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.25 or .50 frac? (1 Viewer)

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Marshall18

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Looking to buy my first set of Paulson chips. Wanted a set that could accommodate .25/.50, .50/$1 and up.

Any thoughts on if I would be better off buying 50 cent fracs and just play .50/.50 instead of .25/.50, or should I go with 25 cent frac for the .25/50 and then just play 1/1 instead of .50/1?

Would assume maybe going with the .50’s and playing .50/.50 would be better that way I could cut down on how many racks of fracs I would need. Seems like a .25/.50 game would require quite a bit more fracs than a .50/$1

Another consideration would be availability and price of 25 cent fracs vs 50 cent fracs as I’m trying to keep costs on the lower end of the spectrum $1.50-2.50 a chip. Not opposed to a hot stamp frac.

Appreciate the help!
 
If you’re starting at .25/.50, I’d say you can just play .50/.50 and get a .50 without any quarters. It honestly shouldn’t play very much differently, but that depends on your players as well.

If you think there’s any chance you’ll play .25/.25, you can get quarters and skip the .50. You’d still be able to use just quarters for .25/.50, .50/.50, or .50/1.

The $1 (or $5, as you move the stakes up and/or if your game is loose) will be the workhorse chip(s) at these stakes, so the fracs become mostly for blinds. Some games even specify that non-blind bets must be made in whole dollars, which keeps the fracs a little more spread out and you don’t need as many.

You may want to consider relabeling as well if that is your budget. Casino fracs may be hard to come by in that price range, though not impossible.
 
You're all wrong ...

Watching this clip may change the rest of your life.

You don't want a .25 or a .50, you want a non denominated Frac, so you can set the value as you please, you want to play a .25/.25 or a .25/.50 or a .50/.50, yeah you can do that with 1 chip
 
A 50¢/50¢ game plays almost identical to a 25¢/50¢ game.

A rack of 50¢ chips covers a table easily, whereas a rack of 25¢ chips feels a little light.

Or you can go with a non-denom frac (like a starburst or a roulette) and use it for both.

@detroitdad was getting hotstamped fracs with a logo on one side and 25¢ on the other. I suggested that he get some done with the logo on both sides so they could be used as 25¢ers of 50¢ers.
 
Machine said:
You don't want a .25 or a .50, you want a non denominated Frac, so you can set the value as you please, you want to play a .25/.25 or a .25/.50 or a .50/.50, yeah you can do that with 1 chip
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I did consider suggesting this, but with the qualifiers of Paulson and $1.50-$2.50 per chip, a non-denom chip (without a relabel) becomes a much tougher find.

Edit: Obviously forgot about starbursts so I am, in fact, an idiot and @Machine and @WedgeRock are both correct there.
 
WedgeRock said:
Or you can go with a non-denom frac (like a starburst or a roulette) and use it for both.
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Yup. I’m not usually a fan on non-denom, but it works fine with fracs. And bonus, you can get some leaded starburst THCs for somewhat cheap these days - handling those things is pure joy.
 
btbmason said:
I did consider suggesting this, but with the qualifiers of Paulson and $1.50-$2.50 per chip, a non-denom chip (without a relabel) becomes a much tougher find.
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I agree non denominated non relabels would be a level 10 find.

If you're asking the question of .25 - .5 Paulson in a 1.5 - 2.5 USD range, you're going to be open (typically) to a relabel and sure they will have an added cost due to relabeling, but frac's in general are going to be higher cost than the other denoms anyway. These chips are typically RHC or Solid THCs

I would point out if you go with a .50 you need less fracs, but I ran a .25/.5 and .5/.5 with 60 x .25 chips; I wouldn't recommend getting less than a rack of fracs anyway.
 
25c: Usable if you ever want to play 25c/25c for a lower buy in, more common so easier to find. Needs more chips for 25c/50c 50c/$1

50c: 50c/50c will play close to 25c/50c and requires fewer fracs. Requires fewer fracs for 50c/$1 as well.

If you're going for a rack either way I'd get the 25c as a rack of fracks should be enough for a single table game and you have more flexibility. 80 would work as well. If you go 50c you can do as low as 40-60 fracs since you need fewer for blinds, and you'll never bet more than one at a time. 50c fracs might encourage slightly large bet sizing, but ymmv. Nondenom has the advantages of both but is harder to find a match for a given set.
 
btbmason said:
I did consider suggesting this, but with the qualifiers of Paulson and $1.50-$2.50 per chip, a non-denom chip (without a relabel) becomes a much tougher find.

Edit: Obviously forgot about starbursts so I am, in fact, an idiot and @Machine and @WedgeRock are both correct there.
Click to expand...

btbmason said:
I did consider suggesting this, but with the qualifiers of Paulson and $1.50-$2.50 per chip, a non-denom chip (without a relabel) becomes a much tougher find.

Edit: Obviously forgot about starbursts so I am, in fact, an idiot and @Machine and @WedgeRock are both correct there.
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yeah $1.50-$2.50 might be unrealistic for fracs. Starbursts sound like a great option though but I do love the look of those hot stamp fracs.
 
25c will mostly be preferred over 50c if we have a choice

U can only consider using Hotstamped Snapper to be use as 25c too, I used them a few times in my home games and no issue whatsoever with it

IMG_5349.jpeg
 
Marshall18 said:
Looking to buy my first set of Paulson chips. Wanted a set that could accommodate .25/.50, .50/$1 and up.

Any thoughts on if I would be better off buying 50 cent fracs and just play .50/.50 instead of .25/.50, or should I go with 25 cent frac for the .25/50 and then just play 1/1 instead of .50/1?

Would assume maybe going with the .50’s and playing .50/.50 would be better that way I could cut down on how many racks of fracs I would need. Seems like a .25/.50 game would require quite a bit more fracs than a .50/$1

Another consideration would be availability and price of 25 cent fracs vs 50 cent fracs as I’m trying to keep costs on the lower end of the spectrum $1.50-2.50 a chip. Not opposed to a hot stamp frac.

Appreciate the help!
Click to expand...
I've toyed with both, and the decision should be based on what you play most often. We play .50/$1, so .50 is preferred. I tried .25s, but always end up just playing my .25s as .50s. If my peeps preferred .25/.50, that might be different, but I would probably lean toward .50/.50.

And, unfortunately, fracs can be the most expensive part of a set, so don't be surprised if you have to pay up for nice fracs. It's worth it!! (:

Good luck!!
 
IMO .25s are the most versatile if that is what you are looking for. If you have a specific game in mind and .50 fit better obviously get those. My group plays 0.25/0.25 but we like a lower buy in.

Another option for cost is look for either murdered chips or cheaper chips that you can mill or get milled and get some gear labels.
 
Machine said:
I agree non denominated non relabels would be a level 10 find.

If you're asking the question of .25 - .5 Paulson in a 1.5 - 2.5 USD range, you're going to be open (typically) to a relabel and sure they will have an added cost due to relabeling, but frac's in general are going to be higher cost than the other denoms anyway. These chips are typically RHC or Solid THCs

I would point out if you go with a .50 you need less fracs, but I ran a .25/.5 and .5/.5 with 60 x .25 chips; I wouldn't recommend getting less than a rack of fracs anyway.
Click to expand...

springbox said:
25c: Usable if you ever want to play 25c/25c for a lower buy in, more common so easier to find. Needs more chips for 25c/50c 50c/$1

50c: 50c/50c will play close to 25c/50c and requires fewer fracs. Requires fewer fracs for 50c/$1 as well.

If you're going for a rack either way I'd get the 25c as a rack of fracks should be enough for a single table game and you have more flexibility. 80 would c
Click to expand...

springbox said:
work as well. If you go 50c you can do as low as 40-60 fracs since you need fewer for blinds, and you'll never bet more than one at a time. 50c fracs might encourage slightly large bet sizing, but ymmv. Nondenom has the advantages of both but is harder to find a match for a given set.
Click to expand...

LeLe said:
25c will mostly be preferred over 50c if we have a choice

U can only consider using Hotstamped Snapper to be use as 25c too, I used them a few times in my home games and no issue whatsoever with it

View attachment 1373716
Click to expand...
Awesome set, i love those snappers. Didn’t think about using those as fracs. I do that today with my tournament china clays today, but I’d love to get to a point where I have chips that are labeled with their exact value.
 
I second using starbursts for this exact purpose. Personally I use white chips with blue 1’s.

Not to mention the shine of the hot stamps just look great imo
 
Keep the quarters. They are put into use frequently in our game, but mostly pre flop. I.e. 1.25, 2.25, 3.75, etc. Post flot you might rarely see 50 cent increments.

Plus. Quarters means MOAR CHIPS!
 
WedgeRock said:
@detroitdad was getting hotstamped fracs with a logo on one side and 25¢ on the other. I suggested that he get some done with the logo on both sides so they could be used as 25¢ers of 50¢ers.
Click to expand...
It would have been a lot simpler if he had them done with .25 on one side and .50 on the other.

I mean, he lives in Detroit ... his players wouldn't know the difference. :cool
 
I’d go with the quarters, since they are more flexible.

Also these allow for more precise bet-sizing (if any of your players are thinking that way).

With quarters in a .25/.50 game, someone can raise the blinds to $1.25 or $1.75 or $2.25 etc. as well as all the .50 increments.
 
Only sensible and ultra-versatile choice is to have Non-Denominated fracs, to play either as .25 or .50 (or even $2 when your game graduates to $1/1, when it would be a pitty for them to become useless).

A .50/.50 game doesn't play really higher than a .25/.50
People with an OCD like me just abhor sums ending in .25 or .75
Let alone that quarters of currency do NOT exist in the civilised world, outside the US. :) :)

A few examples:
Horseshoe_4125.jpg
mint white.jpg
1093.jpg
Hoard_IMG_0396.jpg
 
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