Can a Texas Holdem player move from a seat into another seat that has the little blind or the button under any conditions, such as, posting the blinds?
2 Answers
Yes you can always move to any empty seat, but often with minor consequences. Rules vary from place to place.
Almost every place you cannot receive a hand if you move to the button. You cannot receive a hand in the small blind and then receive the button next hand. You cannot take the small blind. *You cannot move to an empty seat between the button and the blinds and receive a hand.
In some houses, if you move away from the blind you must post a blind or wait a number of hand(s) that corresponds with the number of seats you moved. *Some places will let you post between buttons and blinds.
The rules about the consequences of changing seats almost always vary to some minor degree from casino to casino. Go with what your dealer says.
In a cash game, yes a player can move seats if a seat is open. Different places might have some different rules, some places might not even allow you to move to a different seat on the same table, but may allow for a table change.
In general from what I've seen players can:
- Move to the button no problem if that seat is open
- Move to the big blind no problem if that seat is open
- I've never seen anyone try to move to the small blind, but I would imagine, and I would do this as a dealer, make them post the bb to.
In a tournament, no you cannot move seats, unless the TD moves you as a player, in which case you will have no say on what seat you get.
In the case of a tournament and being moved:
- If you end up on the BB or the button, you get cards and continue as normal
- If you end up as the SB you sit out a hand and there is a dead SB