Question about playing with a dummy hand in Texas Hold 'Em

Friends of mine and I play Texas Hold Em weekly. We always have a "dummy hand" that we keep in play til the deal goes around the table twice. If you lose your chips prior to that time, you can "re-buy" the dummy hand. Last night, a question arose about "playing" the dummy hand...typically we muck the dummy as there is usually at least one bet by others and since the dummy can't "bet", that hand is mucked. In this case, the dummy was the big blind...only one person "called" the big blind pre-flop, and in the past, we would have mucked the dummy and the bettor would have won the hand. Last night, a question arose about whether the dummy hand should have continued to be "in play". My opinion is that even if the dummy was allowed to stay for the flop, but the other person in the hand by betting would have caused the dummy to muck, so net effect is the bettor won, and the dummy would not have been in the hand - need confirmation of that.

Also, the question was extended to say, what if there were 2 or more players who simply called the big blind (and again the dummy was the big blind), and they continued to check during flop, turn and river...would the dummy hand continue to be in play and after the river, (again, assuming everyone checks), would we flip the dummy's cards over and if the dummy had the best hand, would the dummy have won the hand? Thanks ahead of time to anyone who can help with this.

Most importantly, why are you need a dummy hand in your game?

Dummies / dead stacks are often used in casino tourneys. They estimate the number of players and put out that many stacks. Players don't always show up on time, so they buy in to a stack that has already been paying blinds.

Whether it's a dead stack, or an absent player, the hand cannot win. One key rule is that a player must turn over his own hand to win. (Exceptions for handicapped players, etc.)

The concept works for casinos, but is a bad idea for home games. It gives a slight advantage to the players next to the dead stack. Instead, just give late players a new stack which has had the blinds removed. IE subtract a big and small blind for each rotation.

Note that using the dead stack for a re-buy as suggested in the original post is a terrible idea. What if multiple people want to re-buy? Instead you should simply have a price and number of chips and time limit for re-buys.

what Dj said

good question...but we've always played with a "dummy" which, as I mentioned, provides the opportunity for the 1st person to go out to "re-buy". We could solve our problem by doing away with the dummy, but that will need to be discussed next time we play...so, I'm still looking for a "ruling" on the questions I asked...thanks again for your question/opinion.

I already provided a ruling.

Quote: DJTeddyBear

One key rule is that a player must turn over his own hand to win. (Exceptions for handicapped players, etc.)

In other words, the dummy hand cannot win.

The exception for handicapped would mean that the player could tell someone else to flip or muck. The point is, you have to be there to win the pot.

My local casino gives 10,000 chips for people who register on time plus late entrants in the first level. Entering in the 2nd level gives you 9500, 3rd level, 9000...4th level entry closed. No dummy hands are dealt/played though. That's just a waste of time imo.

Quote: LGTPOT

good question...but we've always played with a "dummy" which, as I mentioned, provides the opportunity for the 1st person to go out to "re-buy".

Oh, you mean you offer a free double-up ?
So whenever two people are left in the hand, they should go all-in. The winner doubles up, the loser gets a new stack. Plus you consume the dummy hand, so your opponents won't get the double up option.

Something like that ?

My suggestion: Don't put out a dummy stack. Instead, if someone busts, then offer them the chance to buy back in for a predetermined stack (there's nothing wrong with making it a full stack by the way). This is similar to a casino offering re-entry in a tournament.

If you stick with the dummy hand, the dummy hand can never win a pot, even if it is in the Big Blind. The hand gets mucked when the cards are finished being dealt since there is no player at the seat to play the hand. This creates a small advantage for blind stealing for the players 1-2 seats to the right of the dummy hand since they can pick up that dead stack's blind if everyone else folds preflop.