Should big denomination cihps be explicitly separated in a raise if they are in the same stack with smaller chips?

Question

I have experienced this recently: a player raised 100 over a 60 bet made by another player, but upon doing so, put the 100 chip at the bottom of the 6x10s comprising the initial bet and just barely tilted them over. This caused another player, who indeed was listening to music and did not hear the dealer say 160 raise, to call the initial 60, binding him to also call the 100. After suggesting to the dealer that, perhaps, he should have split the raise into the 60 stack and the 100 next to it, to be more visible, the guy blasted off and I got into an altercation with him and the floor manager, who took the dealers side.

Was I wrong?

Answer 1

Yes, both the professional dealer and the betting player have a duty to make the high denom chips visible. A professional dealer should stack off the chips the same way a blackjack dealer would. That is, there shouldn't be any color change within a stack vertically [so the eye in the sky can read the stack].

HOWEVER. This has absolutely no bearing on the action. If a person verbally says "raise", it's a raise. The fact the dealer hadn't properly stacked the chips yet means nothing. It's your duty to pay attention.

Pro tip - In NL, the dealer shouldn't count the bet or announce the amount of a bet unless a live player asks for a count. However, that doesn't mean you should allow a jumble of chips to sit on your layout. If a player bets an odd stack, or a bunch or chips - you can start organizing them while the other players act. That is, if a player bets $270 with reds and 5 greens, you should pull the bet in slightly and stack off: greenx4 greenx1 redx20, redx5, redx4

Good luck!

Answer 2

If you are listening to music rather than paying attention to the game, that's your fault, not everyone else's. Nobody is forcing you to listen to music at the table, if you are doing it (which in many places would be considered rude, by the way), you are doing itat your own risk. The action was clear and unambiguous, and the dealer said the bet size out loud. You can also look at the pile of chips and realize that there's a 100-chip at the bottom. Or even just ask "how much?" to the dealer.

Even if the biggest chip was split form the rest, a distracted player could still look only at the 6-chip pile and assume it's the whole thing, so I don't see how your idea presents an ultimate solution. Even if it would, there is not (yet) such a rule that forces the dealer to implement it, so what was the point in arguing about it with the floor manager?

Answer 3

Poker is a game of observation. It is the player's responsibility to ensure the accuracy of another player's bet regardless of what is stated by the dealer or other players. Even if the player asks for a count and receives incorrect information and then puts the said amount into the pot, the actual action still counts.

You obviously have a very good point, but ultimately the dealer can't be held responsible, so you were wrong.