Hey. Quick question - I'm playing a bigish live tournament soon but haven't played anything for a decent size buy in live before.

Say I raise and some re-raises me, can I ask dealer how much more it is for me to call?

E.g. I raise to 3300 and someone raises to 7650... my mental maths is bad and I couldn't work out how much I'd need to call very quickly.

Quick answer. Yes

The dealer will always be able to tell you how much more it is to call a bet/shove or what the pending action is, what they can not tell you is how much is in a pot.

They can spread a pot out so you can see all the chips but can not count it for you.

Great thanks very much - the pot issue isn't important as I can get a rough estimate easily.

although in some casinos, dealers aren't allowed/aren't required to spread the pot for you.

Never seen a casino that wouldn't allow the pot to be spread. If it's a game with no big chips in play not allowing it would be fine.

There are large and well run poker rooms that will not let a dealer spread the pot. Dealers should not be touching the chips if they do not need to.

Judging by the raise amount, it doesn't sound like a pot bet game (PLO), but just to clarify for OP, in such a game a dealer can (and is obligated to) tell you what the pot is any time action is on you.

A good dealer will tell you before you can ask. But, yes, you can ask.

Good point.

Dealing in a nosebleed limit game + double sided sticky tape = $$$

Umm ... maybe at low limits ... but this is likely to get a "STFU" comment at bigger games.

Yes, but wait until the action is on you.

But there's an easier way.

Many new players think that they cannot touch the chips they've released on the betting round. This is false. If the bet is 7650, you don't need to do quick maths (tho' seriously, work on your arithmetic skills). Just say "call" and make your bet look like 7650. You can pull back the chips already out there and start fresh. One gray, two yellows, one purple, one black, two greens. Easy and done. Even easier, make it one gray and three yellows, let the dealer make change. And now you're not wasting a lot of small chips, so you don't have to worry about change later.

Don't worry, you're not the only one who freaks out about this. Even experienced players get all concerned with "how much more?" Dude, the bet is $75. Put out three greens, pull back your three reds and four whites. No subtraction required.

A good dealer will not tell you until you ask.

+1 You beat me to it.