Nick:
Staying on Limit Poker for the sake of argument:
Are you saying that you think there is a difference between the player who puts too many chips in, compared to the player who puts too few chips in.
I fail to see how exceeding the bet in limit is any more wrong than shorting the limit in limit.
Moving on to no limit or pot limit, isn't the player who says, "Call", and fails to put enough chips in, just as "guilty" as the player who says "Call, and puts too many chips in? What about the player who says "Raise" and again fails to put the correct amount of chips in?
What isn't "Right" is the fact that the player put the wrong amount into the pot.
What also isn't "Right" is that none of the other players "spoke up" to correct the error (assuming they didn't). So who is the most at fault, the player who made (what may have been an honest mistake) the error, the players who failed to notice the error and bring it to the attention of the dealer, or the dealer who failed to notice the error and correct it.
I can certainly see where the concept of "Substantial Action" could apply and I don't see that it makes any difference whether the amount of chips put forward (and in question for this discussion) is less or more than what it should be. I can also see where the concept of "Accepted Action" could apply and again, I fail to see what difference it makes if the amount of chips is less or more than it should be.
Maybe these last few posts should be moved from the Pot Limit thread to the more general thread on Substantial Action/Accepted Action. MikeB if you think so, please feel free to do so.
Chet