Verbal bet different than bet placed in pot

[Frank11]

Hi Everyone,

I had an odd action the other day and was looking for thoughts on the correct decision.
NL Hold 'Em tournament, 100-200 blinds. First action says "250" than throws (1) $1,000 chip and (2) $25 chips into the pot. The dealer calls me over before anyone else has acted. The player, like most of our customers, are from out-of-town, and rather inexperienced. It seems clear he wanted to raise so I didn't think holding him to a call was appropriate. I tried to think of all the rules that could apply in this situation: (1) First action is binding, (2) Verbal is binding, (3) The Multiple Chip Rule (removing one chip still leaves more than half the bet), (4) Chips crossing the line in turn must stay in the pot, (5) The player used non-standard terminology, (6) When confused about a bet, go with the lesser amount. I weighed all these before I made my ruling. I told the player that saying "250" was a non-bet and asked him what he was trying to do. He said he was trying to bet a total of $450, a $250 raise. I allowed a bet of $450. I appreciate your feedback.

Frank

[Nick C]

Hi Frank, and welcome to the Forum.

 The dealer stopping the action was helpful. Your ruling was (IMO), acceptable, especially when the player is inexperienced, as you mentioned. Let him know, in the future he must make sure that his bets and raises are crystal clear.

 Because he was facing a 200 BB, his announcing 250 may have made your decision easier. Imagine the same player tossing a 1000 chip into the pot and saying "200"...it would have been pretty tough to assume he was raising.

 Perhaps some day rules will insist;  whenever a verbal declaration is used for any raise...the word "raise" must be the first word spoken.

 Like I said, I think your decision was a good one, and well thought out. How did the other players feel?

[K-Lo]

The "by the book" ruling would be a forced call:  since 250 was the verbalized bet (without first announcing raise), it reverts back to 200.  Had the verbalized amount been 200 or more, a min-raise to 400 would be forced.  As Nick pointed out, if the player had announced "raise" first, the outcome would have been different.

That being said, it's your tourney and your players; if you believe asking for clarification because of the inexperienced player is the best way to handle it, then so be it.  Personally, I don't think holding him to a call would be such a big injustice; encourage him to say "raise" if he wants to raise -- forcing him to call would be a pretty cheap lesson to learn IMO.  Just be aware that in more "serious" tournaments, the by the book ruling would apply.

[chet]

Hey Nick:

Santa must have brought you something better than a lump of coal!!  

I totally agree with your answer and I think that Frank did a good job of looking at the situation, applying the TDA Rules and made what both of us think is the correct solution.  

Now if you change some of the facts, such as the inexperienced players or the amount of chips placed in the pot, then one might come up with a different answer.

Merry Christmas!!

Chet

[Nick C]

Hey Chet...He didn't bring me anything!!!! Santa got so sick of listening to me complain...he took me off his list!
Happy New Year...

Nick