It shouldn't happen because when taking a player from a table the one who is about to became the next big blind should be taken making it irrelevant which seat they move in to. Or if a table is broken then the players should be assigned to the new tables based on proximity to blinds.
The only time it is legitimate is when there is a redraw, for instance for the final table or the next day of a tournament. When obviously it is a random event.
However online poker table balancing algorithms do not follow such rules and so it is very possible to be torpedoed in to a blind from a blind.
Pokerstars for instance does actually cover themselves in their rules:
http://www.pokerstars.com/poker/tournaments/rules/
(will probably redirect to locale version)
16. As players are eliminated from the tournament, the software will “break” tables to fill available empty seats. The re-seating of players at broken tables is performed randomly and, although rare, may result in a player having to post multiple big blinds in a row. On occasion, the software may balance tables to ensure all tables have an equal (or as close to equal as possible) number of active players. Players moved individually to balance tables will, when possible, be moved to similar positions relative to the blinds. When enough players have been eliminated, all players are brought together at the ‘final table’.
In general there will always be a rule like: 'Table balancing is always at the discretion of the Tournament Director'.
With some jargon to say how they will always do their best to ensure fairness whenever possible.
The only time it is legitimate is when there is a redraw, for instance for the final table or the next day of a tournament. When obviously it is a random event.
However online poker table balancing algorithms do not follow such rules and so it is very possible to be torpedoed in to a blind from a blind.
Pokerstars for instance does actually cover themselves in their rules:
http://www.pokerstars.com/poker/tournaments/rules/
(will probably redirect to locale version)
16. As players are eliminated from the tournament, the software will “break” tables to fill available empty seats. The re-seating of players at broken tables is performed randomly and, although rare, may result in a player having to post multiple big blinds in a row. On occasion, the software may balance tables to ensure all tables have an equal (or as close to equal as possible) number of active players. Players moved individually to balance tables will, when possible, be moved to similar positions relative to the blinds. When enough players have been eliminated, all players are brought together at the ‘final table’.
In general there will always be a rule like: 'Table balancing is always at the discretion of the Tournament Director'.
With some jargon to say how they will always do their best to ensure fairness whenever possible.
