What's the bet?!!!

I came across this with a couple of players and I was wondering if you guys do it too or know some players that do. I noticed that a few players raise to a weird amount. Do they do this to throw you off? For example, the blinds are 100/200. A player raises it to 593 and he/she isn't all in. If you do this, what do you want to achieve? If you see a player do this, what are you thinking?

I do it from time to time just to be goofy

I'm thinking I'm playing on Party and it's difficult to get the slider to land on any round numbers.

Or if you're playing anywhere else... hmm, could be a tell, so look out for when this player shows down their hand after making a bet like this. It's probably more likely to be a bet that doesn't want to get called. Non-round number = bigger pile of chips on screen.

Of course that may just be what they want you to think.

Sometimes it may equal the exact stack of another player, designed to tell the table you want this player out and you have the cards to do it.

It`s a recognised tactic, I`ve read about it in at least one book.

The theory is it`s supposed to unsettle the opponent and be more difficult to interpret than a neat figure. I don`t know that there`s anything to that, but it can`t hurt so I do it myself (when I remember).

Of course, some sites restrict you to round figures only and at others the interface is a bit difficult if you want to be random, so it`s not applicable everywhere.

I do it occasionally just as a randomizer. Anything which presents my opponents with an extra dilemma is good - sometimes I'll raise 991 (or some arbitrary non-round amount) at say 150/300 blinds with AA, sometimes with 87s.

I use it for two reasons. One is to have the players take notice of me, the bet, and the board. The second is a totally a quirk of mine. I like to have a neat amount of chips so I dump the excess I have into the pot to even out my stack.

bubbasbestbabe said:

The second is a totally a quirk of mine. I like to have a neat amount of chips so I dump the excess I have into the pot to even out my stack.

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Does that mean that you would be a little vulnerable to this tactic being used against you ? Would it irritate you if the opponent bet a random figure, so that calling it would mess up your stack ?

got another idea here - when you post 593.87 instead of say 600 flat, the chipstack on the table is significantly bigger than just a 500 and a 100 chip. hence looking a bit more daunting to call.

Egon Towst said:

It`s a recognised tactic, I`ve read about it in at least one book.

The theory is it`s supposed to unsettle the opponent and be more difficult to interpret than a neat figure. I don`t know that there`s anything to that, but it can`t hurt so I do it myself (when I remember).

Of course, some sites restrict you to round figures only and at others the interface is a bit difficult if you want to be random, so it`s not applicable everywhere.

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This is true as I find it very unsettling when I meet a player who bets like this and it does make interpreting their hand difficult.

have a friend who does it all the time to me to bug me. Because I don't like those quirky numbers I usually have to round off and thus raise. I have heard it is a tactic and in tourneys i try to ignore this quirk of mine so i don't get caught up in raising just to round off and keep my cool.

Its because everyone thinks they are Jim Morrison.

Nah, Ive got a buddy who does it when hes holding a monster hand. He says it looks like more of a 'Fun' bet and that people usually dont take it seriously. But since I know his trick, when were on the same table, he does it to me with random hands aswell.

JimboJim said:

I do it from time to time just to be goofy

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Yep, I've done this ^^^^ for exactly this reason.
Nothing else to accomplish for me, but screwing around. I like consecutive numbers too...like $123.45 or $543.21, just as part of the fun.

I played a guy who did that last night. He bet everything with 77 as the last 2 numbers. He had done it on pocket pairs then he switched it up. Threw me for a loop

Mugetsu said:

Its because everyone thinks they are Jim Morrison.

Nah, Ive got a buddy who does it when hes holding a monster hand. He says it looks like more of a 'Fun' bet and that people usually dont take it seriously. But since I know his trick, when were on the same table, he does it to me with random hands aswell.

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That's interesting... I'm usually more suspicious of a big hand and likely to fold when someone makes a really weird bet like that. It just makes me not want to get involved, for whatever reason.

I find that in online MTTs or STTs that the sites allow you to bet weird amounts so I always do it. My online name usually has the number 36 at the end of it so I try to bet numbers with 3 or 6 in it... when blinds are 50/100 I will raise to 336 (100/200 blinds = raise to 666). Many people who I play against mention that it does mess them up and occasionally guys do silly things because it puts them on tilt.

I do find that with the short amount of time that we have to make decisions that trying to figure out why I bet an amount takes too much effort... so I get to steal blinds easier and thus have more chips to make more raises! Kind of a nice little loop for this LAGGY player.

When I usually do it means I am running out of time for my real bet and the bet slider just isn't cooperating

I use the slider and its usually a round number and no cents, but ive seen players do it, and some players do it all the time, Like the Pro Minnissota Jim, hes always raising to weird amounts,, i think they do it to throw you off your game, it dont bother me, i just think to myself, What a Jerk, and go on with the game>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> buck:joyman:

Its something you just got to disregard. Some people are crAAzy.