String bet
Reaching back for more chips without declaring the amount. The dealer stops you at the first motion — announce the number or push once.
You want to raise to sixty. You push out twenty, look up to see the reaction, and reach back for another forty. The dealer stops you: that is a string bet, and only the twenty stands. The rule exists because the second motion was information gathering — the pause let you read the table before deciding how much to commit, which is not something a bet is allowed to do.
There are two ways to avoid it entirely, and both are simple. Say the amount first — “raise to sixty” is binding the moment it leaves your mouth, and you can then take as many trips to your stack as you need. Or move the chips in one single forward motion. What you cannot do is put chips out, stop, and add more without having declared where you were going.
The ruling itself varies a little by room. Most floors let the first motion stand as the bet; some rule the whole thing a call of the previous bet. Either way the player loses the raise, and either way the remedy is the same at the moment it happens: call the dealer, do not argue with the opponent.
The mistake is treating the rule as pedantry. String betting is the mechanism behind a common angle — put out a small amount, watch for a flinch, then decide whether to make it a raise. Enforcing it strictly is what keeps that move off the table, which is why dealers stop it even when the player plainly meant no harm.
FAQ
What is a string bet in poker?
Putting chips into the pot in more than one motion without having announced the amount first. Only the first motion counts, so the intended raise becomes a smaller bet or a call — the rule exists because the pause lets a player read the table before committing.
How do you avoid a string bet?
Announce the amount before you touch your chips — a verbal “raise to sixty” is binding and you can then reach for chips as many times as you like. Otherwise, move the whole amount forward in one single motion.
Is saying “I raise” enough?
It protects you from the string-bet rule but not from the minimum. Declaring “raise” without a number commits you to raising, and if you then put out an amount that is short, the dealer will make it up to the smallest legal raise.