Chopping at FT

Just wanted to get others thought on what happened on Saturday before we eventually chopped up the money.

There is a total prize pool of about 6100 bucks paying top 5 and we are at 7.
550,000 total in chips on the table and blinds heading to 6000-12000.
I approach chip leader to ask if he'd be down with everyone 400 then breaking the rest out as followed:

7th - 400
6th - 400
5th - 400
4th - 500
3rd - 1040
2nd - 1360
1st - 2000
These aren't exact but close.

So all but one guy says yes so we play it out. After losing 2 more people and making the money, we start talking again. We are all set to give chip leader 1800 and splitting the rest. The guy that didn't want the original chop hides his chips until we have our ID's in hand and I then notice he's realy short....1.5 blinds. So the only lady left in the tourney says it's really shitty what he did to the 6th and 7th place and after a little more heated discussion, chip leader basically says fuck it, let's play. I say, he can make good by being short and give the 3 of us and extra 100, take about 750 and we all get 1150. He says he'll give 50 to each and we play on. Shorty ends up 5th and wins 365. Is karma a bitch or should what? What do others think?

I love this stuff! It's funny how someone can come across so cocky and greedy when they have chips then come up short. What would have been better is if he would have bubbled and missed the money all together.

With the way the blinds escalate and the less ability of the game becoming an all-in fest, it's best to make a deal in these tournaments. Now of course everyone is looking for the best deal and that's the nature of the game. You just hope that someone doesn't have great negotiating skills and you end up with a good deal. On the other end, if you've got the negotiating stack you want to deal as there is way to much variance at the later stages to "slide" into first place and your most likely going to get first place money now.

IMO, I think the method of rejecting or accepting a deal speaks a lot to a person's character. Sometimes I go to make a deal and the chip leader is hesitant, but I am asking to take advantage of a situation for myself. If they come across as an ass, I'm more then happy to attack them all-in style until I get an edge or go out. Once I get the edge and momentum I'm playing to take that person out. Now if the person quietly or politely rejects the deal (which is always in my favor) I understand and play back at them until I get enough chips to negotiate with the person again. I think a lot of players feel the same way and this is how the "ass" will lose their chips. We call it karma, but it may also be a little aggressive play towards the "ass" at the table.

...as I said before I love when this stuff comes back to bite them in the ass.

That's awesome, I only wish he'd gone out 6th. Hiding chips in that spot is about as bad an angle shoot as going south.

I respect anyone's right and decision not to make a deal, but how you handle the process says so much about you as an individual, and karma is truly a bitch.

Reminds me of my last Vegas trip, playing the Sahara $62 buy-in, we get to the final table, playing five or six spots, I came into the final table as shorty. Chipped up a bit, we get on the bubble, and somoene proposes to give bubble boy their buy-in back. One person was really a jerk about it (but to his credit, eventually relented). The bubble broke, and someone discussed a chop. Same person did not want to.

Finally, I caught a run of cards, we get heads up (with me probably up about 3:2 in chips), and he wants to chop. I say no way, and about five hands later, 1st prize is mine. If I'd have been HU with anyone else at that table, I'd have been happy to chop equally.