P1 bets
P2 asks "How much do you have behind?"
P1 gives an answer that is way off, and either doesn't make their chips visible or they're stacked in a way that makes it hard to see from across the table. Like a black under a green.

Should the dealer say anything?

Yes, or at least say something like "player ***claims*** to have $1000 behind". I may also require the player to raise their arms or otherwise make their stacks plainly visible.

If it comes to it, I'm ruling a black underneath green only plays at the caller's option. Big chips go on top or in front.

Ideally the dealer corrects that before the hand starts, but I recognize that they have a million other things to keep track of too. And some villains make a point of hiding their big chips at every opportunity (hence the ruling above).

When I am king, it will be legal to ask for (and receive) an official count of a player's unbet stack, subject to not overusing it.

The dealer needs to ask the player to make all his chips visible and organized in a way that they can be seen and estimated from across the table.

So if the player announces an amount that's way off, she should just say "How much? Can you please place your bigger chips in front and unshuffle that other stack so they can be estimated by the other players".

If the guy fixed them and then says "like I said it's X amount" and it's still way off even though the other player can clearly see them, that would be an angle shot and hopefully an ethical dealer will say "try again" or something to that effect, whether it's allowed or not (hopefully it is).

Yes, the dealer should say something. Preferably, the other player will give up angle shooting and allow an honest count by cleaning up the stacks. In a perfect world, the Hero would be given the choice of playing either the declared amount or the actual amount, whichever Hero prefers.

Another marginal spot for Dealers thread today ..

.. I think the Dealer should 'step in' and just ask for a 'better view' of the chips, not to the extent of offering an amount but definitely making sure that all of the chips get put out in plain view. Just the asking for the manipulation of the chips should send a message to the action Player to take a 2nd look.

As in the 'same bet' thread .. with Regs or a home game I think the Dealer can/should go a bit further and offer some assistance with a more reasonable total. GL

While rare, I've seen players that lie and hide their stack. One guy refused to respond, or move his arms and then, after a bit, actually called a clock on me. So, I immediately called the floor on him - who made him give an exact count. The whole thing was very disruptive.

I've since wondered why some people try and hide their stack and can only come up with one answer: some people overrate tells to a ridiculous degree.

You think that's a better answer than they're just cheaters who don't want the other players to know how much they have?

You might be right. Hell, you're almost certainly right. However, I've lived believing the worst in people and it took me years to break myself of that. I find that I'm happier believing that most people are basically honest, if misguided. I guess I would make a lousy cop, or DA.

This happens very rarely. I haven't seen it ever from a dealer (though it is possible that a Dealer knew an amount was misrepresented and just didn't speak up).

What I have seen is players who have gone all-in with a normal sized bet hide their remaining chip stack (no chips at all) by leaning forward and crossing their arms. In these cases without any asking I have seen dealers ask the players to move their arms and/or put out the all-in button (which they were supposed to do anyway). A couple of times the Dealers have failed to put out the All-in button which has given the all-in bettor an advantage.

But if I was the dealer and I knew the player was not accurate in the announced chip count I would immediately ask him to separate all of his high value chips/bills and put them in front - which is generally why the count was off. I would also require him/her to stack the chips in stacks of 20. If they refused I would call the Floor over and assume the Floor would require the stacks of 20 separated by color of the chips. I might also say that the amount given does not seem right because this type of deceit should not be allowed. Assuming it was being done deliberately.

Similarly, if a player had neglected to include $100 bills or had miscounted them (hard to know) I would require that the bills be spread out. But knowing about the bills for a dealer is very difficult. If I was the floor and it became apparent that a player had lied about their number of $100 bills (or hidden $100 chips) I would probably not allow that money to be bet.