Home cash game chip denomination - order question (2 Viewers)

[ares_exe]

I’m starting to host a poker game for a group of 8-10 players, with the possibility of expanding to 2 tables (16-20 players) occasionally in the future.

Currently, the group prefers playing at stakes of $0.50/$1, with buy-ins ranging between $100 and $200. The total cash in the game typically falls between $1,500 and $2,500.

This is a casual group—no pros—and the bets tend to escalate quickly.

I’m looking for advice on how many chips of each denomination to get. I’d also like to have extra chips on hand as backups in case any get damaged. Additionally, I’m considering including $0.25 chips for flexibility, in case I ever host a $0.25/$0.50 game.

Here’s my current plan:

• 25¢ Majestic Poker Chips: 150
• 50¢ Majestic Poker Chips: 150
• $1 Majestic Poker Chips: 275
• $5 Majestic Poker Chips: 425
• $25 Majestic Poker Chips: 125
• $100 Majestic Poker Chips: 50

I’d really appreciate your feedback on these numbers—thanks in advance!

 

[Sneakygreek]

I usually mess around with the calculator that’s here.

https://www.pokerchipforum.com/pcf/poker-chip-calculator/

 

[NotRealNameNoSir]

Welcome!

One thing I'll mention is that, that's a lot of money on the table (or two tables), and it would be good to have some minimum security if you're looking to spread for 20 players. Yes, you trust everyone, but all it takes is one of your players to take a pic of his stack and get his buddy an invite, and he can buy some $25s for a couple bucks online. Only has to happen once to punish you. Many of us customize the majestics or others with our own labels.

If your game plays that big I'd limit the quarters, 150 is more than most people would put on a single table but good call expanding to two, the good thing is majestics are fairly cheap and you can find them. Would you consider customizing, so your frac doesn't have a denomination? Allows you to give out quarters or 50c pieces for whatever you need. I definitely wouldn't buy both 25c and 50cs, but to each their own.

160 x Fracs
300 x $1s
400 x $5s
100 x $25s
40 x $100s

More fracs and $1s than you need for a single table but can cover two just fine. Bank is more than you'll need, can cover two tables of $3000 each. All this with a grain of salt, our game is .25/.50 or a small .50/$1 and doesn't break $1k most nights.

 

[Coyote]

For that kind of money on the table(s) you 'll need custom or at least custom-labelled chips, for security reasons.
You could be shocked by people's psychological handicaps. One can be an honest administrator of millions, and still have the lust of stealing a pen, or throwing in an unpaid-for $25 chip, in our case.

Absolutely have Non-Denominated fractionals, to be used as either .25 or .50

The breakdown proposed by @NotRealNameNoSir is fine. I 'd even say 120 NDs and 80x$100 to future-proof the set.

 

[ares_exe]

Does it change at all if i can tell by the end of the night that extra chips cashed?

 

[NotRealNameNoSir]

Does it change at all if i can tell by the end of the night that extra chips cashed?

That would work, but would not be a good thing. This wouldn't be a repeat performance, just takes one night. I'm a friend of a friend from out of town, excited to come by; I'm there once, goes great, I bring bourbon. Second time I come weeks later you trust me more and I slip a few greens or blacks onto the table, whatever my stack has room for/is deniable. I'm either losing or winning big early then outta there well before the end of the night.

End of the night comes its you and 5 regulars counting stacks down and you see you're $325 light and you've got extra chips in the bank, what next? Awkward conversation.

Edit to add: Obviously not all games have to have this conversation but it can and does happen, and the wider the circle (2 tables), the more likely it is to happen. Dealt for an underground game, we were quiet when it happened but upgraded our chips to equally shitty sluggos that were more for peace of mind.

 

[Coyote]

Extra chips in the end (upon cash-out) means less money than there should have been, which means you' ve been screwd by someone and you, as the banker and host, have to cover the difference from your own pocket.

 

[Machine]

So… I host a .5/.5 game and we get +/- 2500 most months.

I would get a non denom frac and play it as a .5, it’s what I do.

100 - frac
200 - 1
400 - 5
100 - 20
20 - 100

And when I say it’s what I would do, I mean it.

 

[Coyote]

I even made the top value chip ND, and indeed use it as 50E (in a juicy .5/1E game tabling around 3K), till inflation says otherwise

 

[ares_exe]

It's a great point, hard to argue with it.

In my circumstance to be honest it should be pretty safe, everyone has known each other for a long time.

And considering how expensive funerals are these days I don't think it's worth it

But let's say I am willing to pivot and do it right.

I have my eyes on Majestic. Are the no-labels majestic available to purchase in stock or as a special order? I would really prefer to not remove labels myself (I assume it's very time-consuming).

What's my best option here? I guess my budget goes up (considerably now)

Thank you

 

[ares_exe]

u guys have beautiful collections of chips. One day I have no doubt that will be purchasing some nice one too. Not now though

My last night run at the poker room. I was wondering most of the day who to brag to with no luck. I guess this is as good of a place as any.

 

[Munchies11]

Everyone is different but we play a similar game 8 guys ranging $100 - $300 buy in. Thats our bread and butter game

For our games we go with a higher blind we play $1/$2 blinds so it’s less chip and less calculating per hands to be honest. We are aggressive players so we figure our pots will be high no need to waste chips on smaller denominations when our raises usually are $2-$4 standard. If you guys play bigger pots maybe get rid of the small denominations.

 

[Coyote]

Apache used to offer custom-labelled Majestics.
If not anymore, Justin/Tina are your friends.

 

[ares_exe]

Apache used to offer custom-labelled Majestics.
If not anymore, Justin/Tina are your friends.

I understand that Justin/Tina are ceramic chips

I believe I like the china clay over ceramic. What is the overall feedback on the forum from people that did both

Thank you

 

[WedgeRock]

Currently, the group prefers playing at stakes of $0.50/$1

Here’s my current plan:

• 25¢ Majestic Poker Chips: 150
• 50¢ Majestic Poker Chips: 150

Why do you need quarters for a 50¢/$1 game?

 

[mdt11]

I understand that Justin/Tina are ceramic chips

I believe I like the china clay over ceramic. What is the overall feedback on the forum from people that did both

Thank you

The solution to this is to get samples. You can order Majestic samples and a mixed barrel from Justin and have them in your hand next week to make a decision.

 

[ares_exe]

Why do you need quarters for a 50¢/$1 game?

Not fair

Per my initial post

I’m considering including $0.25 chips for flexibility, in case I ever host a $0.25/$0.50 gam

 

[WedgeRock]

Definitely get non-denominated fracs that can be played as 25¢ or 50¢ then. Seems wasteful to get both.

Ultimately, though, it's your game. Get what makes you happy.

 

[ares_exe]

Definitely get non-denominated fracs that can be played as 25¢ or 50¢ then. Seems wasteful to get both.

I didn't consider that and now I understand what it means

Thank you

 

[moose]

I’m starting to host a poker game for a group of 8-10 players, with the possibility of expanding to 2 tables (16-20 players) occasionally in the future.

Currently, the group prefers playing at stakes of $0.50/$1, with buy-ins ranging between $100 and $200. The total cash in the game typically falls between $1,500 and $2,500.

This is a casual group—no pros—and the bets tend to escalate quickly.

I’m looking for advice on how many chips of each denomination to get. I’d also like to have extra chips on hand as backups in case any get damaged. Additionally, I’m considering including $0.25 chips for flexibility, in case I ever host a $0.25/$0.50 game.

Here’s my current plan:

• 25¢ Majestic Poker Chips: 150
• 50¢ Majestic Poker Chips: 150
• $1 Majestic Poker Chips: 275
• $5 Majestic Poker Chips: 425
• $25 Majestic Poker Chips: 125
• $100 Majestic Poker Chips: 50

I’d really appreciate your feedback on these numbers—thanks in advance!

I don't think you are far out of whack for a 2 table setup. But if you consider that maybe you would spread one .25/.50 game and one .50/1 (or two .50/1) game you could cut the fracs a little bit and reorganize (for the OCD in me, I want full racks)

100 .25 (could leave out for now)
200 .50
200 $1
400 $5
75 $25
25 $100
Total 1000 chips (or 900)
Bank $6675 (not counting quarters) More than enough to cover $2500 per table.
If you drop the quarters, you could add a rack of $5s and still have a nice 1000 chip set. Hint hint, get yourself a 1000 chip carrier like this:
https://www.ebay.ca/itm/115519174146

 

[SetToBean]

So… I host a .5/.5 game and we get +/- 2500 most months.

I would get a non denom frac and play it as a .5, it’s what I do.

100 - frac
200 - 1
400 - 5
100 - 20
20 - 100

And when I say it’s what I would do, I mean it.

View attachment 1448421

Another option - use a not-so-pretty chip from another set.

As an example, I use the Australian Currency design's 5 for that in 5c/10c because it doesn't have a $ sign on it, and immediately stands out as not worth that much compared to the main set.

 

[Phoe9x]

Are the no-labels majestic available to purchase in stock or as a special order? I would really prefer to not remove labels myself (I assume it's very time-consuming).

I thought they were able to be ordered without the label, but I can’t see anything on the website about it. It might be a good idea to send an email out to see if it’s possible.

Anyways these are just stickers so it’s not too hard to rip those off, but there are a lot of them. You can get custom labels from a vendor here and some of them do the relabeling for you (for a price)

 

[ares_exe]

Assuming Justin / Tina are 2 different type of poker chips

Are both available to purchase at this point?

Where do I order that?

Thank you

Edit: Also my previous questions. Do people here prefer the Justin / Tina over china clay?

 

[demonnic]

Justin runs group buys where we order from "Tina", who is the contact with the company in China which makes the chips, which are 'ceramics' and available in multiple molds.

I personally prefer the Tinas, especially the hybrid ones with a recessed label. If you don't mind waiting for a couple months for them to get here, they're a great deal especially for the price. The current group buy for those is at https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/chips-new-sun-mold-web-mold-greek-mold-02-2025.127750/

 

[merkong]

Definitely get non-denominated fracs that can be played as 25¢ or 50¢ then. Seems wasteful to get both.

Ultimately, though, it's your game. Get what makes you happy.

Even as a noob I feel I pioneered this concept.

Or at least championed it.

 

[Coyote]

Even as a noob I feel I pioneered this concept.

Or at least championed it.

I pioneered it and championed it. You also championed it

 

[Darson]

Don’t discount the security aspect. One of the first games I hosted with a bunch of trusted guys - one of them took chips out the box and introduced them to the table. I still see this guy but he’s never been invited back to a game.

As for the breakdown, Machines is close to perfect although I’d do $25s and not $20s. I used to be a 20s for cash guy but that changed when there was a drunk mistake when cashing out $20 chips for $25…

 

[jamesjkim]

+1 to all the comments on security. It's just not worth taking the risk and ending relationships over.

There are plenty of affordable options that surface the classifieds here, and would recommend you start there. If you have the time to wait for Justin's next group buy, jump in and make something one-of-a-kind or choose one of the many, relatively unique preexisting options.