Questions and Answers

In a No Limit Hold'em - Cash Game a friend of mine was in early position with Aces. They decided to call, with the intention of going all-in if someone raises behind them. The blinds were $2 and $5, so she called for $5.

The next player raises, making it $40 total (a raise of $35). Two players fold, the button then goes all-in, but he only has $38 left.

Action comes back to my friend, but the dealer doesn't give her the option to re-raise. She can only call or fold. The dealer said it's because the player who went all-in didn't have enough chips to re-open the betting. I don't think that's right.

Answer: It's not right.

What happens here is that when Player B makes the $35 raise, it reopens the betting. Player C can shove all in for less, but that doesn't conclude the betting round. Player A (the Hero, your buddy) still has the option to reraise when the action comes back to her.

Here's the snippet from Robert's Rules that governs your situation:

RR Section 14: “No Limit and Pot Limit” “All raises must be equal to or greater than the size of the previous bet or raise on that betting round, except for an all-in wager. A player who has already checked or called may not subsequently raise an all-in bet that is less than the full size of the last bet or raise. (The half-the-size rule for reopening the betting is for limit poker only.)
Example: Player A bets $100 and Player B raises $100 more, making the total bet $200. If Player C goes all in for less than $300 total (not a full $100 raise), and Player A calls, then Player B has no option to raise again, because he wasn’t fully raised. (Player A could have raised, because Player B raised.)”

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