playing 10/20 live at my local casino last night and got into a weird spot where I got called for string betting.

I was in the small blind, and its folded to the cutoff who opens to 50. button flats, and I announce "raise". i pickup four 50 chips off my stack, and drop them semi-fluently over the line. (I reached my hand over the line, and dropped them, but they didnt fall all at once).

It was my intention to 3bet to 210 (having 10 in already), but cutoff immediately calls it as a string bet and dealer tells me my raise is the minimum. Is this standard?

I was under the impression that since all the chips in my hand were put into the pot, I clearly gained no advantage by them not all falling at once. I can obviously understand if i picked up a pile of 10 50s and only dropped 4 in.

People will always be nitty about string bets when they don't want to be raised, and employees will react in unpredictable ways. Brush up on your procedures and etiquette to avoid this. If you had been 100% clear and done it right, this wouldn't be a thread.

"Raise to two ten"

OR

Placing 4 $50 chips next to your $10 small blind.

Why do I get the image of you letting the chips majestically fall from you fingertips, one by one, for great cinematic effect?

how slow was it falling? lol did it take a second for each to fall

Basically this, OP was probably tired after grinding 8.5 hours at his day job and throwing chips around like Kerry Wood with fastballs in the 7th inning as a Cub.

i think this is in fact a string bet. You couldve just as easily just let 2 of them drop instead of 4. I dont see how people put themselves in these spots. Playing live poker isnt some sort of talent show. You dont need to drop chips into the pot, you dont need to flip just one card over at showdown, you dont need to throw your cards like a frisbee when you fold.

Yeah, just announce the amount of the bet.

I always say the total amount, to avoid confusion.

"Raise, $210 total".

But if he has announced 'raise', I thought you could put your raise in, any way you wanted?

Shows how much I know....

I never announce anything, just do one forward motion with the stack of chips in my hand letting the stack fall down by itself so dealer can easily count and announce for me.

I never got called for string betting.

either do one simple motion or announce it, it's really simple.

I usually just flick my cards right into the muck... but yes the 1 card and dropping chips all over the place does annoy the **** out of me.

OP, you playing in Australia?

+1

I don't think you were string betting, you verbally said raise and put out, albeit in a semi-flamboyant way, the calling amount and were pondering how much to raise. Perhaps you did this because you wanted to get a reaction from the original better, perhaps you did it because you felt like it. Whatever the reason, you did it and the dealer wasn't happy.

I have seen a player make a verbal announcement of a raise and while pondering it, the dealer asked them to put in the calling amount so they could make the pot right, and I've seen it go the other way.

You had a bunch of chips in your hand and drop them down seperately, well that's a string bet. Next time drop them all down at once or say "raise $XXX amount"

This +100.

Maybe string complaints are occasionally valid, but 98% of the time it seems like it's some nitty donk who either doesn't want to get raised or wants to impress everyone that he knows what a string bet is.

Can someone help me here. I mostly play 1-2nl hold em and limit through 6-12.

I don't think I've ever called a string bet. If the dealer calls it (and we're heads up) I tell him/her that it's ok with me (then abide by whatever the dealer wants to do). If it's multi-way, I don't say anything.

My thought at this level stakes -- it's one of the following:

1. A noob, who's nervous enough. I want to keep him as comfortable as possible, and not get a table rep as the 'rules guy'.

2. Someone who screwed up. It's happened to us all, no biggie.

3. Someone trying to shoot an angle -- If I feel this is going on, it's almost a tell on the string better, why is he looking for a reaction if he has a powerhouse. Besides, if I get a line on a player as an angle-shooting a$$hole, it's valuable to me later on.

Have I missed something here? Or do people think that calling string bets on others is the same thing as correcting the dealer if he/she is pushing the pot to the wrong person.

Yea, it's nitty as hell unless the player actually puts bets in and then pulls more off his stack and tries to put more in.

OP, why didn't you announce "raise to $210"?

Why did you drop the chips one at a time?

Why not put them out in a single stack or drop them all at once?

If a player AND the dealer felt you spent too much time between each chip dropping, then maybe you did.

If you remove all ambiguity from the action, then there is nothing for anyone to question.

Take it as a lesson learned and move on.

Another point to OP.

You should always make your bets and raises the same way. If sometimes you push them in, and sometimes you 'drop' them, this may be a tell you have.

Personally, I push the stack of the bet in front of me in one motion. Usually don't say 'raise' letting the chips speak for themselves.

In a casino, you have rules nits. In here, you have etiquette nits. Yes, you absolutely should have announced your raise or placed all of the chips down at once, but that doesn't do anything to change the fact that this was a super nitty call that imo was incorrect.

It shouldn't matter how many chips he drops at a time. As long as his hand is over the line then those chips are valid bets. he could drop them into piles of 2 chips each as long as he doesnt pull his hand back to his stack and repeat the motion.

Interestingly, in some places, he can go back to his stack as long as he doesn't pause in action, but once he pauses his bet is over, even if he has more chips in his hand.

Tho' I grant you that's now how the majority of places run it these days, what I described is the more traditional method.

Bringing the chips forward in one motion, and then making multiple drops of chips, or cutting the chips into multiple stack, is fine, as shown below:

http://goo.gl/X0n9

Once "raise" has been announced, how likely is the size to induce a tell? In my experience, virtually zero chance. Isn't the tell threshold call vs. raise? Am I really going to swallow on a 8x raise versus a 2x raise? This is my pfapfap's descritpion of the old-fashioned rule makes sense. Trying to induce the tell is more likely to itself be a tell IMO.

On the river I have a strong hand. I think you are weak, but might call a smallish bet. I want some value.

I drop $100, you look very interested.
I drop another $100, you still look like you are going to call.
I drop another $100, you begin to look uncomfortable, so I stop.

I milk you for $300 instead of $100.

What does my "tell" say to you? That I am trying to put in the max that you will call or the min that you will fold for?

The only correct answer here is the usual one: "it depends." It all depends on house rules. In many places your raise is legal. However, my local casino cardroom for one has a somewhat odd string bet rule:

If you announce raise and do not state the amount, you must put all the chips in the pot in one motion. They get very nitty in the interpretation of this rule. Some examples:

(For all examples, let's say the bet is 30 and you intend to raise to 150 but only say "raise" before moving your chips)

- If you have six $25 chips stacked in your hand and one falls off the bottom and hits the felt first: Min-raise will be called.

- If you have six $25 chips in your hand, take them all over the line and then cut it into two stacks of three: Your bet will be the first stack, i.e. $75 (this is the worst part of their interpretation i.m.o. but they consistently enforce it like this. It burns experienced players from different cities all the time.)

- If you have a stack of $100 (of 5's) and push that with your right hand on the felt while simultaneously have $50 in your left hand... it will likely be called a bet of $100 since the $100 was "on the felt" before the $50.


My point being: It's best to make your intentions clear otherwise you may be burned by a cardrooms interpretation of the rules.