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Simple question for all the dealer/bosses here:

Let's say 1/2 NLHE game.

Person in middle position (P1) raises to $10.

Button (P2) declares: "Raise. $35."

Now, are they committed to putting $35 into the pot, or $45 as they're "raising 35" ?

Thanks in advance.

Raise 35 means raise to 35 total as far as i know.
therefore his raise would be 25 more.

if he says , "raise -- 35 more" then he's raising 35 more.

I've heard it both ways. I know Phil Hellmuth says raise 35$ its 35$ more. But for most people it eans total. I think it just depends on were you start playing.

Although I agree with Left 4 Dead's post, it can be ambiguous without an accompanying bet.

Raise $35. Raise, $35.

If there is any question, dealer should immediately request verification of the amount. Player should be instructed to be more specific on future bets.

Yes...if they say something like "raise to 35" then it obviously makes it 35 total. If they say "raise 35" it can be very ambiguous and the dealer should make sure what the bet is. But if the dealer just said "ok 35 more" I would be fine with that 'ruling'.

Basically, it depends. The way you wrote it, where there's a pause inbetween "raise," and "35," suggests that the player wants to make it $35 total. If there were no pause, and he said "raise $35" he is implying that he wants to raise an additional $35 to $45.

If player puts in chips at the same time as he says the amount, I go with however many chips are in there, because his intent was clear. If I'm still unclear, I'll ask him.

Like I suspected, it's pretty much up in the air. I've found myself doing this more than I probably should, so I figured I'd ask. From now on, I'm going to try to add "total" at the end.

Thanks for the clarification, everyone.

"Raise $35" means what it says, raise it thirty-five. The problem is that you've got at least 50% of the players, dealers and floors who are not experienced, don't know the rules, don't care to learn, even if taught, can't do simple math, and like to make arguments about rules (even if they are dead wrong, but especially if they're angling for a more favorable situation for themselves, which is usually the case).

For these reasons, it is best to say "make it $X total" (and do the math for them) whilst simultaneously sliding out the correct and same number of chips as your verbal statement.

al

I would expect the dealer to ask for clarification, or allow the person to clarify if the dealer gets the intent wrong.

I've seen the dealer say "OK raise to 35", and the player say 'No, I meant raise 35 on top, 45 total' and that be allowed to stand. I've also seen dealers refuse and say "You said 35, not 35 more".

I think the more active the dealer is, the harder to get this confused is.

However, you can simplify the process by not being ambiguous at all and be clear and concise.

i think when you say something ambiguous its going to default in confusion to the minimum.

i say "raise" followed by pushing in chips and the total i am pushing forwards. so maybe im ambiguous =/

You can't see any gray area here?

Raise $35. (Raise $35 dollars more.) Raise. $35. (Make it $35.)

people do it both ways and i guess it isnt a big deal if you wait until the pot is right before you act.
traditionally if you said raise 35 it always meant 35 more unless you stipulated differently. but everyone always waited until the person finished his bet as that is what you do unless you want to get into these spots, and then blame someone for taking a shot.

I don't know the answer to the question, but I know the solution to the problem: ask for clarification before acting.

i always operated under the assumption that "Raise X" meant add X to bet of N, there's an implied "on top" that is unecessary to verbalize, but i guess if someone were to piss and moan at me about it, i'd oblige but id be pissed about it.

I try and stay consistent in my actions for fear of giving off tells. I will typically say raise and will pause before I even reach for chips. Then I say the amount of the bet (in this case, I would say $35). I got called out by a dealer once claiming that when I just said a number that it didn't matter how long I waited after announcing raise - he said it was $35 on top of the initial bet.

Now I say "$35 to go" just to make sure. I think that dealer was a hard arse but I never run into problems now.

I say "Raise" and prepare the chips I'm going to put in (maybe not in that order); and then put the chips in all at once so it's not a string bet. If anyone wants to count the raise they can look at the chips I put in.

You made it grey by putting a period between raise and 35. I did not. I even clarified beyond this, making sure to mention that the correct chips in the correct motion reinforce correct wording, making it impossible to need interpretation or be in any grey zone.

That's the problem tho, everybody's got to be vague and look for interpretations (usually looking for advantages in those interpretations) where none is needed. It's all so unnecessarily complicated. They're all trying to give out so little information that they can't even be clear about what they're trying to do or how much they're trying to bet. But it's really very simple unless you insist on making it complicated for no reason, or simply fail to learn proper etiquette and procedure, despite playing thousands of hands.

al

This should be a raise although as Ray Zee says, it has become more exceptable to allow it to be $35 total. The player should say "raise to $35" or "raise $35 more" Then it's problem solved.

right and most times it isnt a big deal. but you never get the worst of it if you wait until the bets are correct to you before you do anything. thats poker.

Easiest way is to see what amount they put out after announcing raise.

For me personally, I always say raise and just put the total amount out without announcing it verbally.

If a player says raise $35 they are doing just that. They are raising $35 for a total of $45. The problem is quite a few players don't understand what they are saying, mainly tourists. The verbage is raise $35 not raise to $35. Most dealers will just wait to see what the player puts in. I've heard dealers say raise to $45 which is correct, then the player say, no I am making it $35. And I've heard dealers say make it $35 having the player say, no I'm making it $45. If you are dealing in a tourist friendly place I would suggest you see what amount they put in and varify the players intent. If you are dealing in a local house find out what management wants. I would guess if you had to get a floor decision on the "Raise $35" the bet would be $45. Ask a few floor people how they would rule on this. Be sure to explain the propper verbage.

Amusingly, I think this comes down to punctuation. "Raise $35" and "Raise. $35." mean two different things. In practice, the number of chips the player puts out determines what it means when you say "raise 35" or "raise. 35."

It doesn't mean anything until you clarify or they put the chips out.