The way they bet their chips
 

I have wondered something for a while... on the WPT/WSOP (NL, of course), typically when a player bets they stack their chips up in a few piles and then take another pile and spread it out toward the pot. Sometimes they spread all, and sometimes none.

My initial guess was that all the stacks are equal and they are showing how many in each stack?? Or are they are just being cute??

Someone who plays B&M ring and/or tourneys, please explain.

Thanks

Simply an easier way to count how much you are putting into the pot. Putting in one large stack of 20 chips, you have to count out the 20 chips. Instead, make a stack of 5 and then match the height 3 more times. That's what I make of it.

People have various ways of betting. Some can agree with me, when people have chips in front of them, and they want to bet, they want to LOOK like a good play. Firing chips in, shooting them out in a straight line, etc.

The most annoying is BY FAR: Person sees and wants to bet the flop or turn, etc in a NL ring game. Takes a chunk of his stack, plops it down and says "Bet."

Then it's on me to act and I'm looking at this brick of chips. I don't know how much is there... and yes, while the dealer should count it out, I just say, "how much is that?"

Doesn't sound like much here, but it's annoying in live game play.

When I stack my chips I don't put an even amount in a stack. Meaning I don't make every stack equal say $100. That makes it too easy for my opponents to count them. So, if you have two stack the same size and you count one of them then you just multiply that by two for your bet. Just makes counting quicker. But, that is just why I do it.

Why wouldn't you want them to be able to count the amount of bet? The dealer is going to count it anyways since you can't call a bet if you don't know the amount.

Yea I don't find counting chips a big deal. Let them know I got the big stack.

To me its also a thing of making sure I bet exactly how much I want to bet. Granted, the courtesy factor comes in too, letting everyone else know.

Defendant

yea that annoys the hell out of me.... in a perfect world everyone would announce their bet amount first, then push it out there, but whatever... people who just grab big chunks like that havent been very successful when i watch, so whatever

-jB

i always stack my chips very neatly. maybe i am just very anal at the table, but i always keep them in uniform stacks, and i bet very neatly as well.

playing limit it clearly isnt as big a deal, but i find that when playing no limit, having uniform chip stacks help me bet more efficiently, and with no wasted motion. i dont really think that the extra motion might give off a tell, but i dont want to be fumbling through my chips in order to bet the right amount.

Sidenote: IIRC, According to Caro's Book of Tells, you must be a very conservative player. He says that people who stack their chips neatly (and bet neatly) usually characterize people who play tight and conservative. He adds to that: those who are all over the place, tend to take more risks.

Take that for whatever it's worth.