Title. I'm building a custom set (at the getting designs stage rn), and I always like how from .25 to 500, you always can get the nice 4x or 5x increments. However after 500, the next common denomination is 1000, which is only a 2x increase. Why not 2k or 2.5k? Out of the two, which do you prefer?
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Denominations after 500? (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter qiu_lijie
- Start date
For tournament, you have the option of going 2k, 10k, etc. if you really want, though it's not popular. To emulate casinos, stick to 1k, 5k, etc.
If you do go 2k, 10k, make sure you adjust your quantities of 500 upward so you can incremental bets with reasonable numbers of chips.
If you do go 2k, 10k, make sure you adjust your quantities of 500 upward so you can incremental bets with reasonable numbers of chips.
Not necessarily. I don’t always play in USD/CAD for that matters
Also, if you DO decide on a 2K, I’d avoid any of the standard 1K colors (yellow) to avoid confusing your players.
I had a hard enough time to push holdem as it is, also want to do a bit of mix game but I don’t see that happening anytime soon
That’s good advice. Maybe blazing orange then
Maybe even go farther away. There is at least one set out there I know of that uses orange for its 1K’s.
Don’t know your other denoms but assuming:
$1 - white
$5 - red
$25 - green
$100 - black
$500 - pink/violet
….maybe a shade of brown, blue, or gray for a 2K? Insure the spots aren't close to the $500 or $100 also.
Don’t know your other denoms but assuming:
$1 - white
$5 - red
$25 - green
$100 - black
$500 - pink/violet
….maybe a shade of brown, blue, or gray for a 2K? Insure the spots aren't close to the $500 or $100 also.
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2k or 2,5k makes a lot of sense in theory, but in reality it’s just awkward. It has been done but most just don’t. 500 to 1000 is the exception to the 4/5x rule.
Why is that the case thou, being awkward? Is it just your players used to the 1k chips or are there other reasons
It’s just the norm. Players are used to regular denoms.
There are at least a handful of PCFers who have done it. Simply do a search for T2000 or T2500 (or maybe T2,000 or T2,500) and you'll find some results. And though I'm usually in favor of trying to make a better mousetrap, when it comes to denominations on poker chips, I say keep it standard. Ask yourself this - have you ever heard of a real casino using either of those denominations?
wickedwonka121
Flush
You're not wrong when coloring up, it would be easier with 4x or 5x denom jump. But the issue is in the blinds. Blind progression makes more sense after 500 to increment by 1k for a few rounds. Trust the concensus. If the 1k didn't work it wouldn't be a thing. 
wickedwonka121
Flush
Huskerchipper
Flush
2 of my custom chip sets have a top denomination of $2000. It's just preference. Do whatever floats your boat
LeLe
4 of a Kind
For high stakes cash (NL 5000++) most of the players skip $500 rather than $1K
Denominations progression of $25 $100 $1k $5k $25k
I skipped $500 for my $2/5 to $5/5 or $5/$10 set
Denominations progression of $25 $100 $1k $5k $25k
I skipped $500 for my $2/5 to $5/5 or $5/$10 set
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For my 2/5 cash set, my largest denom is $500. I also have a barrel of 48mm undenominated chips (never used so far) in the unlikely event we somehow need a bigger denom …. Say, if the game ran for two days instead the usual 7-8 hours.
In such a case, I could make the 48mm chip any amount necessary.
Realistically, the purpose of these non-denoms would be to “buy”’ lower denoms from the biggest stack, if we got super deep and I’d run out of smaller chips.
Doubt I’d need to make it more than $1K even in such an extreme situation.
In such a case, I could make the 48mm chip any amount necessary.
Realistically, the purpose of these non-denoms would be to “buy”’ lower denoms from the biggest stack, if we got super deep and I’d run out of smaller chips.
Doubt I’d need to make it more than $1K even in such an extreme situation.
SixSpeedFury
Full House
Some people just don't like change since they are used to standard denoms and black and red pips.
True. The good news is that they can also get used to four-color decks very quickly. But the host has to commit to it long enough for it to “take.” If you cave in to those who complain right off the bat, they’ll never evolve.
The thing is my players dont really play in casinos, and for those that do, I doubt that they play that big. So any exceptions would be set by me (and there other home games if any), and I can keep this nice progression if I want to
My motivation for getting higher denoms was that in my last game, we ran out of 500s from my set and had to sub in 500s from a different set (again this is not in USD or CAD). And it was a 1/2 cash game lol
Maybe just get more 500s? (How big is this 1/2 playing, and when is the next game?)
Yes I do plan to do that (have a WTT and WTB up already), thou for the next game we have other sets we can play with in the group. Just if im building a custom set, I wanna keep the possibility of having deeeeeeeep games in mind. For reference it was a 300 buyin, but ppl bought in for 10+ times over the span of ~10 hours
Per my earlier post, I think this has to do more with the practicalities of betting vs coloring up/making change.
For your workhorse chips—the ones most often in play—the 4x-5x jumps make the most sense. If in a 1/2 game you’re cutting out a river bet of $185, you can do that with two hundos and get $15 change from the pot; or seven $25s and two $5s; or two barrels of fives minus three chips, etc. having $50 chips isn’t necessary.
By contrast, in a game of 1/2, 1/3, 2/5, or 5/5, maybe even 5/10, the big denoms like $500 and $1,000 exist more to help the host later in the game as stacks get bigger, rather than to make precise betting easier.
The host/floor can make change from big stacks with them so that they don’t have to have quite as many $5s, $25s or $100s.
If you need chips bigger than $1K for such games, I’d say maybe the stakes ought to be bumped up.
All that said, having a barrel of non-denoms around can address any situation where the game goes crazy deep. It could be introduced as a $5K or $10K or a $33,333 chip if you want.
(I know I’m somewhat repeating myself, but wanted to make my point more clearly.)
BadCardHaver
Pair
I have run a tourney with 100, 500, 2500, and 10K chips and nobody had any issue with it. The vast majority of my players have never played a tourney at a casino and have no idea that it is 'wrong'. It's your set, do what works for you and your players.
Isn’t this a cash game?
Are there recommendations for denoms combined with blinds published anywhere. I always struggle with this and need to right size my tournament game.
BadCardHaver
Pair
The OP's is. I was just pointing out that if you aren't dealing with PCF'ers or people that have spent a lot of time at actual casinos, not sticking to what is 'right' probably wouldn't be an issue.
I don’t think anyone is suggesting that you *have* to do anything any specific way. Clearly we are all free to make whatever choices we prefer.
That said… there are usually good reasons for why something becomes the “right” way. So if deviating from the norm, it makes sense to first understand why the standard exists. Sometimes standards are arbitrary or just based in outdated tradition. But I don’t think this is true of denom jumps.
Anyway, the reason I asked about cash in this context is that chips don’t function in the same way in cash and tournaments.
In a tournament, your highest denom at the start is going to be your lowest at the end (or may even be colored up depending on the length/size of the tourney).
In a cash game by contrast your highest denom stays the same, barring some truly weird circumstances that might come up once in a lifetime. In which case the host could make anything handy into an ultra-high denom in a pinch. Wouldn’t even have to be a chip.
The only other consideration for cash I can think of is if you are expecting to raise stakes eventually.
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