Help with a Chip Set (1 Viewer)

Laker285

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So I do not play for money, I play because I love the game and play for fun. So with that being said,
what are the best chips to get? What are the best breakdowns of denominations for a 500 piece chip set and a 1,000 piece chip set.
Would really appreciate any help and insight into this!

Thank you!
 
I use this as a reference to determine what kind of sets I want to make. It asks some good questions. It's posted somewhere on this forum, but I'm terrible at finding it, so I bookmarked it. I'm not sure who the owner is, so please someone credit this if they know!

Poker Set Selection Tool
 
I use this as a reference to determine what kind of sets I want to make. It asks some good questions. It's posted somewhere on this forum, but I'm terrible at finding it, so I bookmarked it. I'm not sure who the owner is, so please someone credit this if they know!

Poker Set Selection Tool
never seen that slide deck before. solid effort. kudos and respect to ever took the time to put it together. That's something the should definitely be put into the resources section. @Tommy?
 
I dont understand the statement or question. Poker without REAL gain or loss is not the same. Just go play online fake-money and see how zero consequence affects play decision. BUT, its your game, you do you.

As for chips selection, that depends entirely on what imaginary stake you want to play for, and whether you are wanting fake cash set or tournament set.
 
I dont understand the statement or question. Poker without REAL gain or loss is not the same. Just go play online fake-money and see how zero consequence affects play decision. BUT, its your game, you do you.

As for chips selection, that depends entirely on what imaginary stake you want to play for, and whether you are wanting fake cash set or tournament set.
Not sure what is so hard to understand. I don't play for money. I still love the game. I was asking for good recommendations of chips, as well as breakdowns of denominations, that's all. Not sure how to simplify it anymore.
Of course the game is different if you are not playing for money. Still love it though. I love the fellowship of playing poker in person and have friends who do not pay for money as well. So again, just asking for good recommendations for poker chips, as well as denomination breakdowns. I can try and simplify it for you more but I think its pretty simplified at this point.

I use this as a reference to determine what kind of sets I want to make. It asks some good questions. It's posted somewhere on this forum, but I'm terrible at finding it, so I bookmarked it. I'm not sure who the owner is, so please someone credit this if they know!

Poker Set Selection Tool
This is great. Thank you for this

That selection tool is cool. Check out this link as well: https://www.pokerchipforum.com/thre...ut-a-cash-game-chip-set-5c-10c-to-5-10.30897/

What is the size of game you're looking to play? Blinds? Buy-ins? Players?
It would just be one table.
I want a set of 1,000...would this be to much?

$1 - 250
$5 - 150
$25 - 150
$100 - 100
$500 - 100
$1,000 - 75
$5,000 - 50
$10,000 - 50
$25,00 - 35
$50,000 - 25
$100,000 - 15

Dice chips are pretty cool for playing poker for no money ;)
Not a fan of those. I want something nicer without breaking the bank. I’m just more curious what other people are using.
 
Again, WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO? Your chips selection says youve never played before. I'm not trying to criticize you but you cant get good answers unless we understand WHAT you are going for.

Even if you have no real cash buy-in your chips still have a value representation. What do you want your "stakes" to be? $1NL? $5-limit, $1M NL? Are you wanting to play a "cash" game or a tournament?

Just to give you an idea of a cash game breakdown, a $1/$2 NL game, 500 chip set would work very well with 80 $1, 300 $5, 100 $25, and 20 $100.
A chip set for a tourny could vary A LOT depending on starting stack, "rebuys"?, etc.
A 20K, set with 12/12/5/6/2 could have 240/300/160/200/100 in breakdown. That would support 2 full tables with 14 total rebuys.

So again, what are you going for in your game?
 
Recommendations for poker chip sets depend on several variables, such as a) are you playing a cash game or a tournament, and b) if a cash game, what stakes are you playing for?

Even if you're not playing for real money, you still need to know whether you're playing a tournament (everyone gets a certain total value of chips to begin with, and play continues with blinds rising over time until one by one players run out of chips and drop out of the tournament) or a cash game (players receive as many chips as they're willing to pay for, each player plays for as long as they like, and when a player decides to stop they cash out and get paid for however many chips they have left or have won from other players). If you're not playing for real money you can still play a "cash" game, where everyone gets as many chips as they want for free, and the goal is simply to try to win as much as possible from the other players over the course of the night (i.e. people who show a net profit are winners and people who show a net loss are losers). But cash vs. tournament is the first consideration; if you decide which of those you want to do, we can help you choose a good set of chips.

The next considerations is stakes if you are playing a cash game. In a tournament, the stakes are the buy-in, which in your case would simply be zero. In a cash game, the stakes determine the blinds.

If you're not playing for real money, I recommend you set your simulated cash game stakes at $1/$2, i.e. the small blind is $1 and the big blind is $2. That'll be convenient for you and your players and will make it easy to assemble a set of chips that will suit your needs.

A one-table cash game set that's typically recommended here is 600 chips in five denominations, which for a $1/$2 game would be:

100x $1
200x $5
200x $25
80x $100
20x $500

A one-table tournament set that's typically recommended here is 400 chips in five denominations:

120x T25
120x T100
50x T500
80x T1000
30x T5000

The "T" in the denomination indicates that the tournament chip has no cash value. The chip is typically labeled with just a number without a dollar sign.

There are plenty of other perfectly viable breakdowns, but they're roughly similar to these. You can make the sets smaller or larger, you can change the distribution somewhat, you can use even racks (all quantities divisible by 100) or not, all according to your preferences. You probably don't want to use more than five denominations in a set; as few as three is workable, as many as six is not unreasonable but is unnecessary. You can search the forum for a great many examples of recommended breakdowns for both cash and tournament sets.

The examples above assume that you're playing no-limit hold'em. If you're playing fixed-limit games, you'd want more of the smallest denomination, potentially even making the set almost entirely a single denomination. If you're playing games other than hold'em - in particular, if you're playing any stud games - then you might want some chips that are even smaller to serve as antes, or you might alter the stakes for those games.

As @Silver_Fiend points out, the specifics of what your set should contain depends on the specifics of the games you intend to run. People playing for real money usually have these kinds of details already established, and so that determines the sets they'll need. Since you're playing for imaginary money, you have the flexibility to run any kind of game you want; conversely, it means that you can choose to run a game that's appropriate for the set you assemble, effectively working the problem backwards.
 
If there are no monetary stakes, then there are no security issues. Can do a dual use cash and tourney set.

Bit to save on money, might as well just do a tourney set. 400 chips is usually enough for 1 table of 10 people.
 
Recommendations for poker chip sets depend on several variables, such as a) are you playing a cash game or a tournament, and b) if a cash game, what stakes are you playing for?

Even if you're not playing for real money, you still need to know whether you're playing a tournament (everyone gets a certain total value of chips to begin with, and play continues with blinds rising over time until one by one players run out of chips and drop out of the tournament) or a cash game (players receive as many chips as they're willing to pay for, each player plays for as long as they like, and when a player decides to stop they cash out and get paid for however many chips they have left or have won from other players). If you're not playing for real money you can still play a "cash" game, where everyone gets as many chips as they want for free, and the goal is simply to try to win as much as possible from the other players over the course of the night (i.e. people who show a net profit are winners and people who show a net loss are losers). But cash vs. tournament is the first consideration; if you decide which of those you want to do, we can help you choose a good set of chips.

The next considerations is stakes if you are playing a cash game. In a tournament, the stakes are the buy-in, which in your case would simply be zero. In a cash game, the stakes determine the blinds.

If you're not playing for real money, I recommend you set your simulated cash game stakes at $1/$2, i.e. the small blind is $1 and the big blind is $2. That'll be convenient for you and your players and will make it easy to assemble a set of chips that will suit your needs.

A one-table cash game set that's typically recommended here is 600 chips in five denominations, which for a $1/$2 game would be:

100x $1
200x $5
200x $25
80x $100
20x $500

A one-table tournament set that's typically recommended here is 400 chips in five denominations:

120x T25
120x T100
50x T500
80x T1000
30x T5000

The "T" in the denomination indicates that the tournament chip has no cash value. The chip is typically labeled with just a number without a dollar sign.

There are plenty of other perfectly viable breakdowns, but they're roughly similar to these. You can make the sets smaller or larger, you can change the distribution somewhat, you can use even racks (all quantities divisible by 100) or not, all according to your preferences. You probably don't want to use more than five denominations in a set; as few as three is workable, as many as six is not unreasonable but is unnecessary. You can search the forum for a great many examples of recommended breakdowns for both cash and tournament sets.

The examples above assume that you're playing no-limit hold'em. If you're playing fixed-limit games, you'd want more of the smallest denomination, potentially even making the set almost entirely a single denomination. If you're playing games other than hold'em - in particular, if you're playing any stud games - then you might want some chips that are even smaller to serve as antes, or you might alter the stakes for those games.

As @Silver_Fiend points out, the specifics of what your set should contain depends on the specifics of the games you intend to run. People playing for real money usually have these kinds of details already established, and so that determines the sets they'll need. Since you're playing for imaginary money, you have the flexibility to run any kind of game you want; conversely, it means that you can choose to run a game that's appropriate for the set you assemble, effectively working the problem backwards.
Eddie this is perfect. Exactly the information I was looking for. I appreciate the detail and effort into this.
 
What, are you guys amish or something? Just throw 5 bucks each in a hat and play a donkament. It will enhance the experience, trust me.
No I just don’t gamble. Whether it’s $5 or $1,000 I don’t wager money for anything. When you think about it, does it really matter? It may sound crazy to some but it’s just a standard I live by. I understand when you do play for money I changed the game but with my friends we still love it so why bring money into it? Guess how much money I’ve lost playing by this standard...$0 and yet it’s still fun for me.
 
No I just don’t gamble. Whether it’s $5 or $1,000 I don’t wager money for anything. When you think about it, does it really matter? It may sound crazy to some but it’s just a standard I live by. I understand when you do play for money I changed the game but with my friends we still love it so why bring money into it? Guess how much money I’ve lost playing by this standard...$0 and yet it’s still fun for me.
Well, if it ain’t broken...if you can get a good game going without money being involved, then why not.
 
but with my friends we still love it so why bring money into it?
I know you’re not looking for an answer to that rhetorical question, but I’m going to respond. Money is BUILT into it. People aren’t gambling on the results of the game. Ever aspect of the game, every thought or action, is tied to money.
I think you CAN take money out of freeze-out tournaments. Because those in effect are like wagering on the result of the game - everybody starts with the same amount of money, and when somebody gets it all, they win! Just like monopoly. So hopefully you’re playing those. But don’t get annoyed with people who say you can’t take money out of a traditional “cash” or ring style game, because they’re right - it’s built into the game.
 
I know you’re not looking for an answer to that rhetorical question, but I’m going to respond. Money is BUILT into it. People aren’t gambling on the results of the game. Ever aspect of the game, every thought or action, is tied to money.
I think you CAN take money out of freeze-out tournaments. Because those in effect are like wagering on the result of the game - everybody starts with the same amount of money, and when somebody gets it all, they win! Just like monopoly. So hopefully you’re playing those. But don’t get annoyed with people who say you can’t take money out of a traditional “cash” or ring style game, because they’re right - it’s built into the game.
If there are no stakes, then you're not keeping score - you're just playing batting practice.
 
So with that being said,
what are the best chips to get?

Unicorn chips. They are cheap, easy to get, can add a custom label if you want, come in decent colors, and honestly, feel pretty good for a plastic chip. I ordered a small set a few years ago to use for board/card game scoring (instead of paper and pencil) and they handle and stack well.
 
I know you’re not looking for an answer to that rhetorical question, but I’m going to respond. Money is BUILT into it. People aren’t gambling on the results of the game. Ever aspect of the game, every thought or action, is tied to money.
I think you CAN take money out of freeze-out tournaments. Because those in effect are like wagering on the result of the game - everybody starts with the same amount of money, and when somebody gets it all, they win! Just like monopoly. So hopefully you’re playing those. But don’t get annoyed with people who say you can’t take money out of a traditional “cash” or ring style game, because they’re right - it’s built into the game.
I’m not annoyed at all. I see your point and I shared mine that’s all
 
I’m not annoyed at all. I see your point and I shared mine that’s all
And oh, sorry, I meant to give you a useful recommendation, but then I couldn't decide if free poker would be best played fixed limit or no limit, and I thought about that until I got distracted.
 
If there are no stakes, then you're not keeping score - you're just playing batting practice.
If there are no stakes, then you're not keeping score - you're just playing batting practice.
And oh, sorry, I meant to give you a useful recommendation, but then I couldn't decide if free poker would be best played fixed limit or no limit, and I thought about that until I got distracted.
It’s all good man. I appreciate the feedback
 
Without money involved, a "cash" game is meaningless.
A tournament would make much more sense, because there you can at least have a winner (the person who ends up with everybody else's chips in the end). Still, it would be better to have a prize for that winner, like a beer. It would cost a few cents to each participant.
 
One comment about playing for play money instead of real money: it's important to the gameplay that the chips being wagered are viewed as important and valuable by all the players. The game falls apart into triviality if players aren't striving their utmost to gain as many chips as possible and lose as few as possible.

The normal way to do this, of course, is to play for money. Even then, though, there's the question of what stakes to play for, and that in turn depends on how well-off the players are. It's not uncommon to have a game where one or more players are wealthy enough that the stakes are of almost no consequence to them while at the same time, in the same game, the same stakes are a significant financial burden to one or more of the other players. These games are problems, and often not fun for anyone.

The ideal game is one where the losses sting but are well within your budget and the wins are big enough to get excited about, with the stakes well-matched to all the players. That's not always possible but it's always worth shooting for.

You can still capture the essence of poker using play money, but for it to work everyone has to agree that the chips you're playing for matter, and that they matter a lot. As @upNdown mentioned, one way to do this is to use a tournament format, and for everyone to agree that placing highly in the tournament is something worth striving for, as if there were an actual reward being handed out to the winners. This attitude, even if it's artificial, makes every hand matter, every bet matter, every chip matter. Without every chip mattering, there's simply no game to play. The strategies and decisions that make poker interesting and fun disappear when some of the players don't mind blithely risking their chips on a losing hand.

You can do the same thing in a simulated cash game rather than a tournament, but here even moreso it depends on the players buying into the agreement that the worthless bits of plastic are worth something, even if they're not worth money. Pride of winning is an acceptable substitute, but you have to really put your pride on the line, and mean it.

The reason for all of this is that the core gameplay mechanic in poker has nothing whatsoever to do with cards. Poker is not played with cards, it's played with money. The core mechanic in poker is the wager. Put simply, poker is a game of saying "my hand is better than yours, and you must risk something of value to prove otherwise". The game doesn't work if you don't have something of value to risk.

All that said, you can indeed play poker for play money, and I hope you and your friends enjoy it and find ways to explore the depths of strategy that it offers.
 

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