Verbal Declarations
Here's a new topic that I would like to get everyone's opinion on so I hope there is a lot of feedback! Who uses verbal declarations and where? I know they can be a definate "tell" and therefore I try not to say anything out loud if I don't have to. Where I run into problems is smaller run (home-type/community-type) tournies where there is no dealer and players have the responsibility. It seems the dealer/player can't figure out what the player is doing...calling or raising and most don't even want the responsibility of counting the chips for the players like the "real" casino dealers do and they are forcing the player to speak to answer their questions thereby giving the other player(s) a chance to possibly get a tell from the tone of your voice.
Comments
Seems a bit extreme. Do you have to say the word "Raise" or can you just say an amount larger than the bet (ie: the bet is $25 when it gets to me and I say "$175". Would that be a raise?
That would work fine. You would saying more than you need too.
Really? So saying "$175" would be considered a raise but pushing out $175 in chips would not be considered a raise? That seems counterproductive...
The idea is to stop angle shooting. Just the other day I threw out a 3BB raise UTG with QQ. Right away the dealer said call. DOH!
And just what "angle" are you shooting?
As an aside I usually say raise, then sit back and see what I"m going to do.....
But no Joe, if you read the thread sweetjimmi says that most poker rooms in AB will only allow a raise if verbal declared (pushing out chips is not sufficient).
One more to add,...If you put out an oversize chip (say 500$ chip with blinds at 50 100) without any verbal declaration of a raise, it's just a call. Around here that is.
I don't think it makes much sense in AB to make them verbalize ANY raise, even when it's done with multiple chips. Once you know that's the rule though, live with it I guess.
As to the original question, if you are consistent with the words you choose, and the tone of voice, inflection, loudness etc...each time you declare anything verbally, there shouldn't be too much risk of giving away tells. Most of the time I think that overall body language and specific eye and hand movements are much better places to look for physical tells than someones voice anyway.
sstar
What if you already have one or more chips in?
Example:
Blinds are 100 and 200. MP raises to 400. SB calls (with 4 chips). BB makes it 800. MP folds. SB throws in one 1000 chip (adding to his 4 100 chips). SB has 3 stacks of 100 chips available to use. Is this a call or a raise? There is enough in front of the SB to cover the minimum raise. SB only placed one chip in (on the last round). SB already had 4 other chips in there. NO VERBAL DECLARATIONS!! Call? Or raise?
That's a raise of 600. Since there is more than one chip in front of him, it's not a SINGLE chip, therefore, whether he meant it or not, he just re raised.
sstar
The one chips rule refers to just that, a single chip. The pot isn't in the middle of the table yet, so all the chips in front of him are his bets/calls/raises.
Also, if he wanted to just call using his 1000 chip, he would have pulled out his 4 100 chips and expected to get some change back. By leaving them AND the 1000 chip in, it indicates a raise.
/g2
So, his chips shouldn't BE in the middle yet, but if they were, he should know, or the dealer should tell him, that it's 400 more to call. When he puts out a 1000 chip instead, I still see it as a raise of 600, but it's trickier to argue my side if the chips have been put into the middle. But again, by putting in that 1000 chip, he's what? expecting 600 in change? That doesn't make much sense when he has 30 100 chips in front of him.
Fun talking about it though!! Till tomorrow.
Sean
/g2
And dealers that bring in matched amounts are doing it the BETTER way, whether correct or not by each casino's procedures.
In my example, the 1000 chip is a CALL at my poker room.
That's dumb. If anything it promotes angle shooting. If you want to see where you are at for cheap just shove all your chips in. 'Oops...is that a call? My bad'
The same rule applied in Vegas Poker rooms..one chip...oversized or not, is considered a call if there is no verbal declaration to raise