Non-Tourney String Bet

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Roberts Rules of Poker Section 14 - No Limit and Pot Limit

4. At non-tournament play, a player who says "raise" is allowed to continue putting chips into
the pot with more than one move; the wager is assumed complete when the player's hands
come to rest outside the pot area. (This rule is used because no-limit play may require a large
number of chips be put into the pot.) In tournament play, the TDA rules require that the
player either use a verbal statement giving the amount of the raise or put the chips into the
pot in a single motion, to avoid making a string-bet.


I have a question about the interpretation of this. In non-tournament play, Player A is about to act in turn and declares verbally "RAISE". (Assume that all chips that are being moved by Player A is in front of his hole cards in an area commonly known to all players designated as the betting/calling/raising area.)


Player A then reaches to his chistack, places chips in front him. Then without pause reaches back to his chipstack and places more chips in front of him. Without pause returns to his chipstack and places another set of chips in front of him. Player A's hands then come to rest back at his chipstack.

Are all the chips allowed to be part of the raise?

If a player reaches back to his chipstack, is that considered out of the pot area?

Technically speaking a player should be putting chips in front of his cards, not actually INTO the pot, since the dealer is supposed to rake the chips into the pot when the betting has been completed.

If the player IS allowed to reach back multiple times to his chipstack to place chips in the betting area, when is it considered complete? Does any pause at all indicate completion? If he reaches back and starts moving some chips in his stack, perhaps deciding how much more to put in, is he still considered in the process of raising? At what point would the raise be considered complete.

The real question is the interpretation of "pot area" and "comes to rest". I would prefer players to handle a large raise by verbally declaring the raise amount and then take as many motions as reasonably necessary to put those chips in play.

Keep in mind this is NON-Tournament play.

[top-spin]

Bump 8/13/2006 6:07PM

Is this the correct area for this question?

[kak1154]

I'm assuming this is at a table with no line. If there's a line, you can do whatever you want until those chips cross the line.

I would say that as long as his hand(s) go(es) directly back and forth between his chipstack and his raise stack without returning to any sort of "rest" position (armrail, lap, etc.), all of the chips he stacks out are in play.

If there was a line on the table, and he is stacking chips out on the pot side of the line, going back to the main chipstack, and grabbing more to put out, it becomes more questionable. But, according to the rule, I guess if his hands don't come to rest between actions, it is still allowed.

[top-spin]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm assuming this is at a table with no line. If there's a line, you can do whatever you want until those chips cross the line.

I would say that as long as his hand(s) go(es) directly back and forth between his chipstack and his raise stack without returning to any sort of "rest" position (armrail, lap, etc.), all of the chips he stacks out are in play.

If there was a line on the table, and he is stacking chips out on the pot side of the line, going back to the main chipstack, and grabbing more to put out, it becomes more questionable. But, according to the rule, I guess if his hands don't come to rest between actions, it is still allowed.

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Your assumption is right, there is no line on the table.

If the motions are continious w/out pauses then I also think it should be allowed. I'd hate to see someone abuse this by saying, "I'm calculating my raise" while pausing between stack movements. That clearly is not what the rule intended.

Thanks for the reply.