Cash Game Chip count for .25/.50 game and occasional 1/2 (1 Viewer)

[space_mobster]

Just looking for some feedback here and any advice. Looking to buy my first real set of chips, and wondering what count of each I should get. Mainly do .25/.50 game but would like to on the rare occasion do a 1/2 game. Usually between 8-10 people. I stumbled across Chris Manzoni on youtube and wondering if everyone agrees with his breakdowns or if you would tweak anything? Usually do just a $50 buy in nothing crazy more of to get friends together than anything.

.25/.50:
.25 x 200
$1 x 200
$5 x 200
$25 x 20

 

[QuietMaple]

This is sufficient for a .25/.50 game, but you'll need more $25 chips for a 1/2 game. The total bank here is $1750, which is less than 9 buy-ins at the 1/2 stakes assuming a 100BB buy-in of $200.

People will tell you to buy only 100 quarters, which is fine, but I actually really like having 200 of them. It makes it easy to cut off a whole barrel for each player for starting stacks, and with a standard-ish raise of $1.50 (three big blinds) players will be using multiple in every hand in which they are involved.

 

[space_mobster]

This is sufficient for a .25/.50 game, but you'll need more $25 chips for a 1/2 game. The total bank here is $1750, which is less than 9 buy-ins at the 1/2 stakes assuming a 100BB buy-in of $200.

People will tell you to buy only 100 quarters, which is fine, but I actually really like having 200 of them. It makes it easy cut off a whole barrel for each player for starting stacks, and with a standard-ish raise of $1.50 (three big blinds) players will be using multiple in every hand in which they are involved.

I appreciate the response, this is what I was thinking for the .25/.50 but didn't know the direction to head for the occasional 1/2

 

[Jeevansluck]

I have many cash sets. They are all relatively the same.

I run .25/.25 or .25/.50, and I have also run $1/1, and I want to run $1/2, but so far, I’ve never managed to get a game. I also want to run .50/$1 so I build them as follows….

100-200 x $0.25
100 x $0.50
300 x $1
400 x $5
100 x $25
20 x $100

I think this gives you $6800 bank + fracs. Although, I can see a $1/2 game getting carried away and if your crew is gambol heavy, you could add a rack of $25 perhaps. I feel like this breakdown can run any of the stakes from .25/.25, to $1/2.

 

[QuietMaple]

I'd say you could cover $1/$2 if you got a few more $25 chips and 25x$100 chips.

 

[PokerDogDoc]

A $50 (100 bb) buy-in is automatically short stacked in a 0.25/0.50 cash game, so if ordering chips, consider having chips for 200 bb (or even 300 bb) buy ins on hand for when your gang feels more comfortable playing those stakes.

Alternatively, drop it to a 0.25/0.25 game and stay at $50 (200 bb).

However, assuming you do run 0.25/0.50 and eventually go as high as 1/2 (a 4-fold increase in stakes!) you’ll need a lot more chips.

In a casino, a 1/2 game typically has a $300 buy in (150 bb)… and they are usually all $5 chips with the dealer making change with $1 chips.

$25 chips will make an appearance in some stacks, mainly as add ins or to open up space when a player has $800 or more in $5’s — they’ll trade out $5 x 100 for $25 x 20 ($500 swap), keeping 3 stacks of $5 ($300) as their main working chips.

$100 chips are rarely put in to play and are mainly used for rebuys.

Given all that, I don’t use $100 chips at all in my 0.25/0.25 home game… I only want to manage 4 denominations on the table.

And I definitely fall into the “starting stack of 0.25 chips x 20” camp.

I also prefer $20 chips for cash games and reserve $25 chips for tournament sets.

I use this PCF resource from member @BSteck for calculating my cash & tournament sets, then tweak it based on my own preferences:
https://www.pokerchipforum.com/resources/poker-set-selection-tool.90/

So using that tool, below is my 0.25/0.25 set of 800 chips with my personal denom adjustment. You’ll see that my $1 chip is my workhorse with plenty of $5 for bigger bets and some $20 for higher buy ins, add ons, top ups and rebuys.

I’ve also added a note showing how many more $5 and $20 chips I would want if I also ran a 1/2 game, mimicking how a casino would do it. You can see how big the set gets when not putting $100 chips into play, but again, this is how it’s done in a casino at those stakes.

I hope this helps and gives you some ideas for your own game. Give that set selection tool a try to get you a starting point to work from.

 

[space_mobster]

A $50 (100 bb) buy-in is automatically short stacked in a 0.25/0.50 cash game, so if ordering chips, consider having chips for 200 bb (or even 300 bb) buy ins on hand for when your gang feels more comfortable playing those stakes.

Alternatively, drop it to a 0.25/0.25 game and stay at $50 (200 bb).

However, assuming you do run 0.25/0.50 and eventually go as high as 1/2 (a 4-fold increase in stakes!) you’ll need a lot more chips.

In a casino, a 1/2 game typically has a $300 buy in (150 bb)… and they are usually all $5 chips with the dealer making change with $1 chips.

$25 chips will make an appearance in some stacks, mainly as add ins or to open up space when a player has $800 or more in $5’s — they’ll trade out $5 x 100 for $25 x 20 ($500 swap), keeping 3 stacks of $5 ($300) as their main working chips.

$100 chips are rarely put in to play and are mainly used for rebuys.

Given all that, I don’t use $100 chips at all in my 0.25/0.25 home game… I only want to manage 4 denominations on the table.

And I definitely fall into the “starting stack of 0.25 chips x 20” camp.

I also prefer $20 chips for cash games and reserve $25 chips for tournament sets.

I use this PCF resource from member @BSteck for calculating my cash & tournament sets, then tweak it based on my own preferences:
https://www.pokerchipforum.com/resources/poker-set-selection-tool.90/

So using that tool, below is my 0.25/0.25 set of 800 chips with my personal denom adjustment. You’ll see that my $1 chip is my workhorse with plenty of $5 for bigger bets and some $20 for higher buy ins, add ons, top ups and rebuys.

I’ve also added a note showing how many more $5 and $20 chips I would want if I also ran a 1/2 game, mimicking how a casino would do it. You can see how big the set gets when not putting $100 chips into play, but again, this is how it’s done in a casino at those stakes.

View attachment 1649202View attachment 1649203

I hope this helps and gives you some ideas for your own game. Give that set selection tool a try to get you a starting point to work from.

This is extremely helpful. So helpful to the point of I am now almost considering for when we want to go a little bigger, doing a .50/1 game instead of a 1/2. I think the amount I had above is perfect for the .25/.50 so looking to see what total I should add now. I don't mind the extra chips. Appreciate the help truly.