Multi-stack raise, not all-in.

I'm curious about something. I've seen footage of big no-limit tournaments where a player makes a large, but not all-in raise. They physically put out several stacks of chips (say ten stacks, twenty high each), which involves repeatedly reaching back and putting a stack out several times. I don't hear them announcing the amount of their raise. How do the `string-bet' rules operate in games like this? Is there an understanding that you just wait until the player stops putting stacks out? Or am I misinterpreting the situation?


Dirk(MildManneredMathMan)

I believe as soon as you say raise you have the option of going back and forth with more chips. Not sure if it is like this everywhere for NL.


Ken Poklitar

That shouldn't be allowed IMO. It's much more strictly enforced over here. Quite a few times at the Orleans I had to ask dealers to stop players from doing it. People were saying "raise" and then dribbling chips in and taking them out again. Whether they were really gauging peoples' reactions or not I don't know but some might well have been.


Andy.

I think that once you say raise, in almost any casino or event, you can repeatedly go back to your stack. Most times the amount is specified. I watched the WSOP final table once and the players were announcing the amounts, but they were almost unintelligible to spectators. In response to Andy's remarks that he doesn't think it should be allowed, don't forget that when you have 20 or 30 stacks, it's kinda hard to move them all in one motion. The guys at that level aren't going to give away a "tell" while the guy is moving stacks. Very often, however, an opposing player will wait until the entire amount is put in, and then fold, even though they were going to fold anyway. They use that opportunity to look for weakness in the betting player's movements.


Keep playing hard!

If you announce it first, that's fine. If you have 20 stacks then I guess people make allowances. I'm talking about people literally having 5 or 6 chips in their hand, dropping them in one by one, and then removing them again, all without a word.


There are always degrees in all these things.


Andy.