Cash Game Chip Stacks and Buy In For Home Game (1 Viewer)

Tomis

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Hey PCF me and friends play a .25/.50 home game every week or so and I don't think we are doing the proper procedure. Right now the starting stacks are usually $5 worth of .25 cents and the rest in $1 chips with the average buy-in being $20. Which in itself I feel that is too low of a buy-in for .25/.50. What do you guys think is the correct buy-in and chip denomination spread for .25/.50. Thanks
 
My normal buy-in for .25/.50 is $50. I wouldn't recommend games that buy in for less than 100BB as it tends to involve less poker skill and more "jam at the right time" lottery winnings. At $20 you can have a real fun but little on the deep side .05/.10 game. If $20 buy-ins are what your group likes, get nickel chips and drop the blinds to at least .10/.20 if not .05/.10. If this is a casual group of guys (I have one of these groups and before the virus we played .05/.10 once a week) where beer is a priority nickel night can be quite popular, and nickel night is also good for letting newer people learn the game and the group without worrying about losing their wallet.
 
My normal buy-in for .25/.50 is $50. I wouldn't recommend games that buy in for less than 100BB as it tends to involve less poker skill and more "jam at the right time" lottery winnings. At $20 you can have a real fun but little on the deep side .05/.10 game. If $20 buy-ins are what your group likes, get nickel chips and drop the blinds to at least .10/.20 if not .05/.10. If this is a casual group of guys (I have one of these groups and before the virus we played .05/.10 once a week) where beer is a priority nickel night can be quite popular, and nickel night is also good for letting newer people learn the game and the group without worrying about losing their wallet.
Exactly this.

I usually play .10/.20 with my local crew with the usual initial buy in being $20.

Pre pandemic, I played in another PCF'er's .25/.50 cash game in which $40 was the minimum and $100 was the max initial buy in. I bought in for $80 and my stack didn't even last 2 hours. The game played deep and now know that I'll need to bring more than $80 to play a decent 3 or 4 hour session. $20 is way too little to start at those blinds.
 
My normal buy-in for .25/.50 is $50. I wouldn't recommend games that buy in for less than 100BB as it tends to involve less poker skill and more "jam at the right time" lottery winnings. At $20 you can have a real fun but little on the deep side .05/.10 game. If $20 buy-ins are what your group likes, get nickel chips and drop the blinds to at least .10/.20 if not .05/.10. If this is a casual group of guys (I have one of these groups and before the virus we played .05/.10 once a week) where beer is a priority nickel night can be quite popular, and nickel night is also good for letting newer people learn the game and the group without worrying about losing their wallet.

Do you have a recommended starting stack breakdown for .05/.10, $20 buy-in game?
 
We do .25/.50 as well. Guys buy in anywhere from $40 to $100......we don't cap it. Buying in for less that $40 almost never happens.

I always pass out stacks like this:
20 - $0.25
20 - $1
Rest in $5's

Examples:
$40 (20 quarters, 20 1's, 3 5's)
$100 (20 quarters, 20 1's, 15 5's)

Once guys start rebuying, I usually stick to $5's and $1's. No real need for a boatload of quarters.
 
Honestly it’s more a friendly get together and drinking, with a side of poker. But yes there are rebuys. Does that affect starting stacks?
It doesn't for me. I provide a barrel of singles for rebuys. Nice and easy. I allow the other players to make change with one another to make it work. Otherwise it's too many fracs and small value chips on the table.
 
Honestly it’s more a friendly get together and drinking, with a side of poker. But yes there are rebuys. Does that affect starting stacks?
Rebuys in my game (could just be my group of guys doing it this way) is always a $20 bill. I hand them 4 $5 chips and people break them down on the table for them.
 
Honestly it’s more a friendly get together and drinking, with a side of poker. But yes there are rebuys. Does that affect starting stacks?
In a way. My group plays .05/.10, buy-ins of $5 to $20. Over the last couple years, it's gone from a very limp-heavy game, with lots of small bets post flop, to a more aggressive game. Most pre-flop raises are 50-75¢, and nickels are hardly ever used after the flop. Honestly, 60-80 nickels would be plenty for a full table. But if there's a lot of limping and small bets, you may want 150 nickels.

Here's how I do starting stacks:

  • The first players get 20 nickels, 20 quarters, and 14 1's for $20, until all the nickels are on the table.
  • When all the nickels are gone, the next buy-ins, and rebuys get 20 quarters, and 15 1's, until all the quarters are on the table
  • Rebuys are then in 1's, and then 5's if necessary.
 
In a way. My group plays .05/.10, buy-ins of $5 to $20. Over the last couple years, it's gone from a very limp-heavy game, with lots of small bets post flop, to a more aggressive game. Most pre-flop raises are 50-75¢, and nickels are hardly ever used after the flop. Honestly, 60-80 nickels would be plenty for a full table. But if there's a lot of limping and small bets, you may want 150 nickels.

Here's how I do starting stacks:

  • The first players get 20 nickels, 20 quarters, and 14 1's for $20, until all the nickels are on the table.
  • When all the nickels are gone, the next buy-ins, and rebuys get 20 quarters, and 15 1's, until all the quarters are on the table
  • Rebuys are then in 1's, and then 5's if necessary.

This breakdown and approach is what I’ve read on other threads as well for microstake play.

Our group likes to keep buy ins at $20, but because I don’t have a microstake set, we’ve done a ‘exchange rate’ system. Where for $20 buy in you get $40 worth of chips, when you cash out, you get half of what the chips are for cash. I don’t really care for it, but it’s a way to get the $.25/$.50 blinds. I finally got a microstake set coming in the Prestige set, so I’m looking forward to getting those in play and using the above breakdowns.
 
This breakdown and approach is what I’ve read on other threads as well for microstake play.

Our group likes to keep buy ins at $20, but because I don’t have a microstake set, we’ve done a ‘exchange rate’ system. Where for $20 buy in you get $40 worth of chips, when you cash out, you get half of what the chips are for cash. I don’t really care for it, but it’s a way to get the $.25/$.50 blinds. I finally got a microstake set coming in the Prestige set, so I’m looking forward to getting those in play and using the above breakdowns.
I was tempted to get a tourney set of the Prestige chips. I know I’m in the minority, but I really like the 39mm hybrids.
 
Every group plays different. Our weekly game by default is .25/.25 for $40 starting with 12/22/3 starting stacks.
 
Right now the starting stacks are usually $5 worth of .25 cents and the rest in $1

I think that's just fine for 0.50 BB game. But I would only do that for the first five buy ins, after that, do all singles. If you have more quarters than this on the table. They tend to just sit in stacks. Lots of digital PCF ink has been spilled on this topic. #QuarterWars

with the average buy-in being $20. Which in itself I feel that is too low of a buy-in for .25/.50.

I would agree. I set the max buy in at my game at 60, and most players do that.

If most players in you game are only buying in for 20, then I think you should consider reducing the blinds to 0.25-0.25. (Maybe a allow a max buy in of 30?)
 
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10/10/7 or 17 are my starting stacks at 0.05/0.1. i prefer higher denom Chips as 5c &25c are mostly used preflop.

If your group isnt that good in dealing yet, more lower denom chips (20/20/4 or 14) could help ofc. I deal full time in my game and people are already used to the one chip rule. So changing doesnt take time.
 
We always went for buying in for a bit more.

IMG_20200229_181825412.jpg
Hardys poker club live stack.jpg
Started with $50 there*
 

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