Betting line vs no betting line at casinos, why?

1C5 · #1 11-14-2006, 03:25 PM

Why do some of the poker rooms have the betting line and some not?

I never played in Vegas before and got burned by the no betting line.

Was used to playing with a betting line but then went to the Wynn and this hand came up...

1/3 NL game, $200 pot, I was 1st to act on the river.

So I had a bunch of little stacks of $3 chips and I simply want to count them out so right in front of me I start making little piles of chips as I was thinking how much to bet.

As I was making these piles the other guy in the hand says "Ohh, that is a string bet"

And the dealer agreed with him so he just called a $9 bet into the $200 stack. But the thing is, I did this same thing for 2 hrs before that hand and no one said anything.

It would be easier for me to know where I can count my chips and where I can't if there was a betting line.

They told me the rule was that if I put any chips in front of my cards, then that is the bet...

But I think a betting line would lead to less confusion.

troymclur · #2 11-14-2006, 03:38 PM

I think the safest would either be to keep the chips behind the cards, or count them out beside your stack rather than in front of them.

1C5 · #3 11-14-2006, 03:41 PM

Yeah, will do that from now on.

Rick Nebiolo · #4 11-14-2006, 03:49 PM

Best thing is to get in the habit of doing it right for all situations and locations. Keep your chips close to the rail, your cards protected several inches in front, and do your cutting in a triangle starting behind your cards and between your chips (essentially inside your elbows).

That said, the fact that you wrote "But the thing is, I did this same thing for 2 hrs before that hand and no one said anything." shows that the dealers aren't really doing a good job. Assuming they see this they should warn you (between hands) to cut chips in back of your cards as noted above. I also think a floor might make a decision in your favor if you were clearly able to show that you had established this precedent for the previous two hours.

This is also the kind of rule/procedure that should be on a sign on the wall or mentioned in some sort of "player guide" handouts, especially since things are are different in LA. All sorts of sloppy cutting off chips in front of your cards but not pushed forward is tolerated. It gets to the point were players use "a little" forward motion as an angle. I try to do things the traditional way and look like I'm from another planet.

The betting line has some advantages but from what I've heard leads to a new class of angles I'll leave to others to discuss. As an aside, the betting lines you see in most LA clubs is not used as a betting line; rather it is there to encourage players to push their bets forward so the typical 5' 1" tall 90 lb. female dealer can reach them without going on disability before the age of 40. Still, not pushing bets or discards were the dealer can easily reach them is one of the best way (censored] can be abusive without calling much attention to themselves.

~ Rick

Slim Pickens · #5 11-14-2006, 03:52 PM

The betting line is really more of an ergonomic aid for the dealers anyway. I've never seen it strictly enforced at the places that have it. Just as a chp makes a good card protector, your cards make good chip protectors. As always, the verbal bet and confirmation whn the dealer announces it to the table are best.

AngusThermopyle · #6 11-14-2006, 04:13 PM

$200 pot.
$3 chips.
You are counting out 3 chip stacks. $9 each. Half pot bet is 11 stacklets.

Why?

(sorry, pet peeve).

RR · #7 11-14-2006, 04:32 PM

[ QUOTE ]
The betting line has some advantages but from what I've heard leads to a new class of angles I'll leave to others to discuss.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is true. I hope others don't discuss it too much as I am working on an article about it that I plan to sell.

SheridanCat · #8 11-14-2006, 05:04 PM

[ QUOTE ]
The betting line is really more of an ergonomic aid for the dealers anyway.

[/ QUOTE ]

That is often the case. I got a little surprise one day at Green Valley Ranch in LV when I found the betting line is not only binding, but the AIRSPACE above it is also binding. Pick up a stack and move it across the line, in the air, and you're committed.

bav · #9 11-14-2006, 05:06 PM

I find people make more mistakes with betting lines that without. With a line, people who are used to going forward with a handful of chips and leaving behind just what they intend regularly get forced to bet FAR more than they intended. And the dealers are stuck trying to figure out exactly how many chips were in the player's hand as it crossed the line since bettors tend to go out with a handful, drop a few, then return the rest of the chips to the top of a stack in front of them--great, so how many chips did he just return to his stack? 7, 8, 9? And yeah, the angles available are good ones.

Just keep yer chips behind/beside your cards until you're ready to bet. Mind you, I also despise this whole new era of people screaming "STRING" 6 times an hour. 19 out of 20 times, the intention of someone is crystal clear and the claims of "string bet" are nittly. What I especially find annoying is folks not in the hand doing this. Butt out, people.

pfapfap · #10 11-14-2006, 09:39 PM

[ QUOTE ]
the AIRSPACE above it is also binding

[/ QUOTE ]

That's also true at San Pablo in the Bay Area. I was a little shocked when someone was just holding chips over the line to bet and was forced to raise in a limit game. Also, they wouldn't allow a person to hold the chips over and say "raise" if there weren't enough in his/her hand. Seemed sort of absurd. Meanwhile, at Oaks, you can pull back a raise if you did it accidentally, and the line there is meaningless.