How many sets do you have over 4000 chips in size (1 Viewer)

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yup, that'll do just fine.
 
As a general rule of thumb for me, if more than 600 chips for a cash set is needed for a single table of play, then the set is not appropriate for the stakes being played.

If more than 400 is required for a single table tournament, then the set breakdown needs tweaking.

By that math, unless a significant chunk of a set is a single denomination to make a limit set, a 4000 chip set would cover 6 tables of cash and then some and a 10 table tournament. Has there ever been a non limit 4000 chip set documented as going into play in the home game pics thread? Attending one such game sounds like it would be epic.
When was the last time you visited the limit thread Joe ;)
Them people are mad...totaly bonkers
 
Almost all of my sets see in the 1,000-2,000 chip range, but if I combined all my Jacks (cash + tourney, mostly buy not exclusively Detroits) they might nudge over 4K… Does that count?
 
As a general rule of thumb for me, if more than 600 chips for a cash set is needed for a single table of play, then the set is not appropriate for the stakes being played.

If more than 400 is required for a single table tournament, then the set breakdown needs tweaking.

I don’t subscribe to the “you must only have the bare minimum number of chips absolutely necessary” camp.

I’m not spending time worrying if I could get away with smaller starting stacks for a tourney, and not trying to have the fewest possible chips on a cash game table.

If I were hosting a 10-table tourney, then sure, probably then I put some thought into economizing. But I host a two-table tourney followed by a one-table cash game. (Only once did we balloon up to three tables, and I was glad to have enough chips to cover that.)

Yeah, the math problems to “solve” these minimalist equations are intellectually interesting. If I were on a budget and the difference in cost between 600 and 750 chips would break me, sure. But then I probably shouldn’t be playing poker at all. Let alone collecting chips worth more than $1 each.

Anyway, players just like having bigger, not smaller, stacks. People are less likely to nit it up when they feel they have lots of chips (even if the actual totals are identical).

Never in my life have I heard a non-chipping reg say “there are too many chips in play, get these damn excess chips off the table!”

If someone has “too many” 1s in a 1/2 cash game, or too many 5s in 2/5, they can either (A) enjoy hoarding them like Smaug, or (B) trade a couple barrels to someone who needs smaller change, or (C) exchange them with the bank for higher denoms. (A) is most popular. No one has ever exercised the option (C) in my years of hosting cash. And color-ups in tourneys tend to take care of any mess.

Also if someone busts and rebuys (in either cash or a tourney), I find they are usually happier getting a usable breakdown, rather than a bunch of big chips they have to get change for from the table.

Plus players making change from the pot, or a dealer making change every hand sucks, slowing down the game. This happens a lot in casino tourneys and it just means fewer orbits per round.

Lastly: MOAR chips better.
 
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I don’t subscribe to the “you must only have the bare minimum number of chips absolutely necessary” camp.

I’m not spending time worrying if I could get away with smaller starting stacks for a tourney, and not trying to have the fewest possible chips on a cash game table.

If I were hosting a 10-table tourney, then sure, probably then I put some thought into economizing. But I host a two-table tourney followed by a one-table cash game. (Only once did we balloon up to three tables, and I was glad to have enough chips to cover that.)

Yeah, the math problems to “solve” these minimalist equations are intellectually interesting. If I were on a budget and the difference in cost between 600 and 750 chips would break me, sure. But then I probably shouldn’t be playing poker at all. Let alone collecting chips worth more than $1 each.

Anyway, players just like having bigger, not smaller, stacks. People are less likely to nit it up when they feel they have lots of chips (even if the actual totals are identical).

Never in my life have I heard a non-chipping reg say “there are too many chips in play, get these damn excess chips off the table!”

If someone has “too many” 1s in a 1/2 cash game, or too many 5s in 2/5, they can either (A) enjoy hoarding them like Smaug, or (B) trade a couple barrels to someone who needs smaller change, or (C) exchange them with the bank for higher denoms. (A) is most popular. No one has ever exercised the option (C) in my years of hosting cash. And color-ups in tourneys tend to take care of any mess.

Also if someone busts and rebuys (in either cash or a tourney), I find they are usually happier getting a usable breakdown, rather than a bunch of big chips they have to get change for from the table.

Plus players making change from the pot, or a dealer making change every hand sucks, slowing down the game. This happens a lot in casino tourneys and it just means fewer orbits per round.

Lastly: MOAR chips better.
More chips is better, yes, but some things make it difficult for that to happen sometimes. Cost is the number one factor in this. I would love nothing more than to have over 1000 chip mega sets of Paulsons that can spread anything from microstakes to a 2/5 game. However, I don't see myself hosting anything higher than a quarter/quarter game any time soon based on my regular rotation of players.

Secondly, my games are mostly 5, 6, maybe 7, seldom 8 handed for the most part. I just don't need any multi table sets. If I do have a cash game in which I have two tables at play, each table will have a different chip set and bank in play. Being a member of this forum, I have multiple cash and tournament sets in which some are lucky to see play once a year. If I can get more sets into play more often, it makes me happier.

Limit sets are the definite exception to the rule ad far as cash games

As far as tournaments go, as the one that mostly hosts then among my group and being the defacto tournament director, the less chips I have to color up the better. The game still runs smoothly with 30 to 35 chip starting stacks. Ad far as quantities needed, see above. I do have three sets now that can cover two eight player tables. I don't see myself ever having more than that.

While these mega sets are awesome and are a sight to behold, 99.9% of the time, they're just not practical.
 
More chips is better, yes, but some things make it difficult for that to happen sometimes. Cost is the number one factor in this. I would love nothing more than to have over 1000 chip mega sets of Paulsons that can spread anything from microstakes to a 2/5 game. However, I don't see myself hosting anything higher than a quarter/quarter game any time soon based on my regular rotation of players.

Secondly, my games are mostly 5, 6, maybe 7, seldom 8 handed for the most part. I just don't need any multi table sets. If I do have a cash game in which I have two tables at play, each table will have a different chip set and bank in play. Being a member of this forum, I have multiple cash and tournament sets in which some are lucky to see play once a year. If I can get more sets into play more often, it makes me happier.

Limit sets are the definite exception to the rule ad far as cash games

As far as tournaments go, as the one that mostly hosts then among my group and being the defacto tournament director, the less chips I have to color up the better. The game still runs smoothly with 30 to 35 chip starting stacks. Ad far as quantities needed, see above. I do have three sets now that can cover two eight player tables. I don't see myself ever having more than that.

While these mega sets are awesome and are a sight to behold, 99.9% of the time, they're just not practical.
I’ll agree when it comes to tourney. But cash…. Gotta have dem stacks
 
If 600 is considered the "ideal minimum for most scenarios", what's a good "splurge cuz you gutta have dem stacks" setup?
Depends on the game imo, but I guess I could use my cpc order as example. I ordered: 200/400/700/200/100

To @JMC9389 credit - it is excessive and unnecessary… but I love it. And like @Taghkanic said no one has ever complained about too many chips on the table

But yeah tourney is a pain in the ass to me too. Probably because I don’t run them often tho
 
I’ll agree when it comes to tourney. But cash…. Gotta have dem stacks
Agree 100%. When newer members ask for suggestions, I see a lot of people recommending that they only need a certain breakdown with a certain number of chips. In a scenario where you have to conserve space/budget I suppose this makes sense but I feel like in a practical setting, everyone wants bigger stacks.

Sure you can play with a handful of larger denoms and make change the entire game but where's the fun in that?
 
More chips is better, yes, but some things make it difficult for that to happen sometimes. Cost is the number one factor in this. I would love nothing more than to have over 1000 chip mega sets of Paulsons that can spread anything from microstakes to a 2/5 game. However, I don't see myself hosting anything higher than a quarter/quarter game any time soon based on my regular rotation of players.

Secondly, my games are mostly 5, 6, maybe 7, seldom 8 handed for the most part. I just don't need any multi table sets. If I do have a cash game in which I have two tables at play, each table will have a different chip set and bank in play. Being a member of this forum, I have multiple cash and tournament sets in which some are lucky to see play once a year. If I can get more sets into play more often, it makes me happier.

Limit sets are the definite exception to the rule ad far as cash games

As far as tournaments go, as the one that mostly hosts then among my group and being the defacto tournament director, the less chips I have to color up the better. The game still runs smoothly with 30 to 35 chip starting stacks. Ad far as quantities needed, see above. I do have three sets now that can cover two eight player tables. I don't see myself ever having more than that.

While these mega sets are awesome and are a sight to behold, 99.9% of the time, they're just not practical.


30-35 chip starting stacks are huge compared to some of the minimalist recommendations on this site! (8/8/4/2 = 22, etc.)

FWIW, most of my sets (both cash and tourney) tend to run in the 900-1,200 range. These give me flexibility and eliminate the need to stress over breakdowns, change, etc. I also think that long-term, these will retain/increase in value better than sets half their size, but who really knows. I’ve never seen Paulson prices go down here, over the long haul.

My PCR cash set is about 1,100 chips, almost half of them in $5 chips. I use these for both 1/2 and 2/5 games, single table. Almost all the 5s wind up in play, most of the 1s and 25s, few of the 100s, and seldom if ever the two barrels of 500s. But they are there if I need them. Whenever someone buys or rebuys I don’t have to sweat over exactly how I’m going to make cash.

With my main tourney sets, these are built to accommodate either T25 or T100 tourneys, generally two tables, but enough to cover three in a pinch. I include a few ultra-high denoms in case we have an unlimited rebuy/deepstack event with a full complement of players.

Yes, this means I’m holding more chips than absolutely necessary. I could get away with half as many, no doubt. But honestly, everything about chipping is a luxury hobby. It was a luxury when I was more cash-strapped 8 years ago; it remains so now that I’m more financially secure. I’m hardly a high-roller on this site, but I still feel like I’m in the 1% of the 1% of hosts, spreading games with Paulsons, compared to the shitchips people use in other home games in my area.

An added bonus is that I feel confident of always being able to get at least 90% of my cost back. At the very worst. Even the “mistakes” can be profitable.

So overbuying is at worst going to incur a small loss, and sometimes will result in getting back more than you paid. There is almost nothing else that I buy for which I can say the same. Buy a car? Within one week of purchase it’s worth 5-10% less than you paid. After a year, it’s worse than that. A sofa? It probably halves in value the instant you get it home. TVs? I’d be lucky to sell the gorgeous 65" Sony I bought 6 years ago for even 20% what I paid for it. But buy 800 quality chips when you only really needed 600? You can sell back those “extra” two racks no problem, almost always at your original cost. Unless maybe you are one of the handful of whales paying truly foolish prices at auction. That doesn't apply to most of us.

For those still worried about cost, there are plenty of options without winnowing a set down to the bare minimum. Just stick to your budget, and select an appropriate tier of chip. I often recommend the Majestics from Apache as a starter set. An 800-chip set costs $360. 600 chips is $225. The difference is $135. If you host only one game a month, the larger set costs an added $11.25 per game for the first year. Keep it for 5 years, and you’re down to an extra $2.25 per game. Unless you’re playing 5c/10c, this is a truly trivial cost in the scheme of things.
 
Depends on the game imo, but I guess I could use my cpc order as example. I ordered: 200/400/700/200/100

To @JMC9389 credit - it is excessive and unnecessary… but I love it. And like @Taghkanic said no one has ever complained about too many chips on the table

But yeah tourney is a pain in the ass to me too. Probably because I don’t run them often tho
Yeah that's awesome!

I've not played a game with 1500+ chips in play at a single table (aside from Limit) but may need to start considering that I guess :) The real question is why didn't you order 400/800/1400/400/200 to cover two tables?;)
 
30-35 chip starting stacks are huge compared to some of the minimalist recommendations on this site! (8/8/4/2 = 22, etc.)

FWIW, most of my sets (both cash and tourney) tend to run in the 900-1,200 range. These give me flexibility and eliminate the need to stress over breakdowns, change, etc. I also think that long-term, these will retain/increase in value better than sets half their size, but who really knows. I’ve never seen Paulson prices go down here, over the long haul.

My PCR cash set is about 1,100 chips, almost half of them in $5 chips. I use these for both 1/2 and 2/5 games, single table. Almost all the 5s wind up in play, most of the 1s and 25s, few of the 100s, and seldom if ever the two barrels of 500s. But they are there if I need them. Whenever someone buys or rebuys I don’t have to sweat over exactly how I’m going to make cash.

With my main tourney sets, these are built to accommodate either T25 or T100 tourneys, generally two tables, but enough to cover three in a pinch. I include a few ultra-high denoms in case we have an unlimited rebuy/deepstack event with a full complement of players.

Yes, this means I’m holding more chips than absolutely necessary. I could get away with half as many, no doubt. But honestly, everything about chipping is a luxury hobby. It was a luxury when I was more cash-strapped 8 years ago; it remains so now that I’m more financially secure. The nice part is that I feel confident of always being able to get at least 90% of my cost back. At the very worst. Even the “mistakes” can be profitable.

So overbuying is at worst going to incur a small loss, and sometimes will result in getting back more than you paid. There is almost nothing else that I buy for which I can say the same. Buy a car? Within one week of purchase it’s worth 5-10% less than you paid. After a year, it’s worse than that. A sofa? It probably halves in value the instant you get it home. TVs? I’d be lucky to sell the gorgeous 65" Sony I bought 6 years ago for even 20% what I paid for it. But buy 800 quality chips when you only really needed 600? You can sell back those “extra” two racks no problem, almost always at your original cost. Unless maybe you are one of the handful of whales paying truly foolish prices at auction. That doesn't apply to most of us.

For those still worried about cost, there are plenty of options without winnowing a set down to the bare minimum. Just stick to your budget, and select an appropriate tier of chip. I often recommend the Majestics from Apache as a starter set. An 800-chip set costs $360. 600 chips is $225. The difference is $135. If you host only one game a month, the larger set costs an added $11.25 per game for the first year. Keep it for 5 years, and you’re down to an extra $2.25 per game. Unless you’re playing 5c/10c, this is a truly trivial cost in the scheme of things.
To be fair, comparing 600 to 1000-1200 is a completely different ballgame than 4,000+ though.
 
If 600 is considered the "ideal minimum for most scenarios", what's a good "splurge cuz you gutta have dem stacks" setup?

1200-1600 I think is a good “splurge” for a single table cash set.

Ideally every one of my single table cash sets would be a minimum of 1200-1300 chips even through 800-1000 is plenty workable.

600 chips is viable but is damn awful unless you’re playing 6 max. Why would you want to feel like you’re playing a tournament with a tiny amount of chips for a cash game?
 
To be fair, comparing 600 to 1000-1200 is a completely different ballgame than 4,000+ though.

Agreed... 4,000-chip sets are probably just for collectors, unless you’re hosting 35+ people at a time. Or hosting a 1-2 table game, but want to minimize wear and tear on your set, maybe? (A host could go super OCD, and rotate 1,000 of the 4,000 in each game.)
 
@aggie here’s my TRK solids project. Currently a single table cash set.

FE5E4247-D45B-48EF-9CE9-1F8C000370A0.jpeg


Was a 2 table set at one point until I decided that a one table set would be fine. Over time though I kept getting offered more chips and tagged in more sales threads to the point the set is at now.

Have more racks of fuchsia waiting for me so why not expand it to a 2 table set again if I can?

Our stakes have pretty much evolved to $1/$1 so fracs aren’t really needed but I still want them. Add another rack of blue $1s and I’d be at a place where I can call this set “finished.”

Do I think that any set is every really finished? Nope, not at all :)
 
OK fine, I'm sold.

WTB (300) more Golden Eagle $5s, (300) Silver Palace $5s, and (300) LCO $5s.
But… then there’s the moar denoms in play argument. This is extreme here with a $10 but I always like to at least get some 20s/25s in there even if 5s are unlimited in the set

fF5DeuJ.jpg
 
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I don’t subscribe to the “you must only have the bare minimum number of chips absolutely necessary” camp.

I’m not spending time worrying if I could get away with smaller starting stacks for a tourney, and not trying to have the fewest possible chips on a cash game table.

If I were hosting a 10-table tourney, then sure, probably then I put some thought into economizing. But I host a two-table tourney followed by a one-table cash game. (Only once did we balloon up to three tables, and I was glad to have enough chips to cover that.)

Yeah, the math problems to “solve” these minimalist equations are intellectually interesting. If I were on a budget and the difference in cost between 600 and 750 chips would break me, sure. But then I probably shouldn’t be playing poker at all. Let alone collecting chips worth more than $1 each.

Anyway, players just like having bigger, not smaller, stacks. People are less likely to nit it up when they feel they have lots of chips (even if the actual totals are identical).

Never in my life have I heard a non-chipping reg say “there are too many chips in play, get these damn excess chips off the table!”

If someone has “too many” 1s in a 1/2 cash game, or too many 5s in 2/5, they can either (A) enjoy hoarding them like Smaug, or (B) trade a couple barrels to someone who needs smaller change, or (C) exchange them with the bank for higher denoms. (A) is most popular. No one has ever exercised the option (C) in my years of hosting cash. And color-ups in tourneys tend to take care of any mess.

Also if someone busts and rebuys (in either cash or a tourney), I find they are usually happier getting a usable breakdown, rather than a bunch of big chips they have to get change for from the table.

Plus players making change from the pot, or a dealer making change every hand sucks, slowing down the game. This happens a lot in casino tourneys and it just means fewer orbits per round.

Lastly: MOAR chips better.
Never been more proud to read a post! Lol

I'm pretty sure I have used the "never heard anyone wanting less chips in play" line a few times on the forum, and I love it!

100% if using rare chips or cant afford a larger set then sure run what you have... but if you can expand and give more chips then go for it!! We run 16/16/8/9 T15k SS for our home single table games and everyone loves it!

Back to the OP, we only own 1. The 05 CDIs
20210110_133332.jpg

And yes play ridiculous starting stacks
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16/16/12/12 - T20k with unlimited rebuys at the Ohio meet up. The set is ready for anything but built for this particular game.

Unless we are counting slugged chips here! Haha
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But those haven't seen the felt in a long time!
 
1200-1600 I think is a good “splurge” for a single table cash set.

Ideally every one of my single table cash sets would be a minimum of 1200-1300 chips even through 800-1000 is plenty workable.

600 chips is viable but is damn awful unless you’re playing 6 max. Why would you want to feel like you’re playing a tournament with a tiny amount of chips for a cash game?
I understand what you and others are saying about sets in the 800 to 1200 range. One certainly may need that for a full ring or a really deep 7 to 8 player game with lots of action.

600 is definitely workable and gets plenty of chips on the table. Pron below. The only thing I have against big stacks is that if someone shoves all in with a stack of 100 or more chips and they stack their chips like @Nuhockey (just kidding bud!), it's a nightmare to get an accurate count and delays the game significantly.

This would take a couple of minutes for even an experienced dealer to count correctly:

20211009_233120.jpg


For you guys though, once I get my Sunfly limit set in, I'll put these into play for the next 0.10/0.20 game with $20 buy in. Starting stacks of a rack of dimes and ten $1 value chips.

Pron of my cash game stacks:





 
I understand what you and others are saying about sets in the 800 to 1200 range. One certainly may need that for a full ring or a really deep 7 to 8 player game with lots of action.

600 is definitely workable and gets plenty of chips on the table. Pron below. The only thing I have against big stacks is that if someone shoves all in with a stack of 100 or more chips and they stack their chips like @Nuhockey (just kidding bud!), it's a nightmare to get an accurate count and delays the game significantly.

This would take a couple of minutes for even an experienced dealer to count correctly:

View attachment 818292

For you guys though, once I get my Sunfly limit set in, I'll put these into play for the next 0.10/0.20 game with $20 buy in. Starting stacks of a rack of dimes and ten $1 value chips.

Pron of my cash game stacks:






We definitely play deepstacked and understand about counts sometimes taking a while.

Luckily most of our regs are experienced and for those who aren’t, the rest of us can count their stacks fairly quickly.

My general rule of thumb is 80 chips minimum per player for a smaller set, 150-200 for a larger set. Even my 1200-1300 chip set is designed for 8 players but of course can handle 10. Mostly because full ring play sucks but wouldn’t want to leave anyone out of there’s 9 people and the table has space to give them a seat
 
As a general rule of thumb for me, if more than 600 chips for a cash set is needed for a single table of play, then the set is not appropriate for the stakes being played.

If more than 400 is required for a single table tournament, then the set breakdown needs tweaking.

By that math, unless a significant chunk of a set is a single denomination to make a limit set, a 4000 chip set would cover 6 tables of cash and then some and a 10 table tournament. Has there ever been a non limit 4000 chip set documented as going into play in the home game pics thread? Attending one such game sounds like it would be epic.

So you wouldn’t like a $1/2 game with 1000 $5 chips in play?

4AFD1969-9B86-45C8-BD5D-8B9FFCE6BECE.jpeg
 
We were at @Highli99 Turkey shoot game two years ago (he has been in the hobby much longer than we have) and I think even in the last two years his collection has over doubled! The sickness is real!

BTW beautiful collection Patrick, even saw some non chippers checking out chips and asking chip questions. I like seeing all of the chips on display but man having all your cash sets out there with 25 people in the basement definitely gave me an uneasy feeling. Hopefully never any issues of sticky fingers, but even when we do this in Ohio, I am always watching chips like a hawk!
20211001_122719.jpg

Happy to share and let people check stuff out, but some of those chips are over $20 a chip!

Didn't take any pictures but love the poker room Pat!
 
@Ben8257 my black bearded friend, even those 16/16/12/12 stacks you talked about earlier are tiny vs the set I’ve been considering for years. The first year of the Big One For One Drop tournament the starting stacks were something like 50/50/28/20, denoms of $1k—>$100k. I did have enough solid THCs in the correct colors to make it happen but this was long before milling was a thing so I gave up and sold all the chips.

Do I still want a set like this one day? Hell yeah! Will I ever remains to be seen.

Oh, I wanted 2400 ish chips for 2 table 8 max set, just like the original tourney(8 max I meant) Cut stacks in half and you can double the player count too
 
Question for the Big Stack folks: when you make a bet of, say, $100, are you putting in a barrel of reds, or four greens, or one black?

... or, more generally, regardless of the stakes you play at: if your stack has five or ten barrels of the workhorse chip in it, do you make bets using entire barrels at once? Or do you make large bets using large chips?

Ignore all-in bets for this question.
 
Question for the Big Stack folks: when you make a bet of, say, $100, are you putting in a barrel of reds, or four greens, or one black?

... or, more generally, regardless of the stakes you play at: if your stack has five or ten barrels of the workhorse chip in it, do you make bets using entire barrels at once? Or do you make large bets using large chips?

Ignore all-in bets for this question.

To me, the fewest chips to make the bet is best for clarity. If I had 1x $100 or 4x $25 to make a $100 bet, I would do so, rather than push forward a stack of $5.

(This is pretty much theoretical for me. At the lower stakes I play, anything approaching a $100 bet or more would essentially be an all-in.)
 

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