system merging people with high stacks at the same table.

[flitspaal]

For a while now i've noticed a peculiar pattern. When in the initial hands of a tournament I go all in for example with AA or AK or KK and win against one two or three other players, and then have a huuuge stack of chips .... i soon get re-seated at some other table and surprise surprise, with multiple people with also similar stacks as me.

Today i got KK in one of the first hands, went all in and tripled my stack, then in the next 15 minutes I got three times KK again (!!) but at that point was reseated already to a table with three more players with the same stack, and every time I just played the hand normally (or you can call it chickened out if you like)

Anyway this phenomena of the chip leaders being reseated together is something which frequently caught my attention, and I think programming must be the explanation

Anyone else who has seen this or has something to add?

 

[moots]

It's probably just random.

 

[fundiver199]

If anything sites might want to design the algorithm, so that the number of chips on each table was kept as even as possible. Designing it to do the opposite makes literally no sense at all, so this is almost certainly just a coincidence or a result of selective memory and conformation bias.

 

[Sunz of Beaches]

If anything sites might want to design the algorithm, so that the number of chips on each table was kept as even as possible. Designing it to do the opposite makes literally no sense at all, so this is almost certainly just a coincidence or a result of selective memory and conformation bias.

yes this. and besides that OP did not even care to mention what site he is talking about. so not sure what info he is trying to get honestly.

 

[Pablo8]

I didn't think it was random, I also fixed this trend, I even thought it was a rule. And it's not for lack of example, because I've seen it happen on Pokerstars, GG poker and WPT global. There are tournaments where you sit at the same table almost all the time, but most tournaments bring together players with a similar number of chips.

 

[sibkaz]

If you get to the same people with a big stack, that's good luck! )))

 

[hilary antonik filho]

I had already noticed, it may or may not be random, but it's a lot of coincidence.

 

[flitspaal]

yes this. and besides that OP did not even care to mention what site he is talking about. so not sure what info he is trying to get honestly.

888, gg, acr, wpt, coinpoker ... i've noticed this on all. Of course it could be selective memory, i'm aware those moments might have stuck out and have been pure coincidence. That's why I posted asking if it's just me.

If it's not, having a big stack and being able to bully with marginal-to-good cards becomes less an option against people with similar stacks.

 

[YLAN]

Certainly, that's why its called "balancing the tables". Tables are balanced based on number of players. Transferred players based on position relative with the blinds to tables with similar stack sizes as possible. Its about fair gameplay, not imagination.

 

[fundiver199]

Certainly, that's why its called "balancing the tables". Tables are balanced based on number of players. Transferred players based on position relative with the blinds to tables with similar stack sizes as possible. Its about fair gameplay, not imagination.

It would not be "fair gameplay", if sites deliberately putted all the big stacks on the same table. Doing this would give small and medium stacks a higher chance of making it into the money or getting the next payjump, than they are supposed to have. I am pretty sure, that players to be moved are selected randomly without consideration to their stack size, and this is also, what Google AI suggest, when I asked the question "how does pokerstars balance tables in tournaments". Here is the complete answer:

"PokerStars balances tournament tables by moving a player to a short-handed table from a full table to keep all tables as evenly sized as possible. When a table becomes significantly smaller than others, typically a difference of two or more players, the tournament software identifies a full table and moves a random player from it. This player is moved at the end of the current hand and is typically seated in the closest possible position to the big blind, even if it means posting the big blind twice in a row."

So as already stated the feeling of OP and others is almost certainly just a case of selective memory and confirmation bias. If we are the table chip leader and get moved to a table with other big stacks, this is annoying, so we tend to remember it, whereas we do not remember it, when getting moved to another table might actually put us in a better situation. Its just the same as some people feeling, there are "to many" bad beats in online poker. A bad outcome create stronger emotions than a good outcome, and therefore it tends to get remembered more.

 

[fundiver199]

If we look at, what the poker sites say themselfes, then on PokerStars its simply stated, that seating is random, and its not allowed to change seats (not sure how that would even be possible?) They dont specifically mention balancing of tables, but if seating is random, then that must obviously also apply, when players are moved. GG Poker are a bit more specific and write the following:

"As players are eliminated from GGPoker tournaments, the software will “break” tables to fill available empty seats. Players are re-seated randomly and may result in a player having to post multiple big blinds in a row. On occasion, the GGPoker software may balance tables to ensure all tables have an equal (or as close to equal as possible) number of active players. Players moved to balance tables will, whenever possible, be moved to similar positions relative to the blinds."

So on GG Poker a players position relative to the blinds is taken into account when rebalancing tables, which makes sense to achieve as fair a game as possible. But the players stack size is not taken into account according to GG Poker.

 

[wushibala]

I don’t think there’s any malicious intent here. I’ve also noticed that sometimes I get moved to another table where I don’t run as well, but other times it’s the opposite — I sit waiting to be moved and things start going my way. Another strange thing I’ve seen on 888 is being moved to 3 tables in a row where I wasn’t dealt a single hand. You just sit there watching everyone else play while you feel like a guest at the table. At first, I honestly thought it was some kind of system glitch.

 

[Navin Sarabjeet]

For a while now i've noticed a peculiar pattern. When in the initial hands of a tournament I go all in for example with AA or AK or KK and win against one two or three other players, and then have a huuuge stack of chips .... i soon get re-seated at some other table and surprise surprise, with multiple people with also similar stacks as me.

Today i got KK in one of the first hands, went all in and tripled my stack, then in the next 15 minutes I got three times KK again (!!) but at that point was reseated already to a table with three more players with the same stack, and every time I just played the hand normally (or you can call it chickened out if you like)

Anyway this phenomena of the chip leaders being reseated together is something which frequently caught my attention, and I think programming must be the explanation

Anyone else who has seen this or has something to add?

Yup.
Noticed that also a few times .
But thought it was just my imagination.

 

[YLAN]

It would not be "fair gameplay", if sites deliberately putted all the big stacks on the same table. Doing this would give small and medium stacks a higher chance of making it into the money or getting the next payjump, than they are supposed to have.

That will not be deliberate but a probable consequence of balancing tables.

I will speak on live poker as is my experience. I started my early poker life playing live in poker rooms. After countless hours & days, one becomes familiar with regulars & officials of the poker rooms of which have many discussion all about poker & stuffs. I relate from all of these experiences.

There is a lot going on in a large field live tournament & trained officials keeps an eye on fair gameplay. Obviously a good experience also of most players benefits profit. An opportunity to adjust is when seats open due to eliminated player/s but they do not advertise that & I will tell why. They actually rather want to avoid "unbalanced tables" than deliberately balancing tables (if you get the drift). One of these they avoid is an unproportional big stack continuously bullying a table of low stacks. Advantage to the big stack but all other players will not be happy. So they remove the big stack from the table or they add a big stack on the table or other things that they deem necessary. How is this done? They "identify" the player to transfer & when a seat open they wait for the "identified" player to be near the blinds then transfer the player. All within rules! They do not advertise the stack size consideration since discretionary & unless otherwise necessary to fix an "unbalanced table" they do not care to identify any player so its as random as can be. There's nothing wrong with it. They don't have to advertise so as to avoid any questions, same as me answering difficult questions is a waste of a lot of my time.

software identifies a full table and moves a random player from it.

How is a full table identified from a number of full tables? Perhaps its the table with an "identified" player? Its not actually a random player since its suppose to be near the blinds, right? Perhaps when the "identified" player goes near the blind then it will be moved as it is stated in the rules.

So on GG Poker a players position relative to the blinds is taken into account when rebalancing tables, which makes sense to achieve as fair a game as possible. But the players stack size is not taken into account according to GG Poker.

There are multiple players near the blinds from multiple tables. Perhaps my identified player is the random one? They have no explicit statement on the stack size.

Anyway its just an opinion & wouldn't need any poker site suing my ass. I don't know anything!

I would not be surprised if some forms of these logic are comprehended in online algorithms for better customer experience & better profits. No questions necessary, all is random.