Cash Game Chip breakdown 5¢/10¢ to 25¢/50¢ (3 Viewers)

[Nicolas]

Hi everyone,

New here, first post! I've played poker on and off for a while but this is my first venture into chips (other than basic dice chips).

I'm looking for a chip set for 5¢/10¢ cash games (bulk of games), but that would also fit 25¢/25¢ and maybe 25¢/50¢.
I'm thinking 600 chips, denominations 5¢/25¢/$1/$5/$25.

A few considerations:
- I would be playing with very casual players, so I expect a bunch of limping, so I'm wondering if I should put more nickels than the recommended 100.
- I expect 6-8 players to be much more likely than 9-10 players, so could skim on some chips.
- The 5¢/10¢ game would be the bulk of games. Those stakes need to play the most comfortably. I don't mind being slightly uncomfortable/underchipped for higher stakes (I would rather be comfy around those stakes as well, but in case I can't have it all...).
- I don't expect to need a big bank, because the people who would on occasion play 25¢/25¢ or 25¢/50¢ would be the 5¢/10¢ people stretching themselves to higher stakes, so I wouldn't expect many rebuys in a 25¢/50¢ game (i.e. would expect most to cap their night at $100 regardless of the stakes). So I would be fine with a $1k bank if need be. (Ideally it would be bigger, just in case, but again, if I can't have it all...)

Here are some breakdowns I was thinking of:
- 100/200/200/100 : I'm thinking of getting the Dia de Muertos set, in which case I would use their non-denominated chip for nickels, but could also be used as $25s for the 25¢/25¢ or 25¢/50¢ games, so this would effectively be equivalent to a 100/200/200/100/100 set.
- 100/200/200/80/20 : which I've seen a lot here (potential substitute for 100/200/200/100 if I don't get a Dia de Muertos set)
- 100/220/220/60 : would allow 10-handed 10/22/14 (5¢/10¢), 20/20/5 (25¢/25¢), and 12/22/5 or 12/22/5/2 (25¢/50¢).
- 160/160/160/100/20 : would allow easy 8-handed starting stacks of 20/20/X, enough nickels for the casual limpers, and a barrel of $25s for the bank. One concern here: it might be nice to have 180+ quarters and ones so that I can have 8-handed starting stacks of 10/22/14 or 10-handed 10/18/15 in the 5¢/10¢ game, and 8-handed 20/15 or 20/15/4 in the 25¢/25¢ game, or 8-handed 12/22/15 or 12/22/5 or 12/22/5/2 in the 25¢/50¢ game.

Question: is a barrel of workhorse chips per person in the starting stack not good enough for the game? is it expected that more change will be needed for those chips? (I haven't played live in a while so have no idea of what's an actual good distribution in practice.)

Some other distributions I'm flirting with:
- 140/180/180/80/20
- 100/180/180/120/20
- 160/180/160/80/20
- 100/220/220/60

Thoughts?
Thanks!

~Nicolas

P.S. Finally, I'm thinking of getting Majestic, Pharaoh, or Dia de Muertos chips.

(This is NLHE.)

 

[Nicolas]

I’ll probably end up getting 100/200/200/100 of 5c/25c/$1/$5 in Majestics. And stick to 5c/10c and 25c/25c games.

 

[Saoliver]

A rack of nickels should be plenty in any game. 2 racks of quarters, then fill out with $1s and some $5s. I’ve got two micro stakes sets, and love to get plenty of chips on the table. This breakdown should work just fine.

 

[redeagle]

i think a rack of nickels is plenty, but i would get the 100/200/200/80/20 or 100/180/180/120/20. higher bank is always good for flexibility and if your game ever plays a bit large you will want a few more $5s and some $25 chips.

 

[Nicolas]

A rack of nickels should be plenty in any game. 2 racks of quarters, then fill out with $1s and some $5s. I’ve got two micro stakes sets, and love to get plenty of chips on the table. This breakdown should work just fine.

i think a rack of nickels is plenty, but i would get the 100/200/200/80/20 or 100/180/180/120/20. higher bank is always good for flexibility and if your game ever plays a bit large you will want a few more $5s and some $25 chips.

Thanks, I might have to do 100/200/200/75/25 if I'm getting the Majestics from Apache (they do multiples of 25), but then if I sprinkle some OCD on top, I might just have to do 100/200/200/100 or just cave and get more chips, something like 100/200/200/200/100?

 

[JustinInMN]

Question: is a barrel of workhorse chips per person in the starting stack not good enough for the game? is it expected that more change will be needed for those chips? (I haven't played live in a while so have no idea of what's an actual good distribution in practice.)

I would say a barrel is the bare minimum. 2-3 barrels is ideal, imo but not always practical if trying to cover a wide range of stakes on 600 chips.

For 600 chips 100/200/200/80/20 of 0.05/0.25/1/5/25 (or 100/200/200/75/25 if required to buy in 25s) should be a pretty good bet which you have already mentioned. Bank of 1160

If you can do 800 chips 100/200/300/160/40 is a better choice. Bank of 2160 there.

Or really skip getting twenty-fives and just let 20 dollar notes play on the table if the bank gets exhausted. Twenty-fives just shouldn't get in play that often at these stakes.

 

[redeagle]

If you stick to something popular and in production like the Majestics, DDLM, etc, you can always add on later. Rather than dithering, get what you need for your game today, see how it works out and if you need more, you can always add on chips. You will never get the magic set of 400 chips that supports .05/.10 up to 2/5 stakes.

If your game is 6-8 players in micro-stakes, that's one chip set. If its 8 guys playing 1/2 with 2 or 3 rebuys that's different. If you want both covered you need the nickels for the small game and enough $5/$25/$100 for the 1/2 bank and rebuys. That means 800 to 1000+ chips. However if your max loss per player is $100 per night, you are not playing that 1/2 game.

As mentioned by @JustinInMN a 600 chip set of 100/200/200/80/20 of 5¢/25¢/$1/$5/$25 is great for .05/.10 to .25/.25 and ok for a .25/.50 game since you indicate your game plays small. That should cover all of your considerations mentioned in the OP. If you plan to play over .25/.50 or your game starts playing bigger, there's no way around it, you need more $5 and $25 chips. If your not space limited, just go for 800 chips and cover all your options.

 

[Sneakygreek]

i was curious about this too. also a new member

 

[boltonguy]

The other thing you could consider doing is getting a chip set for $2/$5 and play 10x.
So for example play $1/$2 and buyin for $20 and get $200 in chips. Cash out at 1/10th. This would effectively be $0.10/$0.20.

If you were to get 200/400/160/40 in $1/$5/$25/$100 you could play $0.10/$0.20, $0.10/$0.30, $0.20/$0.50 (all by playing 10x) and then $1/$1 up to $2/$5 with 8 players. This would give you a max bank at 10x of $1,020 or $10,200 as your game grows and you dont need fracs.

 

[Nicolas]

Thank you everyone. I'm thinking of following redeagle's advice (because Majestics): get less chips to start with, add more if need be.

So I'm thinking of starting with 500 chips: 100/200/150/50 (5¢/25¢/$1/$5) for the 5¢-10¢ game, and then later bump it up to 100/200/200/75/25 or even 100/200/200/150/50 to include the 25¢-25¢ and 25¢-50¢ games.

I was also thinking of 500 chips so they can fit in a 500 case (Versa Deluxe? Jacks Poker Viper? Claysmith? Trademark? I might start another thread), and the extras can be stored in one or two Warneke boxes and swapped out depending on the stakes.

I like overthinking things and changing my mind all the time

 

[JustinInMN]

So I'm thinking of starting with 500 chips: 100/200/150/50 (5¢/25¢/$1/$5) for the 5¢-10¢ game, and then later bump it up to 100/200/200/75/25 or even 100/200/200/150/50 to include the 25¢-25¢ and 25¢-50¢ games.

This is a good breakdown if the 5¢-10¢ game is your focus right now.

That said, 600 chip acrylic carrier ftw!

https://www.amazon.com/GSE-Games-Sp...d=1615908115&sprefix=600+chip+,aps,193&sr=8-5

If these accommodated 43mm chips I would be on this .

 

[Nicolas]

That said, 600 chip acrylic carrier ftw!

https://www.amazon.com/GSE-Games-Sports-Expert-600-Piece/dp/B07GNW3YJM/

My concerns with the 600 chip acrylic carrier are wobbliness, noisiness, fragility, ease of (local) transport, and long-term weight on the bottom racks. Founded or unfounded?

P.S. Any difference between the GSE one and the following? (It appears some are better than others.)
https://spinettisgaming.com/products/chip-carrier-for-600-poker-chips
https://brpropoker.com/products/600-chip-acrylic-carrier

Thanks!

 

[JustinInMN]

My concerns with the 600 chip acrylic carrier are wobbliness, noisiness, fragility, ease of (local) transport, and long-term weight on the bottom racks. Founded or unfounded?

P.S. Any difference between the GSE one and the following? (It appears some are better than others.)
https://spinettisgaming.com/products/chip-carrier-for-600-poker-chips
https://brpropoker.com/products/600-chip-acrylic-carrier

Thanks!

I am sure there are better experts on these cases than I that will come along. But strictly from an aesthetic point of view, acrylic carriers turn this into art on display. Cases hide it from the world.

But now I have introduced a topic sure to cause a threadjack .

 

[Nicolas]

I ended up getting the Versa Deluxe case. Doesn't mean I can't get an acrylic carrier later

 

[Uscfan81]

Thanks, I might have to do 100/200/200/75/25 if I'm getting the Majestics from Apache (they do multiples of 25), but then if I sprinkle some OCD on top, I might just have to do 100/200/200/100 or just cave and get more chips, something like 100/200/200/200/100?

How do you like your majestics? I’m thinking about these as well.

 

[Nicolas]

(My response to Uscfan81 here.)

 

[Silver_Fiend]

Thank you everyone. I'm thinking of following redeagle's advice (because Majestics): get less chips to start with, add more if need be.

So I'm thinking of starting with 500 chips: 100/200/150/50 (5¢/25¢/$1/$5) for the 5¢-10¢ game, and then later bump it up to 100/200/200/75/25 or even 100/200/200/150/50 to include the 25¢-25¢ and 25¢-50¢ games.

I was also thinking of 500 chips so they can fit in a 500 case (Versa Deluxe? Jacks Poker Viper? Claysmith? Trademark? I might start another thread), and the extras can be stored in one or two Warneke boxes and swapped out depending on the stakes.

I like overthinking things and changing my mind all the time

I would suggest when you add-on to your set to make it 300 workhorse chips. These are going to be your quarter and $1s, with $5s as wealth storage chips.

You should plan on 100BB buy-ins per player plus re-buy. You are looking at a spread of games, so you will need extras than what you needed for any one blind level.

For a 5c/10c game, all your blinds are going to be nickels, so you want at least 20 per player. Thats $1, with another $9 in 25c (36), then another 100BB in $1s which will be 10. 160+288+80. Thats 528 chips if i mathed correctly.

For a 25/50 game, youd look at the same structure with 25c, $1, $5. But youve already got enough quarters from the lower level needs, and youve already got 80 $1, so you only need another 200, then add 80 $5.

So for this spread you need 160 nickels, 288 quarters, 288 $1s and 80 $5. If you round up your numbers to barrels, thats 160/300/300/80. If you are ordering in groups of 25 then youd need 175/300/300/100. You could cut back on the blinds chips, but you'll be making change a lot more often. If you want the minimum blind chips, the youd need 80 nickels and could probably skate by with 75. Your choice. Of course then you might want to throw on a barrel of $25 as wealth stores for those rare big games where someones on a heater.

So either 75/300/300/100 + 25 = 800 chips,
or 175/300/300/100 +25 = 900 chips

 

[Nicolas]

[...]

Thanks! I ended up getting 100/200/150/50 (5¢/25¢/$1/$5) -- will adjust later according to my needs.

 

[TwoHomie]

Thanks! I ended up getting 100/200/150/50 (5¢/25¢/$1/$5) -- will adjust later according to my needs.

Pics or it didn’t happen!

 

[Nicolas]

Pics or it didn’t happen!

Pics here.

 

[TwoHomie]

Pics here.

Woohoo. Absolutely love my majestics. They’ll serve you great.

 

[Toaster]

This is a good breakdown if the 5¢-10¢ game is your focus right now.

That said, 600 chip acrylic carrier ftw!

https://www.amazon.com/GSE-Games-Sports-Expert-600-Piece/dp/B07GNW3YJM/ref=sr_1_5?crid=3DS4HYSUOR3VL&dchild=1&keywords=600+chip+carrier&qid=1615908115&sprefix=600+chip+,aps,193&sr=8-5

If these accommodated 43mm chips I would be on this .

So I have this same breakdown as Nicolas ( 100/200/150/50 (5¢/25¢/$1/$5) for a 5¢-10¢ game)
and I'm hosting first game this weekend. What would be the starting stack for 6 players? Someone else in this thread said $1 in nickels per person (20 chips each) but at that starting stack, there wouldn't be enough nickels for 6 people.

 

[BillyBluff]

but at that starting stack, there wouldn't be enough nickels for 6 people

For cash, having even stacks doesn't matter - as long as the value of the chips on the table matches their buy-in, you're good. Give a barrel of nickels to the first 5 people and then use the next largest chip as a substitute (4 x 25c) for the 6th person. They can then make change with other players at the table to be able to post their blinds.

 

[JustinInMN]

So I have this same breakdown as Nicolas ( 100/200/150/50 (5¢/25¢/$1/$5) for a 5¢-10¢ game)
and I'm hosting first game this weekend. What would be the starting stack for 6 players? Someone else in this thread said $1 in nickels per person (20 chips each) but at that starting stack, there wouldn't be enough nickels for 6 people.

For cash, having even stacks doesn't matter - as long as the value of the chips on the table matches their buy-in, you're good. Give a barrel of nickels to the first 5 people and then use the next largest chip as a substitute (4 x 25c) for the 6th person. They can then make change with other players at the table to be able to post their blinds.

@BillyBluff is right. Identical stacks are not required for cash. In tournaments, identical stacks are helpful because all starting stacks are the same in total, and can be set out in advance, so identical tournament stacks provide a nice easy visual check.

In cash, however, you should be counting chips every time they go out from the bank with each buy in anyway.

You can still plan stacks, but because cash players buy in or cash out at different times, there is no real advantage to having identical stacks. And also, lower value chips are not removed from cash games as they are in tournaments, so it's to your advantage to get the low value chips on the table early.

If I were planning stacks, I would do either
5 stacks of 20/36/0 (0.05/0.25/1) followed by 1 stack of 0/20/5, and remaining by ins all in singles

Or

6 stacks of 15/25/3
Followed by 1 stack of 10/30/2
Followed by 1 stack of 0/20/5, and remaining buy ins all in singles.

I wouldn't even put fives in play for 0.10 blind game.

Hope this helps.

 

[Toaster]

@BillyBluff is right. Identical stacks are not required for cash. In tournaments, identical stacks are helpful because all starting stacks are the same in total, and can be set out in advance, so identical tournament stacks provide a nice easy visual check.

In cash, however, you should be counting chips every time they go out from the bank with each buy in anyway.

You can still plan stacks, but because cash players buy in or cash out at different times, there is no real advantage to having identical stacks. And also, lower value chips are not removed from cash games as they are in tournaments, so it's to your advantage to get the low value chips on the table early.

If I were planning stacks, I would do either
5 stacks of 20/36/0 (0.05/0.25/1) followed by 1 stack of 0/20/5, and remaining by ins all in singles

Or

6 stacks of 15/25/3
Followed by 1 stack of 10/30/2
Followed by 1 stack of 0/20/5, and remaining buy ins all in singles.

I wouldn't even put fives in play for 0.10 blind game.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for this. It sounds like you would recommend buying in for $10 in a 10c BB game? My players are comfortable buying in for $20 which I thought would be fine. I've read others say that 100 BB buy in will play too shallow (shove fest).

 

[upNdown]

I've read others say that 100 BB buy in will play too shallow (shove fest).

Anybody who says that is just being a deep stack snob.
100 big blinds is kind of the international standard for "just fine."

 

[JustinInMN]

My players are comfortable buying in for $20 which I thought would be fine. I've read others say that 100 BB buy in will play too shallow (shove fest).

Anybody who says that is just being a deep stack snob.
100 big blinds is kind of the international standard for "just fine."

I personally think 80-150 x BB is the "Just fine" range. More than that I would consider "deep" and less than that I would consider shallow. I played in a 0.25-0.50 game with a $20 buy in once in college that was certainly a shove fest. That's only 40BB deep . PCF posters often suggest 0.25-0.25 blinds with a $20 buy in if players don't want to use nickels and play a decent 80BB stack.

But bottom line for advice to @Toaster, $10 or $20 buy in is fine with 0.05-0.10 blinds. Depends on if your players prefer the depth or not. I would just add singles to all the starting stacks I suggested above if you do $20. You are certainly more likely to get to a spot where you may need fives with $20 buy-ins, which is fine. I would just suggest holding off on getting those on the table until you exhaust the singles.

FWIW, I agree with @upNdown that 100 BB should be the standard and was 10 years ago. But I do think the trend is toward deeper games. Even in my home game players have pushed the stacks to 120-150 x BB. I'm not going to give in to 200x though. I think you lose certain players if you make the max too deep it benefits the deeper pockets. The two most common games I host are 0.50-0.50 60max and 0.50-1 150max.

 

[Toaster]

I personally think 80-150 x BB is the "Just fine" range. More than that I would consider "deep" and less than that I would consider shallow. I played in a 0.25-0.50 game with a $20 buy in once in college that was certainly a shove fest. That's only 40BB deep . PCF posters often suggest 0.25-0.25 blinds with a $20 buy in if players don't want to use nickels and play a decent 80BB stack.

But bottom line for advice to @Toaster, $10 or $20 buy in is fine with 0.05-0.10 blinds. Depends on if your players prefer the depth or not. I would just add singles to all the starting stacks I suggested above if you do $20. You are certainly more likely to get to a spot where you may need fives with $20 buy-ins, which is fine. I would just suggest holding off on getting those on the table until you exhaust the singles.

FWIW, I agree with @upNdown that 100 BB should be the standard and was 10 years ago. But I do think the trend is toward deeper games. Even in my home game players have pushed the stacks to 120-150 x BB. I'm not going to give in to 200x though. I think you lose certain players if you make the max too deep it benefits the deeper pockets. The two most common games I host are 0.50-0.50 60max and 0.50-1 150max.

Thank both for the information! Does player experience factor into this at all? I'll be playing with 6 people total and most of them will be complete noobs (they might know most of the rules, maybe not) and/or haven't played in 10 years. I expect to be the most knowledgable person there (I have vague understandings of ranges, betting strategies, etc.), but I also haven't played in 10+ years. Does deeper or shallower stack benefit inexperienced players?

 

[upNdown]

FWIW, I agree with @upNdown that 100 BB should be the standard and was 10 years ago. But I do think the trend is toward deeper games. Even in my home game players have pushed the stacks to 120-150 x BB. I'm not going to give in to 200x though. I think you lose certain players if you make the max too deep it benefits the deeper pockets. The two most common games I host are 0.50-0.50 60max and 0.50-1 150max.

I'll throw another FWIW out there - at the gorgeous Encore Boston poker room (which still hasn't reopened since covid ) the max buy-in for their $1/3 tables was $300 -you weren't allowed to buy in for more than 100 big blinds. I'll freely admit that casinos do a lot of things for a lot of reasons (so we should be careful of making interpretations) and I think it's more typical for casinos to let people buy in to low stakes tables for 150 big blinds, this just serves as another indicator that 100 big blinds is just fine.

 

[jdparrish21]

Thank both for the information! Does player experience factor into this at all? I'll be playing with 6 people total and most of them will be complete noobs (they might know most of the rules, maybe not) and/or haven't played in 10 years. I expect to be the most knowledgable person there (I have vague understandings of ranges, betting strategies, etc.), but I also haven't played in 10+ years. Does deeper or shallower stack benefit inexperienced players?

Inexperienced players tend to be Loose-Passive. When they have chips, they play a lot of hands and call down a lot. When their stacks get smaller, they tend to tighten a little. So from that perspective, shorter stacks might benefit the inexperienced players by incentivizing them to think a little more and play a bit tighter. But if the stakes are really, low, it probably won't matter. They know they can rebuy and are just playing for fun anyway...

But from the perspective of the inexperienced player, larger stacks "benefit" them more