"String bet" rule..

[TEXAS_JAY]

I was just reading something in an artical and it was saying about live games and it mentioned the "String bet" rule. Am i right in guessing its to do with actually saying what your doing, "Raise" or "Call" rather than just sliding your chips in??

[TightEnd]

String betting is a bit archaic and something the pedantic are fond of, and is sometimes used to intimidate live newbies. Really the rule serves no useful purpose.

In a live game the standard practice is that you should bet your chips in one action...once they cross the line there is no going back

if you drop one chip into play accidentally just ahead of the others the first and only chip goes...this is a string bet

therefore I wouold advise always saying clearly to the dealer or the table what you are intending to do before you do it...Raise or call, the verbal bet is binding

[ifm]

in fairness to the powers that be there is some purpose behind it.
what if you picked up a stack of 50 chips and started to drop them 1 by 1?
a) how long would it take?
b)when does the bet end?, i could drop 5, you go to call and i go "hang on, i'm not finished yet!!" and drop some more......rinse and repeat

[mikkyT]

ifm is correct. The reasoning behind this rule is obvious. I could just drop chips in chunks, watching for facial reactions etc etc, wait for your to call or fold and say Im not finished yet.

If you throw out a chip, THEN say raise. This is a string bet.

If you throw out a big over chip (with change in your hand), THEN say raise, this is a string bet AND is just a call (when I am dealing, I will usually take the big chip as a whole raise without verbal indication during the later stages of a hand, when it has been checked to the betor, but pre-flop it is a call).

If you verbally announce as you throw your chip, this is different. But you cannot change the action verbally after already having acted silently.

The best advice is announce your intention before acting with your hands. Eg. Pot Limit - announce "RAISE", then put the value of chips for the call. Let the dealer count the pot and tell you how much you can raise to. This will also give you time to decide how much your going to raise by. You may not want to raise the pot (Hence you said "RAISE" not "RAISE THE POT" - you would be held to raising the pot had you announced this and then later realised "oh shit thats far too much").

[mikkyT]

Interestingly enough... can you string bet online? No, of course not! You put your chips in with one click (or slide & click). Once the action passes, you cannot then say "Er hang on! I'm still betting here". Likewise in live you cannot do it. Nothing to do with pedance. But annoying the newbies with it is fun.

[Bongo]

I mainly find the rule is enforced to punish newbies who have made it clear what they are doing but have still violated the rule.

e.g. "I call your X and raise Y"

Or throwing a chip in and saying "Raise" just after it hits the felt.

I think this is where most peoples problem with this rule comes from.

[AdamM]

there's a huge difference between a true string bet where a player moved stacks of chips one at a time and when a player drops a single stack infront of him and the first chip to land is taken as the bet. as Mikky and ifm both say the rule is there in principle to stop people betting a bit at a time to try and guage a reaction but aren't we in the business of hiding our emotions at the table. if our opponent is moving chips in one at a time and we begin to wince, the more they put it, aren't we broadly speaking crap? TE and Bongo point to the real use of the string bet rule. a way for experienced players to gain an unfair advantage over new players. If the intention to raise is obvious the bet should stand.

I often see the big American pros take a large stack in one hand and splash them out 5 chips at a time without saying raise, let alone the amount. fime in WSOP or WPT but in a provintial UK casino, ooh no sir, string bet, thats a call.

[Bongo]

Unless it's done by the dealer, in which case it's allowed to stand "just this once" even after it has been pointed out...

[ifm]

I often see the big American pros take a large stack in one hand and splash them out 5 chips at a time without saying raise, let alone the amount. fime in WSOP or WPT but in a provintial UK casino, ooh no sir, string bet, thats a call.

In America you can do this but only the amount in your hand, you cannot return to your stack and get more chips

[I KNOW IT]

String betting is often used by experienced player against a newbie. i.e the newbie is raising but through lack of experience is not doing it in a continual motion. Everyone knows his intentions but the "experienced players" like to jump on him and yell " sorry thats a string bet, only the minimum goes," (unless they are holding the nuts that is
In America the players usually grab a stack and proceed to cut down their pile to their required raise.

A funny incident happened last week in the £300 at Walsall
A guy raises, then a player says All in, pushing his stacks over the line. The dealer starts to cut down the all in players chips.
 I say to the dealer, theres no need to count them unless a player specifically asks you too,as its no limit.
The dealer replies" theres a lot of low denomination chips there and it looks like theres more than there actually is" WTF
N.B Marcel beware when your in Walsall, as we know you like those little denomination chips and this dealers got your number 

[oinkment]

The string bet rule is fair - If you say I call and raise - its possible that you get a "tell" from your opponent  - not only that you are trying to take two actions on your turn which is hardly fair either.
also chucking in a large chip withoit stating your intentions is just a call - a devious player can chuck in a large chip and then wait for a reaction before stating his intentions - thats why its a rule that its just a call.
Its a common mistake for nwere players to make but in  people  say that more experienced players use it to intimidate newbies - well in all fairness speaking as a more experienced player it annoys me that "newbies" can't be bothered to learn basic rules  before sitting down. I think these baseball cap wearing WSOP wannabee's must think there still at home on their PC's.

as mikkyT saidd - "can you string bet online? No, of course not! You put your chips in with one click (or slide & click). Once the action passes, you cannot then say "Er hang on! I'm still betting here".

[mikkyT]

I often see the big American pros take a large stack in one hand and splash them out 5 chips at a time without saying raise, let alone the amount. fime in WSOP or WPT but in a provintial UK casino, ooh no sir, string bet, thats a call.

In America you can do this but only the amount in your hand, you cannot return to your stack and get more chips

Point in hand - you're on a table that has a line. Doing this is absolutely fine as long as the chips are put down behind the line (eg, you're counting chips, and have yet to act at all).

I do this all the time. I still have the option to check if I want. No string bet.

When I am dealing, I tend not to try to catch players who throw the chip and announce raise as it hits the felt. To me, its obvious he is raising (the over sized chip gives an indication - even though it is a call had he not said so) and I will argue the point with any arrogant player who tries to force the string bet issue, pointing out that the only reason he wants it to be a call is because he doesn't want the raise and wants a cheap card

[AdamM]

I was dealing the cash game in Nottingham yesterday and I had to rule on this and upset a couple of people (blondites included) in the process. situation was the player in question had a stack of 15 x £1 chips and notes underneath. he said "I raise..." picked up his notes in the left hand and pulled away £10 notes with his right saying"1...2...3...4 and that" putting £40 and the chips forward. his eyes never left his notes and he did it quickly. I was asked to take a £1 bet but I felt he had gained no advantage with his actions. If he'd laid his £10 notes on the table one at a time or if he'd looked up from his money even for a second I'd have ruled against him. as it was I took his 4x£10 notes and made him take the £15 chips back because he had broken his bet into two halves verbally.

fair ruling?

[redsimon]

I was the guy who said bet was £1. Though I wasn't "angle shooting". I wasn't even going to waste £1 on the flop QJ5 with my hand .

I was probably just busting his balls but I hate it when someone says one thing and does another. I didn't see him count the notes out so I guess if he meant 1 tenner 2 tenners etc that makes more sense, I'd say then his bet if in a tourny played with cash would be £10, Jimmy said £40 should go which is what was agreed.

A s I say I wasn't shooting an angle just trying to keep the game above board otherwise it starts degenerating to a "count my stack out and talk to get a tell" before betting.

I wasn't upset, honest guv. Though you became my hero when you dealt the turn and river out when I was losing the sidepot and you thought everyone was allin.

[AdamM]

 
couldn't believe what I'd done. good job it was you and Jeff in the side pot. saved me a shoeing