What if I
Fail to Act?
What happens if you fail to act when prompted?
Ah, we're so glad you asked. This is a question that rarely
comes up in brick and mortar games, where the dealer rightly
calls to task anyone who takes an inordinately long time
to play. Yet it comes up time and time again online, where
players may be distracted, sleepy, knocked offline, playing
in another games, inebriated, or just plain rude. Most of
the time. they're either inattentive or experiencing a computer
glitch or an Internet snafu.
Several laggard players at a table can turn even the best
of games into a "watching-paint-dry" boredom fest.
Therefore, persistent slugs are pests openly scorned in
the player chat box. If you have a valid Internet connection
problem or computer glitch, for the consideration of all
concerned, sit out until it's fixed. Otherwise, help ensure
fair and considerate play by consistently acting in a timely
fashion.
If you don't act in time, and you have
a live connection to the games, you'll either be treated
as "all-in" for the remainder of the hand, or
summarily relegated to "sitting out" status with
your cards whisked away and no right to share in the pot.
The latter is more likely at many sites, and may be accompanied
by negative commentary about you in the player chat box
if you were involved in the hand. Remember: In general,
if you're connected to the games, failing to act means forfeiting
the pot.
On the other hand,
if you are unintentionally disconnected from the games, you'll
be treated as "all-in," regardless of how much
money you still have on the table. This bears further explanation:
