Growing and Consolidating T20k + Craps (1 Viewer)

[JustDave]

I've got a number of sets that are somewhat redundant and I'm considering downsizing to 2 tournament sets and 2 cash sets, each of which is larger/cheaper/more willing to let someone borrow and then a nicer version that I care much more about. For the larger of the tournament sets I'd also like to be able to use it to play craps which is at the end of the day my more common game(but not common enough to support having a dedicated set for).

I started collecting chips by buying a large number(1000) of Scroll chips oriented around playing craps with friends:
225 $1
350 $5
250 $25
150 $100
25 $500

Might seem odd if viewed from a poker standpoint, but it works relatively well from a craps standpoint(we play $1 = $100 in chips and splash around a fair bit). I've noted I don't always have enough larger denominations and often have a number of unused lower/middle denominations but it certainly moves around during the ebb/flow of the game and I can get low on 1s in particular due to the way craps works.

I've also got a set of Tiki Kings set that I got wanting to play as a T20k set but didn't really know what I was doing very well and it breaks down like this:
125 $25
125 $100
50 $500
100 $1,000
25 $5,000

I think ideally I want to have a 80/80/70/80/40 breakdown for 10 players and 160/160/140/180/80 for 20(though I doubt I'd ever come close to this.)

Thinking about liquidating the scroll chips and expanding the Tiki kings to:
140 $1
140 $5
160 $25
160 $100
140 $500
180 $1,000
80 $5,000

I've considered dropping the $5,000s for 80 more chips and spreading those 80 chips around the 1/5/25s and doing the $5,000s in plaques. Could also just 'fix' the tiki kings to make the set correct for 20 players and keep the scrolls just for craps, but it seems kinda redundant.

Thoughts/recommendations?

 

[coolguy101]

I have a craps table. I have a 1,000 chip set, of which I really only use 500. I realized that I had too many $1 chips, and not enough larger denomination chips. I found that if I limit people to a $200 Max buy in and color them up regularly, I don’t need an over abundance of lower denomination chips. I only use 100 of the $1 chips, as they aren’t used that much and can be colored up easily.

 

[natumes]

Craps and poker have pretty different needs as far as set breakdowns. It looks like you're playing with about half as many 5s for craps than we do and I feel like I'm short on 5s sometimes. I rarely need the second rack of 1s or 25s. We play for pennies the same as you do, but only 1 or 2 players are playing more than the 5 min pass line.

The best overlap I've found is 2k tourneys (1 rack of 5s per 10 players is better than 0 in a 10k+) and .05/.10 micro stakes cash game using the same 1/100 value on chips you are for craps. In the end you're going to have way more 5s than you need for poker to cover craps, I'd say at least 600. You could just get a T25 base tourney set (plenty of breakdown advice in the tournaments and cash games sub forum for any structure you'd like) then add a rack of 1s, six racks of 5s, and round up to two racks of 25s (or whatever your needs are for higher denoms) to make it work for craps as well.

 

[JustDave]

I never expected people to play for more than 5 min pass line bets, but people very quickly get out of control and start making 5 dollar field bets and splashing around like idiots.

 

[markleteenie]

I have a No Cash Value (NCV) craps set for play money only, on a 6 max table, so it'll be different from a full table of active craps players.
I also have it doubling as a 2-3 table tournament set, either T1 base or T5 base.

I have a craps set that numbers:
320 x $1s
480 x $5s
240 x $25s
100 x $100s
20 x $500s

1160 chips in the bank ON the table.
I have more chips not included on the table for the initial craps buy in or for when it doubles as a Tournament set.
There are generally too many $5s for a tournament set, and too many $25s+ for craps.

4 barrels per row:

I've noted I don't always have enough larger denominations and often have a number of unused lower/middle denominations but it certainly moves around during the ebb/flow of the game and I can get low on 1s in particular due to the way craps works.

Which denominations are you not utilizing as much? $5s and $25s?

Thinking about liquidating the scroll chips and expanding the Tiki kings to:
140 $1
140 $5
160 $25
160 $100
140 $500
180 $1,000
80 $5,000

350 x $5s down to 140, might not be enough coverage for the craps functionality. But besides, that generally looks okay to me.

So a T25 base tournament will require way more "tournament" applicable chips over "craps" applicable chips. If you moved it down to a T5 tournament set, there would be more overlap and "efficiency" in the chip denomination numbers.

 

[natumes]

I never expected people to play for more than 5 min pass line bets, but people very quickly get out of control and start making 5 dollar field bets and splashing around like idiots.

That's the best part! I love it when a prop bet hits early and gets everybody excited. They lose most of it, but everybody has more fun when there's lots of action. I still need somebody to hit something on the ATS and get that huge payout to get everybody excited about it. It's a sad lonely space on my table currently.

This is my on the table starting bank:

2 more racks of $5s for buy-ins as well as 2 barrels of $1s. I have yet to use the $500 or $1k chips (and there are more not on the table), and very rarely the $100s. The whole set is capable of running craps, a variety of cash game stakes, a 2 table 2k, and a single table 10k (I don't have a full rack of 1k yet, I use some other BCC 1ks to fill in). It's my "do it all" set. I'd still like more $5s for craps, but I can color up when needed, just slows the game down. I feel fortunate to have been able to put it together so quickly, but if you're looking at Tiki Kings, availability isn't an issue.

On small nights I have a 200/300/100/20 set for craps. Doesn't stack up nearly as nice for photos but it works well for a couple of players (orange roulettes flex between fracs for cash game and extra 5s if needed on craps since they are conveniently numbered).

The bud jones chips are great, they have a slicker feel than clay which makes dealing with them fabulous. For some reason there's a lot fewer rollers when players are tossing them around compared to clay.

 

[coolguy101]

As I mentioned I use far less chips, but then again I don’t have 8-10 players on my table, so I don’t need an abundance of chips. My main point is have more higher denomination chips available, and you can get away with less chips overall. Just keep buying back the lower denomination chips when you can to keep them in play and not in the players racks.

 

[coolguy101]

I used to have a LOT of $1 and $5 chips, but then realized I didn’t really need that many. Even a full 12ft craps table in Vegas probably only has 150 of the $1 chips actually in play at any given time, including what the dealers have ready for payouts. They have a lot more in reserve, but they just don’t get used. So I got more $100, $500, and $1000 chips. Limiting buy in size and using 3/4/5X odds helps keep people from making too many large stupid bets. Most guys won’t bet half their stack on boxcars, and if they do, you can cover it with 3 chips.

 

[coolguy101]

That's the best part! I love it when a prop bet hits early and gets everybody excited. They lose most of it, but everybody has more fun when there's lots of action. I still need somebody to hit something on the ATS and get that huge payout to get everybody excited about it. It's a sad lonely space on my table currently.

This is my on the table starting bank:
View attachment 527112
2 more racks of $5s for buy-ins as well as 2 barrels of $1s. I have yet to use the $500 or $1k chips (and there are more not on the table), and very rarely the $100s. The whole set is capable of running craps, a variety of cash game stakes, a 2 table 2k, and a single table 10k (I don't have a full rack of 1k yet, I use some other BCC 1ks to fill in). It's my "do it all" set. I'd still like more $5s for craps, but I can color up when needed, just slows the game down. I feel fortunate to have been able to put it together so quickly, but if you're looking at Tiki Kings, availability isn't an issue.

On small nights I have a 200/300/100/20 set for craps. Doesn't stack up nearly as nice for photos but it works well for a couple of players (orange roulettes flex between fracs for cash game and extra 5s if needed on craps since they are conveniently numbered).
View attachment 527131
The bud jones chips are great, they have a slicker feel than clay which makes dealing with them fabulous. For some reason there's a lot fewer rollers when players are tossing them around compared to clay.

I can only fantasize about having those Paulson James Bond chips. I really regret not buying those back then they were relatively cheap and available

 

[Jambine]

The bud jones chips are great, they have a slicker feel than clay which makes dealing with them fabulous

What ?! I was with with you right up to there

 

[allforcharity]

I can only fantasize about having those Paulson James Bond chips. I really regret not buying those back then they were relatively cheap and available

I think those are the BCC version, not either of the Paulsons.

 

[allforcharity]

What ?! I was with with you right up to there

You'll just have to try them out in a dealer situation. It's unlikely to be an accident that BJR4 chips are the most popular roulette chip out there.

 

[natumes]

I think those are the BCC version, not either of the Paulsons.

Yeah, mine arare BCC. Still awesome!

 

[allforcharity]

Yeah, mine arare BCC. Still awesome!

Big set on eBay available, too.

 

[JustDave]

I've been thinking about this and I really think that what I want is an excuse to get rid of my scrolls which I only use for craps and am not really the biggest fan of(not really sure what I'd do with them, maybe just dump them for cheap on eBay) but I don't want to spend a ton of money getting a craps table worth of something much more expensive than ceramics.

Giving it some thought, I think I want to just have the one solid THC tournament set and not have a larger 2 table tiki king set for tournaments as well because I'm just never going to use it and so that kind of eliminates the need for using both kinds use cases with the same set.

@natumes layout seems ideal except the fracs so something like:
200x$1
300x$5
200x$25
200x$100
40x$500
40x$1000
20x$5,000
makes sense for 1,000 tiki kings and doesn't make a large number of chips I already own redundant.

 

[CrazyEddie]

I'm curious. Those of you with craps tables at home... how do you run the games? Are you always the house? Do you split the house winnings with all the players, or do you keep it as profit? Do you have different players rotate, taking turns being the house and/or bankrolling the action?

I sometimes play craps when I'm in Vegas, just because it's a ton of fun at a hot table, even though in the long run it's a money-loser...

 

[JustDave]

So basically what we do is someone is 'the house'. They put up say 200$. Then everyone buys in for say $20 each, we give them $2,000 in chips. The odds favor the house anyways in the long run, but because anything can happen in a small sample size you can 'break the house' which has happened.

What normally happens however is that as things swing up for the players they get looser and looser and make 'worse' and 'worse' bets which favors the house even more.

 

[coolguy101]

I don’t play for real money. I am usually the dealer, unless someone else wants to. We just have fun

 

[natumes]

As a group we created a fund that acts as the bank. The first night everyone played their buy-in funded the bank and it was a just for fun night (most were learning the game for the first time anyways). If the bank were to come up short, we agreed to figure out the ratio of payout vs available funds, and payout accordingly, then re-seed the bank on the next night. We haven't had that come up, and I don't expect to at this point (was really only a concern the first few sessions). When the bank gets large enough we'll use it to fund more gaming stuff (new chips for example) or if everyone wants we can raise the stakes (currently playing $1=100 chips).

 

[CrazyEddie]

When the bank gets large enough we'll use it to fund more gaming stuff

Putting the FUN back in fundraising!

 

[JustDave]

We actually use our game mostly to teach people how to play craps as a bunch of friends of mine and I go to Vegas once a year for the better part of a week and the only game we really play is craps. We've gotten pretty good at how to teach people how to play without making it too overwhelming, and the folks who are really into the game and know what they are doing get to show up, throw dice, and have a good time.

Really envious of @natumes table though. Gotta figure out where I can stash one of those in my house...

 

[coolguy101]

My table is a coffee table. It’s 6ft long, so not standard but long enough for 4 players plus a dealer comfortably. Since it actually works as a coffee table, the wife was ok with it.

 

[JustDave]

My table is a coffee table. It’s 6ft long, so not standard but long enough for 4 players plus a dealer comfortably. Since it actually works as a coffee table, the wife was ok with it.

I'm amazed. Did you make that or buy it somewhere? Never seen anything like it.

 

[coolguy101]

Bought it. I got it on Craigslist for $600. It was the buy of a lifetime. The guy I bought it from said he got it at an antique shop 25 years ago.

 

[coolguy101]

It’s 17” high, so it actually is the right height to function as a coffee table.

 

[JustDave]

Bought it. I got it on Craigslist for $600. It was the buy of a lifetime. The guy I bought it from said he got it at an antique shop 25 years ago.

Wild!

 

[allforcharity]

My table is a coffee table. It’s 6ft long, so not standard but long enough for 4 players plus a dealer comfortably. Since it actually works as a coffee table, the wife was ok with it.

How many chips does that hold? 400 or 500?

 

[coolguy101]

Each rack holds approximately 50 chips, so technically 500. However, I can fit a couple more in each rack in addition to the 50. If I need more, I just stack them up in front of the rows. I’ve done this when I had 6 players to use as chips for their buy ins.

 

[JustDave]

Well, the scrolls are now gone and moved on to a new owner.

Put in an order to BR Poker for more Tiki Kings.
200x$1
300x$5
200x$25
200x$100
40x$500
40x$1000
20x$5,000

Given I'm moving from poker to craps for this set I've actually got some extras that I had for the poker set that I'll need to rehome, things like 5k plaques, dealer buttons and some custom tiki king bounty chips.

Really happy how moving these around has come together.

 

[JustDave]

Moved into a new home.