# Hold 'em tournament betting question: not enough chips to call big blind **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [December 9, 2011, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hold-em-tournament-betting-question-not-enough-chips-to-call-big-blind/605666 "2011-12-09T20:47:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hold-em-tournament-betting-question-not-enough-chips-to-call-big-blind/605666/1 "2011-12-09T20:47:59Z")
On Monday I played in a NL tournament at our local casino. On the last hand before the 90-minute break and mandatory colorup, I went all in and lost to a maybe bad beat. (I’m not going to go through it again here because I’ve already been going through it in my head all week.) After the dealer counted through my stack and my opponent’s stack, I was left with 75 in chips, going into a round after the break with 100 antes and 300-600 blinds. The dealer was kind enough to do the colorup right away, to see if I was going to have to stay around another 10 minutes to play probably one hand or if I was free to go. As it happened I lost the colorup round leaving me with nothing. Later on, though, I was thinking: what if I’d won the colorup and gone to the first hand of the break with only enough to make my ante? Would I have been assigned to a side pot consisting of only the antes? If the ante had been 200, would I have been busted out entirely? ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hold-em-tournament-betting-question-not-enough-chips-to-call-big-blind/605666/2 "2011-12-09T20:58:04Z")
I’m pretty sure that’s the case - the side pot of antes. ‘Table stakes’ mean you can’t win or lose more than you bet. If that’s all you got, that’s all you got. And if you got any money in - you get to play for it. ---
**Author:** ![Bootis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e8c25b/32.png) [@Bootis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootis)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hold-em-tournament-betting-question-not-enough-chips-to-call-big-blind/605666/3 "2011-12-09T21:08:48Z")
Haven’t played many casino tourneys- you said that was the last hand before the break, but then you lost the colorup round. I know what a colorup is, what is a colorup round? ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hold-em-tournament-betting-question-not-enough-chips-to-call-big-blind/605666/4 "2011-12-09T21:09:16Z")
I assume, that I have 100 and ante is 200, that most dealers wouldn’t go through the nitpicking task of splitting up the ante into a “side-ante” pot and a regular pot though, right? ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hold-em-tournament-betting-question-not-enough-chips-to-call-big-blind/605666/5 "2011-12-09T21:12:33Z")
But if its a tournament - not sit-and-go, you can’t walk away from the table with a $100 chip. It’s all or nothing. They’d have to side-pot it. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hold-em-tournament-betting-question-not-enough-chips-to-call-big-blind/605666/6 "2011-12-09T21:13:52Z")
> [@Bootis](#): > > Haven’t played many casino tourneys- you said that was the last hand before the break, but then you lost the colorup round. I know what a colorup is, what is a colorup round? I don’t know if it’s on a casino by casino basis, or even if it’s done all the time at ours, but what they did was take all the stacks that had odd chips (in this case, 25s), deal three cards to each stack, and round the stacks up or down based on the value of the cards. I got stuck with a 7-5-3 hand so I was a goner. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hold-em-tournament-betting-question-not-enough-chips-to-call-big-blind/605666/7 "2011-12-09T21:17:00Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > But if its a tournament - not sit-and-go, you can’t walk away from the table with a $100 chip. It’s all or nothing. They’d have to side-pot it. Hmmm…suppose so. I hadn’t considered that the integrity of the outstanding stack (even the dealer can’t remove chips from the outstanding stack) should stand. ---
**Author:** ![Bootis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e8c25b/32.png) [@Bootis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootis)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hold-em-tournament-betting-question-not-enough-chips-to-call-big-blind/605666/8 "2011-12-09T21:18:42Z")
> [@Duke](#): > > I don’t know if it’s on a casino by casino basis, or even if it’s done all the time at ours, but what they did was take all the stacks that had odd chips (in this case, 25s), deal three cards to each stack, and round the stacks up or down based on the value of the cards. I got stuck with a 7-5-3 hand so I was a goner. Wow, so much for “a chip and a chair”. That’s terrible that they would apply that to you if it meant it knocks you out of the tournament. Not that you probably wanted to sit around for a break to play with half an ante, but still it is not cool. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hold-em-tournament-betting-question-not-enough-chips-to-call-big-blind/605666/9 "2011-12-09T21:49:04Z")
> [@Bootis](#): > > Wow, so much for “a chip and a chair”. That’s terrible that they would apply that to you if it meant it knocks you out of the tournament. Not that you probably wanted to sit around for a break to play with half an ante, but still it is not cool. Yeah, it was really bizarre to me too. I mean, you’re right that it would have been a pain in the neck for them to have to split the next ante into 3/4ths for a side pot, but it was a bad way to go out. ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hold-em-tournament-betting-question-not-enough-chips-to-call-big-blind/605666/10 "2011-12-09T23:03:22Z")
Each venue is going to have their own rules. [Robert’s Rules of Poker](http://www.homepokertourney.com/roberts-rules-of-poker.htm#SECTION_15_-_TOURNAMENTS) state, in their section on Tournaments: > [@](#): > > 1. The lowest denomination of chip in play will be removed from the table when it is no longer needed in the blind or ante structure. All lower-denomination chips that are of sufficient quantity for a new chip will be changed up directly. The method for removal of odd chips is to deal one card to a player for each odd chip possessed. Cards are dealt clockwise starting with the 1-seat, with each player receiving all cards before any cards are dealt to the next player.\*\* A player may not be eliminated from the event by the chip-change process. If a player has no chips after the race has been held, he will be given a chip of the higher denomination before anyone else is awarded a chip.\*\* [Emphasis added]… I did not see mention of your specific case, Duke, in those linked rules, but I can’t see why there wouldn’t be a side pot for you and your antes. Interests of moving the tournament along on their part, I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![Bootis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e8c25b/32.png) [@Bootis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootis)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hold-em-tournament-betting-question-not-enough-chips-to-call-big-blind/605666/11 "2011-12-09T23:32:31Z")
> [@Gray\_Ghost](#): > > I did not see mention of your specific case, Duke, in those linked rules, but I can’t see why there wouldn’t be a side pot for you and your antes. Interests of moving the tournament along on their part, I suppose. It would hardly slow things down at all anyway- even if the antes are 200, and you have 100, you just put your 100 in, dealer puts 100x the number of players at the table into a side pot that you win if you win the hand, no further calculations required. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hold-em-tournament-betting-question-not-enough-chips-to-call-big-blind/605666/12 "2011-12-09T23:46:11Z")
A year ago or so, I was playing in a tournament, and I lost the last hand (all-in) prior to a break, and colorup. I had 6000 chips and my opponent had 5975. Therefore I had one $25 chip. it was automatically colored up to $100 but it was the casino’s house rules says that a player cannot bust out on the color up. I was all-in on the ante on the hand right after break. IIRC, it was a ‘playable’ 9-8 suited. which I lost. I kept saying to myself during the 15 minute break. “Chip and a chair” “Chip and a chair” lather rinse repeat. the guy in the adjoining urinal gave me a dirty look. Truth beknown I would have rather given the extra chip to the guy that beat me, but that probably would have been against the rules. ---
**Author:** ![GreenHell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ea666f/32.png) [@GreenHell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenHell)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2011, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hold-em-tournament-betting-question-not-enough-chips-to-call-big-blind/605666/13 "2011-12-10T05:53:40Z")
IAAPPD (I am a professional poker dealer): there are multiple ways to handle the color up. \*each “odd” chip gets a card, best “hand” gets all the odd chips \*each partial chip (quarter if coloring up to hundreds) gets a full chip; i.e. if you have an odd 25 you get 100, likewise (one 100 chip) if you have an odd 50 or 75 \*\* note, if the first method is used, you may be colored up to a single 100 chip even if you lose the color up as an exception making it impossible to be busted by the color up is in place in many facilities Also, nitpick: your partial blind/ante/whatever goes into the MAIN pot. All other action would go into the one or multiple SIDE pots. Poker is a grass roots game that has no official governing body that decides the “official” answer to this or many other questions, though the most fundemental aspects of the game are subject to overwhelming (if not absolute) agreement. My breaks over, back to the tables. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2011, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hold-em-tournament-betting-question-not-enough-chips-to-call-big-blind/605666/14 "2011-12-11T15:57:58Z")
Thanks for the inside word, **GreenHell**. Oh, BTW, you couldn’t make this up: the dealer’s name when the above situation happened was Duke.