07- 6-05, LearnTexasHoldem:

Taking Chips Off The Table

Question: I've played this exclusively online, but I know that Vegas has NLHE cash games, and was wondering what the rules were?

Let's say we're at a $1/$2 no-limit game, with a $100 buy-in. The maximum number of chips you can buy-in for is $100. This is well-understood. But now let's pretend (hey some of us have to pretend! :) ) that you're doing very well in the game, and are up 4x the buy-in. Normally having 4x the buy-in is a great thing for NLHE players, but every now and then the confidence factor starts to wane, and one might worry about losing his whole stack, so he wishes to reduce the chips he has in play.

In an online game I can just leave the table and re-join for the normal buy-in, so I've banked 3x the buy-in. Can I do this in a live cash game too, or must the chips remain in play? Am I crazy for occasionally wanting to bank a few chips when I'm up to keep the bankroll secure?

Thanks!

-Joe-

Top 3 Beginner Rooms

Answer: You are allowed at anytime to get up and leave with all your chips. What you aren't allowed to do is what we call "ratholing", basically winning some, and taking those chips off the table and leaving the rest on. That is against the rules. You can get up though, cash out, and then put your name on the board again to sit down. I don't see any benefit in doing that if you want to keep playing. If you want to just clock a safe win, fine. But if you are doing it because you think you'll lose some of it back if you keep playing, that isn't a good reason. If you have a tendency to loosen way up when you are ahead a lot, then you can just make a mental note that after you go down X more amount of stacks you'll leave.

And no, you aren't crazy for wanting to bank some of the chips. I would actually suggest doing something similar to that if you are in a slump. For example, let's say you are running really badly and haven't won for the last week. Clocking a few wins in a row can be psychologically refreshing and will help get your confidence back, so instead of sitting there for a regular day, just get up a rack and bail.

Lastly, no limit holdem is a little different than limit holdem is with respect to large amounts of chips on the table. In a limit game, having more money on the table makes you look cool, but it doesn't really help you at all. In a no limit game, having more chips gives you power. I'm more likely to continue playing in no limit holdem when I have a big stack built up than in limit holdem (playing beyond my regular session length), since the hours you put in behind a big stack in no limit holdem can be more profitable than when you only have a moderate stack. So in this respect, you may not want to leave too soon -- you've finally got a big weapon to smack people with.

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