Cash Game .25 / .50 chip breakdown help (3 Viewers)

[Mace]

Looking to purchase a "cheaper set" for our cash game we sometimes play. (mostly tournaments normally) . we normally play .25/ .50 . normal buy in is $40-$60. 8 players but would like enough chips to seat 10 if needed.

How many chips would I need for this game, and what is a good break down? I am wondering if i can get away with 400 chips?

thinking starting stacks of:

.25 x 8 = $2 (buy 75 chips)
$1 x 20 = $20 (buy 200 chips)
$5 x 8 = $40 . (buy 100 chips)

buy a roll of $25 chips for rebuys to add to the bank - adds another $625

total bank of $1,300ish - which should be plenty for this game.


this is 400 chips - do you see any flaws in these numbers? is this really short?

 

[gopherblue]

I think it is too short. There are a number of threads on this very topic full of good advice.

My take:
If you can swing it, I’d want a larger set for several reasons: (1) in case your game grows and moves up in stakes, (2) to ensure you have enough bank to cover a night when a lot of money gets into play, and (3) to account for inflation. Given these considerations, the most flexible breakdown has enough workhorse chips and higher denoms to cover your current game and the rare larger game. The $5 is the workhorse here, despite the fact that your game plays small.

Therefore, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the most flexible, ideal breakdown is 800 chips:

.25 x 100
$1 x 200
$5 x 400
$25 x 80
$100 x 20

Yes, you don’t use that many $5s or even the higher denoms NOW, but you will miss them when you need them. If you can swing this set, I’d urge you to consider it. If not, you could get by with 100/200/300 (or a barrel of $25s instead of one barrel of $5s).

TL;DR: At the very least, get more $5s.

 

[Mace]

Awesome. Thanks for the help.
Very helpful.

 

[detroitdad]

.25 x 100
1 x 200
5 x 200
20 x 100

starting stacks of 60 bucks.

12 x .25
17 x 1
8 x 5

I use this breakdown for most of my sets and it works fantastic with my group. We buy in for 100.

 

[Mace]

I think this is about what we use now for starting stacks.

 

[WedgeRock]

thinking starting stacks of:

.25 x 8 = $2 (buy 75 chips)
$1 x 20 = $20 (buy 200 chips)
$5 x 8 = $40 . (buy 100 chips)

Starting stacks of $62 is a little weird.

I perfer
25¢ x 12
$1 x 17
$5 x 6 (for a $50 buyin, or whatever you need to max the buyin)

First four or so rebuys are all $5 chips, then start adding $25 chips.

Using that, and knowing how many players you host and how many rebuys you expect, you can figure your chipset.

 

[Coyote]

A heretical touch to all the wise info above, would be to make your frac non-denominated.
So, according to stakes played, it could be either .25 or .50.
And (although this may be anathema among connoisseurs) it could play "filler" values of $2 or $10 if needed, to make up -in a way and to an extent- for the low numbers of workhorses $1 and $5.

 

[JustinInMN]

I say the original breakdown is okay if you can only do 400 chips. it's just going to be a little tight.

I would tweak and do 100*.25, 175*1, 100*5, and 25*25, 1325 bank.

I prefer having a round number of quarters if for no other reason it makes mental reconciliation easier. If you do 75 quarters, you have to account for 18.75 in your bank instead of an easier 25.

My breakdown is 100*.25, 275*1, 200*5, 25*25, so I am basically suggesting you just remove 100 singles and 100 fives if you are only going to get 400 chips.

As for questions of game growth, I say if you are getting cheap chips cross that bridge when you get there. Or perhaps you use game growth as the imputus to get something more substantial and just go super cheap now so you can just have games until you are ready to go for more.

 

[Old State]

This is what I originally did.

When I bought my customs over 15 years ago I didn’t play anything with $.25 but I did decide to order 50 no denomination chips in blue for that exact reason. They could stand in for a rare denomination if it was needed. I also had $.50 chips made to pay blackjack. When I made the purchase our regular game was $2/4 limit or $3/6. Then we went to $1/2NL.

Fast forward 15 years and I now find myself hosting a $.25/.50 NL and using those non denomination as quarters. This would be fine but I don’t have enough of them so I get the $.50 in play. Having more than three denominations in play starts to get very annoying when you are banking the game. We often get $5 in play too.

I’m currently contemplating a purchase of dedicated quarters from CPC for $.25/50

 

[Shaggy]

Several of my early sets had the following breakdown:
100 $0.25
130 $1
120 $5
40 $25
10 $100

This works fine for my 25c/50c $100 buyin 9 player game. The starting breakdown is as follows for a $60 buyin
12x 25c
12x $1
9x $5

Rebuys can be done with $5 and $25... the 9th and 10th player gets $1s and $5s only... maybe a $25.

Figuring out a breakdown that minimizes the number of chips allows you to spend more on fewer chips.

 

[JustinInMN]

Having more than three denominations in play starts to get very annoying when you are banking the game.

I whole heartedly agree, 2-3 denominations is ideal. You really only get the fourth denomination (in this case a 20 or 25) for just in case you need to bulk the bank. If these chips get in play they are used mostly to store value and free up the workhorse chips, not usually used in betting itself.

If you only got 400 chips of 100*.25/200*1/100*5 the bank could only support 725, which just isn't enough. My games always break 800. Getting 25 and swapping out singles adds 600 to the bank to support a more comfortable total.

 

[Mace]

Thanks for all the replies. I think I’ll go with

.25 x 125
$1x 200
$5 x 150
$25x 25


And if the games grows I’ll add some more $5’s

 

[gopherblue]

Thanks for all the replies. I think I’ll go with

.25 x 125
$1x 200
$5 x 150
$25x 25


And if the games grows I’ll add some more $5’s

Not to reignite the 100 vs 120 (in this case, 125) debate for fracs, but...100 fracs is plenty for a single table. More just get in the way. I’d reallocate that extra 25 chips to the real workhorse, the $5s.

No one needs 120 or 160 or any other silliness when it comes to fracs at a single table. More than 100 is wasting chips and making your set inefficient.

I subscribe to the @abby99 school of thought when it comes to fracs, which is the ONLY correct one:

The first five players get a barrel of quarters, and everyone else buys some off those players. There is no need for even starting stacks—the fracs will be unevenly distributed around the table anyway after an orbit or two.

You MUST maximize your bank if this is to be a .25/.50 (and potentially 1/2) set and your total chip number is limited. You may not need all of the workhorse or high denomination chips on any given night, but you’ll damn well miss them when you need them. Get 100 x .25c and use that extra 25 chips to add to your $5s.

 

[Mace]

Yea. That makes sense. Appreciate the post. 100 x .25 it is. Your right. That is plenty. And still allows 12 each with 8 players. Which is more common for us than a full table.

I come from hosting tournament background where thinking of starting stacks being equal.

 

[JustinInMN]

I subscribe to the @abby99 school of thought when it comes to fracs, which is the ONLY correct one:

The first five players get a barrel of quarters, and everyone else buys some off those players

She is absolutely right. This is also convenient because my rule of thumb is to fire up the game as soon as 5 players show up.

 

[detroitdad]

This is also convenient because my rule of thumb is to fire up the game as soon as 5 players show up

Five? why do you wait so long? We fire it up as soon as one person shows up lol......

 

[QuiQuog]

Can we reignite the $20 vs $25 for cash games debate?

 

[detroitdad]

Can we reignite the $20 vs $25 for cash games debate?

No need for that. I own a few sets with 20's, and a few sets with 25's. I equally like them both!

 

[Mojo1312]

If you foresee someone in your group folding their hand over .25, than buy quarters, otherwise go with .50/.50 blinds.

500 piece chip set:

100 x .50
160 x $1
200 x $5
40 x $20 or $25

Can we reignite the $20 vs $25 for cash games debate?

$20 when fracs are used for blinds and $25 when playing $1/$2 or above.

 

[detroitdad]

$20 when fracs are used for blinds and $25 when playing $1/$2 or above

Why? My blinds are .25/.50. Our buy in is 100. 20's and 25's work pretty much the same way.

 

[JustinInMN]

$20 when fracs are used for blinds and $25 when playing $1/$2 or above.

I agree with this exactly.

 

[Old State]

Can we reignite the $20 vs $25 for cash games debate?

I hate non traditional chip denominations (and colors for that matter) but I think $10 chips are worse than $20s. Two of my buddies insisted on getting them and they are universally despised. One just put an order in for more reds to negate the need for using them.

Kind of in line with the theme of reducing the the amount of denominations in play. Keep it simple

 

[Mojo1312]

Why? My blinds are .25/.50. Our buy in is 100. 20's and 25's work pretty much the same way.

You got me.

I can understand your position when you have $900 to $1000 in play before re-buys. Based upon my experience, most home games that use fracs for blinds don't have a min buy-in of a $100. To each their own, but I favor a $20 chip in when the buy-ins/blinds are relatively low.

I hosted a weekly .25/.50 NLHE $40 to $60 buy-in game for 15 months. Reflecting back, 150 $1 will cover a full ring game nicely.

I don't know how big your game will run, but we typically had $1500 to $1600 on the table.

Starting stacks:

10 x .50
10/15 $1's
5 to 8 $5's

100 x .50
150 x $1
210 x $5
40 x $20 or $25

Bank: $2050 to $2250

 

[gopherblue]

You got me.

Based upon my experience, most home games that use fracs for blinds don't have a min buy-in of a $100.
...
I don't know how big your game will run, but we typically had $1500 to $1600 on the table.

Lol, I’ve regularly played in a .25/.50 game that had $1500-1600 at each seat.

 

[Mojo1312]

Lol, I’ve regularly played in a .25/.50 game that had $1500-1600 at each seat.

Everybody's experiences are different. I have played in $2/$5 games with stacks that big but never in a .25/.50 game.

I know some of the meet-up .25/.50 cash games can get crazy. The O.P. however is hosting a game where the blinds and the buy-in are the same as the one I use to host. Although $1500 to $1600 may be small in comparison to the .25/.50 games you are accustomed to playing, I thought that piece of information might be helpful to the O.P. whereas the formats are identical.

 

[Old State]

Lol, I’ve regularly played in a .25/.50 game that had $1500-1600 at each seat.

This is absurd . Why even have blinds?

 

[Mojo1312]

This is absurd. Why even have blinds?

Seemed absurd to me, but I decided not to go there.

 

[gopherblue]

This is absurd . Why even have blinds?

It is amusing when playing PLO8 and two players get it in PF for $1500+ stacks, then end up splitting 75¢ when one makes the high and one makes the low.

 

[Old State]

It is amusing when playing PLO8 and two players get it in PF for $1500+ stacks, then end up splitting 75¢ when one makes the high and one makes the low.

It’s just silly. What is the standard opening raise in that $.25/.50 game? 30 big blinds??

The MAX buyin for most $2/5 NL games in AC poker rooms is $1000.

To the OP, most reasonable somewhat experienced players will buy in for close to the age old standard NL buy in of 100 BB or between $40-60. Plan your bank accordingly. If people start asking to buyin for $100+ increase the blinds.

 

[gopherblue]

It’s just silly. What is the standard opening raise in that $.25/.50 game? 30 big blinds??

Well, it’s PLO8, so, typically, the pot.