Blinds increase to $1/$1 from .50/$1 to avoid .50c chips - implications? (8 Viewers)

[LowerBama1714]

I thought this was a poker chip forum….more colors is better.

 

[Mojo1312]

Max buy in is $100 with rebuys/add ons to match highest stack.

I like the try to keep my game friendly and not have stakes be too high.

Ummmm.... okay.

 

[Mojo1312]

I second the question about bet sizes.

If no one ever opens for fractional amounts like $2.50 or $3.50, then it should not make much difference.

If people do use such amounts, it probably changes things a bit. My guess is that those opening to $2.50 would make it $3 instead, and $3.50 opens would become $4, rather than those bettors rounding down instead.

That means that reraises are also going to be bigger… And flop bets too, in relation to a generally larger pot. Plus further magnifications of those larger flop bets on the turn and river.

There would also be slightly more incentive to try to steal the blinds, if your players think about such things.

My guess is that you would want to increase the max buyin to more like $150 as a result, unless you are OK with a somewhat shallower game that leads to more shoves.

Most 1/2 games seem to make the max buyin 150BB ($300) so $150 or even $200 might make sense for 1/1.

^Case study in overthinking.

 

[Taghkanic]

^Case study in overthinking.

Oh, excuse me for taking at face value the OP’s request for specific advice about how the change may affect bet/buyin sizes and overall gameplay.

(Newsflash: You don’t have to read or comment if you are not interested in a topic or contributing anything useful.)

 

[Dugthefish]

Try running a game with only a $1 Big Blind to see if it fits your crowd.

Buy-in / re-buys & betting should remain about the same, the only difference should be that the BB won't net anything on a walk.

My game switched from .25/.50 to a single $1 blind about a year ago. Most of the players love it, it got fracs off the table, and frequently straddles make it a short stack 1/2 game early in the session. After 3-4 hours it plays like a normal 1/2 game.

 

[NotRealNameNoSir]

My game switched from .25/.50 to a single $1 blind about a year ago. Most of the players love it, it got fracs off the table, and frequently straddles make it a short stack 1/2 game early in the session. After 3-4 hours it plays like a normal 1/2 game.

That's great that your players love it, perfect.

Have your buy-ins reflected the change? Normal 1/2 I picture buyins between $200-400, but expect .25/.50 to be closer to $50-200.

 

[Dugthefish]

That's great that your players love it, perfect.

Have your buy-ins reflected the change? Normal 1/2 I picture buyins between $200-400, but expect .25/.50 to be closer to $50-200.

Our .25/.50 game capped initial buy ins at $60, and went up to $100 after a few hours. Our single $1 caps at $100, and occasionally goes up to $200 if and when specifically requested.

It has made the game slightly bigger, but not a whole lot. Previously, we would average between $2-3k on the table at the end of the night, now it's more like $2500-3500.

 

[JustinInMN]

^Case study in overthinking.

Oh man, if overthinking bothers you, PCF is going to be a rough place.

 

[JustinInMN]

I thought this was a poker chip forum….more colors is better.

More chips is better. More colors often means fewer chips.

 

[SwissChip]

More chips is better. More colors often means fewer chips.

Controvers.
Fracs add more chips/color to the game!

 

[SixSpeedFury]

The fracs are more to make the games affordable to the players. If they can only buy in for $60-$100, keep the fracs. $200+, move up to $1/$1.

 

[Mojo1312]

Blinds simply start the action. The notion that the extra .50 from the SB will dramatically change the effective stack sizes over the course of pre-flop and post flop play is overstated.

If you are concerned about the impact identical blinds will have on your game, yet players are allowed to straddle, well... lol.

What really contributes to the size of a game and the way in which it plays is allowing players to match the largest stack at the table.

Out of an abundance of caution in not wanting to inadvertently change the dynamics of your friendly game, I would lean towards keeping the frac if it is employed in pre-flop raises. If not, ditch it.

 

[JustinInMN]

Controvers.
Fracs add more chips/color to the game!

I have nothing against fracs at all. Making fracs I think it is a great part of customization for chippers.

Just don't introduce 4 other colors on top of them. For most cash games 2-3 colors total is fine in most cases. Maybe a few of a 4th color as a high value store.

If you add too many high denominations, you are encouraging the removal of lower denominations to acquire said higher denomination chips.

 

[Dann1215]

Thanks for all the input and suggestions - based on this and the ultimate goal of keeping stakes low I will continue with 0.50/1 for the time being. I will also look to limit straddling as part of my house rules (ie not within the first 2 hours or so..). Thanks again this discussion has been really helpful.