Can you move the button backwards for a hand and then skip a player on the next hand?

Floor is right. Accepted action, play on.

If pointed out before significant action we can call a misdeal and move the button back. But if it’s not a fouled hand and it’s not a misdeal, we have to play on.

This has happened when I was at a table twice, once in a tournament at the Borgota and once in a 20/40 LHE cash game at Foxwoods. In both cases it was many years ago.

Both times the Floor ruled that we needed to complete the hand and then moved the BTN back one seat and then had the dealer move it forward two seats for the following hand.

It would be tricky in a tournament where there was one or more short stacks because position could affect things but once the hand has had significant action I doubt it would be started over.

The ultimate problem with this is that a player could be trying to angle by waiting to see if the flop hits their hand and if not tries to get the hand called dead so the BTN will be moved back.

I have no idea whether this would be a room based rule or even if within a room different Floors might make different decisions.

Generally speaking, the button should never move backwards. There's always exceptions, of course, but I don't think this situation would be one of them. Especially since significant action has occurred.

This falls into the Protect Your Hand/Action/Position category. Similar to not having enough cards...easy to rectify if the issue is brought up in a timely manner. But SOL if you wait until 3 or more people have acted.

Seems fine to me to move the button back and then forward.

With big blind ante in tournaments I don't think people mess up button as much.

It is important now that the BB pays the ante in tournaments that if they are skipped that they have to do it on the next hand (I hadn't really thought about that). When it happened at my table in a tournament at the Borgota it was before there were BB antes...

This section was added to the TDA in 2024:

Previously there was no mention of what to do. I swear the WSOP rules had something about adjusting the button to make sure everyone paid, but I don't have those handy and could be imagining it.

I doubt most rooms have anything in their books for this situation for cash games, so it would be up to individual floors to make a ruling they feel is fair. Most, in my observation, will say to play on, no backing it up. A few may get creative or go with table consensus and back it up the next hand.

1st thing I was told is that the Big Blind moves regardless, so you never get the situation where the big blind is on someone twice or skips someone. It's as regular as clockwork. The button needs to be positioned according to that.

For a dead button game there absolutely is no rule or requirement that the button must move. The button can even move backwards.

The description calling it a dead button is because a dead button can’t move because it is dead. Though I will admit that most dealers, certainly outside of Vegas, do this wrong and move the button to empty seat. Normally this doesn’t matter but it can delay a player getting into the game.

I like to think of it this way. The button represents a player who would be the dealer in a self dealt game. But an empty seat is not a player thus could not be the dealer. The SB can’t be the dealer. A new player can’t come in on the button (or everyone simply would. Also why most dead button rooms you can’t post missed blinds on the button).

So empty seat can’t be a dealer. SB can’t be dealer. New player to sit down can’t be the dealer. Net result, button stays put. This also gives the option to a new player to buy th3 button and come in vs sitting out the hand.

Now if this is a forward moving button game, by rule the button must move forward. But note it must move forward to an occupied and active seat. Button never moves to empty seat and never to a new player who has not paid BB)

So it depends if you are in a dead button room or a forward moving button room. But ime, DB rooms out number FMB rooms.

Btn seat 1, sb seat 2, bb seat 3. BB busts and new player immediately sits. New player buys button. What seat paid BB in both hands?

But yes I did misread the post. Conflated the subject and post.

His comment isn't really relevant to the discussion. This thread is about how to handle a situation where there the dealer has already made a mistake. He's basically just saying that the dealer should never make a mistake. Well, sure, the dealer shouldn't make mistakes, but sometimes it happens.

SB is the dealer heads up though

And happens in FMB games also. But again, your post not accurate for the fact set of the thread.

was accurate fine