[skadet]

So instead of posting limelight stories one by one, I figured I'd start a thread for everyone to post their stories about wierd rules they've encountered along the way, too.

At the limelight:

So the the button had just passed me - I was on the button on the hand that just completed and I did not receive cards yet - and I changed seats. The seat I moved to was about to be UTG when this hand was dealt, so I told the dealer, "I'll wait 4 hands" since that would put me at the same position relative to the button as I was when I left.

He was so confused. He replied "You can post now, or wait till the big blind and post that, but you can't wait for the button to pass. That's not fair." What the hell? We called the floor over - some dinosaur of a guy - who enforced the dealer's call.

From Robert's rules, chapter 4:

14. In all multiple-blind games, a player who changes seats will be dealt in on the first available hand in the same relative position. Example: If you move two active positions away from the big blind, you must wait two hands before being dealt in again. If you move closer to the big blind, you can be dealt in without any penalty. If you do not wish to wait and have not yet missed a blind, then you can post an amount equal to the big blind and receive a hand. (Exception: At lowball you must kill the pot, wait for the same relative position , or wait for the big blind ; see “Section 11 – Lowball,” rule #7.)

Edit: I forgot to mention, the players didn't agree or disagree, other than one guy who said I was "mathematically correct on this round but it doesn't work on other rounds", whatever the hell that means. Then the dealer began to lecture me about how "no clubs do it that way, listen to us we know what we're doing" etc etc. I replied, well, Capitol does it that way, Cache Creek does it that way, the Commerce does it that way... And some punk-ass WSOP wanna-be piped up, "we'll you're here now, aren't you". Bitches.

 

[skadet]

At Capitol Casino, a new player can wait for the button to pass and get essentially 6 free hands (9 handed, button posts 3 also). Nice as it is, it's technically wrong:

Roberts rules, chapter 4:

5. A new player entering the game has the following options:

(a) Wait for the big blind .

(b) Post an amount equal to the big blind and immediately be dealt a hand. (In lowball, a new player must either post an amount double the big blind or wait for the big blind .)

6. A new player who elects to let the button go by once without posting is not treated as a player in the game who has missed a blind, and needs to post only the big blind when entering the game.


The first time I found out not all clubs do it this was was when I played at Commerce a year ago and got some bizzare looks when I let the blinds pass. Ha ha.

 

[skadet]

The half-bet rule

At the Limelight:

I was playing 3/6 went to raise preflop, somehow only ending up with 5 chips in my hand to do so. I didn't announce the raise. I threw in the extra chip, and the dealer called it a string-raise! I said, no I had more than half the raise out, it's fine. The players started whining. He pushed the two chips back and I just kept my mouth shut. I was tired of fighting about rules all night.


From Robert's rules, chapter 3:
14. String raises are not allowed. To protect your right to raise , you should either declare your intention verbally or place the proper amount of chips into the pot. Putting a full bet plus a half-bet or more into the pot is considered to be the same as announcing a raise , and the raise must be completed. (This does not apply in the use of a single chip of greater value.)

 

[Hagar]

The posting thing is different everywhere. Just get used to that.

Your raise was a string raise in most cardrooms. There are exceptions (Cache Creek says it's a raise whether you wanted to or not), but the best thing to do is to announce your intention - that covers you in ALL situations.

 

[Quads]

Agreed, verbally declare your action, and you can take chips out one by one.