String Bet

Also known as: string raise, stringing chips

An illegal bet made in multiple forward motions without a verbal declaration, ruled as a call by the dealer.

A string bet is when a player moves chips forward in more than one motion — or goes back to the stack for more — without first stating the amount. Live rules require a bet or raise to be made in a single forward motion or accompanied by a clear verbal declaration. The penalty isn't a foul or a warning in most rooms; it's enforcement: the dealer holds the action to the first amount that crossed the line, and the rest comes back.

The rule exists to stop players from gauging reactions mid-action — sliding out a small stack, watching the opponent flinch, then "adding" a raise. That information-gathering is precisely what the single-motion rule kills.

Protect yourself two ways. First, declare verbally before you touch chips: "raise to 1,200" is binding and immune to a string-bet ruling regardless of how you then place chips. Second, if you're putting chips out by hand, get the full amount across the line in one clean push. A genuine string bet is usually an honest mistake; doing it deliberately to read opponents crosses into angle shooting. When in doubt about a ruling, call the floorman.