This Really Bothers Me

[JJT]

Hello, first time poster. I have a question to ask for something that really bothers me, but may not mean much to anyone else. I really, really hate it when a player asks me how many chips I have for the express purpose of putting me all in. AFAIC, the player should just put his raise in, I will either call or fold, but don't ask me my chip count because you're targeting me. This has irked me since I first started playing live. I have never once seen during the WSOP, WPT, or even PPT a player asking another player for a chip count unless the askee has already significantly raised the bet. That's totally different.

Tonight, post-flop with a K-x I merely bet the blind. This guy, who is obnoxiously aggressive anyway, asked me how many chips I had left. I told him, you put a bet out, I'll call or fold. He got hot, I got hot, words were exchanged, he shoved his chips out, I folded. I just will not play like that. If I had wanted to go all in, I would have. So, am I wrong?

[vixticator]

Unless there is a dealer and this is a tournament in a casino you are most certainly wrong. Just count it.

[Tiburon]

Ya, the other player has a right to know how many chips you have left because it affects his decision whether to bet or not as well as the amount to bet. If you don't like counting just have the dealer do it. If I were him and the dealer didn't force you to count it I would have called the floor over.

[pzhon]

When there is a dealer, it is the dealer's responsibility to count the chips. You can stack your chips to try to make it easy for the dealer or your opponents to count, but you can also just sit back and let the dealer do it.

A player may miscount, intentionally or accidentally, so "forcing" a player to count isn't good.

[Marth]

The dealer should have done it for you. I'd have called the floor over immediately on this one.

Hate to tell ya, no matter how much it irks you, you're in the wrong.

[runout_mick]

[ QUOTE ]
but don't ask me my chip count because you're targeting me.

[/ QUOTE ]

He's not "targeting" you.

Knowing the stack sizes involved in a hand is CRITICAL in no-limit hold 'em. If you're taking it personally, you've got a long, long road ahead of you.

Luckily, you've found the right place to learn. Please hang around and keep participating.

Welcome to 2+2!

[mrjetguy]

yes, you are wrong. People have to be able to know how many chips you have.

[JH1]

This really used to irk me, too. It is necessary though in order for your oppponent to make his decision.

There are players that use this as an intimidation tool: we used to have a guy in our home game that was super LAGgy in his regular life too and a bit of a jerk that would do this 15-20 times during the course of an evening while the rest of us probably asked 3-5 times. You knew that it didn't matter how much you had, he was going all in. So I know exactly the type of player you probably run into, and why you felt targeted.

Regardless though, it is still necessary. Let the dealer count them for you.

[aaokwitme]

Sorry to say you are wrong. Asking for a count is totaly fine in all situations. When someone asks me I just look at the dealer and say "tell him my count". I do this because I dont want the asker to know if Im keeping track or not and I dont need him trying to pick up clues from my actions.

[Albert Moulton]

You are wrong.

Everybody is always entitled to know how many chips everybody else has. And, since the only way to know for sure is to count, any player in a hand has the right to ask how much you have behind.

This information is important for calculating implied odds as well as reverse implied odds.

You shouldn't really get hot about it.

Many people do it to try and get a "read" but that kind of thing doesn't really give them much information if you just count it out and tell them how much. If you really want to stone wall, the dealer might count it out for you. But the other guy is certainly allowed to know before proceeding with the hand.