Posting a blind or ante after the player or dealer has asked me to, seems fine. Helping retrieve a rollaway chip from my chips, please let ME get it out of my stack. Helping a dealer reach some bets or calls after action is complete, also fine.

But most other scenarios, lie breaking down my bet. Or “minor repositioning” of my bet or raise. Those should be pretty good no no’s. Best idea is just don’t go there.

In my mind it should never be a habit but it should also rarely be a big deal. It does depend on where you're playing though. If it's a table with a lot of 100s or even 500s on the table and its somewhere like Baltimore on a Saturday night I'd be a lot more ardent about people not touching my chips than I would in some Montana game on a weekday.

Imo you got that backwards. Players at a game with lots of 100 and 500 chips generally know what the h*** is going on and for the most part all know every other player very well, whereas in some random 1/2 game where half the table can't even spell poker the dealer is needed to keep order. If someone bets 1700 in a big game, they know full well they bet 1700. If some dolt bets a handful of red in a 1/2 game, they may have no clue how much is in that stack.

I used to know a guy who made his living as a close-up magician. He used to work at the Magic Castle in Los Angeles, doing table-side slight of hand. It would be absolutely nothing for a guy like him to take off several chips if he were moving a stack from in front of you into the pot. Obviously he was very good at it, but I have no doubt that there are hundreds if not thousands of guys who are capable of palming a chip or two no problem.

PS in before "oh, guys don't do that." You can be sure that guys do that.

I move chips all the time closer to the dealer when people put out there 1 chip calls that are miles away from the center of the pot so the dealer doesn't have to reach.

I don't see it as a big deal at all. I've never had anyone tell me not to push or touch there chips. Than again I have noticed this more of a problem in the smaller games where people get uptight over anything but I think at 2/5 and especially 5/T people aren't going to care as much. They know how much they had / have - and are supposed to win in an all in situation so it would be really hard for someone to pull a hokie done.

I've even seen regs wreck other peoples little stacks. I could care less as long as every one is on the up and up and in 2 years i've never had anything stolen from me that i'm aware of by any of the regs.

While I have never grabbed anyone's chips to count them down, I also don't think it is too much of a problem. I see people all the time just grab a handful of chips or splash the pot making their bet sizes very hard to decipher. Many times they have chips flying all over or have them out of arms reach of the dealer and just stare at their opponent, which usually slows the game down greatly. If someone else wants to make the bet more legible to help speed up the game I am all for that.

Learn to either bet in either a more legible manner by either cutting the chips out or announcing a particular amount and if all in have your chips stacked in some sort of fashion that makes the bet size recognizable. Just shoving your chips in the middle having them fall over into a big pile does nothing other than slow down the game.

Whether it's a big deal or not just depends on an individual's opinion of the situation. Assuming this isn't a home game, I'm surprised the dealer allowed this happen and didn't intervene.

Personally, I would have immediately looked at the player and told him as politely as possible "Please don't touch my chips. If you want a count, ask for one". If he didn't stop, then more firmly I would have stated "Do not touch my chips" and would have called for a floor if it still continued from there. If that makes me an ass then so be it.

If it's a home game, then home rules apply.

At a card room, he shouldn't be touching your chips and should have just asked the dealer to do it but it's not a huge faux pas. Just say in a friendly tone, "Hey dude, let the dealer count it out."

Simple solution to that, know what you bet and pay attention. If some guy decides he wants to touch your chips, make sure it's the same amount as it was before. If not, guy gets banned, no big issue here.

So, anytime someone touches your bet, just stop play and recount the bet. Seems like it would be easier to just say 'Let the dealer do that', or to count it out yourself.

And I am pretty sure 'No, I am sure I had $500, not $400, but have no way to prove it' is enough to get a player banned (if the guy is good, the camera will show nothing).

Cameras can easily prove 5 chips. If you bet 5 chips, guy touches your bet and now there are 4 chips, it doesn't matter how good his slight of hand is, this is enough to get him banned.

People aren't breaking down a five chip bet.

yes, there are scenarios where your solution could work, but there are many more when it wouldn't, and many, many easier ways of avoiding the problem altogether.

It's not when you bet 5 chips, it's when you bet 20 chips. Anyway like I said, in before anyone says "guys don't do that." Your belief that nobody would do it is a big part of the reason guys can pull it off.

Once the misdirection gets going, a good sleight of hand man doesn't even have to hide everything he is doing. I once saw my friend pick up a rose and stick it in a guys breast pocket with no subterfuge whatsoever. But everyone at the table was so enthralled by his act that to them, the flower just magically appeared. No lie, even though he just reached out and stuck it in the guys pocket, but to them it was "Shazam!" and there it was.

To be fair, this kind of stuff is much more likely at table games than at poker, but if you think it doesn't happen you are setting yourself up to be a victim.

I agree with above 100%. It does indeed happen (perhaps less than in the old days), and is rarely spotted. Misdirection is the key....
And while the cameras are getting better all the time, they often cannot be relied upon to detect or confirm anything like this (and if no one notices anyway, the cameras don't matter.

Also the cameras are there to protect the casino's money, not yours. Guy at my table said he had a couple of black chips stolen while he was in the toilet the day before. Asked the casino to go to the cameras, they were unable to assist, said they didn't catch what happened. I bet they would have found the culprit if the chips had come out of the dealer's tray.

When I go all in, I have a habit of counting down the chips so the opponents and dealer can see how much I have. It's my way of doing something with my hands so as to minimize a tell. Is this out of line?

It's a little annoying if nobody has asked for a count, and if someone has asked for a count, then the dealer should be counting it. But it's not a huge deal. Just try not to obstruct my view with your mitts while being "helpful" in an attempt to hide your tell

He should not touch your chips but you should also stack them reasonably (if you didn't). The only time I touch other players chips is when people in the corner seats habitually put bets out of reach of the dealer despite the last 40 times having to have the dealer asking them to put them further out. I'll just slide them forward hoping they get the hint that they are seemingly incapable of getting from the dealer.