Cash Game What’s consider a small cash game? (3 Viewers)

[Tofu_house]

I’ve played “small cash games” where players have started 50$ and reloaded multiple times. These games are just with friends. Just curious to see how much others have played with their friends.

 

[SixSeven]

I think small is relative. For some it's $20, some it's $50 and some it's $200. IDK how many on here play home games professionally. I doubt it mostly, as they would play in casinos for that.

 

[detroitdad]

We played 4 handed on Saturday night. It was a blast. Hell, I'd rather play heads up than not play at all!

 

[abby99]

When I worked at Northwestern University, I played in a weekly NLHE game with grad students. $5 buy-in, and 5-cent/10-cent blinds. Despite the low stakes, it was a serious game. Good times!

 

[Labrat]

When it's about the people and not about the money.

 

[Tofu_house]

We played 4 handed on Saturday night. It was a blast. Hell, I'd rather play heads up than not play at all!

Very Very True!!

 

[dragonmire]

When I worked at Northwestern University, I played in a weekly NLHE game with grad students. $5 buy-in, and 5-cent/10-cent blinds. Despite the low stakes, it was a serious game. Good times!

my weekly home games, mainly consist of grad students and their partners runs 5c/10c, $10 buy in, stakes feel a little higher with that grad student stipend

 

[Rodog123]

We play strictly $1/$2 cash game. Max buy in $60. You cannot rebuy until you completely bust out of your original $60. You then can re-buy in for the largest stack at table (rounded) which is usually $100. unlimited rebuys but only after you bust out. Sessions usually 4-6 hours.

I've noticed people are comfortable with $60-$100 initial buy ins for cash games. Tourneys are another animal all together, peeps are willing to spend more but expect more (Chips, food, drinks, presentation, bounty's)

 

[DrStrange]

"Small" is in the eyes of the beholder. I ran a game at Boy Scout camp. Free buy-in, Grand prize was a craft kit, daily first prize was an ice cream, second prize was a soda. To the boys, that was a pretty big win.

I had a home game. $0.25 single blind. $20 buy in. More than one player told me that was too rich for their blood.

I play in a $1/$2/$5 game. the big loser drops $1,000+. No one complains about the stakes.

Each group would define "small" differently. If you live pay check to pay check. Or live on social security only, A $20 buy in might be excessive. If you make 6+ figures, $5,000+ might seem just right. Or maybe even "small"

Me? I call small enough money that I enjoy the win but not so much that I care about the loss. -=- DrStrange

 

[ekricket]

We have such a large income disparity where I live that we just stick to a $20 tournament with $5 of that to a high hand bonus. Typically four people get paid out of a field of 8-10. (Three places and one high hand). This helps keep anyone from going broke broke and almost every couple gets a little back from their two buyins from one person or the other.

Thursdays we play one tourney, and Saturdays we play 2 of these.
It’s a plannable expense for those on a tight budget. Sometimes only one person of a couple might play because of finances.

But it’s a group of about 15 regulars, so it’s just passing money around each week. The lower income people see it as a chance to multiply their walking around money, or just spend it having fun. The higher income people just have fun and winning is just more money for the poker fund.

Nobody’s playing to make their car payment.

plus ill stack our tourney players against anyone else anywhere (even Betty).
We play a tough game, our structure and players demand that kind of play - it wasn’t that way at first but me and a couple other players have pushed our group into an upper tier level of play where its not a cake walk to bluff your way anywhere.

 

[roughrabbit]

We play strictly $1/$2 cash game. Max buy in $60. You cannot rebuy until you completely bust out of your original $60. You then can re-buy in for the largest stack at table (rounded) which is usually $100. unlimited rebuys but only after you bust out. Sessions usually 4-6 hours.

I've noticed people are comfortable with $60-$100 initial buy ins for cash games. Tourneys are another animal all together, peeps are willing to spend more but expect more (Chips, food, drinks, presentation, bounty's)

$1/$2, $60 buy in is crazy btw but if it ain't broke your group don't fix it I guess

 

[Colquhoun]

$1/$2, $60 buy in is crazy btw but if it ain't broke your group don't fix it I guess

Yeah, I was thinking the same. That's only 30 big blind max buy-in...hard to play when you take a stab at one pot and now you're short stacked.
I think most play buy-ins of at LEAST 100 big blind, often 200 big blinds.

 

[Rodog123]

Yeah, I was thinking the same. That's only 30 big blind max buy-in...hard to play when you take a stab at one pot and now you're short stacked.
I think most play buy-ins of at LEAST 100 big blind, often 200 big blinds.

So the reason why we do this is because it stops people from buying in $500 all at once and bullying the pot. Everyone starts off at $60 and you can only buy in for only large stack at table only after you bust out of chips. Before the rule people were just buying in for large amounts and bullying everyone at the table.

 

[Colquhoun]

So the reason why we do this is because it stops people from buying in $500 all at once and bullying the pot. Everyone starts off at $60 and you can only buy in for only large stack at table only after you bust out of chips. Before the rule people were just buying in for large amounts and bullying everyone at the table.

Yeah, a max of $500 in a $1/$2 game is a bit high, but $200 should be a minimum for good poker. And top-ups to that amount anytime between hands should be allowed, imo. In cash games, you shouldn’t have to bust out to get more chips…that leads to even wilder play among short-stacked players (which could be often since everyone starts with only 30 big blinds).
I think 100 big blinds is a good starting point, and if someone is trying to bully, getting players to stand up to him is a better strategy than changing the whole game with the buy-ins.

 

[Josh Kifer]

We do banger 20 dollar tourneys and 1/1 200 max cash.

 

[Rodog123]

Yeah, a max of $500 in a $1/$2 game is a bit high, but $200 should be a minimum for good poker. And top-ups to that amount anytime between hands should be allowed, imo. In cash games, you shouldn’t have to bust out to get more chips…that leads to even wilder play among short-stacked players (which could be often since everyone starts with only 30 big blinds).
I think 100 big blinds is a good starting point, and if someone is trying to bully, getting players to stand up to him is a better strategy than changing the whole game with the buy-ins.

Yes, I agree. Problem is most people (including myself) are comfortable only spending $60-$100 per night. Not all players willing to dump $500 to play. So this at least gets the smaller players a chance to play and possible hit before the re-buys happen. We found the cash heavy players (mostly into real estate/lawyers) were just buying more chips to start with and just bullying everyone. This $60 rule levels the playing field for the first hour or two before the re-buys happen. We felt we had to do it as the large stack bullying was out of control and took away from actual poker card playing.

Just a small example big stack bullying bets - $22 pre flop which we felt was hurting the game play.

The table we play on has a built in cash box so rebuys don't take that long.

 

[TheYeti]

Yes, I agree. Problem is most people (including myself) are comfortable only spending $60-$100 per night. Not all players willing to dump $500 to play. So this at least gets the smaller players a chance to play and possible hit before the re-buys happen. We found the cash heavy players (mostly into real estate/lawyers) were just buying more chips to start with and just bullying everyone. This $60 rule levels the playing field for the first hour or two before the re-buys happen. We felt we had to do it as the large stack bullying was out of control and took away from actual poker card playing.

Just a small example big stack bullying bets - $22 pre flop which we felt was hurting the game play.

The table we play on has a built in cash box so rebuys don't take that long.

IMO, you should get rid of match-the-stack rebuys. Just go with a 100-200bb buyin and cap rebuys at the same level with no need to bust before rebuying.

I don't like match-the-stack because it's not fair to the players who have earned their stack when someone else can match their hard-earning stack by just buying it.

 

[Colquhoun]

Yes, I agree. Problem is most people (including myself) are comfortable only spending $60-$100 per night. Not all players willing to dump $500 to play. So this at least gets the smaller players a chance to play and possible hit before the re-buys happen. We found the cash heavy players (mostly into real estate/lawyers) were just buying more chips to start with and just bullying everyone. This $60 rule levels the playing field for the first hour or two before the re-buys happen. We felt we had to do it as the large stack bullying was out of control and took away from actual poker card playing.

Just a small example big stack bullying bets - $22 pre flop which we felt was hurting the game play.

The table we play on has a built in cash box so rebuys don't take that long.

I’m not suggesting upping your buy-in, I’m suggesting 100bb minimum. So if you are looking for $50-$60 buy-ins you should be hosting a 25c/50c game for, as you stated, “proper poker playing”. If you still have people constantly playing $22 bets, it sounds like there’s a mismatch of the stakes that some of your players want to play.
Also, if there’s constant bullying, that could be just some better players exploiting weak players, which is part of the game. There’s plenty of posts here on PCF of issues between players that like it casual vs players that really want to gamble…and how to manage them on the same night of poker.
I’m just not convinced that 30bb starting stack is a recipe for managing bullies and having a solid game of poker.

 

[Rodog123]

I ‘m not suggesting upping your buy-in, I’m suggesting 100bb minimum. So if you are looking for $50-$60 buy-ins you should be hosting a 25c/50c game for, as you stated, “proper poker playing”. If you still have people constantly playing $22 bets, it sounds like there’s a mismatch of the stakes that some of your players want to play.
Also, if there’s constant bullying, that could be just some better players exploiting weak players, which can certainly happen. There’s plenty of posts here on PCF of issues between players that like it casual vs players that really want to gamble…and how to manage them on the same night of poker.

There was discussions of lowering the stakes and they were quickly shot down by the whales, they said it wasn't worth their time to play anything less than $1/$2 one guy wanted to include the straddle bet! So instead of discouraging the whales we compromised and came up with the initial buy in $60 rule. I know it sounds weird but it works to keep everyone happy and most importantly coming back (going on 7 years with the same core group 7 players)

 

[Colquhoun]

There was discussions of lowering the stakes and they were quickly shot down by the whales, they said it wasn't worth their time to play anything less than $1/$2 one guy wanted to include the straddle bet! So instead of discouraging the whales we compromised and came up with the initial buy in $60 rule. I know it sounds weird but it works to keep everyone happy and most importantly coming back (going on 7 years with the same core group 7 players)

Hey, if all your players like it, enjoy.

 

[Machine]

I've seen $200 swings in .10/.10 games, I've seen 3k payouts in a single $40 rebuy table tourney. All I'm say'n is I wouldn't play with a group of people that would have me as a member, thats all I'm say'n

 

[Jers28]

No one gets hurt financially in a “big loss” and no one has to be told when the action is on them. That’s the ideal game.

For the fella with the Boy Scout game, that’s obviously radically different than if you had a bunch of people who make six figures+ which is chump change if you had a group of multi millionaires. Small is in the eye of the beholder. When I first got started in business, I learned my big boss played in a golf game every Friday for 100k a hole. A buck a skin was big enough for me in those days, but for his group, no one particularly thought $100k a skin was even a big deal.

There is no rule. I have players lose a couple grand and never break a smile. Oh well, is the attitude. Myself included. But, I run a smaller stakes table for those that can’t afford to reload with $1,500+. On the small stakes table, it’s a $100 max buy in, 50¢/$1 game with 50% match the stack, so it stays small all night. If a player runs up a big stack at the small table and wants to mix it up for bigger stakes, they can join the bigger table. Historically, that’s a short road to going bust, but they’re able to start off small and still play bigger if desired.

Just figure out what suits your players and who cares what anyone else thinks as long as your group is having fun!

 

[BigGrizz]

$20 for a working class small game
$40 for a middle class small game
$80 for a upper middle class small game
$100+ for people who can afford an RV

Basically, take the average income, drop 3 zeros and divide by 2.

$40k = $20
$80k = $40
$160k = $80
$200k+ = $100+

For a more mediun stakes home game, just don't divide by 2. If one or two players are in a higher income tier, cap them and let them addon if they are losing. This is my general perception.

 

[Booshme]

Our small game is usually .10/.10 with people buying in for $10, and 200BB rebuys after a few reloads.
My baby game with friends who don’t rly play much is just .05/.05, no one’s buying in for more than $5 or reloading for more than that

 

[SteveEH]

I like to keep wins (losses) per person to $100 for the night. We play .25/.25 pot limit big bet, and $1/$2 fixed limit games.

 

[valleychips]

Varies by various people in my group. Some like me are flexible from quarter-fifty to $1-$2. Others only want the smaller game. A few only want the higher stakes. And a lot of guys vary night to night, the mood they are in, how big the game is playing etc. I start at quarter-fifty then ask the group if one table wants to add on and become $1-$1. Sometimes they do, sometimes they stay at quarter-fifty. (And that can play big on certain nights). We also allow very deep buy ins, which helps.

 

[Gunnar]

Stakes and starting stacks can be quite irrelevant to the size of the game. I have cashed out 16K in 1/2 game.

So first of all I hate Match the Biggest stack. Three way early in the night 100$ each player. Let’s say 7 handed

One player wins the pot 300$ the other two rebuy match the stack. Avg stack is now 185$

Same three players go at it again 300$ three way all in. One wins the other two match the stack. Three players with 900$ avg stack is now 442$

If you have two+ players that are used to play bigger or love to gamble they can abuse match the stack really quickly. I on the other hand love Match HALF the stack.

Same scenario
Three way early night. 300$ is the winner other two rebuy for 150$ avg is 143$

Here is where it changes a lot they go at it again and pot is 600 and another player wins. As he could only win 150 from each player
Player A (winner from first hand) has 150$
Player B (new winner) has 450$
Player C (rebuy max) 225$

Avg now is 175$


So same action but the difference is avg 442$ vs 175$

So now we have that covered let’s jump into stakes.

Cash is best played 100-300BB stacks but on the other hands blinds don’t matter to some people. I have played .25/.25 and 1/1 with players where the opening bet is the same 3$ that is always going to happen when players go down in stakes. But don’t make the stakes higher because one player can’t adjust.

Starting buyin = stakes
25-50$ .25/.25
50-100$ .25/.50
100-200$ 1/1$
200-500$ 1/2$

Ps Im a gambler that loves straddle but a straddle is something that can have a huge effect on how a game plays.

100BB stacks three players straddle was on so
1+2
Straddle to 4
Standard raise 3x is 12 tel callers and SB and BB fold. Orginal straddler is one caller so
12+12+12+3
Pot = 39BB while stacks are 88BB


So If you allow straddles then it is a good idea to keep an eye on it.

 

[Munchies11]

Our average games are $50- $100 buy ins with unlimited rebuys ! The biggest loser of the night is usually $300. Then at the end of the night if we feel in the gambling modes will do open hand blackjack and piss it all away

 

[KHarp1]

No more than two (2) players??

 

[JiggidyJacks]

Our small game is usually .10/.10 with people buying in for $10, and 200BB rebuys after a few reloads.
My baby game with friends who don’t rly play much is just .05/.05, no one’s buying in for more than $5 or reloading for more than that

I started hosting with my friends who hadn't played much at all previously in the last few months. The first night was 1c/2c, second was 5c/5c, and now we're up to 5c/10c up to 200bb like you described. My guys are in their mid to late 20's and I felt those stakes were a good balance for where we're at; the most anyone lost was $30, and the big winner won $60. I'd like to get up to 25c/25c but I'm not going to rush it.