Cash Game Thoughts on Chip Denoms for .25/.50 up to 1/2? (2 Viewers)

[Chinaski]

I'm trying to get some feedback before I order a new set up chips. Going through the forum I see that the PCF recommendation for 600 chips for .25/.50 and up to .50/1 is:

100 x 0.25
200 x 1
200 x 5
80 x 25
20 x 100

I'll be purchasing a Dia De Los Muertos cash game set (1,000 chips). We almost always play .25/.50 (buy-in at $50 or $100) with a full table and occasionally we will bump up to 1/1 (buy-in at $100). I'm thinking of the following break down to support up to 1/2:

100 x 0.25
500 x 1
300 x 5
80 x 25
20 x 100

I heard for cash games it typical to only have 3 denoms on the table at a time: blind, workhorse, and color-up. With that in mind, how does this break down look?

Stake	.25/.50	.25/.50	1/1	1/2
Max Buy-in	$50	$100	$100	$200
Buy-in (.25-1-5-25)	8-38-2	8-38-12	0-40-12	0-20-26-2
Re-buy	0-20-6	0-20-16	0-20-16	0-20-6-6

 

[upNdown]

I’d argue that 200 is the very most $1s you’d need for .25/.50 (as long as you have sufficient $5s) and that the $1 chip becomes less important as the stakes go up. So I’d say that 300 is way too many $1s for 1/1 and 1/2, which means I think 500 is ridiculous.
I don’t blame you for thinking the way you’re thinking. The first time I played $1/2 in a casino (after only playing .25/.50 home games,) I bought a full rack of $1s from the cage. I thought it made sense but I was way wrong - the game is played with mostly $5 chips.

I’ve played in a few $1/1 home games and 20 x $1 per player is pretty standard.

 

[JustinInMN]

I'll be purchasing a Dia De Los Muertos cash game set (1,000 chips). We almost always play .25/.50 (buy-in at $50 or $100) with a full table and occasionally we will bump up to 1/1 (buy-in at $100). I'm thinking of the following break down to support up to 1/2:

100 x 0.25
500 x 1
300 x 5
80 x 25
20 x 100

I like more singles than @upNdown , but 500 does seem excessive to me if you are limiting yourself to 1000 chips. (I have 850 singles in my 2000 chip cash set, fwiw.)

I would just do 100/400/400/80/20 of 25¢/1/5/25/100. Singles will be your workhorse for the lower stake games, Fives for the higher stakes games, so having 4 racks of each would serve gameplay well. (Each player can have an average of 40 such chips in the stacks.) This gives you a total bank over 6400, well over 3000 x BB in 1-2. That should be plenty.

If you want to read an epic 6-year-old thread on this topic that @Quad Johnson started: click here.

I heard for cash games it typical to only have 3 denoms on the table at a time: blind, workhorse, and color-up. With that in mind, how does this break down look?

Stake	.25/.50	.25/.50	1/1	1/2
Max Buy-in	$50	$100	$100	$200
Buy-in (.25-1-5-25)	8-38-2	8-38-12	0-40-12	0-20-26-2
Re-buy	0-20-6	0-20-16	0-20-16	0-20-6-6

Yes fewer denoms is better, especially in NL where stacks need to be counted frequently. I do like your 25¢-50¢ starting stacks for sure, and 400 singles suits that fine. Do your rebuys in mostly fives (and any leftover singles you may have as well.).

For 1-1 and 1-2, I think 10-15 singles would be better for starting stacks with the rest in fives. For a $200 buy in, you can do 15/37 for up to 10 players and still have some chips left over before getting to the twenty-fives. I would really only put at most two racks of singles in play on a single table for these stakes as they primarily function as blind chips (whereas they are more workhorse chip in the 25¢-50¢ or 25¢- 25¢ level).

FWIW, I have had multiple good experiences with @ABC Gifts and Awards and @BR Pro Poker , I think getting DDLM ceramics through them is a great choice.

Welcome to PCF.

 

[doublebooyah85]

No familiarity with a microstake set but my guess would be; (for a splashy / efficient game)

200 x 0.25
400 x 1
400 x 5
80 x 25
20 x 100

But I wouldn’t say that’s good enough for $1-$2.

Def $.50-$1…

Add another rack of $25s and it could be plenty for a $1-$2 that was born from microstakes.

 

[Tonystark137]

https://www.pokerchipforum.com/thre...ut-a-cash-game-chip-set-5c-10c-to-5-10.30897/

 

[springbox]

Echoing others, 500 $1s is way too many for single table. 300 tops. Tbh you don't really need 1000 chips for a single table set with only a 4x range in blinds.

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

That's a > $16k bank that covers your whole range.

Personally I would go

160 x .25
200 x $1
300 x $5
100 x $25
40 x $100

800 chips, a few more fracs (not needed, but I like planning for 8 players and handing out a barrel to each), bank is > $8k which is still 4000bbb for 1/2.

 

[Chinaski]

Thanks for the inputs! I see now, 500 of singles does seems excessive like @upNdown and others pointed out. 200 singles definitely isn't enough to make them be the workhorse in .25/.50 which we almost always play.

I like more singles than @upNdown , but 500 does seem excessive to me if you are limiting yourself to 1000 chips. (I have 850 singles in my 2000 chip cash set, fwiw.)

I would just do 100/400/400/80/20 of 25¢/1/5/25/100. Singles will be your workhorse for the lower stake games, Fives for the higher stakes games, so having 4 racks of each would serve gameplay well. (Each player can have an average of 40 such chips in the stacks.) This gives you a total bank over 6400, well over 3000 x BB in 1-2. That should be plenty.

I do like your break down of 100/400/400/80/20. Definitely plenty of singles to be the workhorse for .25/.50 and fives for 1/1 and 1/2.

Yes fewer denoms is better, especially in NL where stacks need to be counted frequently. I do like your 25¢-50¢ starting stacks for sure, and 400 singles suits that fine. Do your rebuys in mostly fives (and any leftover singles you may have as well.).

For 1-1 and 1-2, I think 10-15 singles would be better for starting stacks with the rest in 5. For a $200 buy in, you can do 15/37 for up to 10 players and still have some chips left over before getting to the twenty-fives. I would really only put at most two racks of singles in play on a single table for these stakes as they primarily function as blind chips (whereas they are more workhorse chip in the 25¢-50¢ or 25¢- 25¢ level).

I like it! Adjusting the higher starting stacks.
.25/.50 with 8/38/2
1/1 with 15/17
1/2 with 15/37

 

[upNdown]

200 singles definitely isn't enough to make them be the workhorse in .25/.50 which we almost always play.

No it’s not.
I play .25/.50 with buyins from $50-$100. In our game, the $5 and the $1 share workhorse duties, and the table has never felt light with only 20 x $1s per person.
If the $5 doesn’t play as strong of a role in your game, then yeah, maybe you’d like more $1s. Every game is different.

 

[Nine_high]

That many ones would drive me bonkers. Personally I wouldn't put more than two racks for any of those stakes.

You can cover this in 800 pc:

0.25 x100
1 x200
5 x400
25 x80
100 x20

Bank is a little over $6k which should cover any moderate 1/2 game. If you want 1000 pc set then you can add to this however you see fit. Get those ones, get more fives, get more bank, or whatever floats your boat.

 

[Chinaski]

No it’s not.
I play .25/.50 with buyins from $50-$100. In our game, the $5 and the $1 share workhorse duties, and the table has never felt light with only 20 x $1s per person.
If the $5 doesn’t play as strong of a role in your game, then yeah, maybe you’d like more $1s. Every game is different.

I think 400 singles for our games would be perfect. Others have pointed 300 singles would be a reasonable amount, but like your saying, every game is different. I have noticed in our games of .25/.50 when a lot more fives are on the table, pre-flop play gets out of hand, it feels like a higher stacks game like 1/1. I think having more singles would bring it down a notch. Thanks for your initial response though, 500 singles would be excessive

That many ones would drive me bonkers. Personally I wouldn't put more than two racks for any of those stakes.

You can cover this in 800 pc:

0.25 x100
1 x200
5 x400
25 x80
100 x20

Bank is a little over $6k which should cover any moderate 1/2 game. If you want 1000 pc set then you can add to this however you see fit. Get those ones, get more fives, get more bank, or whatever floats your boat.

That's essentially the break down I'm going with now thanks to @JustinInMN and other's insight, expect with 200 more singles.

 

[allforcharity]

If I were to buy 1000 chips as a new hobbyist, I would split into 600 cash chips and 400 tourney chips, not to be mixed together. I don't know if you have the flexibility to do that.

Otherwise, I'd consider the basic 600 set, add either 1 rack each of $1 and $5 or maybe 2 racks of $5 depending on what your bank needs are. 800 chips should be plenty for a full ring cash game at your typical stakes.

 

[GrindstonePoker]

My 1000pc set
200 x 25¢
300 x $1
400x $5
60 x $25
40 x $100

This plays great for our Donkfest 50¢/$1 fixed limit games all the way through the rare $1/$2 no limit

 

[ChipFinderSK]

0.25 x100
1 x200
5 x400
25 x80
100 x20

I’ll co-sign this breakdown

 

[GrindstonePoker]

I think the important thing is chip distribution choices for the rebuys. Even though I have a bunch of $1s I mix those in less for our 25¢/50¢ NL games and put them more into play for the 50¢/$1 fixed limit

 

[JustinInMN]

If I were to buy 1000 chips as a new hobbyist, I would split into 600 cash chips and 400 tourney chips, not to be mixed together. I don't know if you have the flexibility to do that.

Otherwise, I'd consider the basic 600 set, add either 1 rack each of $1 and $5 or maybe 2 racks of $5 depending on what your bank needs are. 800 chips should be plenty for a full ring cash game at your typical stakes.

This is a pretty good idea, but with 600 chips for cash, the stake range probably can't be as wide as the OP wishes.. Would probably have to focus on the 25¢-50¢ stake and do like 100/300/160/40 and just accept that 1-2 will just require a set expansion. 100/200/200/80/20 might be an option as well.

But a 400 chips tournament set is more than sufficient for a single table.

 

[Chinaski]

I have already purchased a tournament set a while ago, so I'm on good on that front. As previously discussed above, I do believe the following breakdown works great for .25/.50 up to 1/1 and a moderate 1/2 game. A lot of singles like people have pointed out, but I think they work great as the workhorse chip in our lower stake games.

100 x 0.25
400 x 1
400 x 5
80 x 25
20 x 100

Giving a total bankroll of $6,425.

 

[ThrowBack]

I have 200 quarters
200 dollars, a bunch of 5s
50 $20
50 $100

 

[JustinInMN]

I have already purchased a tournament set a while ago, so I'm on good on that front. As previously discussed above, I do believe the following breakdown works great for .25/.50 up to 1/1 and a moderate 1/2 game. A lot of singles like people have pointed out, but I think they work great as the workhorse chip in our lower stake games.

100 x 0.25
400 x 1
400 x 5
80 x 25
20 x 100

Giving a total bankroll of $6,425.

Please make sure you update this thread with pictures (in PCF speak, the "pron") when you receive the chips.

 

[Chinaski]

Update. Chips received. The table loved them.

Moreover, the denom break down worked perfectly. We had a .25/.50 cent game last night with a max buy-in of $60. By the end of the night, after 6 hours of a full table, we had 80 x .25, 400 x 1.00 and roughly 100 x 5.00 chips on the table.

I think if we have a 1/1 game, it'll go just the same with the denoms shifting by one.

 

[JustinInMN]

Update. Chips received. The table loved them.

Moreover, the denom break down worked perfectly. We had a .25/.50 cent game last night with a max buy-in of $60. By the end of the night, after 6 hours of a full table, we had 80 x .25, 400 x 1.00 and roughly 100 x 5.00 chips on the table.

I think if we have a 1/1 game, it'll go just the same with the denoms shifting by one.

Love this, looks great, congratulations.

 

[Labrat]

You'll appreciate all those singles if you end up switching to dealer's choice games with 1/2 limits mixed in like we did.

 

[Taghkanic]

https://www.pokerchipforum.com/thre...ut-a-cash-game-chip-set-5c-10c-to-5-10.30897/

Some of the starting stacks proposed by the OP in that thread are totally whack.

 

[PseudoPsanity]

You'll appreciate all those singles if you end up switching to dealer's choice games with 1/2 limits mixed in like we did.

How many 1s would you recommend for this? 50 per player?

 

[Labrat]

I'm still playing around with stacks each game but right now for mixed games I'm doing 20 quarters, 40 ones, and 1 five for a starting stack, then add up to 10 more 5s for anybody buying in for the max $100.

But we play stud, flop, and a few draw games which mix between antes, blinds, and bring-ins.

 

[PseudoPsanity]

That's basically the mixed game I was hoping to incorporate and was considering adding a rack or two of 1s to the usual 100/200/200/80/20 split that gets recommend for NL.

Thanks for the info!

 

[Chinaski]

That's basically the mixed game I was hoping to incorporate and was considering adding a rack or two of 1s to the usual 100/200/200/80/20 split that gets recommend for NL.

Thanks for the info!

That's what I learned after this thread, the usual recommendation is good, but everyone's games will differ. You could always start with the usual and add later to "problem" spots. In my situation, I wanted that lower price point for the DDLM so the numbers had to be right.

 

[LeCoq]

I'm trying to get some feedback before I order a new set up chips. Going through the forum I see that the PCF recommendation for 600 chips for .25/.50 and up to .50/1 is:

100 x 0.25
200 x 1
200 x 5
80 x 25
20 x 100

I'll be purchasing a Dia De Los Muertos cash game set (1,000 chips). We almost always play .25/.50 (buy-in at $50 or $100) with a full table and occasionally we will bump up to 1/1 (buy-in at $100). I'm thinking of the following break down to support up to 1/2:

100 x 0.25
500 x 1
300 x 5
80 x 25
20 x 100

I heard for cash games it typical to only have 3 denoms on the table at a time: blind, workhorse, and color-up. With that in mind, how does this break down look?

Stake	.25/.50	.25/.50	1/1	1/2
Max Buy-in	$50	$100	$100	$200
Buy-in (.25-1-5-25)	8-38-2	8-38-12	0-40-12	0-20-26-2
Re-buy	0-20-6	0-20-16	0-20-16	0-20-6-6

I would vote for:
200 x 0.25
300 x 1
300 x 5
100 x 25
100 x 100