topping up stack in live cash game

obvious question for those that play live regularity but i wanted some clarification,

but when is it appropriate to add more chips to your stack (assuming you have fallen below maximum buy in). once you have folded a hand? or before cards have been dealt? does this need to be announced or done in a certain fashion?

Assuming its a $1/2 game and you BI is $200.

I would usally top up if i get below $180 because $20 is handy. (dont be a nit and go adding on in $1's) Certainly before the hand is dealt, and always after a hand is finished. I usually tell the dealer "20 behind" and hand him a 20 (or leave it in front of my stack so there is no mistake). He/she will get me chips at some stage, but there is no doubt that the money is in play.

I will also do the same if there is no table max. For example if a drunk fish doubles, i will instantly put 200 behind in cash, and let the dealer sort it out when it suits him, but it will put the money in play. Really if your in doubt about your own cardroom ask at the cage

Where I have played you cannot buy chips from the dealer so extra chips are in my pocket (as well as many other players). I bring them out when I am NOT in a hand. You cannot bring out more than would put you over the original max buy-in. You cannot bring them out if in a hand (to put into play versus the table). I don't know what the official ruling is but I make sure any reloading of my stack happens before the first card is dealt of that hand. If I forget then I will wait - but maybe they would let me if I haven't looked at my cards yet. I'm sure it varies place to place.

Technically you should announce when you add chips to your stack in a NL/PL game, but you'll look pretty silly doing this in a 1/2nl game. Any time you aren't in the middle of a hand is fine up to the max buyin, although I've been to places that actually do not allow you to do this (California Grand for one) so I'd make sure it's okay with a floor person before doing so.

If you're using cash to buy additional chips from the dealer then do it between hands, when they're not occupied by a hand in progress. It also has the added benefit of being visible to the entire table, so you shouldn't need to do any further announcing or anything.

If you buy them from a floor person or runner then you can probably do it any time you're not in a hand, with the same benefit of not needing to announce anything.

If you're topping off with chips from off the table (either because you can't buy them from the dealer, or you're just that efficient) then you should be able to do it any time you're not involved in a hand too, for any amount up to the maximum buy in. Whether you need to announce this or not depends on the group you're playing with and the room you're playing in. I don't think anyone at my local casino has ever bothered to announce when they do it, for example, but some places might require you too. Just do as others do, I guess.

If I'm sitting with $200, I'd feel strange asking the dealer to top me off every time I lose $20 of it. I wait until I get down to $100ish to ask the dealer for more chips.

I'd much rather get $300 at the cage, sit with $200 and then top myself off if I get down $20. The whole table including the dealer will thank you for not stopping the game needlessly.

jaxpaboo said:

If I'm sitting with $200, I'd feel strange asking the dealer to top me off every time I lose $20 of it. I wait until I get down to $100ish to ask the dealer for more chips.

I'd much rather get $300 at the cage, sit with $200 and then top myself off if I get down $20. The whole table including the dealer will thank you for not stopping the game needlessly.

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That is exactly what I do - but FWIW where I am at you cannot buy off dealer and there are no runners - but even if those were available I gotta think I would still do it this way if only not to draw attention to myself and the convenience.

Funny how things work differently in different places. Where I play the dealer and the rest of the table would look at you like you had two heads, or were some kind of cheat, if you suddenly reached into your pocket to get more chips to put in play once you got low.

Standard where I play is to just put your money on the table, next to your remaining chips, when you're not involved in a hand. The dealer will change them for chips before dealing the next hand or, alternatively announce "money plays" before he deals if he just doesn't feel like doing it right then.

As for amounts, in a 1/2 game people often top-off every $40 or so. You could do it at $20 increments, but that seems a little extreme.

jaxpaboo said:

If I'm sitting with $200, I'd feel strange asking the dealer to top me off every time I lose $20 of it. I wait until I get down to $100ish to ask the dealer for more chips.

I'd much rather get $300 at the cage, sit with $200 and then top myself off if I get down $20. The whole table including the dealer will thank you for not stopping the game needlessly.

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FWIW that's exactly what the players at my local casino that like to top up in small amounts do. Nobody should ever begrudge you topping up when you fall below your initial buyin, but interrupting the game every other hand just to add another $25 to your stack is a sure-fire way to make yourself unpopular