SBOBET - THE INTERNET GAMBLER
Sir, You're Pocketing Chips, Or, There's a Weasel in Here Stealing em' Off the Table.
Experienced players can stop reading
right now, maybe? We've all heard the terms "Chip Chiselers",
"Pocket Pirates", "Pack Ratters", etc. All describe people
who knowingly remove chips from play while in a game. The guys that really get
me are the regular players that do it, and damn well know the rule. They do it,
and if someone says something, they will go into a big tirade on how it's their
money and they can do what they want with it. When they go into this phoney act
I usually say, "Wrong."
I played in a game where a regular
player had about a $1000 in front of him, and casually took $700 off the table.
I thought he might be going to change it into other denomination chips, or quitting
the game. Boy! Was I surprised to watch him go to the cage, cash it in and put
the money in his wallet. When he got back to the table I asked him to put the
cash back on the table. He told me to mind my own business. That was definitely
the wrong answer. I reconsidered my first thought. My second thought was to
call the floor, which I did. He was asked to replace the money. When he refused
he was booted from the Sbobet game.
Then there are the new players, who don't know the rules or the problems that
can occur when you remove chips from a table stakes game. This fellow had never
played in a casino, and was leaving for Las Vegas in a few days. (OK! I know,
you all want to know where he is gonna play.) He asked the following question;
OK, I won 3 huge pots and have changed
my chips into large denomination chips, now how do I get these large chips off
the table. I want to keep my seat, and not cash in, but I want to put money in
my pocket. Can I do this and not get eyes from other players or the floor guys?
Is it legal?
Reply
No, it's not legal. Every place I've
ever played will not allow you to take money off the table unless you cash in.
Why would you want to do this? It doesn't make sense to me. A big stack can be
used as an intimidation factor against opponents. Why give the impression that
you have won less than you have? You want to be viewed as a force to be
reckoned with at the table. Players that pull money off the table think they
are using some kind of money management system. Money management does have its
place in poker, especially in regards to bankroll size vs. the limits you will
play. It does not apply to each individual hand or session. You simply want
enough money on the table to win the maximum you can from each hand you play.
Players that pull money off of a table are fooling themselves, and are bad for
the game since less money on the table makes the game appear tight. Large chip
stacks make the game appear loose.
Arty's Opinion
In nearly all games you are expected to
leave your winnings in play until you quit the game. The problem is that it has
to be enforced by the management, and enforced equally against everyone. This
is especially in important in no limit and pot limit games. Lets take a look at
some reasons you don't want to remove chips from your stack. Think about it,
don't you want to have all the ammunition you can use in a highly contested
pot? You finally get a monster hand and have to go all in because you pocketed
away a few hundred or more in chips. So much for getting the most profit out of
that hand. There is another psychological view. If you pocket chips, are you
doing it because you are unconsciously trying to keep from loosing this hidden
money? You have to ask yourself some deep questions. If you are doing it for
this reason you are, with out realizing it, now playing with scared money. This
alone will put your game on the skids to disaster. One of the best reasons for
not squirreling away chips is that if you do this to the point of making
yourself appear short stacked, you will open yourself to attacks from
aggressive players. These players would normally play a bit more carefully
against you if you had a large stack. They would most likely realize that they
could not intimidate you off a hand because your were short on cash, and you
could fearlessly hammer them right back with raises. Maybe it's just me, but I
notice that using large stacks for intimidation or as an ego builder seems to
be especially prevalent in 15/30 games. I always see guys converting their green
and black chips into red so they can build Hoover Dam size stacks. In any case
it's something to think about the next time you get a brainstorm about
ferreting chips off the table.
Now go win money.
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