200 Chip Set for 4 players — $5 Buy In (1 Viewer)

[Elio]

Hello everyone! I am looking to put together a small set of 200 chips for a micro stakes home game we play. There are only ever 4 players, with a max buy-in of $5.

We would be playing 5c/5c NLHE, or some draw games with a 5c ante.

I just need some help deciding on the amounts of each denomination to purchase.

I was leaning towards a simple split of x100 5¢ chips and x100 25¢ chips. That would allow for everyone to buy in for $5, with x2 $5 rebuys available. We don’t play too deep and mostly play for fun, so I think 2 rebuys should suffice.

However, I’d love to hear feedback on other breakdown ideas.

The starting stacks with my breakdown would be x25 5¢ chips, and x15 25¢ chips. That would give each player 40 chips to start, which seems like a good amount.

Any feedback on the starting stacks would also be appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[suchj0sh]

Do players ever re-buy?

 

[Elio]

Do players ever re-buy?

We don’t play very deep, so I’d imagine that there would only ever be one or two rebuys a night.

 

[suchj0sh]

I might include at least a small number of $1’s to cover rebuys, even just 10.

 

[mr11]

Id say go starting stacks of 20 & 16. It’s easier to use a barrel of chips vs 25

 

[Klobberer]

Not sure what your budget constraints are, but I'd up the quarters and add a couple barrels of $1s. With every set I ever bought I wished I bought more.

 

[JustinInMN]

Only 4 players and only 200 chips. Using 100 chips on nickels seems a little over kill with this limitation on the set.

I am thinking more like 60/100/40 of 5¢/25¢/1. (Alternatively 50/100/50, if required to buy in quantities of 25 per denomination.) Players can have 15/17 in their initial starting stacks. With extra quarters and dollars available for rebuys. This also becomes playable with 10/14/1 starting stacks if you ever get to 6 players.

 

[BPTDirector]

The above advice is all good, but what you propose would work.

 

[Elio]

Thanks for the replies! I am buying from Apache Poker Chips, so it would have to be quantities of 25. I may stick with the 100/100 split of nickels and quarters, since lowering to 75 nickels would prevent all four players from receiving at least full barrel, leaving unused nickels. At least with 25 nickels each, it equals an amount with none left over.

Since the remaining quarters will perfectly cover 2 rebuys, I think I’ll stick with that breakdown. Then if it turns out that we need more than 2 rebuys per night, I can pick up 25 dollar chips for the set.

Thanks everyone! Just wanted to get some input before pulling the trigger.

 

[Colquhoun]

I would get just a few extras and maybe a few more $1 just in case you have someone that pops in, or happens to want to play. It's 4 now, but if it happened to be 6, what would you do?
Hell, I have a whole closet full of "just in case" chips...need to justify it somehow!

 

[JustinInMN]

Thanks for the replies! I am buying from Apache Poker Chips, so it would have to be quantities of 25. I may stick with the 100/100 split of nickels and quarters, since lowering to 75 nickels would prevent all four players from receiving at least full barrel, leaving unused nickels. At least with 25 nickels each, it equals an amount with none left over.

Since the remaining quarters will perfectly cover 2 rebuys, I think I’ll stick with that breakdown. Then if it turns out that we need more than 2 rebuys per night, I can pick up 25 dollar chips for the set.

Thanks everyone! Just wanted to get some input before pulling the trigger.

You really don't need a full barrel of nickels per player since these chips really only get use on the first round. 10 per player should be good enough. If you were going to buy a set of 400-600 I would say sure, get 100 nickels, but since you are only doing 200 chips, it is imperative to maximize the chips that will do the most work. And it in case, it's the quarters.

That's why I (and others) have been suggesting the reduction on nickels, to make room for quarters and dollars within the 200 chip constraint.

 

[caballo993]

I think the split of chips is fine and allows for expansion down the road. Just make sure to keep cash on hand, or only accept cash buy-ins.

Still, it would be safe to keep 10-20x one-dollar bills stored with the chips to cover buy-ins from extra players or a graduation to .05/.10 stakes.

If that ends up not being enough you can add another 100 chips down the road like 75x $1s and 25x $5s.

 

[ES_Threeper]

You could do:
5c x 75
25c x 75
$1 x 50

Starting stacks of 15/17. Use the 1s for rebuys.

 

[Colquhoun]

I also guess it depends on the players. Are they only raising 2x or 3x in a 5c/5c game? If so, each player should have many more 5c chips to start.
If however, most raises are to 25c, you’ll need far less 5c chips per person.