Cash game Starting stack and buy in recommendation (2 Viewers)

[Mental Nomad]

After years of weekly+ hosting - and 95% cash games - I've concluded that obsessing over starting stack makeup should remain a tournament hobby, not a cash hobby.

Sounds like you're playing NL Holdem. With that set, 25c/25c should play fine with a typical $20 buy-in. I'd allow buy-ins anywhere from $10 to $75 to start, with a recommended $25 buy-in (100bb). I STRONGLY recommend against forcing everyone to buy in for the same amount: it's a cash game, not a tourney.

I STRONGLY recommend against capping the buy-ins: it's a cash game, not a tourney.

If you're worried about limiting people's losses, I suggest you switch to inviting adults to your game.

If it were me, these are the starting stacks:

First five buy-ins get $5 in quarters (20) and the remainder in dollars up to $25, plus $5 chips if they buy in for more than $25. All the quarters are now on the table.

Next buy-ins get up to $20 in dollars, plus $5 chips if buying more... Until all the dollars are on the table.

After that, buy-ins are strictly $5 chips. If you run out, $20 bills on the table are live. All cash and chips must stay on the table until a player quits.

As far as change-making because not everyone got quarters in the starting stack: they'll be fine. Change at the table. Gives players something to do. Stop obsessing over it. It's a cash game, not a tournament. Nobody is losing "time at this blind level" or anything - it will all be fine.

( if you do buy more chips, I'd shoot for getting no more than 20 quarters on the table per player, about 20 singles on the table per player, and then lots of red birds. Value chips ($20 or $25) are an option if you don't want to get tons of red birds.)

 

[JustinInMN]

Sounds like you're playing NL Holdem. With that set, 25c/25c should play fine with a typical $20 buy-in. I'd allow buy-ins anywhere from $10 to $75 to start, with a recommended $25 buy-in (100bb). I STRONGLY recommend against forcing everyone to buy in for the same amount: it's a cash game, not a tourney.

Agreed, when I speak in terms of a buy in for a cash game, I mean the max (or at least max initial buy in). I think the minimum should be set at 10-20x the big blind and any buy in that range should be acceptable.

If you're worried about limiting people's losses, I suggest you switch to inviting adults to your game.

BURN! (But absolutely right.)

I only think of 4 Max buys per player a gauge to estimate if a set has enough chips. There should be no rule preventing a player from going in as many as he wants. It's cash. If you want to limit buy ins, play a tournament.

In cash you shouldn't never create the situation where it's known one player is on his "last" buy in and has to influence strategy accordingly. In a tournament, after the freezeout point anyway in the case of re entry tournaments, it is know everyone is on their last buy in.

 

[1A25R]

You are good to go for a .25/.50 with your chips.
If you want to be in the safe side regarding re buys or buy-in for $50, just get a barrel of $25

 

[allforcharity]

Thank you guys for the help. Also any recommendation on some new chips.and where to go? Looking into purchasing some new ones

So, we kinda know you're doing 0.25/0.25 cash game, one table up to 10 players. All you need now is to ballpark a budget and then we can estimate a cost per chip.

 

[CantSpellPoker]

So, we kinda know you're doing 0.25/0.25 cash game, one table up to 10 players. All you need now is to ballpark a budget and then we can estimate a cost per chip.

I’m in the same boat. Don’t host a game currently, but if I did, it would most likely be 6-8 players playing .25/.25 or .25/.50. I have the following samples incoming, most likely for a set of approx. 800:

Pharaohs
Dunes
Milanos
Majestics
Venerati

 

[BSteck]

I’m in the same boat. Don’t host a game currently, but if I did, it would most likely be 6-8 players playing .25/.25 or .25/.50. I have the following samples incoming, most likely for a set of approx. 800:

You probably don't need a 800-chip set to cover a game like that. We play .25/.25 $20 min for an 8-person table and I think a good chip breakdowns for it looks like this:

First 8 $20 buy-ins: 12/12/1 Total chips: 96/96/8 - this get all the quarters out there early
Next 10 $20 buy-ins: 0/10/2 Total chips: 0/100/20 - I do have a few guys who like to buy in for $40 right away and so they get an initial stack and one of these
Next 40 $20 buy-ins: 0/0/4 Total chips: 0/0/160

So a set to cover 58 x $20 buy ins (over 7 per player) would look like 96/196/188 = 480 or rounding up to 100/200/200 for a set of 500. Add a barrel of $20's or $25's and maybe a couple hundos just in case and you're good to go.

I also really, really like to do 120 quarters (just cause I like a few more quarters on the table) so that looks like this:
First 10 $20 buy-ins: 12/12/1 Total chips: 120/120/8
Next 8 $20 buy-ins: 0/10/2 Total chips: 0/80/16
Next 39 $20 buy-ins: 0/0/4 Total chips: 0/0/156
For a total 500-set of 120/200/180/+a barrel of 20's

Good luck with your decisions!

 

[MattyMatt]

If you're worried about limiting people's losses, I suggest you switch to inviting adults to your game.

That's a pretty shitty comment though. There are plenty of people, including adults, that don't have a ton of money to spend on having fun. It would be better not to pre-judge the people who are playing at other peoples' games.

 

[JustinInMN]

That's a pretty shitty comment though. There are plenty of people, including adults, that don't have a ton of money to spend on having fun. It would be better not to pre-judge the people who are playing at other peoples' games.

Is it not prejudging adults by assuming they aren't capable of deciding how many buy ins they are willing to play by putting in such a rule?

 

[Mental Nomad]

That's a pretty shitty comment though. There are plenty of people, including adults, that don't have a ton of money to spend on having fun. It would be better not to pre-judge the people who are playing at other peoples' games.

I'm with @JustinInMN - leaving it to people to decide for themselves how much they can afford to risk is showing respect. I don't want to cap things and nanny people based on my beliefs of what they can afford.

Note: I still host a regular two-bit game. The big blind is a quarter, and the small blind is HALF a quarter.

I've been hosting games since college in the early 90's - back then, I hosted a nickel game playing spread-limit 7-stud. I know from cheap games for broke people.

 

[Lash]

That's a pretty shitty comment though. There are plenty of people, including adults, that don't have a ton of money to spend on having fun. It would be better not to pre-judge the people who are playing at other peoples' games.

They can go home when they run out of money

That's a pretty shitty comment though. There are plenty of people, including adults, that don't have a ton of money to spend on having fun. It would be better not to pre-judge the people who are playing at other peoples' games.

pre judging ,would be not letting them decide for themselves

 

[MattyMatt]

Yeah, I actually agree with you that people shouldn't be limited on the amount of buy ins necessarily, I probably felt the comment to be a bit condescending because of the way it looked to me. To me it was never about limiting buy-ins or re-buys, it was about the tone of the comment.

I will say this though: At the games I've hosted I've had people that felt comfortable buying in for about $40, maybe do one more re-buy, but that's it. These are players that tend to lose but want a socially rewarding experience. At the very same table I've had people who have gone to the ATM three times so they can reload, and when they finally left they'd put in anywhere from $400-800.

Now, the problem here is that in some cases you kind of perhaps have to consider the implications of those dynamics. Perhaps you can't please everyone, perhaps you can.

But granted, I read that comment a bit differently than I do now after your comments, so I humbly retract that rather harsh objection of mine.

 

[MattyMatt]

They can go home when they run out of money

It's all about the money for some.

 

[Lash]

It's all about the money for some.

My games are definitely about poker as we play multi days a week. If yours are more of a social gathering I can see where you’re coming from

 

[MattyMatt]

Can it be both?

 

[Chippy365]

I have 25 cent chips 1 dollar chips and $5 chips just trying to get an idea we may have closer yo 10 guys for a cash game.but i want to mske sure i have enough chips for everyone.

I use 120x .25 120x $1.00 and 100x $5.00, lots for 10 players. 12 x.25 12 x 1.00 rest in $5.00's