In pot limet hold em must you say RAISE or I CALL AND RAISE YOU XXX?

Question

I'm going to my first live game and say the pot is 150, and i want to bet at it, do i say "raise" and put in 350 (100 to call plus 250 pot size raise) or do i say "call and raise 250".

Answer 1

twiceborne is absolutely correct in both his information and reasoning.

You can also say "$350" and while some do it I would recommend away from saying "Raise $250." You can't raise until you call - so the call is understood but there is still a problem. Did the player say:

"Raise. $250." or "Raise $250."

Grammatically, the first allows for a raise - then by saying $250 afterwards (in the next sentence) $250 is both a call and a raise or it could be the size of the raise after calling. In the second instance, grammatically it means that the person is calling the $100 and then raising $250. Ambiguous.

As Sin City said, "I bet the pot" is always good.

You do want to stay away from what 'well clever i am" said because this too causes problems. Let's say that you said 'raise' when you put out the $100 call and then went back to get $250 more in chips. The next player said, "I re-raise all-in!" You don't have the nuts.... how much are you going to raise now? If you want out of the hand you just have to put in the $100 (the other player should have waited). Also, keep in mind when raising - not to make more than one motion unless you've declared how much the raise is going to be - for instance, you said raise and go back and get $100 more... and check out your opponents reaction.... then go back and get $50 more... check out there reaction again... get $50 more... then they throw away. For this reason, even though you said 'raise' you are making it a string bet - if you say raise, don't declare an amount and make more than one trip to your stack to put the raise in - then when you get to the minimum raise you should be stopped by a knowledgeable dealer.

Answer 2

You MUST say only "I raise 250". You cannot say both "call" and "raise" when declaring your action. This is the case for any poker game.

Saying "I call and raise..." is called a "string bet" and is illegal. If you say this in a casino, you will be held to the first action you announced, which is a call. You will not be allowed to raise.

The reason a string bet is illegal is that it gives a player opportunity for an unfair advantage. Conceivably, when you start your declaration with "I call..." you might notice a split second reaction on your opponent's face, which could help you decide whether or not you should finish the sentance with "...and raise 250."

For this reason, in any sensible and fair poker game a string bet is always illegal.

Answer 3

You must always declare the action that you are going to take, if you say call then you are committed to calling the pot because all verbal declaration are final. I know if you were playing no limit and someone called the big blind for $50 lets say and you throw out a hundred dollor chip and don't say anything, it would be a call because you did not say you were raising the pot. In pot limit and you want to bet the pot all you have to say is i bet the pot and that will be sufficient.

Answer 4

I would say "I'll see that 150 and raise another 200".

I'm no expert but that just sounds better, less confusing than call and raise. I may be wrong, see what other people do when you get there. Have fun

Answer 5

Like Levi said, the first thing you say is binding. If you want to raise, you can't say call, then raise..You have to just say "raise." Otherwise, it's a string bet, and most casinos don't allow those.

Answer 6

It's only ever one of 4 words...
Fold
Call
Raise
Re-raise

you cannot mix and match...like "call and raise" Your first word is binding so in your example you'd only be allowed to call. If you want to raise then say raise.

Answer 7

just 'raise' will be fine

once declared, you can put in as much as you like (above the minimum raise)

Answer 8

XXX yesXXX

Answer 9

Thanks for the 2 points