String bet question

[Zybomb]

A player bets out $25. The next player announces "raise" he grabs a stack of chips and puts them in the pot (does not release his hand)...he counts out 5 $5 chips and stacks them, then stacks 5 more $5 chips next to that stack, and then stacks a 3rd row of 5...his hand is still on the 3rd row when he says "and another $25 also, make it $100 total"

Is this a string bet?

[sjay2k]

Not a string bet

[ashmc2]

IMO NO. His way is aggravating, especially if he is looking around the table all the while. But he announced raised, which is stating that you are raising an undetermined amount. It doesn't matter how many times you go back in your stack or if you put more than you intend to raise and pull half back for that matter. Etiquette on the other hand, would be to count out your amout close to your stack and push it all out at once.

[jaeh00d]

no its not a string bet by the books, BUT some dude likes to do that in the local casino and get a read on his players and the director told him no more

[Robbie Robb]

gonna go with the field here and agree that it's not a string bet. He's announced a raise. My understanding is that, even though it's incredibly annoying, once a raise has been announced the player can go to his stack as many times as he would like. However, as jae mentions, some casinos will put a quick halt to it in the interests of keeping the game moving and not overly annoying the other players.

[jaeh00d]

yes it is extremely annoying, but if you're playing in any established settlement and you can make it a point that he/she is constantly doing it to their advantage it can be stopped by the director... but yes i do think it is legal, being that he did announce raise initially

[X-Longshot-X]

annoying but not a string bet. He aanounced a raise and can stack and twiddle his chips all day if he wants to, because he didnt anounce an amount for his raise than the amount he raises is not determined until he pushes it into the pot. We had a problem with a guy doing this at our home game this week, if its a home game just ask him to stop, if its at a casino the floorperson may put a stop to it for you.

[melioris]

By the way you wrote it, it sounds like a string bet to me. If he keeps moving chips from his stack to the pot, then isn't that a string bet? Although he announced his raising intentions, continual placing chips into the pot from his stack constitutes a string bet, IMO. He can move chips from his stack to an intermediate area to count out the raise and then push those stacks into the pot, but continually going from stack to pot is a string.

Even if I am wrong, I would call string bet and get into it, as shit like that annoys the hell out of me.

[bunny]

Sorry to disagree with you but I don't believe this is considered a string bet.

Our casino here, checks to see if you have enough chips, when you verbally announce a "raise". Meaning if I were to announce, I'm going to raise; the dealer will make sure I have placed the right amount of chips in front of me, whether it took me one or two trips back and forth to my chip stack. Therefore that's not considered a "String bet".

I have a friend of mine does this quite often. When asked why he does it, he says, it's to see the other player's facial expression and reaction to his bet as he keeps stacking his chips for a raise. If he sees no reaction, he takes it back and just calls. It really works for him, granted it's annoying as hell to us.

[johnp158]

I know I'm not the expert on this, but it doesn't sound like anybody else is either. A couple of people seem to be under the impression that as long as you announce "raise," you can keep going back to your stack. That can't be right. It seems like the question comes from the fact that he is still in the process of stacking what's left in his hand when he says he wants to add another 25. I would lean toward thinking that it is a string bet, but by no means am I sure.

[Talking Poker]

Wow. This thread really is all over the place, with lots of misinformation.

I won't say I'm an "expert" on this, but I do think a string bet is pretty easy to spot, and the definition is easy to understand, so maybe I am.

I'll address the original question first, highlighting the important parts:

This is not a string bet. Why? Because he only moved chips from his stack to the pot once, and when he realized he didn't have enough chips in his hand, he announced how many more he was going to get. This was all one action. He was effectively counting out $100 in chips, but didn't have enough in his hand. When he realized this, he announced his bet. He should have said, "Make it $100," but this "$25 more" crap accomplishes the same thing - it just looks fishy.

Now a few other scenarios for comparison:

1. He could have also counted out $50 chips, and then pulled the remaining $25 back to his stack, so long as he never released them. If he dropped them though, they would have to stay in the pot.

2. Had he said "Raise to $100" right off the bat, he could have put them out one at a time if he wanted, but his bet would be $100. This is why you should always state the amount of your bet. It makes things much easier.

3. Had he let go of that third stack of chips and THEN either said "and $25 more" or grabbed 5 more $5 chips and moved them into the pot, THAT would be a string bet.

4. Now, had he counted out his chips where he should have, next to his stack and not in the pot, he would be allowed to make as many trips to and from his stack as he wanted. He could count out the three stacks and then go back for a 4th, and then shove all 4 into the pot at once without even saying a word. The key here is that everything needs to go into the pot in once action.

See the differences?

[Talking Poker]

Not true. You can only move your hand to the pot once, unless of course you stated your bet amount.

[Talking Poker]

Also not true (same reason).

[Talking Poker]

This is the key. You are assuming he was stacking and twiddling his chips NEXT to his stack (behind his cards). If that was the case, this would be correct, but Zybomb said his hand was in the pot.

[Talking Poker]

The bolded part here is wrong. Once you announce a bet, you can take as many trips to the pot as it takes. If I say, "Raise to $100," that's my bet. Period. For obvious reasons (like if I changed my mind), I can't only put $50 chips out there and then not be allowed to complete my bet.

This guy didn't do a good job announcing his bet, but he did, and just in the nick of time.

[Talking Poker]

How would the dealer know the "right amount" of chips? You must be talking about a limit game, when there is no such thing as a string bet. Once you say raise, everyone knows the exact amount of your raise, so you can make multiple trips putting it in.

As for your friend, again, this sounds like it must be a limit game. I wouldn't tolerate it if I was the dealer or floorperson, but technically what he is doing is ok. He hasn't announced raise, and he's simply doing a "bad job" of stacking out his call. He fumbles around with his chips and then either pulls some back or leaves them there. But again, this only "works" because you are talking about a limit game. And..... if it's $2 to call, the second he releases $4 from his hand, that should be a raise. You can't drop 4 chips and then pick 2 back up. You can have 10 in your hand and drop 2 and then drop two more on top of them or next to them, but as soon as you do, they need to stay in the pot. You can't pick them back up again.

[Talking Poker]

There. All cleaned up.

[bunny]

Not fair! That was a trick question. LOL

Good job maestro.

[eejit101]

it aint a string bet.

[Robbie Robb]

I was basing my information on something I read in one of the poker books. It may have been Phil Gordon's Little Green Book but it also may have been HOH vol.1 (I don't have the LGB anymore so I can't double check). It said (paraphrasing here): As long as you declare 'raise' you can go back to your stack as often as you like.

There may also have been the clause you mentioned where you can keep stacking them to the side as you count them out but they all go in together - but I don't remember.

I had to correct a couple people at my home game this past weekend. They were both "I'll see your...and raise you..." Broke them of that.

[Zybomb]

I know this (bolded) part is not true.

If I declare "raise" (say of a $50 bet) then put 125 in the pot, I can't go back to my stack for more chips, even though I haven't announced an amount.

The ONLY way I can go back to my stack for more chips is if I said "raise make it 200" , then after bringing out 125 in chips I could get more, since my raise was announced in an amount

Oh yea, the "I see your...and raise you..." is common amoung unknowning players, I personally prefer "I call 250 and raise 50 more" Either that or the 5 minute discussion afterwards on why they can not (or more important wouldn't want to) raise a 250 bet by 50 (but the blinds are 25/50 isnt 50 the min bet???) So the strng bt gets overlooked to compensate for their scary raise

[Zybomb]

So I am right in thinking that the reason this would not be a string bet was because his hand was still on the last of the stacks (kind of like holding your hand on a chess piece after moving it doesn't constitute a move) and then announced an amount, but if he had released his hand before saying anything then it'd be a string?

[Talking Poker]

That is my understanding of it, yes. What he did is certainly not the preferred method of raising, and if he did it repeatedly, he would probably be asked to start stating his raise amounts. But it's not a string bet.

And I agree with your response to Robbie... Once you state that you are raising AND declare the amount of your bet (or the raise, of course), then you may make as many motions as you like. But you most definitely can't say "Raise," and then make a min raise, look around the table, throw a few more chips in, look around the table, throw a few more chips in, watch the player behind you fold, throw a few more chips in, watch the guy behind him fold, throw a few more in, watch the guy behind him "call" and then and only then stop string betting.

State the amount or move your chips into the pot in one motion. Simple as that.

[bunny]

That's what I was referring to in my post.

If your min raise isn't met, and you had announced a "Raise", you are allowed to go back to your chip stack until that min raise is met.(Dealer will motion you to do so). If you met you're min raise requirement and removed your hand from the pot in front of you, then you may not go back to get more chips to add to it. The dealer will disallow that.

[Zybomb]

If you dont raise the minimum and let go, the dealer will instruct you that you need X more dollars to raise...and your raise becomes a min. raise, you can not make it bigger