Cash Game In .25/.25 game which chip is workhorse? (1 Viewer)

[KingHigh]

I’m hosting my first .25/.25 NLHE Cash Game, $25 buy-in. I have to decide chip color denomination based on availability of that chip in my supply.

Which chip denomination will be the workhorse, .25 or 1.00?

Thank you!

 

[Tonystark137]

Probably $1 and $5; probably a barrel of .25 each player even if they are limpy

 

[NotRealNameNoSir]

Whats your chip breakdown?

 

[Mandos]

$1. Unless you get a lot of rebuys or drastically limit the number of 1s on the table you won't have all that many 5s to start. Of course you could give everyone 8-12 .25, 7-8 $1 and then 3 $5 to start, but most of the time .25/.25 would start with more $1 than that. I typically do 1 rack of .25 on the table to start (first 5 players get a barrel) and then the rest of the initial buyins with $1, and then rebuys with $5 when you feel like you have as many $1 on the table as you want.

 

[Mandos]

at a really limpy table up to a barrel of .25 each is fine but you probably don't want much more than that.

 

[KingHigh]

Thanks for the advice everyone. Last night I built the chip stacks and put them in the case so that they are ready to go Friday night. I have a ton more white chips so I made that the $1. I’m confirmed 8 handed + 2 more might show up so there will be lots of chips in play.

My breakdown:
Twelve, .25 (blue) chips, $3.00
Twelve, $1 (white) chips, $12.00
Two, $5 (red) chips, $10.00

I’m thinking I’ll leave Black & Green chips off the table (I have a ton of $5 red chips and I hear that the fewer denominations, the easier cashing players out will be). But if I do decide to play them, I was thinking Black $10 and Green $25. I know black is traditionally a $100 chip but I don’t see a need for such a large denomination chip in this .25/.25 game. Or maybe just introduce the Green $25 and leave Black in the case.

I’ve come here for your thoughts and ideas. Thanks!

 

[dylpickle]

I'm a bit newer to all this - why would someone have the blind values be equal? That seems very odd to me, but I'm assuming there must be a good reason.

 

[KingHigh]

@dylpickle, I’m playing w some newbies so to keep the stakes low, simplicity and rate of play, I’ve decided to go w .25/.25 blinds. It allows me to not have to use another chip denomination (.5 or .10), too.

 

[upNdown]

I'm a bit newer to all this - why would someone have the blind values be equal? That seems very odd to me, but I'm assuming there must be a good reason.

It seems odd at first if you're used to .25/.50 and $1/2, etc. But in practice it makes perfect sense. I've always hosted .25/.50, but if I were to ever raise the stakes, I'd go to $1/1 without a second thought - nobody needs a handful of half-dollar chips on the table just for the small blind.

 

[dylpickle]

Never heard of that. I teach a lot of new players, and that seems like a really friendly onramp. It seems like it changes the strategy a decent bit, but maybe only when limping in. I wonder if new players will limp more with two of them having a full BB down on the table already.

 

[andrebttx]

To the initial question - I find my $1s are workhorse for our .25/.25, $25 buy-in game. To guarantee there’s enough change to go around, I’ll often do a barrel of quarters and barrel of $1s for the first 5 buy-ins, or some other variant that gets the entire rack of fracs in play, and then there’s for sure already enough on the table for the rest of the night.

As far as why we play .25/.25, first, it meant I didn’t have to chase down another denomination of chips, and while I love playing with Paulsons, I am also balling on a budget over here. Secondly, it just made change less annoying - when stacks include dimes and quarters, sometimes you end up with really annoying totals for all-ins or side pots or cash outs, and only dealing with quarters just made that much easier.

It barely functionally changes the game - the SB will be in pots some percentage more of the time because it’ll be slightly cheaper to complete an open or check through a limped pot, and I guess late positions might be a percentage more aggressive because there’s a whole 15 cents more in the pot they can steal - but in reality, it’s such a minor effect that the upsides and benefits are way worth it.

 

[BottomPair7]

^^^ this. .25/.25 plays they same as .1/.25. The workhorse chip in my game is definitely the $1. My buy-in is $20-$40, but most buy-in at $40. I give my players a barrel of .25, a barrel of $1's and 3-$5 chips.

 

[maloviz]

I host a 25c/25c cash game. $25 initial. $50 max reload.
I give players anywhere from 8-20 quarters depending on how much I think they will limp into pots. A full barrel on 25c = $5 so giving someone a full barrel can be really simple. Then the rest in dollars for the first buy in.
This means for a table of ~9 players a rack of quarters is usually enough (I own 2 racks but try to never use more than 1 rack), and 2 racks of dollars works well. After 9 buy-ins at $25 there is $225 on the table which perfectly equals the 3 racks I just described. From there, rebuys are done entirely with $5 chips. Depending on the group 1-2 racks of $5 chips should be good.

My set has the following breakdown:
200x 5c = $10
200x 25c = $50
200x $1 = $200
200x $5 = $1000
100x $20 (Yellow) = $2000
900 chips total = $3260 bank

But if I have way too many chips that are never needed.
I would recommend this instead for a 25c/25c cash game:
100x 25c = $25
200x $1 = $200
180x $5 = $900
20x $20 (Yellow) = $400
500 chips total = $1525 bank

If you wanted to save some money you could even do just 1 rack of $5 chips and probably still be good.
5c chips just suck and I've only ever used 2 $20 chips at my game and we really didn't even need to, it was just to see them in play lol.

 

[maloviz]

And to actually answer your question (lol). The $1 chip will be the workhorse, but the $5 chip should see a good amount of play too in non-limped pots.

 

[dylpickle]

It seems like there is an interesting challenge in getting 4+ denominations into play in very low stakes cash games. Aesthetically, I certainly like to get to handle more than 3 denominations during play...

 

[Tonystark137]

Harder question: what's the best looking 0.25 chip / $1.0 chip out there?

I found a lot of $1s I like but not that many .25 chips i like.

 

[BottomPair7]

Go custom!

 

[andrebttx]

Harder question: what's the best looking 0.25 chip / $1.0 chip out there?

I found a lot of $1s I like but not that many .25 chips i like.

Every quarter I have is either custom, semi custom, or a relabel. I don’t own any real fracs, since they tend to be on the rare or expensive side. If you’re going to go with something even smaller than a quarter, I’m a fan of having a nondenominational chip. That way it can be a flex spot if you need it in the future. I’m definitely a fan of pink for quarters, though:

 

[shorticus]

my experience is that the blinds are not as big of a determination of the workhorse chips as much as the buy-ins and the amount of money on the table.

Ive played in games that range from .25/.25 to $5/$5 and the workhorse chip definitely depends on the group. With newer players who will have one or two buy-ins at $25, your $1 will be the workhorse. If you’re playing with more experienced players, two things will come into play, A.) Betting patterns will be more geared along “proper poker play” and that will also lead to B.) Bigger buy-in’s. Those bigger buy-in’s will in turn change your workhorse to the $5 chip.

Anyone with experience that differs from mine, please share. I’d love to hear it.

 

[NotRealNameNoSir]

It seems like there is an interesting challenge in getting 4+ denominations into play in very low stakes cash games. Aesthetically, I certainly like to get to handle more than 3 denominations during play...

Disagree. I want 3 tops, with the middle one being all consuming barrels

 

[exodus]

The workhorse chip would normally be $1 for a 25c/25c game. As others have said blinds don't matter as much as buyins and the group's propensity to gamble. If your group only buys in for $50-$100 per person for the whole night then the $1 would most likely be the workhorse. If your group is rebuying between $200-$300+ per person then the $5 would be your workhorse chip. It sounds like the game is pretty new and full of beginners. The $1 chip will be your workhorse chip.

 

[Nine_high]

It seems like there is an interesting challenge in getting 4+ denominations into play in very low stakes cash games. Aesthetically, I certainly like to get to handle more than 3 denominations during play...

I get a fourth out (my $20) virtually every game. .50/50, 100max.

I occasionally get to a fifth, though it technically hasn't been necessary since there are still 20s left. I just like slapping a black chip down for someone's eighth buy in. Even if it's mine

 

[allforcharity]

$1 and $5 are workhorses for 0.25/0.25 through 0.50/1, usually.

 

[Sprouty]

the workhorse chip definitely depends on the group

 

[chipchipchip]

I host .25/.25 and my breakdown is:

100x $.25
200x $1
200x $5

100x fracs is plenty! That’s around a dozen per person average in play.

I’ve never had all the chips on the table but it gets close, so I added a rack of $25s just in case. Bets are almost always heavily $1s, and the $5s ends up stockpiled in the deeper stacks. But as the night goes on it shifts towards the $5s getting bet more. There ends up being almost as many $5s as $1s in play by the end of the night. We play match up to half the stack so rebuys are usually never more than $50 or $60. Emphasis is on casual drinking and fun.

Also agree with everyone who says the same blind size is ideal. Everything is simpler and no one notices after an orbit or two.

For reference I use Ellis Island $1s as my frac and Caesars $1s and $5s as is. So use what you have/like! No one’s ever cared about the Ellis $1s pretending to be quarters and no one’s ever cared about mixing a house mold with RHCs. I think I’m the only one who cares at all that these aren’t dice chips. I live in a chipper desert I guess ‍

Gratuitous pron (these are before they got cleaned):

 

[KingHigh]

Sweet, thanks for the feedback!
I like your hodgepodge of chips, it’s fun and casual like your game. I’ve been looking into getting my own chips made. So many options out there. Makes it hard to decide where to begin.

 

[ThrowBack]

$1

 

[KingHigh]

$1

I hosted my first game a couple weeks ago and I can confirm, $1 was definitely the workhorse chip in my .25/.25 game. Thanks all!

 

[Machine]

I hosted my first game a couple weeks ago and I can confirm, $1 was definitely the workhorse chip in my .25/.25 game. Thanks all!

thanks for circling back, did you get any photos? Any crazy-ness show up? Did you get 10? Details!

I have a .25/.5 PLO game, the 5 is the workhorse.
My custom break down is (max 9 players):
.25 x 60
1 x 180
5 x 300
20 x 20
100 x 5

 

[KingHigh]

thanks for circling back, did you get any photos? Any crazy-ness show up? Did you get 10? Details!

I have a .25/.5 PLO game, the 5 is the workhorse.
My custom break down is (max 9 players):
.25 x 60
1 x 180
5 x 300
20 x 20
100 x 5

The game was a blast! I brought together an interesting mix of people. Most of whom were meeting each other for the first time so the game had a very social vibe all night. I think it helped that I played on the stereo a killer rock music mix spanning classic rock thru early 2000’s that had everyone feeling nostalgic.

My next game is this Friday and it will be our first time playing on my new topper. Looking forward to another fun time!
I’ll be back next seeking advice from the PCF community on my first chipset purchase