[jeffnc]

If I understand the situation correctly, Player 1 brings a stack of chips across the betting line. No more than that stack of chips can be bet. Otherwise it's a string bet. That much seems perfectly clear to me.

Player 2 acted out of turn. We have to assume his call is binding assuming a reasonable interpretation of Player 1's actions. A reasonable interpretation is that he was going to bet between $100 and $400. At that point Player 1 can declare (or cut) a total of $400.

It could even be argued that the bet is $400 period. The act of cutting chips can also be string betting, depending on how it's done. I guess that's an argument for another day, but Player 1 certainly has the option to call out a bet of $400, or to stop cutting chips at, say, $200, if cutting chips in such a way is not considered string betting.

I like the ruling in the sense that Player 2 got what he deserved (the call of "kings" against you is bad, bad, bad.) I'd say that I'd be concerned that the floor could screw me sometime too, but I'd never shoot an angle. Now, if I had said call because I saw max $400 chips in the player's hand, then I said call, I should only have to pay $400 (but I wouldn't have been angle shooting either.) Technically we can't be sure he was angling this hand, so the floor's ruling is wrong. He should pay $400.