How much should you be required to reraise in NL?

[Rick Nebiolo]

To the best of my knowledge, the standard no limit rule for raises (not counting all in bets, where anything less than a full raise is “action only”) is as follows (this was taken from Bob Ciaffone’s online rule book):

“All raises must be equal to or greater than the size of the previous bet or raise on that betting round, except for an all-in wager.”

This means that if player A bets $20, player B must raise at least $20 making it $40. If player B makes it $40, the minimum player C may raise is another $20 to $60.

A better example is if player A bets $20, then player B makes a typical raise to $80 (raising $60), then player C must make a minimum raise to $140 (raising another $60).

In preparation for a inter-club rules meeting I’ve been rereading most of Bob Ciaffone’s old Card Player columns that deal with rules. In a December 29, 1995 column, Bob suggests an alternative rule for multi-handed no limit pots, which requires a raise to be at least the amount of the total bet (rather than raise only the size of the last raise). Bob mentions that the purpose was to prevent putting someone in the middle by using a series of small raises. Using Bob’s alternative rule, in the second example above if player A bets $20, then player B makes it $80 (raising $60), then player C must make a minimum reraise to $160 (raising another $80).

Which is the better rule and why? This question may seem silly to experienced no limit players who frequent bigger games where the action is rarely multi-way and raising is exponential, but the many small no limit games now being spread in Los Angeles often feature multi-way pots with small raises. This just doesn't look right to me.

Once again I’m just curious…..

~ Rick