Tag Archives: action

Straddling the Bet

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Hi,

Several weeks ago, I played low limit for the first time. At the table, there was one player who was said to be “straddling the bet” by which actually appeared to me as a blind raise by the player to the left of the BB.

I don’t totally understand what “straddling the bet” means. Can you please explain it to me?

Thanks!

Doeddler
Doeddler,

“Straddling the bet” means that the player to the left of the big blind is putting in a blind raise equal to twice the big blind. This is done to make more action in a pot. Honestly, in a low limit game, this is a little silly, but it is quite common in higher stakes games.

You can think of it as a blind raise if you wish. It is really the same thing.

Players Betting Out of Turn

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Hi,

In my game last night, something came up. After a flop, I was actually the first one to bet. Player to my left checked the bet out of turn while the following player seated just behind him placed a bet. I believe then they had played or bet out of turn. Knowing the situation, I tried to use it to my advantage. However, somebody did told me that I’ll be required to fold later in case I’d still do whatever in my mind. Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance!

O’Neil
O’Neil,

The player that bet due to the check of another should have been told to take his bet back and the action allowed to proceed as normal. You should not have been told to fold.

Questions Regarding All In

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Hi,

For the flop, four players were in. The player who was behind in terms of money went all in while three others called.

Now I have two questions:

  1. Does the player who went all in have to show his cards after he’s done betting or else he has to wait until the end of the game when other players were actually done betting?
  2. In the event the player who went all in has the best hand, do you think the additional bets must go back to their bettor/s? If not, then should they go to the player with the second best hand?

Thanks for your time.

Regards,
Feeney
Feeney,

  1. The all-in player must wait until all action is completed between the other players.
  2. The side pot will be determined and awarded between the players that have money in the side pot. The all-in player is not eligible to win any side pots since they do not have any money invested in them.

Lost Big Because of Bluffing

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Hi,

Assume that on the board were three 8′s and two players were still in. At near end, player A placed a huge bet to look as if he had the other 8. However, the other player, player B, said that he already folded the other 8. Unfortunately, player A lost a big amount because he tried to bluff.

Any thoughts or insights?

Thanks,
Stenmann
Stenmann,

First, the player that said that they folded the eight was out of line. A player is not allowed to give information about their hand when action is still going on. If it were a tournament, he would have probably received a penalty. If that was my home game, the player that spoke up would not be invited back.

Replenishing Chips in the Middle of a Hand

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Hi,

Along with some old friends, I played NL holdem cash game. I usually play NL cash games on the internet and so I was quite confident I’d be well. Also, I’m quite familiar with the rules, particularly those at Party Poker.

To start, well, all of us bought in with 25 dollars. We all agreed then that the chips could be filled up many times as we want as long as we don’t go beyond the maximum which was 25 dollars back then.

At some point, a certain player placed a 10 dollar bet on the turn though he only had 5 dollars. There was a possibility of a side pot then as there were players who were willing to call the bet, also considering they were still in. But in the middle of the hand, the player who bet 10 dollars wanted to buy more chips. I believe he can’t buy chips in the middle of a hand and so I tried to tell him. He asked why and I explained to him that there’ll be a good and bad effect if he’d do such. Well, the good effect is that we play side pots, the short stack would have the option of buying more chips if he’d go for the pot or using the side pot if he only had a mediocre hand. The bad effect is that he’ll be giving the short stack an unfair advantage. Am I right?

By the way, at Party Poker, as long as you don’t go beyond the table maximum, you can replenish your chips in between hands, but in the middle of a hand it’s a BIG NO!

Thanks and great site!

Warm regards,
Moore
Moore,

A player may not replenish their chips in the middle of a hand. This changes the natural course of action and can even influence action.