It sounds like the winner not only had the biggest stack, it was obviously bigger. Therefore, why are you bothering to count the stacks of the losers? Because the rule states that the cash would go to whomever had the bigger stack - even though they both lost.
Here's the reasoning. Had the big stack only had as many chips as the shortest stack, the loser with the bigger stack would still be in the game. Had the big stack actually have less than the two equal size stacks, then the one of those with the better hand would still be in the game.
The only time the rules would state that the prize needs to be shared would be if the two losers had the same stack and the same hand.
Dave,
I counted the stacks of the losers to determine who came in 21nd place and who in 20th. If they hadn't had the same stacks, the one with the bigger stack would obviously be 20th and the smaller stack 21nd, but since they have the same chipcount it is impossible to determine it that way. My question was if the handranking of the two losers should be leading then.
By the way, I forgot to mention in my initial post that all three players were at the same table, you filled that in correctly.
Put simply, without contrived mathematical scenarios, according to WSOP, you can only compare losing stack sizes when both players are at the same table and playing in the same hand. You cannot compare two losing stack sizes at different tables playing in different hands.
Bill,
I think this would be a fair addition to the TDA rule set.
That being said, I would like to express my gratitude to to all responders, it strengthens me to see that there isn't an obvious solution for this situation.
The bigger/smaller stack arguments have set me on the right track I guess. When there is a bigger and a smaller stack, the bigger one gets eliminated "later" than the smaller stack. When the stacks are the same, they are eliminated at the same time. Therefor is the handranking irrelevant in this situation.
My ruling in the future will be that it is a tie and split the money. Ofcourse I'm going to try to get this added to my company's house rules
Regards,
T.
P.s. English is my second language, if it is somewhat crooked, please don't be offended.