[Jedster]

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This is from Steve Rosenbloom's article at ESPN.com.

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Interesting rule in the Taj poker room: A raise must be at least double the last bet, whereas in many events, a raise only has to be half-again the last bet.


The situation arose at Greenstein's table where one player bet out $800 and another threw out $1,500. A floorman ruled that the player who threw out $1,500 had to take back $700 and could only make the call of $800.



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Is that last part right? At a lot of 10k buyin events if somebody bets 800 you can make a 400 dollar raise? I've never played in a game with a rule like that. Course I've never played in any major tournaments either.


--Zetack

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What he is trying to say is that at the Taj (unlike most tourneys) if you put out more than 1.5x the initial bet but less than 2x the initial bet, you are actually calling and have to take back whatever chips above the initial bet you might have put out there. In order to raise, you'd have to put out 2x or more. (Assuming you're not all-in.)

The angle-shooting would come where someone might put out 1.9x knowing that it will not be considered a raise, but they can get players in between to fold thinking it will be a raise OR they might pick up a tell on the initial bettor without actually risking a raise.

IMHO it sounds like a stupid rule. I also wonder how accurately Rosenbloom is describing it since he also described a hand in which he claimed Layne Flack lost 30k chips on a board of K7843 or something like that with 2 hearts and three clubs. Problem is he said Flack held AhKh for top pair and nut flush draw -- but somehow he lost to QQ.

-Jed

Edit: At most tourneys I've played, if you put out more than 1.5x the previous bet you are forced to make a min-raise which is a full bet (unless you are all-in). I've never heard of any sort of raise that is less than a full bet and I think Rosenbloom just explained what he was trying to say a bit akwardly.