Announcing your bets is best
When playing live poker you may want to consider verbalizing your bets to make sure you don’t wind up putting more on the line than you intended to. With many casinos employing betting lines this becomes a necessity.
Online poker has its pros and cons, but one definite pro is the way you make your bets. Outside of going crazy clicking on the screen and moving all in by mistake (everyone does this once, and only once) you always bet exactly what you want, and when you click go, there is no doubt what your intentions are. In a live casino, however, there are a number of pitfalls that make verbalizing your intentions a good idea.
Unintentional String Bets
A string bet is when you put chips forward and then reach back and add more chips. This is illegal because it would give you a chance to gauge your opponent’s reaction to the first part of the bet. Sometimes you may grab a stack and just drop off a few chips, or forget part of your bet -- this is a string bet, even if you didn’t mean it to be.
Betting Line Mistake
A betting line in a casino is a solid line that runs around the inside of the table top; any chips pushed over that line are committed, so if you keep a sloppy stack of chips you could wind up losing chips you would never have put into play.
If you announce the amount of your bet or raise, however, you are in the clear.
If you announce “raise -- $1,200” then you can take as many trips from your chip stack to the stable as you want to move that $1,200 forward; thus, no string bets, intentional or otherwise.
If you declare “bet -- $500” then even if your entire chip stack spills over the betting line, you are only committed to the $500 -- the amount you verbalized.
Some players don’t like to speak much while they play, and that is understandable. If you are dealing with a betting line, however, you may want to consider verbalizing your bets.
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