The Beginners Guide To Mapping Out A Cash Game Chip Set - 5c/10c to $5/$10 (7 Viewers)

[or4nge]

And now you're talking about going out and adding 300 more chips, why not get 100 fracs and 100 more 1s and 5s? I think you'll be able to spread a decent range of stakes that way, and no chip will need to morph into a scalar multiple of itself.

Scaling in decimals appeals to me because it gives me flexibility to run games like 0.1/0.2. Texas hold'em isn't too popular of a game in my parts so I think the flexibility is especially useful to draw new players in.

Can you run a full ring 25c/50c game with only one rack each of quarters, ones, and fives? Yeah, maybe, but it's going to be clumsy. And definitely not if the five is your top denomination. You can cover two $50 rebuys then your bank is done. I guess you could let $25 bills play but why go to that trouble? Seems such a shame since you have a $25 chip already and $25 bills are hard to come by.

If you're building a set you should try to build it with the appropriate denominations. The quoted advice about devoting ~2/3 of the set to workhorses is generally good advice. Most of the bets throughout the night, the sizes of which should be largely driven by the blinds and the overall stack sizes, will be made in units of these chips so they will sort of fly around the table all night. For example in a 25c/50c game where the average stack is between $50-$200, most bets will be in multiples of $1 early on, then multiples of $5 on later streets. Less likely they will be multiples of $25 or $100 very routinely, though this of course will happen at times. Winning players will accumulate large stacks of workhorses, losing players will (re)buy stacks of them. Eventually you (the bank) run out and move to larger value chips, which are then exchanged with one of the previously mentioned winning players for more workhorses and a few blind chips. The game will operate much more smoothly.

Really appreciate the tip and it makes sense to me. I reckon what I'll do is I'll run a 8x 8x 8x 100BB game once to experience the issue first hand, and before running off to get 300 more chips. Hopefully with 18x workhorse chips each it'd be safely sufficient?

 

[Nine_high]

Scaling in decimals appeals to me because it gives me flexibility to run games like 0.1/0.2. Texas hold'em isn't too popular of a game in my parts so I think the flexibility is especially useful to draw new players in.

Then I guess I would recommend building a good 1/2 and 2/5 breakdown. Adding a rack each of 5 and 25 should be all you really need, though you could get more if you want. You can scale it to play as .10/.10, .10/.20 or .20/.50. Or play straight value 1/1, 1/2, etc. I would abandon the .25/.50 at this point, you aren't built for it and you don't need it anyway.

Really appreciate the tip and it makes sense to me. I reckon what I'll do is I'll run a 8x 8x 8x 100BB game once to experience the issue first hand, and before running off to get 300 more chips. Hopefully with 18x workhorse chips each it'd be safely sufficient?

Different people have different opinions on the number of 5s and 25s you need. I personally think 200 is enough since you have the 100x 100s and 500s. More would also be fine.

 

[ChipWhisperer]

I have looked everywhere for a simple guide like this. Thanks so much, doing the exact $20 buy in you mentioned.

 

[CaptainR93]

Love this, thank you for these breakdowns! Very helpful!

 

[KillingDyl]

Awesome guide. I've been looking to start a home game soon and was looking at different distributions to build out my set for the future as well!

 

[louBdub]

Bump for all the newer folks.

Bookmark this one

 

[mic]

Bump for the people who need some guidelines.

 

[joeyshin]

I purposely made my frac an “X” so it can be any denom frac for whatever stake I need. I have another rack of other chips with “X” too in case I need 2 fracs.

I usually play 25c/50c but I’ve used them for 5c/10c too

 

[Fezzyfezz]

General Rules To Mapping Out A Cash Set

1. Plan your chip set around 10 players per table. A full table is 10 players, you may only run 7-8 normally but I'm a big believer in being prepared. Someone might bring a friend and who wants to turn down action? I don't! The extra chips will also provide you cushion with your set.

2. Only have denominations that are 4-5x the value of the previous denomination. This one is very important. I know some of y'all have guys that like a bunch of different chips. I read one post in my forum searches where a guy runs $1/$2/$3 and $5 chips all in one game. This is such a waste of chips and only makes cash outs at the end of the night more of a headache. Follow the KISS mantra - Keep It Simple Stupid. You as the host are also the banker. Make your job easier and save money on chip sets by keeping the denominations simple. When I started my game, my 25c/50c game had denoms of 25c/50c/$1/$5/$10/$25/$50/$100... don't do this. Don't be that guy. It's a waste of chips and thus, a waste of money on your initial investment.

3. Plan the chip set around a starting stack of 200 big blinds. The max buy in of my 25c/50c game is $100. Not everyone does this, but some nights everyone does. Your game might not be at that point, but if you want your game to last, you'll need to be prepared to handle growth. Some players are more gamblers than others. Be prepared and have the chips at your disposal. Having the chips will only add more flexibility to your capabilities to host.


Mapping Out A Chip Set For 1 Table Of 10 Players

The following chip counts are meant to be a guide to efficiently map out a chip set, thus saving you money on your total chip purchase. I will cover each stake from 5c/10c to $5/$10. There is great debate over using a $20 or $25 chip. I've mapped this guide out to be as efficient as possible based on the stakes. Some use $20, others $25. You may like different stacks sizes too. Example, my guys like big stacks for my 25c/50c game. My mapping is $100 stacks of 12/17/16 of 25c/$1/$5 chips respectively.

This is meant to be a general guide to help get you started and thinking in the process you need to map out your chip set efficiently. These set guides are written with the considerations of: most places when you order chips require you to order in increments of 25 and I'm not using "odd" denominations that are hard to find, example: a $2.50 chip. They're useful, however a bit harder to track down. These will use the easier to find denominations.

Now, let's get started. These map outs will provide you with 10x starting playable stacks with enough in higher denomination chips to cover color ups, top offs and rebuys with a total bank averaging 3x 200 big blind buy ins per player at the table (600 big blinds total x 10 players). Sure, this might not happen all the time... but when it does, you'll be glad you have the chips.

My motto is always buy once, cry once.


5c/10c Mapping - $20 Max Buy In for 200 Big Blinds

Chip Denominations

5c/25c/$1/$5/$20

Max Buy In Starting Stacks

10x 5c (50c)
18x 25c ($4.50)
15x $1 ($15)

Chips Needed - 500 Total Chips

100x 5c ($5)
200x 25c ($50)
150x $1 ($150)
25x $5 ($125)
25x $20 ($500)


Total Bank: $830

10c/25c Mapping - $50 Max Buy In for 200 Big Blinds

Chip Denominations

5c/25c/$1/$5/$25

Max Buy In Starting Stacks

10x 5c (50c)
14x 25c ($3.50)
11x $1 ($11)
7x $5 ($35)

Chips Needed - 500 Total Chips

100x 5c ($5)
150x 25c ($37.50)
125x $1 ($125)
75x $5 ($375)
50x $25 ($1,250)

Total Bank: $1,792.50


25c/50c Mapping - $100 Max Buy In for 200 Big Blinds

Chip Denominations

25c/$1/$5/$25

Max Buy In Starting Stacks

8x 25c ($2)
18x $1 ($18)
16x $5 ($80)

Chips Needed - 600 Total Chips

100x 25c ($25)
250x $1 ($250)
175x $5 ($875)
75x $25 ($1,875)

Total Bank: $3,025

50c/$1 Mapping - $200 Max Buy In for 200 Big Blinds

Chip Denominations

25c/$1/$5/$25/$100

Max Buy In Starting Stacks

8x 25c ($2)
8x $1 ($8)
13x $5 ($65)
5x $25 ($125)

Chips Needed - 500 Total Chips

100x 25c ($25)
100x $1 ($100)
150x $5 ($150)
50x $25 ($1,250)
50x $100 ($5,000)

Total Bank: $6,525

$1/$2 Mapping - $400 Max Buy In for 200 Big Blinds

Chip Denominations

$1/$5/$25/$100

Max Buy In Starting Stacks

10x $1 ($10)
18X $5 ($90)
8x $25 ($200)
1x $100 ($100)

Chips Needed - 500 Total Chips

100x $1 ($100)
200x $5 ($1000)
100x $25 ($2,500)
100x $100 ($10,000)

Total Bank: $13,600

$2/$5 Mapping - $1,000 Max Buy In for 200 Big Blinds

Chip Denominations

$1/$5/$25/$100/$500

Max Buy In Starting Stacks

5x $1 ($5)
14x $5 ($70)
13x $25 ($325)
1x $100 ($100)
1x $500 ($500)

Chips Needed - 750 Total Chips

50x $1 ($50)
300x $5 ($1,500)
275x $25 ($6,875)
100x $100 ($10,000)
25x $500 ($12,500)

Total Bank: $30,925

$5/$10 Mapping - $2,000 Max Buy In for 200 Big Blinds

Chip Denominations

$5/$25/$100/$500

Max Buy In Starting Stacks

10x $5 ($50)
10x $25 ($250)
7x $100 ($700)
2x $500 ($1000)

Chips Needed - 375 Total Chips

100x $5 ($500)
100x $25 ($2,500)
75x $100 ($7,500)
100x $500 ($50,000)

Total Bank: $60,500



Well that's what I got. If you grow to 2 tables, simply x2 these chips sets and you're covered.

If anyone notices any typos, bad math on my part, etc. please post and I will make changes.

I've proof read this 4 times but I'm still only human.

A lot of good info thank you

 

[bpmpg]

good info, thank you. we typically run two 1/2 tables on our nights. I can't remember the specific breakdown, but its pretty close!

 

[Taghkanic]

[2/5] Max Buy In Starting Stacks

5x $1 ($5)
14x $5 ($70)
13x $25 ($325)
1x $100 ($100)
1x $500 ($500)

I host 2/5 and would not recommend giving anyone 50% of their initial buy-in with a single chip (here, a 500 chip for a $1K buy-in).

Really, at any stakes I don’t see that 50% percentage as good for the game.

At 2/5 I give people their buy-ins as a mix of 5s and 25s.

I have a dealer with a rack including plenty of the smaller denom for change. He will typically exchange one $5 chip for five $1s when people sit down, if they want them to start. (Some don’t.) Or else we’ll just get smaller change onto the table / into their stacks via normal gameplay.

Only once most or all of the 5s and 25s are in play will I start giving out further buys with 100s.

While I do have $500 chips for nights where people are really getting spewy, it is almost never necessary to get these in play.

 

[JustinInMN]

At 2/5 I give people their buy-ins as a mix 5s and 25s.

I have a dealer with a rack including plenty of the smaller denom for change. He will typically exchange one $5 chip for five $1s when people sit down, if they want them to start. (Some don’t.) Or else we’ll just get smaller change onto the table / into their stacks via normal gameplay.

Only once most or all of the 5s and 25s are in play wil I start giving out further buys with 100s.

This is the way.

And by the time you exhaust your fives and twenty-fives, they are all on the table and you aren't adding new players, so there is plenty of change to be found when issuing the rebuys in all blackbirds at that point.

 

[dobdob]

I purposely made my frac an “X” so it can be any denom frac for whatever stake I need. I have another rack of other chips with “X” too in case I need 2 fracs.

I usually play 25c/50c but I’ve used them for 5c/10c too

View attachment 1252940View attachment 1252941

Wow, I love this labeling / color scheme, can you tell us more about this set? Are these real Paulson chips or did you have them made (or both?)

I'll go snoop your profile, but do you have any more pics of the faces / progression? Oooh I spy the white hundos in the back...

How did you select/arrive at your color scheme and spot progression? Was the label designed first and you worked around that, or done in tandem with the chips? It's a great example of a color scheme that "keeps working" as you move up thru the denominations ... My designs always stop "making sense" at some point, haven't been able to crack through to a fully fledged progression like this. Congrats on a fantastic result!

 

[paulkersey]

For a $0.25/$0.50 game, assuming $50 buy in, and max 6 players, what's the least number of $5 chips needed on hand? Assuming rebuys would be from the chips already on the table.

Could I get away with:
200 x $0.25
200 x $1
100 x $5
50 x $25

Thanks

 

[upNdown]

For a $0.25/$0.50 game, assuming $50 buy in, and max 6 players, what's the least number of $5 chips needed on hand? Assuming rebuys would be from the chips already on the table.

Could I get away with:
200 x $0.25
200 x $1
100 x $5
50 x $25

Thanks

6-max, you could get away with it.
I’d find it horribly uncomfortable, playing with only a single rack of $5s. I tried it with an Amazing set that has hard to find $5s. Didn’t like it. Sold the set.
Personally I’d go with a single rack of .25 and two racks of $5 without hesitation.
But at least chop that extra frac rack and make it half fives. I understand some people like a lot of fracs on the table, but a full second rack of fracs for 6-max is excessive.

 

[TX_Golf_N_Poker]

For a $0.25/$0.50 game, assuming $50 buy in, and max 6 players, what's the least number of $5 chips needed on hand? Assuming rebuys would be from the chips already on the table.

Could I get away with:
200 x $0.25
200 x $1
100 x $5
50 x $25

Thanks

Simple math says you have enough chips for 39 buyins - So with 6 players, that's more than 6 buyins each. So you tell us. How splashy is your game?

For one though, you don't need 200 quarters, especially not for a game with almost $2000 on the table. Reduce them to 100 and buy another rack of $5s and the problem is totally solved.

Give the first 5 players 20 x $0.25, 20 x $1.00 and 5 x $5. Then give the 6th just 20 x $1 and 6 x $5s. First 4 rebuys get the same. Then hand out the $5s til they are gone and any more rebuys get 2 x $25.

 

[TX_Golf_N_Poker]

6-max, you could get away with it.
I’d find it horribly uncomfortable, playing with only a single rack of $5s. I tried it with an Amazing set that has hard to find $5s. Didn’t like it. Sold the set.
Personally I’d go with a single rack of .25 and two racks of $5 without hesitation.
But at least chop that extra frac rack and make it half fives. I understand some people like a lot of fracs on the table, but a full second rack of fracs for 6-max is excessive.

Horribly uncomfortable is a gross exaggeration for a typical 25c/50c game with $50 buyins.

Last game I hosted I wanted to get a set in play that I bought way back in my micro stakes, nickel/dime blind days. It only had a few more than 100 $5 chips. We had 8 players, $60 buyins, and no maniacs! There were probably about 5 re-buys all night. I think we only got 3-5 $20 chips in play. The 100ish $5s were plenty. Obviously more high chips get in play when there are a lot more rebuys, but the game is probably getting more splashy anyway, so the big chips will get used in bets. I'm not saying 100 $5s is ideal, but it's not that bad either for a small stakes game.

 

[upNdown]

Horribly uncomfortable is a gross exaggeration for a typical 25c/50c game with $50 buyins.

Just saying how I felt. I had one of the most unique casino sets that many people called a grail, but I sold it because it only had a single rack of fives. I wouldn’t have sold those amazing THC Foxwoods if I’d been comfortable hosting with them.

 

[LeLe]

For a $0.25/$0.50 game, assuming $50 buy in, and max 6 players, what's the least number of $5 chips needed on hand? Assuming rebuys would be from the chips already on the table.

Could I get away with:
200 x $0.25
200 x $1
100 x $5
50 x $25

Thanks

1 rack of $5 is never enough for me personally unless u are playing 5c/10c or $5/$10 where both stakes set only need 1 rack of $5

 

[LeLe]

Just saying how I felt. I had one of the most unique casino sets that many people called a grail, but I sold it because it only had a single rack of fives. I wouldn’t have sold those amazing THC Foxwoods if I’d been comfortable hosting with them.

I did the same thing with the sale of one set because I only have 1 rack of $5 and extremely troublesome to get extra $5.

Although the set will somehow work as it also have 1 rack of $10 which technically mean I have “3” racks of $5 but it just not the same as actually playing with 3 racks of $5

 

[springbox]

With 100 quarters, 200 dollars, and 100 fives you can get $725 in play before touching the $25s. With 6 players and $50 buy ins, that's enough for 14ish buy-ins before touching the $25s. If the game plays very small, I think that's manageable for 6 players. Ideally you have ~3 buy-ins per player before touching bigger denoms (assuming 100BB buy-ins), but you can judge whether or not that's an issue for yourself and your game. If that's the set you have I don't think it'll be a problem, if you're looking to acquire chips I'd nix 100 quarters and add 50 to 100 more 5s.

 

[allforcharity]

For a $0.25/$0.50 game, assuming $50 buy in, and max 6 players, what's the least number of $5 chips needed on hand? Assuming rebuys would be from the chips already on the table.

Could I get away with:
200 x $0.25
200 x $1
100 x $5
50 x $25

Thanks

There's no way you need 200 fracs in a 6-max game. Take out some and replace with $5. Games aren't going too stay low stakes forever, even if it's just inflation to worry about.

 

[JustinInMN]

For a $0.25/$0.50 game, assuming $50 buy in, and max 6 players, what's the least number of $5 chips needed on hand? Assuming rebuys would be from the chips already on the table.

Could I get away with:
200 x $0.25
200 x $1
100 x $5
50 x $25

There's no way you need 200 fracs in a 6-max game. Take out some and replace with $5. Games aren't going too stay low stakes forever, even if it's just inflation to worry about.

I am +1 on only 100 quarters needed, especially for 6 handed. Furthermore, there is no way you will need any twenty-fives.

100/200/200 of 25¢/1/5 gives you a bank of $1225, or over 24 buy-ins at $50. 4-buy ins per player is extreme. If you want to get twenty-fives and are targeting a set of 500 chips, I would suggest 100/200/175/25 for a bank of $1725 That's 34 buy-ins and still more than enough for 3-buy ins per player at 10-handed.

 

[allforcharity]

6 handed can get away with 500 cash chips easy, maybe even 400, as long as stakes are constant. This is based on a standard 600-chip breakdown for a full table of 10 people (which most people don't necessarily do, as I'm used to 8 or 9 max).

 

[Dodger]

Assuming rebuys would be from the chips already on the table.

Hold on…just to be clear…are you saying if someone gets stacked they are rebuying back in from another player at the table instead of the bank? As in, a player hands a $50 rebuy to the guy next to him, dude pockets the $50, and slides over $50 in chips?

We can talk about set breakdowns all day and debate how many fracs you need, but I think you need to reconsider your rebuy rule.

(If I’m off base, happy to be corrected.)

 

[paulkersey]

Hold on…just to be clear…are you saying if someone gets stacked they are rebuying back in from another player at the table instead of the bank? As in, a player hands a $50 rebuy to the guy next to him, dude pockets the $50, and slides over $50 in chips?

We can talk about set breakdowns all day and debate how many fracs you need, but I think you need to reconsider your rebuy rule.

(If I’m off base, happy to be corrected.)

Oh god no, that would be sloppy! I just meant that re-buys could be 2 x $25 chips, and then they could trade for the $5's on the table if needed.

Thank you all for your input and suggestions, it's clear that even though I could probably eek it out, more $5's is better!

This all stems from me trying to harvest live $5's, planning a house mold set, and with the FX, things get expensive very quickly. But if I'm already investing $500 in one rack... might as well make it two, especially if that ties everything together. Cheers guys

 

[NotRealNameNoSir]

Hold on…just to be clear…are you saying if someone gets stacked they are rebuying back in from another player at the table instead of the bank? As in, a player hands a $50 rebuy to the guy next to him, dude pockets the $50, and slides over $50 in chips?

We can talk about set breakdowns all day and debate how many fracs you need, but I think you need to reconsider your rebuy rule.

(If I’m off base, happy to be corrected.)

Played at a home game like this; only reason I loved it was because as the new young guy at a table full of old friends, kind of hid how well I was doing. They knew I was up, few buyins in my pocket, but lost a few pots and had a small stack to end the night.

 

[springbox]

Oh god no, that would be sloppy! I just meant that re-buys could be 2 x $25 chips, and then they could trade for the $5's on the table if needed.

Thank you all for your input and suggestions, it's clear that even though I could probably eek it out, more $5's is better!

This all stems from me trying to harvest live $5's, planning a house mold set, and with the FX, things get expensive very quickly. But if I'm already investing $500 in one rack... might as well make it two, especially if that ties everything together. Cheers guys

The advantage to harvesting live $5s yourself is that you can always redeem them for exactly how much you paid haha.

 

[Taghkanic]

$2/$5 Mapping

Max Buy In Starting Stacks

5x $1 ($5)
14x $5 ($70)
13x $25 ($325)
1x $100 ($100)
1x $500 ($500)

Not to nitpick, but as a 2/5 host I am never using anything like the above breakdown. It may add up to $1K, but it is very impractical for the reasons below.

1) I want to use barrels as much as possible in starting stacks.

My case is full of racks, so pulling out barrels is simpler.

Also, using barrels makes it much easier for players to verify they have the right amount. If I hand them something like 14 $5s, they’re going to count them 7 times. And then get perplexed by the math of adding up all the other values.

2) To start, I want to use fewer denoms, and not to include the highest ($500) denom.

Initially, I want to get all the $1s and $5s needed for the whole night out there. So that is the first priority.

If I have a dealer, I’ll give him 100-150 ones for his box, and only give players $5s and up. At their discretion, the dealer may exchange $10 in ones for two fives with each player at the outset, or just slowly distribute change as needed.

If no dealer, I’ll give each player a barrel of $1s just to make things easy and neat, though this is overkill.

In general, my players seem happier and more gambly when they have bigger stacks. So I’m giving them at least two and maybe three barrels of $5s to start.

Since not everyone buys in for the full $1K, the remainder I’ll give them in 25s up to 20. Any rest will be in $100s as needed.

Rebuys will be in $25s and $100s.
The $500s only come out once these get low or stacks get huge.

 

[nosediceochate]

I hope I can get some help here, I have two distinct groups, one that will only play low stakes, .5/1 maybe 1/2

and another that plays 2/5 and could want to go to 5/10.

Is there a way I can optimize for these conditions and not go 750+ chips?