Many new players are coming into brick-and-mortar (B&M) cardrooms for the first time. They have played online and in home games, but may not know the rules and conventions of live cardroom play, and might get tripped up.
String Bets
Perhaps no concept causes more problems for cardroom beginners than string bets. What is a string bet? Often, a rulebook simply states, "No string bets." That's not a lot of help.
From
The Official Dictionary of Poker:
string bet: (n phrase) An illegal bet, because it was not made all in one motion. The concept of string bets is complicated (and not just because it is interpreted differently from cardroom to cardroom). If you want to raise a bet, you are supposed to have as many chips as you need to cover the bet you are raising plus sufficient chips to include your raise in your hand when you put your hand in the pot, and then release all of them before withdrawing your hand. Similarly, if you wish to bet more than the minimum in a no-limit game, you are supposed to have as many chips as you wish to bet in your hand. Most cardrooms permit you to say the magic words, "I raise" (or something that means the same, even something as nebulous as "Going up!"), or, in the case of a bet, "I bet" (or something interpretable as synonymous), and then make one or more trips back to your stack for more chips. In the absence of the preceding conditions, you are likely to be guilty of making a string bet, the penalty for which is being permitted only to call the preceding bet, or put in the pot only as many chips as you currently have in your hand (or, in the case of a bet in a no-limit game, bet only the minimum for the game). Watch out! The string-bet situation trips up more players than almost any other rule. The rationale behind prohibiting string bets is that, in former times, a player might put in part of his bet, hesitate long enough to see the reactions of other players, and then, based on those reactions, perhaps increase the bet.
As stated, different cardrooms have different interpretations of string bets. In some, it is sufficient to state either how much you are raising or the total amount of your bet. In others, you must have all of those chips in your hand in addition to uttering the statement while you make the bet. That is not practical in a no-limit game, in which your bet might include several stacks, so you must assemble the entire bet outside of the pot perimeter and then push it in with one motion. This is all further complicated by the concept of
pot perimeter. Some cardrooms have a circle or oval, often called the
line, inscribed on the table. Everything within that area is considered the pot domain. Once you cross the line - literally - with chips, that is considered your bet. Some cardrooms do not have a visible line on the table, yet still observe the convention of pot perimeter with respect to string bets. Find out how the cardroom you're in defines string bets and then be careful to adhere to the conventions. If you don't know, be overcareful, and when you want to make a large bet or raise, state the amount and at the same time push the chips into the pot in one motion. (And then go find out.)
Single-Chip Rule
Another concept that does not come up in online cardrooms and rarely is a problem in home games is the single-chip rule.
single-chip rule: (n phrase) The rule, enforced in many cardrooms, that, when responding to action, a player puts into the pot a single chip with a denomination larger than the bet indicated at that juncture, but does not announce a raise, that player's action is ruled to have been only a call. The single-chip rule also applies when more than one chip is necessary to call a bet, but the last chip might be construed as a raise. The preceding applies to
all rounds in limit games. In no-limit games, on the first round, the opening bet made with an oversized chip on the first round is considered a call of the bring-in amount; on any succeeding round, the first bet is equal to the size of the oversized chip or bill, unless an announcement to the contrary is made. In stud games, a single oversized chip or bill does not automatically complete a forced bring-in bet unless it is verbally declared to do so. Two examples clarify this rule: (1) The main chips in a $20-limit hold'em game are $5 chips. John has just exchanged a rack of $5 chips for five $100 chips, and has only four $5 chips left. He loses these on the next hand, leaving him only those $100 chips. On the next hand, Susie limps in for $20. John throws in one of his $100 chips. Unless John says, "I raise," or words to that effect, according to the single-chip rule, he has only called, and the house dealer would give John $80 change. There then might be some raising. Let's say the betting is capped, perhaps at five bets. On the flop, Susie bets $20. John throws in another of his $100 chips. This is understood to be only a call. (2) In a no-limit game, the same thing happens. On the first round of betting of the hand in question, again Susie limps in for $20. John throws in one of his $100 chips. Again, according to the single-chip rule, he has only called. Now, Bill announces a raise of $80. Susie folds and John calls the raise with the $80 in change that the house dealer initially gave him for the $100 chip. On the flop, John is first to bet. He tosses in a $100 chip. This being a no-limit game, his bet is understood to be $100; also known as
one-chip rule, oversized-chip rule.
The best way to avoid ambiguity and having a decision go a way that you don't want is to state your intention when betting with an oversized chip. "I'm betting $20." "That's an $80 raise." And so on.
Michael Wiesenberg's The Ultimate Casino Guide, published by Sourcebooks, is available at fine bookstores and at Amazon.com and other online book purveyors. Send constructive criticism, contributions, and carping to [email protected].
