Tournament Directors

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You are the Tournament Director Series 2: How Much Do You Have Left?

This one was submitted by TheRev on the Mob Forum:

Self dealt NLH tournament, blinds 50/100. An early position player makes it 300 to go. I have 4800 in front of me and the raiser has his hands covering the rest of his chips. I ask what he has left; he says nothing but removes his hands to show 3 chips on top of each other. Guy next to him (I am on the other side of the table) says he has 300 more. I make it 600 from the cut-off, it passes around to the raiser who moves all in for 2100! He didn’t have 3 black 100 chips at all he had one black on top of two purples that are worth 1000 each. Can I have my raise back as I would never have made this play knowing that he has so many more chips with the hand that I held.

Danny McDonagh Danny
I’d take the action back to the cut-off position and ask him to act again in the correct knowledge the other player has 2100.

Thomas Kremser Thomas
The player on the cut-off tried to get the correct information by asking the player. Obviously it was not clear to the raiser what amount he was playing against because the player was hiding his chips and even being asked, did not give the correct information and for this reason I would declare the original raiser all-in for 600 and see flop, turn and river without additional betting.

Matt Savage Matt
Unfortunately, I would not give the player back the 600 but I would tell the table that it is your responsibility to know what all of the other players have in front of them. You cannot take the word of another player at the table when making a decision. I would also warn the player that hiding chips is unacceptable and that the next time I hear that he has done it he will receive a penalty.

Roy Houghton Roy
No, because someone not involved in the pot has given the count. The onus is on the raiser to make sure what his opponent has.

Luke Ivory Luke
I would rule that the bet would stand as it is the player’s responsibility to be aware of what is happening at the table, in this case the other player’s chips were in plain view and the reraising player went on information provided by someone else.

Mel Judah Mel
This unfortunate, but it is your job to make certain before you act and not believe somebody else.

Mob Verdict

It is unfortunate when chip colours are similar and the player with the 2100 should really have spoken up and corrected the player who said he had 600. This is if course presuming that he heard what he said.

You are always entitled to know how much a player has in front of them and it is not a good thing when players conceal their chips with their hands.

However the onus is on you to know how much a player has in front of him and you should have asked the player himself directly exactly how much he had rather than reply on another player at the table. Poker is a visual game and unfortunate as it may be you have to call the re-raise or pass leaving the 600 behind in the pot.

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