I would at least get a refund come hell or high water.
I am sure the WSOP has a rule book they go by, but given the enormity of the event that they run, they ought to spend more time putting in more thought to potential situations that could arise and come to logical conclusions based at least in part to player input. Respectable players would I’m sure be more than happy to give their input.
In golf they have a rule book and a “decisions on the rules of golf” book. The “decisions” book has an official ruling on every conceivable situation that has ever occurred. I think the WSOP should do the same because arbitrary rulings like losing chips to someone not in the tournament need to be ruled out. And when you make on spot decisions like the floor does at times, rather than referring to a well thought out rule book made prior to the event, you add in the element of poor judgment that could sway what they consider to be the most prestigious poker event in the world.
I’d be interested in hearing if there is precedent for something like this? Has someone else ever come across something like this? If so leave a comment. Coming from a golf background, I just can’t even imagine how it is possible that you can lose to someone NOT in the event. I realize that if the error had occurred later in the event after he busted several people who may have driven home, it could get ugly. But in my opinion the WSOP should step up to the plate and give those people a refund or at least let them free roll another event with a similar buy in amount. That would be the least they could do for their mistake. Certainly penalizing someone for your own mistake should not be an option. The WSOP overall does a pretty good job all things considered. I know their job isn’t easy. Which is why I’m saying we need a more well thought out rule book that takes into account all of the crazy stuff that can (and likely will at some point) happen.