Are any of these verbally binding -

A) I think I might have to call
B) I think I have to call
C) I might have to call
D) I will have to call

Heads up at the river~$80 in the pot. Two players - regular and kid

Regular checks
Kid bets $50
Regular says "I think I have to call". Chips in hand but no forward motion.
Kid asks dealer if that was a call
Dealer says yes
Kid exposes winning hand
Regular mucks and says he didn't call
Dealer chuckles and says OK

None of those are binding imo. The only one that could even be close is D).

And that situation you describe would 100% get the floor called if it were me.

a few dealer errors here, but not usually held to a call

Happened to me not long ago. I was last to act. 3 ppl allin before me. Had nut flush draw + inside str8 draw. I said something along the lines of "I'm priced in, I guess I'll have to call." 1st player who went all-in (with a set of deuce) said I have to call and dealer agreed so I reluctantly made the call. Don't know what I said matches any of the choices above.

i will have to call is usually binding... I don't see how that would be subjective... he's saying he's going to do something (call) so how can he later say he's going to fold. if you say i think or i may usually they rule that as not binding and you are still considering your options. All subjective to the floor as any phrase with i call in it can technically be binding but most use discretion.

In that situation the dealer said it was a call so i don't see how they can later rule it was not. House owes the $ if they don't hold the player to a call and house never pays out if they can make a player do it. Threaten to go to gaming commission and you get your money.

Yeah (D) is a call. Don't get thrown off by "have to". We would hold "I will call" to a call I hope, right?

Any of those phrases could be ruled a call in certain situations by various dealers/floors. Especially D. Mostly ( A,B C) they would likely not be ruled as binding , but why take the chance and comment like that if you are not ready to make the call? In this case Dealer and Reg likely have a "situation".

Not that I'm a floor but I wouldn't rule "I will have to call" or even "I have to call" as a call.

Of course if I'm sitting at the table and someone says "something something call" and I ask the dealer "was that a call" and the dealer says "yes" and the guy doesn't object and I table the winner and the guy then says "I didn't call" the next words out of my mouth are "FLOOR!"

And if the floor rules that the guy didn't in fact call the dealer goes on my (currently non-existent) no tip list and hopefully I'm a regular in the room who will lifetime make more than $50 by not tipping the dealer.

ETA: also from that point on I'm NEVER tabling my hand until the pot it right in that room.

If I were a floor called in at this point I would say it's technically not a call but he's on my **** list now.

If I were a floor called in at this point it's a call.

If I were a floor called in at this point I would send the reg home for the night.

If I were a floor called in at this point the dealer gets punished too.

I would agree that D would be held to a call more often than the rest, but I want the Dealer to get better confirmation before I would turn my cards over. GL

The way these things are said is relevant to whether they are a call.

These things can be aid in a way which makes it clear that the player is just thinking through action, these things can be said in a way in which it is clear the player is just fishing around for some sort of "tell" (or as I like to refer to the process .... wasting everybodies time while he pretends that he is clever).

But these words can also be said in a way which indicates the player is calling.

I think it is a mistake to analyze the comments as merely words without acknowledgig the importance of tone and nonverbal cues.

I would prefer that all these statements either be immediately clarified by the dealer or rules binding. They fit my preferred definition of angling, which is "ambiguous statement or action designed to freeroll action or gain information to which you are not entitled"

If a floor ruled D) anything but a call, I would rack up and leave immediately. A) - C) are ambiguous, but D) isn't.

As played, after the player asked the dealer and he said that was a call, I think the floor has only two options:
a) rule it a call
b) remove the dealer from the down and have a talk with him

Agreed. D is a call every time. The rest are warnable at best not to say things like that. There are situations where you may say one of those things and cause a player to act after you and you will be held to a call. Risky business IMO and I never feel bad forcing these players to call when it is warranted.

1. Don't say any of the above. Then you won't have your fate decided by someone else.

2. If your opponent says any of the above, don't snap table/muck your hand. Wait for a definite "I call" and/or chips in pot. Then you won't have your fate decided by someone else.

Agreed, but that's not what happened here. A player asked the dealer for confirmation and his opponent didn't intervene when the dealer confirmed the call. Now you can look at the other player to make him say it again and/or put chips into the pot, but a lot of players would consider that to be rude. They announced call, the dealer confirmed a call and now the other guy is not tabling their hand.

Lesson for kid: Dealers make mistakes. Confirm with villain if he calls instead of asking dealers.

Fire the dealer IMMEDIATELY. Somehow blackball him so that he can never work in poker again.

Of course, again this is an example of bad stuff that happens when people are allowed to make bets / calls without putting in the proper amount of chips.

There are plenty of stories here of players doing exactly that, or asking for the pot to be made right, and being berated by dealers and other players for slowing down the game.

I guess it wouldn't be too nitty to ask the dealer to confirm with the other player that it is a call. I wouldn't ask the player directly.

Don't ask the villain. The dealer is supposed to be in charge of the table. If the dealer says it is a call, wait a few seconds for an objection, then table your hand. That gives the player plenty of time to object to it being a call.

If the player says later he didn't call and the dealer just agrees, call the floor.

Saying "call" in any statement should be ruled as a call.

I would love if that were the rule as well.

Seat 5: "Dealer, please call the floor"
Dealer: "seat 5 calls all-in. Show it guys"

Seat 1: "dealer, I can't see seat 9, did he call my bet?"
Dealer: "no, he raised all-in and you called just now"

I have had angle shooters do this on more than one occasion and said to the dealer is that a call and dealer says yes. I do not think it was and dealer says show, I say no you need to confirm player action with villain 1st.
dealer finally asks villain directly and villain gives no response ( you know he's angling now)

I would love to have seen the dealer\tables reaction when the other player folded after 'calling'