Home game chips: Why denominate at all? (1 Viewer)

Heck, I’m going all-in on this. All verbal bets, but all verbal bets are non-denominated.

Villain: I raise 2 blue

Hero: that’s a bet, not a raise.

Villain: my bad.

Hero: I see your 2 blue...

...

and I raise you 2 white and a chartreuse.


Villain: what’s a chartreuse worth?

Host: 3 chartreuse is equal to one purple

Villain: I fold.

Hero: my wife just texted me. I have to go home. Can I cash out now?
Are non-denominated string-bets allowed?
 
Heck, I’m going all-in on this. All verbal bets, but all verbal bets are non-denominated.

Villain: I raise 2 blue

Hero: that’s a bet, not a raise.

Villain: my bad.

Hero: I see your 2 blue...

...

and I raise you 2 white and a chartreuse.

Villain: what’s a chartreuse worth?

Host: 3 chartreuse is equal to one purple

Villain: I fold.

Hero: my wife just texted me. I have to go home. Can I cash out now?
ROFL! simple laughing emoji wasn't enough. I've laughed a lot through this thread, but this.... GOLD
 
Beat me to it.


Another totally inexact and shallow analogy gets herd approval.

Some old things are outdated. Others are not, or even signs of merit.

I might as well reply, “Well, Mozart was an unsurpassed genius among composers, so nyahh, old stuff is inherently better!”

That conversation could go on forever.

Go to antiquegamblingchips.com. Most of his specimens are non-denoms. The phenomenon derives from mass production and printing advances, coupled with people who simplistically think “more like a casino is always better” and “I want to look
OFFICIAL” (say the last one in a Cartman voice).

Point remains: People overwhelmingly played with undenominated chips for most of the game’s history, at least once chips were available. And there is no evidence that all the “problems” people cite were a problem for decades (even though back then poker was much more wild and diverse in terms or different games commonly played, along with the stakes).

I’ve lateky been reading a bunch of early 20th Century books about home poker—e.g. the works of I. Steig. Nowhere do they mention needing denoms to prevent mass confusion and delays.

Maybe our ancestors just had better attention spans.
 
overwhemingly...

259472
 
The only reason I brought up an inexact analogy is because you are using one to try and prove your underlying point.

I’ve already said that either denominated or non-denominated can work fine and a preference can be established one way or the other similar to preferring bagels or toast. I just don’t believe liking bagels or liking toast is superior to the other and I’m not on a crusade to make everyone else think that.
 
I mean, what next? Will people start describing stacks, bets and raises in terms of big blinds, instead of raw numbers? How ridiculous!
 
Different strokes . . .

There is a reason Baskin Robbins has [more than] 31 flavors.

Although I have two nondenominated sets, for the most part I use denominated sets. I could come up with all sorts of reasons ranging from on point to irrelevant, but the most important are that it's easier and I like them.

Heck, I’m going all-in on this. All verbal bets, but all verbal bets are non-denominated.

Villain: I raise 2 blue

Hero: that’s a bet, not a raise.

Villain: my bad.

Hero: I see your 2 blue...

...

and I raise you 2 white and a chartreuse.

Villain: what’s a chartreuse worth?

Host: 3 chartreuse is equal to one purple

Villain: I fold.

Hero: my wife just texted me. I have to go home. Can I cash out now?

LOL! How many players even know what chartreuse looks like except by using process of elimination? (Yes, I do get your point.)
 
I’m getting a sense of déjà vu in this thread. Didn’t it happen the same way with a home game ruling.
 
Nice, built in ask tax :).

Dividing by 3/5 would actually give the asker a 66.7% bonus.

Can someone please explain the high school backcourt violation to me? When I was playing (granted it was black+ years ago) once a player went fully across the mid court line, the mid court line basically became a boundary line. You could lean over it but if any part of the player or ball touched backcourt or the line (without outside influence of the defense) it was over and back.

I get that the ball can be recovered backcourt after a shot now or if it is batted backcourt by the defense. Aside from that when is a play deemed over and back?

It happened red times this weekend in my Son's game and I was confused why it wasn't called.

FYP.
 
Can someone please explain the high school backcourt violation to me? When I was playing (granted it was 20+ years ago) once a player went fully across the mid court line, the mid court line basically became a boundary line. You could lean over it but if any part of the player or ball touched backcourt or the line (without outside influence of the defense) it was over and back.

I get that the ball can be recovered backcourt after a shot now or if it is batted backcourt by the defense. Aside from that when is a play deemed over and back?

It happened red times this weekend in my Son's game and I was confused why it wasn't called.

You have to be completely across the line. One foot isn't enough. Only reason I know this is I had a high school ref explain it to me when I asked him why he didn't call it during one of my son's games.
 
Point remains: People overwhelmingly played with undenominated chips for most of the game’s history,
Yeah, but denominated chips weren't readily available back then. Had they been a viable choice, the outcome may have been different.

Same for playing cards -- those didn't have denominations, either..... but once available, they were readily accepted as being a superior solution Same for chips with denominations, regardless of your personal opinion (which you are certainly welcome to, so long as you cease trying to force it on others).

Maybe our ancestors just had better attention spans.
Possibly. And maybe progress really IS better.
 
No need for dimes and half dollars. How many of each color do you have?
Originally 150 white, green, black, 100 red & purple, 50 yellow. I’ve retired ~5% over the years due to warping.
 
Do you also insist on playing with these?


Again, another retort retort which garners applause from the peanut gallery, but actually is completely off-point.

Those cards fail the basic usability test not because they are undenominated in the same manner as chips, but because you can’t peek at them.

Chips without markings can be identified easily by color—unless you have no memory or mental discipline. Not so those cards if you want to peek at your hole cards without lifting them off the table.
 
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Again, another retort retort which garners applause from the peanut gallery, but actually is completely off-point.

Those cards fail the basic usability test not because they are undenominated in the same manner as chips, but because you can’t peek at them.

Chips without markings can be identified easily by color—unless you have no memory or mental discipline. Not so those cars if you want to peek at your hole cards Without lifting them off the table.
259605
 
Stuff I am thinking about in a new game after the first hour:

* The guy to my right is playing 4 out of 5 hands, regardless of position.

* That other guy is raising big with small pairs, but small with big ones.

* The player to my left is raising his button 100% of the time over limpers, but almost always folds it to raisers;

* I have a flush draw, two overs and a gutshot, and I am getting 3-to-1 odds to call a bet from a LAGgy player on the flop. Should I raise, or just call?


Stuff I am not thinking about in a new game after the first hour:

* Wait, how much is a white chip worth again?

* Wait, how much is a red chip worth again?

* Wait, how much is a green chip worth again?

* Wait, how much is a black chip worth again?

Stuff I am thinking about in a new game after the first hour:

* Damn, just drank those beers faster than I probably should have.... Is it too early to hit the bourbon?

* That other guy is raising with two pairs. Shit, did I forget to close the garage door?

* The player to my left is raising. I can't believe how good Heidi Klum still looks in her 50's. Good lord she's hot!

* Crap, forgot about the Pappa Murphy's in the oven... hope it's not totally burnt.


Stuff I am not thinking about in a new game after the first hour:

* Wait, how much is a white chip worth again? Oh yea, no worries, it's printed on the chip in a tiny font as a cluttered design element. :)

* Wait, how much is a red chip worth again? Oh yea, no worries, it's printed on the chip in a tiny font as a cluttered design element. :)

* Wait, how much is a green chip worth again? Oh yea, no worries, it's printed on the chip in a tiny font as a cluttered design element. :)

* Wait, how much is a black chip worth again? Oh yea, no worries, it's printed on the chip in a tiny font as a cluttered design element. :)
 
"Just divide what it says on the chip by 3/5" is usually my answer.

The next time a player asks at that same game, you should tell him to "Just multiply what it says on the chips by one and two-thirds" and let them both figure it out.:confused
 
I’m pretty sure in the old days they didn’t peek at their cards they way we do now. Why are certain innovations acceptable but others aren’t?
 
Necessary? Is it necessary to drink my own urine? No, but I do it anyway because it’s sterile and I like the taste. (I hope people catch this reference. I really do.)

Necessary? Is it necessary to have denominations? No, but I do it anyway because their fun and it pisses off Tag.
 
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The non-denominated cards argument is on-point.

Indices were added to cards to make it easier to look at cards without having to lift them off the table. Is it so hard to lift the cards off the table? No, but it makes the game slightly better.

Denominations were added to chips to make it easier to recall what the chip is worth without having to look at a chart or go off memory. Is it so hard to remember the value of each color? No, but it makes the game slightly better.
 

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