How to Begin a Session — Epilogue

When I completed Part VII of the “How to Begin a Session” series in the last issue, I thought I was done. But I got an e-mail from a close friend, telling me that I had left out something important. Specifically, he told me to include the fact that too many players sit down in a game without knowing the rules.
He was not referring to “what beats what.” He was describing a common phenomenon in which a player, accustomed to playing in a specific cardroom, travels to another and assumes that the rules are the same. As we all know, of course they are not. Here are a couple of quick examples:
Almost every day at Bellagio, some visitor puts in the third raise in a limit game and says, “Cap it!” In most Las Vegas casinos, a cap is a bet and four raises, not a bet and three raises. So, the dealer (or a player) corrects the guy. But maybe he would not have raised if he knew that he was not ending the raising. There is a big difference between three legal raises and four (for another column, perhaps).
The other day, a Bellagio regular took a handful of chips, moved his hand across the betting line, tapped the chips on the felt, and said, “Check.” Another fellow in the game, a visitor, went ballistic, demanding that it was a bet and had to stay in the pot. A floorman was called, and he ruled that the check was legal, which is correct under house rules. I wondered what would happen if the Bellagio regular turned up at the other fellow’s casino and made the same play, only to discover that he had committed his chips to the pot.
While we all wish that the rules of poker were uniform across every venue, we know that they aren’t. So, what are the most important rules to understand when you sit down in a new cardroom? Let’s look at a few:
• What is a bet?
• How many raises are allowed?
• Posting rules
• Seat/table changes
• Does money stay in the pot?
• Any special promotions
What is a bet? You would think this basic question is the simplest one to understand. Not so. The rules concerning what constitutes a bet vary widely across the poker universe.
In many places, any forward motion constitutes a bet. In others, chips have to be released. Still others use a betting line, and even there, questions arise. How is the betting line enforced? Is it used in limit games, or only in no-limit? If some of a bet is over the line and the rest behind it, how much is bet? If your hand crosses the betting line with chips, must you bet all of them, or can you drop some and pull the rest back?
Is there a large-chip rule in cash games like there is in tournaments? If a player throws in a large chip, does all of it remain in the pot, or is it a minimum bet and he gets change?
On the subject of large chips, must they be visible in a player’s stack to count as action? A player moves all in with a couple of stacks of small chips in front and one stack behind. Another player says, “Call.” Now, the dealer counts the bettor’s stacks down, and finds two very large chips hidden at the bottom of the third stack that no one could see. The casino has a rule that large chips must be visible, but it also has a rule that verbal declarations are binding. Must the caller match the hidden large chips if he has enough money?
String-raises also come under this category. First, what constitutes a string-raise? Is it more than half a bet? Exactly half a bet? Is anything less than a complete bet a string? And who calls string-raises, the dealer or the players? In some casinos, the dealer is required to call string-raises. In others, the dealer is required not to call them, and to leave it up to the players involved to call them or not. (I strongly prefer that rules be rules, and that the house enforce them.)
How much of a partial bet constitutes a raise that reopens the betting? Player A bets $40 in a no-limit game. Player B goes all in for $65. Player C is thinking of calling the $65, but worries that calling that amount may allow Player A to raise again, driving Player C out of the pot. Player C also realizes that this is a really terrible time to ask this question, as it may inspire Player A to make a raise that he was not thinking of making. Knowing the rules beforehand can be critical in avoiding potentially expensive situations like this.
I also have some recommendations. First, in no-limit, always verbally declare your bet. If you say,”$55,” that will be your bet no matter what crosses the line. If you say, “Raise; make it $400 to go,” you can toss in the chips one at a time and not be in violation of anything other than etiquette.
Verbal declarations in turn are binding almost everywhere. If you get into the habit of making them at all forms of poker, you will be safe from most rules variations that you may not know.
How many raises are allowed? It’s another simple question with no established answer. In most casinos, three raises is a cap in a limit game. In others, it is four. In some, there is no limit on the number of raises when heads up; others elect to protect the patrons by enforcing the limit no matter what.
Even if you know that information, you still may run into other questions. Does an under-the-gun straddle constitute a raise, or can players still make the legal number of raises after a straddle? Does a kill constitute a raise?
Those who play games other than hold’em need to understand that different games may have different raising rules, even at the same mixed-game table. Always ask.
It seems like a lot to have to ask before sitting down, and I still have several topics to go, which I will complete in the next issue. While this may not seem like deep strategy to you, a failure to understand the rules under which you are playing can cost you dearly. ♠

Barry Tanenbaum is the author of Advanced Limit Hold’em Strategy, and collaborator on Limit Hold’em: Winning Short-Handed Strategies. Barry offers private lessons tailored to the individual student. Please see his website, www.barrytanenbaum.com, or write to him at [email protected].