Tourney About to buy chips - is my chipset breakdown good? (1 Viewer)

[GreekRedEye]

I am am double checking my chip numbers before placing an order later today. Goal is to be able to hold 4 different types of games (including color ups of course) with this set:

• T20K for 10 players at 12, 12, 5, 6, 2
• T10K for 10 players at 12, 12, 5, 6
• T10K for 20 players at 8, 8, 4, 2, 1
• 25/25 or 25/50 Limit cash game for 8 players using denominations as pennies.

What do folks think of this chipset below (and my structure) above? Note the order must be in multiples of 25. And I don't do re-buys or add-ons. Would be freeze-out mostly, with maybe an occasional re-entry if someone busts out early and wants back in.

T25 = 175
T100 = 175
T500 = 125
T1000 = 125
T5000 = 50
Bounty chip = 25
Buy in chip = 25
TOTAL = 700

 

[BPTDirector]

Seems ok but we caution using the same chips for cash and tourneys. You have to watch for chip transfers between the two.

 

[NotRealNameNoSir]

Limit games for 8 people, 175 25s is very very very very light. Each person gets a barrel of chips plus a value chip?

You can stretch this and run the game but its very far from optimal.

 

[GreekRedEye]

Yeah, I plan (hope) to get a good cash set some time. But for now, I need this one to pull double duty. And I don't expect to play cash games with anyone but small group of trusted friends.

Acquaintances and friends of friends will be invited to the tournaments.

 

[GreekRedEye]

Limit games for 8 people, 175 25s is very very very very light. Each person gets a barrel of chips plus a value chip?

You can stretch this and run the game but its very far from optimal.

How many would you recommend?

 

[NotRealNameNoSir]

How many would you recommend?

Youll get different answers, but stacks of the same type of chips is a staple in limit games. Id prefer 350+ as a minimum for the workhorse chip. Thats $10 for each person, plus another value chip just to represent more ($5 or whatever). Most of my limit games we use old beatup clay chips but every person gets a rack, so 100 per person. I can fudge a bit and use other chips, but this is when its most fun.

with your breakdown, no limit would be a lot easier. You can use whatever chips to buy people in and they can bet different amounts; limit hamstrings you to only using the one type of chip.

 

[Eriks]

A rack each is pretty standard for fixed. Usually people get sets devoted to limit with lots of racks of the work horse chips and a rack of value chips

 

[GreekRedEye]

Thanks @Eriks @NotRealNameNoSir @BPTDirector. This is really helpful. Will recalibrate and use the set for tourneys only (and if I do a cash game keep it no limit). Up till now, I have only successfully run a couple tournaments. And when I have played cash games, it has been no limit (thus my cluelessness on stack size for limit).

I think my friends would be more comfortable with limit if the game is cash - so why I went there. But sounds like this is not the chipset for that.

 

[Eriks]

It’s obv possible to play limit with less than a rack each but it wouldn’t run as smoothly. Limit is fast and needing to get change every other hand would likely be annoying.

 

[philhut]

t10k with 20 players and a stack of 8/8/4/2/1 in a player dealt game is a nightmare. I suggest investing in 50-75 more `1000 value chips (if ordering in x25/rolls). allowing you to issue that extra 5k in 1000value chips instead of 5000 value to many (maybe not all) players. When you do not have a dealer with a change tray you will have a really hard time breaking change in split pots or when the 5k chips are played early with 8/8/4/2/1. in a 20 player game you are better off issuing 8/8/4/7 to as many players as possible then playing the 5k chips in colour ups and rebuys.

 

[BGinGA]

^ exactly this.

Having a single chip worth half the value of the stack (8/8/4/2/1) is asking for trouble, since nobody has sufficient chips to make change for a T5000 chip. In addition, the mid-game and end-game (after T25/T100 chips have been removed) will be very difficult since so few T1000 workhorse chips are in play.

Goal is to be able to hold 4 different types of games (including color ups of course) with this set:

• T20K for 10 players at 12, 12, 5, 6, 2
• T10K for 10 players at 12, 12, 5, 6
• T10K for 20 players at 8, 8, 4, 2, 1
• 25/25 or 25/50 Limit cash game for 8 players using denominations as pennies.

For those three tourney games, you need:

120/120/50/120/20 plus 15x T1000 and 5x T5000 (minimum) for the 12/12/4/7/x sets
or
160/160/80/140 plus 12x T5000 (minimum) for the 8/8/4/7 set.

Combining thise with the minimum qty requirements, you need:

175 x T25
175 x T100
100 x T500
150 x T1000
25 x T5000
-------------
625 chips, minimum

Adding 25 more T5000s for re-buys, plus your 25x bounty and 25x buy-in chips = 700 chips.

Personally, I'd skip the buy-in chip and just get another 25x T5000 chips for the added flexibility of optional larger starting stacks.

But as others have mentioned, the set will simply not work well for a fixed-limit cash game (but should be passable for a 1/10th value low-stakes NL cash game, although that is ill-advised for security and game integrity reasons).

EDIT:
The set could work as an 8-player limit set, but only if you mixed all denominations together and assigned them the same value (1c, 5c, 25c, whatever). Use your 25 bounty chips as the high-value chips, equal to 20 times whatever the base value chips are worth.

 

[GreekRedEye]

t10k with 20 players and a stack of 8/8/4/2/1 in a player dealt game is a nightmare. I suggest investing in 50-75 more `1000 value chips (if ordering in x25/rolls). allowing you to issue that extra 5k in 1000value chips instead of 5000 value to many (maybe not all) players. When you do not have a dealer with a change tray you will have a really hard time breaking change in split pots or when the 5k chips are played early with 8/8/4/2/1. in a 20 player game you are better off issuing 8/8/4/7 to as many players as possible then playing the 5k chips in colour ups and rebuys.

Thanks! This is really helpful. I will up the number of 1000 chips. @BGinGA 's numbers work perfect for t10k for 20 players at 8/8/4/7 (I could also do 8/8/6/6 but I don't know if that really is any better).

39mm chips:
175 x T25
175 x T100
125 x T500
175 x T1000
50 x T5000
TOTAL = 700

42mm chips:
25 x bounty
25 x buy-in
TOTAL = 50

I do want to keep the buy-in chips. One, I already designed them . More, though, I found buy-in the most cumbersome part of hosting. When I host for game nights with friends, they trickle in over the course of an hour and mingle while having drinks and snacks. People want to pay during this time but then would be walking around with the stacks. I insisted they wait till we buy in at the table 10 minutes before play, but then folks were counting cash, trying to make change, etc. I remember one particular (commercial) location I played a few turbo tournaments at did a buy-in chip at the cage up to an hour before the tournament. You put it in your pocket and went and got food, bathroom, whatever. When you sat down, you exchanged the chip for your stack from the dealer. That I think would work well for most of the game nights I would host. Find me during the mingle portion, pay me (cash or venmo), I give you a chip. Then right before play, change your chip for a stack at the table.

But you guys are pros...how do you keep the buy-in manageable?

 

[BGinGA]

You don't need 125 x T500 chips -- the most you will ever use is 80. 100 chips is plenty.

 

[philhut]

You don't need 125 x T500 chips -- the most you will ever use is 80. 100 chips is plenty.

Sounds as though the 500 could be played in cash games....perhaps as a $5? If tourney only 100x 500 is fine, otherwise the 125 may be functional, 1000 as $10, 100 as $1 etc...

 

[Colquhoun]

Thanks! This is really helpful. I will up the number of 1000 chips. @BGinGA 's numbers work perfect for t10k for 20 players at 8/8/4/7 (I could also do 8/8/6/6 but I don't know if that really is any better).

39mm chips:
175 x T25
175 x T100
125 x T500
175 x T1000
50 x T5000
TOTAL = 700

42mm chips:
25 x bounty
25 x buy-in
TOTAL = 50

I do want to keep the buy-in chips. One, I already designed them . More, though, I found buy-in the most cumbersome part of hosting. When I host for game nights with friends, they trickle in over the course of an hour and mingle while having drinks and snacks. People want to pay during this time but then would be walking around with the stacks. I insisted they wait till we buy in at the table 10 minutes before play, but then folks were counting cash, trying to make change, etc. I remember one particular (commercial) location I played a few turbo tournaments at did a buy-in chip at the cage up to an hour before the tournament. You put it in your pocket and went and got food, bathroom, whatever. When you sat down, you exchanged the chip for your stack from the dealer. That I think would work well for most of the game nights I would host. Find me during the mingle portion, pay me (cash or venmo), I give you a chip. Then right before play, change your chip for a stack at the table.

But you guys are pros...how do you keep the buy-in manageable?

I just ordered a T25 tourney set with the @BGinGA recommended numbers, rounded up to 25-chip increments:
$25 - 175
$100 - 175
$500 - 100
$1,000 - 150
$5,000 - 75

Also, if you wanted to do a buy-in chip, you could have seating chips made. Numbered 1 -10 and color-coded for multiple tables, when someone buys in, they pick a chip out of the hat. Serves a double purpose.
Or, one step further...I created a bounty/seating chip (and there are plenty of other options of these as well), which gets surrendered when knocked out. Could also be used as a buy-in chip:

 

[GreekRedEye]

I just ordered a T25 tourney set with the @BGinGA recommended numbers, rounded up to 25-chip increments:
$25 - 175
$100 - 175
$500 - 100
$1,000 - 150
$5,000 - 75

Also, if you wanted to do a buy-in chip, you could have seating chips made. Numbered 1 -10 and color-coded for multiple tables, when someone buys in, they pick a chip out of the hat. Serves a double purpose.
Or, one step further...I created a bounty/seating chip (and there are plenty of other options of these as well), which gets surrendered when knocked out. Could also be used as a buy-in chip:
View attachment 1157985

@Colquhoun I saw your order go in right before mine and I thought, gee, what a coincidence our numbers are so close!

I submitted the order before I saw @BGinGA 's recommendation to not go above 100 on the T500s. I plan to put the chips in a Da Vinci 750 case, so I had another 25 I could put somewhere. Maybe should have gone with 75 T5000's in stead of 50. Oh, well.

I like the combo seating / bounty-chip. Maybe in the future I will regret the buy-in chips and can ditch them and replace with either seating chips or more T5000s. Or ditch 25 of the T500s.

Thanks everyone who responded to this thread. It was a useful education and timely as I got my order numbers straight.

 

[Colquhoun]

@Colquhoun I saw your order go in right before mine and I thought, gee, what a coincidence our numbers are so close!

I submitted the order before I saw @BGinGA 's recommendation to not go above 100 on the T500s. I plan to put the chips in a Da Vinci 750 case, so I had another 25 I could put somewhere. Maybe should have gone with 75 T5000's in stead of 50. Oh, well.

I like the combo seating / bounty-chip. Maybe in the future I will regret the buy-in chips and can ditch them and replace with either seating chips or more T5000s. Or ditch 25 of the T500s.

Thanks everyone who responded to this thread. It was a useful education and timely as I got my order numbers straight.

Yeah the recommendation for a T25 2-table tournament is to have at least 60 T5,000 chips. If you contact Justin, you may be able to rearrange your totals, if desired.

 

[GreekRedEye]

Yeah the recommendation for a T25 2-table tournament is to have at least 60 T5,000 chips. If you contact Justin, you may be able to rearrange your totals, if desired.

Just made the ask.

 

[philhut]

@Colquhoun I saw your order go in right before mine and I thought, gee, what a coincidence our numbers are so close!

I submitted the order before I saw @BGinGA 's recommendation to not go above 100 on the T500s. I plan to put the chips in a Da Vinci 750 case, so I had another 25 I could put somewhere. Maybe should have gone with 75 T5000's in stead of 50. Oh, well.

I like the combo seating / bounty-chip. Maybe in the future I will regret the buy-in chips and can ditch them and replace with either seating chips or more T5000s. Or ditch 25 of the T500s.

Thanks everyone who responded to this thread. It was a useful education and timely as I got my order numbers straight.

Buy in chips are nice when doing the initial buy in for tournies. It's easier to take cash and hand out a single chip than a while stack...this let's players pay, get their buy in chip and chat l, mill about etc.....meanwhile you can then count out stacks or prepared bags of starting stacks and then let payers draw with the chips already at their seats or ready for pick up in exchange for that buy in token.

 

[philhut]

@Colquhoun I saw your order go in right before mine and I thought, gee, what a coincidence our numbers are so close!

I submitted the order before I saw @BGinGA 's recommendation to not go above 100 on the T500s. I plan to put the chips in a Da Vinci 750 case, so I had another 25 I could put somewhere. Maybe should have gone with 75 T5000's in stead of 50. Oh, well.

I like the combo seating / bounty-chip. Maybe in the future I will regret the buy-in chips and can ditch them and replace with either seating chips or more T5000s. Or ditch 25 of the T500s.

Thanks everyone who responded to this thread. It was a useful education and timely as I got my order numbers straight.

Buy in chips are nice when doing the initial buy in for tournies. It's easier to take cash and hand out a single chip than a while stack...this let's players pay, get their buy in chip and chat l, mill about etc.....meanwhile you can then count out stacks or prepared bags of starting stacks and then let payers draw with the chips already at their seats or ready for pick up in exchange for that buy in token.

I use some all-buttons or the bounty for this as I don't have a specific buy in button. What I found was this avoided the problem of players sitting at the table then dropping $ in front of their stacks as the buy in....in multiple table tournies eventually you will run into a player who "forgets" to put up his cash and is more easily missed than a player without a "buy-in" token obviously missing something. Saves you being a rebuy short at the end of the night at payout time.

 

[BGinGA]

Buy in chips are nice when doing the initial buy in for tournies. It's easier to take cash and hand out a single chip than a while stack...this let's players pay, get their buy in chip and chat l, mill about etc.....meanwhile you can then count out stacks or prepared bags of starting stacks and then let payers draw with the chips already at their seats or ready for pick up in exchange for that buy in token.

I use some all-buttons or the bounty for this as I don't have a specific buy in button. What I found was this avoided the problem of players sitting at the table then dropping $ in front of their stacks as the buy in....in multiple table tournies eventually you will run into a player who "forgets" to put up his cash and is more easily missed than a player without a "buy-in" token obviously missing something. Saves you being a rebuy short at the end of the night at payout time.

Yep.... I take the cash and issue a randomly-selected bounty chip, which has their table/seat assignment on the reverse side. Stacks are placed on the tables in advance.

 

[Preditor]

Adding 25 more T5000s for re-buys, plus your 25x bounty and 25x buy-in chips = 700 chips.

Curious how you would approach re-buys with the T5000 chips.

Say it's a 8/8/6/6 and we cap rebuys to one-per-person at the first hour. Would you give them a 5K chip plus smaller denoms? 2x5K chips and tell them to make change with other players? Or are you figuring in a longer rebuy period?

 

[BGinGA]

Curious how you would approach re-buys with the T5000 chips.

Say it's a 8/8/6/6 and we cap rebuys to one-per-person at the first hour. Would you give them a 5K chip plus smaller denoms? 2x5K chips and tell them to make change with other players? Or are you figuring in a longer rebuy period?

I typically recommend 5x T1000 and 1x T5000 for a 10k re-buy. 2x T5000 can work for 12/12/5/6 starting stacks.

And fwiw, 8/8/4/7 starting stacks are superior to 8/8/6/6 because a) 4x T500 per stack is plenty (no bet ever requires more than a single T500), and b) it puts more T1000s in play (which becomes the workhorse chip after T100s are removed).

 

[Preditor]

I typically recommend 5x T1000 and 1x T5000 for a 10k re-buy. 2x T5000 can work for 12/12/5/6 starting stacks.

Thanks. And if blinds are still in the low hundreds, I assume you just trust your people to make their own change at the table?

Great note regarding the starting stack! Right now planning to have 12/12/5/6. But if we ever get lower players will definitely implement at 8/8/4/7 system.