I play in a game with going south, and it’s not bad, may even be good for a friendly game. Doesnt surprise me bob and his friends play like that. Helps manage stakes and risk. Not very standard at all though. Not unheard of, I could point you to a couple examples, but not super uncommon
Separate but related question that I’m curious the groups thoughts. Under which of these scenarios would you feel a player is obligated to buy in for the amount he cashed out:
A) Cashed out, took an hour break for food or a phone call or something, cashed back in, table played in absence
B) cashed out, everyone took a 3-4 hr break for something like a tournament, game started back up after the tourney
C) cashed out at end of night, game with same people starts back up 8 hr later in the mid-morning