Should he stay or should he go? A poker player's dilemma...

[Martin]

Suppose you are playing a big live tournament and have a decent stack 6 players away from the bubble when you receive a phone call from your mother-in-law saying that your wife's water broke unexpectedly and that she's about to take her to the hospital. You have no kids yet, you're about to become a father for the 1st time.

Leave the tourney, or keep playing??? Please give a couple of reasons, as convincing as possible.

For the ladies: Would you support your significant other's decision to stay and play to win, or would you demand he get to the hospital immediately?


Thank to @najisami for this topic idea.

 

[MK_]

I guess it depends on if he wants to stay married or not🤔....

 

[Anders1616]

Immediately go to the hospital to support your wife.
There will be more poker tournaments, but this is the only chance to see your first child being born.

 

[fundiver199]

Dont enter the tournament in the first place. Either stay home or play a cash game, so that it does not cost you money to leave, if something like this happen.

 

[pentazepam]

I leave immediately of course.

Even if we were dirt poor it's "only money" at stake in the tournament.

If something happened to my partner or the child I would never forgive myself if not present.

My significant other would probably always be pissed about my absence and it would risk the relationship.

And if my partner and I had agreed beforehand that I didn't have to be present because we really needed the money badly, it would still be hard to stay if the money weren't the difference between life and death in some hypothetical situation.

 

[pirateglenn]

Its not even a dilemma or a decision, its a natural and instantaneous goodbye to poker and i am off to be where i should be, by my partners/wife's side to welcome the birth of our first child.
If you are putting poker before a major life event like this - something has gone wrong in my honest opinion.

 

[R.Melnyk77]

Of course I would have left the tournament and gone to my wife. Children are not born as often as tournaments are held

 

[Mauricio Perrotta]

Martin, if your wife is about to give birth to your first child and you have the balls to sign up and go to a live poker tournament, let me tell you that you are the most inconsiderate man in the world. Going to the tournament is not an option

 

[KrazyKoo]

Leave! I think birth of the child is only once, you will regret it for the rest of your life if you didn't, then what if you don't even win the tourney? It's just not worth it.

Only way I would even consider not leaving if the birth was livestreamed to me on my tablet that I could watch on the table, but even then... probably just leave.

 

[RhinoRyan89]

Having had children and being at the birth of my first daughter and missing the birth of the second daughter due to it being at the peak of the coronavirus.

I would choose to leave and support my partner/wife and not miss the birth.

Family is always prioritized over a game of poker for me anyways.

 

[G0930]

Can't get that out my head since I read the title 🤣

There's a word for that in german. Ohrwurm 😁

I would probably leave after the bubble..
Can't imagine to bring my A Game when I know my first child is about to be born.
My fiancée is kinda old fashioned and wouldn't want anyone but medical personell and her mother in the room when she's about to give birth.
She would expect me to wait outside and be there when its born

 

[R.Holynskyi]

I would definitely not have had such a question. I would definitely go straight to my wife. I think you have to be completely inadequate to continue playing in such a situation.

 

[YLAN]

There is enough time to finish the tournament. Around 7 in every 10 give birth within 24 hours of their waters breaking, and almost all (9 in 10) within 48 hours. After the tournament, I would still be able to catch up with my partner in labour & it will still be several hours before delivery of my child.

 

[Suns of Beaches]

I would continue to play. Noone in their right mind would get pregnant by a degen like me. Not sure if my Mother in law would even call me. She would be more like "omg and now I have to get in touch with this Moron. For sure he is gambling somewhere."

 

[maronza1]

I would stand up and go, my family comes first rather than poker, also there are thousands of tournaments that will come after my wife has given birth.

 

[Tero]

If my mother-in-law called (which she most likely wouldn't even do) that my wife is delivering a child then I would sit still cause I would be damn sure that I'm not the father.
But I'm kidding of course. My wife wouldn't do that. We have been happily married over 22 years and counting... so child bearing age is already behind us.

But for others...

There's a baby on the way. And you know the phrase Baby needs a new pair of shoes ?
Well, now it became very literal to you

 

[olejean]

Сhildbirth does't last only 5 or ten minutes. I will have time to fulfill at least the minimum plan in poker and arrive earlier before the birth at the hospital with a bouquet of flowers until my wife gives birth .

 

[Gritz18]

Leave the tourney, or keep playing??? Please give a couple of reasons, as convincing as possible.

My family comes first, I would definitely give up gambling, I wouldn't miss the birth of my first child for anything.

Imagine if my wife knew that I missed the birth of my first child because of gambling, I would be a dead man, I would have other opportunities with poker.

 

[najisami]

Dont enter the tournament in the first place. Either stay home or play a cash game, so that it does not cost you money to leave, if something like this happen.

In the question, you probably missed the word "Unexpectedly".

 

[dreamer13]

Players are not allowed to use their phones while at the poker table. This rule also applies to all other forms of electronic devices.In this situation, you need to finish the tournament and run to your wife. The mother-in-law will take her daughter to the maternity hospital herself.

 

[Marcwantstowin]

Definitely continue to play. No certain way of knowing how long she will be in labour, it may last 10 minutes which would mean you missed it or it could be 10 hours, by which time you could have won the tourney and had a beer afterwards, celebrating your impending birth of your 1st born.

 

[mattiebumpo]

I think if it was close to her expected delivery date (within 2 weeks), I should not be playing a poker tournament at all. This is even if it is my "job" since with a normal job, you would be able to leave at a moment's notice. Of course the wife and unborn child would be my highest priority at this time. I would leave immediately since family always comes before poker. Staying would be wrong since I would be too distracted to play well. Also, I think it would be letting my wife down at one of the most important moments of our lives.

 

[maronza1]

Definitely continue to play. No certain way of knowing how long she will be in labour, it may last 10 minutes which would mean you missed it or it could be 10 hours, by which time you could have won the tourney and had a beer afterwards, celebrating your impending birth of your 1st born.

Definitely you love poker more than your wife 😂😂

 

[martDdart]

Family first always, reason:without a family we would never have been born in to this world and have the opportunity to play poker tournaments.

 

[Bricxjo]

"What.... kkkkkgrghthp....I can't hear you....ththtzzzzpt.......you're breaking up."

Just kidding. I have stopped playing a tournament because I would rather take a nap.

So I would be fine with leaving.