Cash Game Breakdown .25/.50 and .50/1 NL (1 Viewer)

[uclaure]

Hi everyone. I'm sorry if this has been covered, but I need some advice. I'm trying to help a friend whose looking to get a 600 pc set up for his home game. He usually has about 10 players. He wants to be able to play either .25/.50 or .50/1 NL. Typical buy in is about $40. What would be a good breakdown? Is it recommended to get both .25 and .50 chips? Thanks for your help.

 

[gopherblue]

There are a ton of threads on this, if you do some poking around. You definitely don't need both .25c and .50c chips--the extra Fracs are useless, just would get in the way and would limit the utility of the set, especially if limited to 600 chips. 100 Fracs is plenty--even if the game plays small, too many Fracs just get in the way (and limit the utility of your set due to size constraints).

600 chips is doable, but is less flexible over time if your game gets bigger (plays bigger), either due to inflation or player desires. If at all possible, I'd consider 800 chips: it is the sweet spot for maximum flexibility, bank size and future growth.

But if limited to 600 chips, the best breakdown for such a small set won't have full racks. You need to maximize workhorse chips and bank. Something like this may work:

100 x .25c
180 x $1
260 x $5
60 x $25
(Or 40 x $25 and 20 x $100)

If buyins are small, game always plays small and you want to maintain full racks, I'd go with:

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

But this really limits the utility of the set and isn't future-proof. If your game plays bigger, with this set you'd have to let cash play, which is doable but less than ideal.

As I said above, IMO the best, most flexible breakdown for a single table set that allows you to play higher stakes or accommodate a bigger game (should stacks run deep one night) is the following 800 chip breakdown, which also has the benefit of having (mostly) full racks:

100 x .25c
200 x $1
400 x $5
80 x $25
20 x $100

(Could also skip hundos and have 20 more $25 chips.) Plenty of the key workhorse chips ($5s), as well as the secondary workhorse chips at smaller stakes ($1s). Also, plenty of Fracs, plus you have enough high denom chips to accommodate nights when the game gets bigger. Also, this set is flexible enough to allow you to play 1/2 or even maybe a small 2/5 game.

And buy extras. 5-10 of each denom in case of Murphy.

 

[mummel]

I'm in the MOAR camp. Get:

200 x 25c
200 x $1
160 x $5
40 x $25

This will have you covered with MANY different options.

20 x $1 + 16 x $5 buy-ins per person for $1/$1 (use the $25 for rebuys)
20 x 25c + 20 x $1 + 5 x $5 for 25c/50c
20 x 25c + 20 x $1 for 25c/25c

600 chips are plenty. You definitely don't need more.

 

[courage]

Gopherblue has it right. Mummel is way off relative to most games I've played in... too many lower denoms and you'll be out of bank 3 hours into the game.

If you can do 700:
25c x 100
$1 x 200
$5 x 300
$25 x 60
$100 x 40

 

[Leonard]

IMO, the basic strategy for a cash set, regardless of size, is the following three steps:

1 - Get just enough of the smallest denomination to make things run smoothly. In this case that's 100 x 25¢.

2 - Get enough high denomination chips to more than cover all possible buy-ins and re-buys. I would say 60 x $25 and 40 x $100 but ymmv (your mileage may vary).

3 - Fill up the rest of your set with the "workhorse" chip. Depending on stakes, this could be a $1, $5 or even higher. For your stakes, either the $1 or $5 is your workhorse, so I would roughly get equal numbers of each.

Following the above rules, a 600 chip set for 25¢/50¢ or 50¢/$1 is

25¢ x 100
$1 x 200
$5 x 200
$25 x 60
$100 x 40

Or pretty much what has been said already....

L

PS note that the rules apply when you are trying to limit the number of chips you need to buy. I'm not really sure I even grasp that concept. If that's not the case, just buy a sh!t-ton of everything.

 

[David O]

Gopherblue has it right. Mummel is way off relative to most games I've played in... too many lower denoms and you'll be out of bank 3 hours into the game.

If you can do 700:
25c x 100
$1 x 200
$5 x 300
$25 x 60
$100 x 40

I agree with this. You need at least 100 fracs. Some want more but the most I do is 120 fracs if I have 10 players but not necessary. If you have 25¢ chips there is no reason for 50¢ chips.

I run a 25/50 game quite often. I start off with a $20 buy in and usually give everyone $3 in quarters and the rest in ones

 

[Leonard]

Also, I agree that 600 chips is enough for one table at pretty much any stakes of NL poker. Limit tends to need more chips to run smoothly.

 

[links_slayer]

If you are limited to 600 chips, it is senseless to eat up 1/3 of the set with the lowest denom. 100 fracs is plenty. The rest of the set can be made up of whatever the workhorse(s) is in your games. Add some higher denoms for rebuys and call it good.

I also agree that 600 chips is more than doable for a single table. It gets tricky when you try to make the set work for multiple stakes though. 25c/50c to 50c/1 shouldn't be that bad though.

 

[upNdown]

IMO, the basic strategy for a cash set, regardless of size, is the following three steps:

1 - Get just enough of the smallest denomination to make things run smoothly. In this case that's 100 x 25¢.

2 - Get enough high denomination chips to more than cover all possible buy-ins and re-buys. I would say 60 x $25 and 40 x $100 but ymmv (your mileage may vary).

3 - Fill up the rest of your set with the "workhorse" chip. Depending on stakes, this could be a $1, $5 or even higher. For your stakes, either the $1 or $5 is your workhorse, so I would roughly get equal numbers of each.

Following the above rules, a 600 chip set for 25¢/50¢ or 50¢/$1 is

25¢ x 100
$1 x 200
$5 x 200
$25 x 60
$100 x 40

Or pretty much what has been said already....

L

PS note that the rules apply when you are trying to limit the number of chips you need to buy. I'm not really sure I even grasp that concept. If that's not the case, just buy a sh!t-ton of everything.

This is the best advice. I recently built a similar set and I went with 200 $1's and only 100 $5's because I know my game plays lower. If you know their game plays higher, get more $5's than $1's. and if you're not sure, get equal amounts.
(And let me add that if the buy-in is $40, most probably the $1 is the workhorse, not the $5)

Also, 100 quarters is plenty. When you have too many quarters on the table, you get guys counting out 3 dollar bets in quarters, and that gets old fast.

 

[Psypher1000]

I'm trying to help a friend whose looking to get a 600 pc set up for his home game.

Since you say 600, we're going to go with 600 as the number. If that's the case, then what Leonard said is spot on.

If you can go w/700, then Courage's breakdown is grand.

If you can go w/800, then Gopher has the right of it.

Mummel is correct that you don't *need* more than 600 chips for a single table of poker, but the advice of Courage & Gopher is sound - if your friend has any inkling that the game may grow, or that he may keep playing poker over the decades (inflation), then may as well get a few hundred and prepare his set now to accommodate that future growth.

All three breakdowns follow the same basic model. I follow that general model myself (I prefer more than 100 fracs, but they're not typically *needed*), and that model has proven itself time and again in real-world experience.

 

[David O]

The 600 to 800 set works with blinds ranging from 25¢/25¢ up to $1/$2 depending on how large you game plays. My go to set is...

25¢ -100
$1 - 200
$5 - 300
$25 -100
$100 -100
for a total bank of $13,225. You can definitely get by with less hundos and $25's by combining them into one rack but I like full racks!!!

 

[GoStumpy]

I run a ~8 player .25/.50 game and buyins are usually $50... I don't have my 600ct mixed set done yet, but the plan is:

25c - 100
$1 - 200
$5 - 200
$25 - 80
$100 - 20

Our workhorse chip is a toss up between the $1's and the $5's...

So far I have:

25c - 100
$1 - 200
$5 - 100
$25 - 50

I've never broken out the $25's, but we were close once... so I figure that another 100 $5's is plenty for my game as it currently plays.

 

[David O]

I run a ~8 player .25/.50 game and buyins are usually $50... I don't have my 600ct mixed set done yet, but the plan is:

25c - 100
$1 - 200
$5 - 200
$25 - 80
$100 - 20

Our workhorse chip is a toss up between the $1's and the $5's...

So far I have:

25c - 100
$1 - 200
$5 - 100
$25 - 50

I've never broken out the $25's, but we were close once... so I figure that another 100 $5's is plenty for my game as it currently plays.

In most 25/50 I have played and hosted the $1 is definitely the workhorse chip but more $5's works well. I always go with 200 $1's and add $5's. In my game I have never really had to go in to the $25's much less the hundos. Good thing is if you increase the 5's that is your workhorse chip in the 1/1 and 1/2 game so you are set for spreading anything from .25/.25 up to a $1/$2.

I have only broken out a few $25 chips in my game but it was only because I wanted some "bait" chips in the game. I still had plenty of 5's in reserve.

 

[upNdown]

I have only broken out a few $25 chips in my game but it was only because I wanted some "bait" chips in the game. I still had plenty of 5's in reserve.

I always scratch my head when people say "I've never broken out the 25's"
People. You don't need to use every single $5 you own before you bust out some $25's! Loosen up, live a little, and get some more color out on that table!

 

[David O]

I always scratch my head when people say "I've never broken out the 25's"
People. You don't need to use every single $5 you own before you bust out some $25's! Loosen up, live a little, and get some more color out on that table!

I said I HAVE broken them out with plenty of 5's in reserve

 

[Rhodeman77]

I always scratch my head when people say "I've never broken out the 25's"
People. You don't need to use every single $5 you own before you bust out some $25's! Loosen up, live a little, and get some more color out on that table!

While I enjoy seeing $25's on the table, I don't want to put them into play unless there are already a ton of $5's in play, (like 100 per player already) because a lot of players nit up with them. They will start to play better. When they have a mountain of 5's in front of them they are looser with them.

 

[upNdown]

You're probably right about that.

 

[upNdown]

I said I HAVE broken them out with plenty of 5's in reserve

Oh that wasn't directed at you, or anybody in particular. I've seen it written at different times in different threads.
I like getting them out as "bait" like you said. But I also get Rhodemans point about making sure there's plenty of fives out, because I think people DO play differently if they're trying to "defend" big chips. (Although with my group, sometimes that might be welcome - it's almost impossible to bluff some of those calling stations)
And the other point to consider is to make sure there's sufficient fives out there, enough that people don't have to change the $25's (or $20's, which are much cooler in my opinion) every other hand. Made that mistake one night - won't happen again.

 

[David O]

Oh that wasn't directed at you, or anybody in particular. I've seen it written at different times in different threads.
I like getting them out as "bait" like you said. But I also get Rhodemans point about making sure there's plenty of fives out, because I think people DO play differently if they're trying to "defend" big chips. (Although with my group, sometimes that might be welcome - it's almost impossible to bluff some of those calling stations)
And the other point to consider is to make sure there's sufficient fives out there, enough that people don't have to change the $25's (or $20's, which are much cooler in my opinion) every other hand. Made that mistake one night - won't happen again.

I agree with what he said. That is what I generally do at my game. One I have at least a rack of 5's on the table then I will break out a $25 chip or two as bait!

 

[uclaure]

Thank you all for your advice. I will pass the info along and let him decide.

 

[mike32]

@detroitdad has convinced me, go with 120 quarters. I used to say 100. That way everyone at a 10 person table can start with $3 in quarters. More chips is more better.

 

[gopherblue]

@detroitdad has convinced me, go with 120 quarters. I used to say 100. That way everyone at a 10 person table can start with $3 in quarters. More chips is more better.

I respectfully disagree with this and point to the sage logic of @abby99: 100 is plenty...the first five players to sit at the table get a barrel of fracs, and everyone else at the table can make change from there. Why? Well, for starters, that is easiest for the banker, and it gets all the fracs on the table from the get-go, and after an orbit or so, the fracs are distributed unequally/equally around the table anyway.

In a set limited to 600 chips, @Leonard has it dead-to-rights: get just enough fracs to run the game (in this case, 100). 120 fracs is a waste of an extra barrel that are waaaaaay more valuable (and could be better used) as workhorse chips in a 600 chip set.

If strictly limited to 600 chips, I'd agree with his breakdown:

25¢ x 100
$1 x 200
$5 x 200
$25 x 60
$100 x 40

Or use my previously noted breakdown with uneven racks:

25¢ x 100
$1 x 180
$5 x 260
$25 x 40
$100 x 20

But frankly, given my OCD and love of full racks, I'd go with Leonard's breakdown.

 

[Bradcorn]

My vote is to play $0.50 - $0.50 and get rid of all quarters.

The most efficient breakdown (that gets plenty of chips in play with enough bank) I can find is 700 chips with $4k bank (40 buys ins exactly)

100 - $0.50
200 - $1
350 - $5
40 - $25
10 - $100

First 10 buy ins for $100 are:
10 - $0.50
20 - $1
15 - $5

Next 10 rebuys for $100 are:
20 - $5

Next 10 rebuys for $100 are:
4 - $25

Final 10 rebuys are a single $100 chip

If you bump to 800 then I would say move the $5s to 400 for an even rack and double the $25s and $100s for the 80/20 split of $25/$100

 

[upNdown]

I've never played with $0.50's, but I don't see how they're any more efficient. I'm thinking if you're playing .50/.50, you could get away wiith only 80 or even 60 fracs, because you use fewer of them, right? Does that actually work? Seems like it would.

 

[mummel]

Hi everyone. I'm sorry if this has been covered, but I need some advice. I'm trying to help a friend whose looking to get a 600 pc set up for his home game. He usually has about 10 players. He wants to be able to play either .25/.50 or .50/1 NL. Typical buy in is about $40. What would be a good breakdown? Is it recommended to get both .25 and .50 chips? Thanks for your help.

I would think hard about how much your players really buy-in. At $40 X 10, with maybe 4 rebuys on a good night, thats $560.

Something like this...:

25c x 100
$1 x 200
$5 x 300
$25 x 60
$100 x 40

...gives you a $7,225 bank. That's a complete %#$@ overkill IMO. Sure if you have high rollers and you grow into $1/$2 and folks are buying in for $100-$200, then why not (but still, that's only like $2-$3k).

I wager in a breakdown like this that you never use the $100s or even the $25s.

We play $25 buy ins with 20 x 25c and 20 x $1 with 25c/25c. Everyone gets a barrel of each denom. This works perfectly. The quarters get used constantly (I even handle 1-2 rebuys with more quarters and $1s). I've tested this many times. Works out great!!!

With 25c/50c & $50 buyin, I will know more in a couple of weeks what works best. We have our first high rollers night coming up! My guess is the quarters will not be used as often. I'm guessing 120 would be enough for the table but I am going to try 20/20/5 and report back.

But my point is, I got 200/200/160/40 to future proof myself. But if I had to do it all over again, I probably would have skipped the $25s and got less $5s.

 

[pltrgyst]

On a possibly unrelated note: I haven't noted anyone mentioning other aspects of the game structure yet. But I and the players I know would never, ever play in any cash game with a maximum buy-in of less than 100BB. And 200 BB is a much more reasonable minimum.

IMO, you should either bump that maximum, or play .05/.10 or .10/.20, if you want your game to survive and grow.

 

[GoStumpy]

I couldn't believe it when one of my players who hosted years ago played .25/.50 with $20 buyin...

 

[MacGrad]

I couldn't believe it when one of my players who hosted years ago played .25/.50 with $20 buyin...

I know it's weird, but the local casinos have lower buy-in requirements than your friend: depending on the level, the minimum buy-in ranges between 20BB and 60BB.

 

[GoStumpy]

I know it's weird, but the local casinos have lower buy-in requirements than your friend: depending on the level, the minimum buy-in ranges between 20BB and 60BB.

I know, but it wasn't a minimum

 

[upNdown]

I couldn't believe it when one of my players who hosted years ago played .25/.50 with $20 buyin...

That's what my group does, and no doubt, it's a little odd. And pretty much everybody who plays at that table is prepared to re-buy up to $100 or more. So why do we all start at $20? No idea. It's just what we do.
The short stacks seem to result in early all-ins, which results in lots of rebuys, and as the night moves on, the rebuys becom 30 or 40 or 50, so the money gets out there.
So yeah, we start low, but it works for us. I would never sit down at a casino with 40 big blinds, no way, never. But that's how this particular home game plays.