I still use a case (instead of birdcage or apache/racks) because it makes topoffs/rebuys easier (1 Viewer)

[upNdown]

I thought about finally moving to a birdcage. It seems like a more elegant storage solution that displays your chips nicely. And briefcase style cases get very little love around here. So I thought it might be worth trying to change. But for me, for my way of doing things, the briefcase just seems to work.
When I'm hosting a cash game, I keep all the chips and the envelope full of cash in the chip case and I keep the case near my feet. When somebody needs chips, I grab the case, put it on my lap, open it up, do the business, close it up and put it back. It takes the least amount of time, while also giving the appearance of a little security. With a birdcage, I feel like if I left the chips in racks on the shelf behind be, they'd be vulnerable. Honestly, I'm not really concerned about anybody at my game ripping off chips or cash. I suppose if somebody got really drunk and saw the chips out in the open, they might be tempted. But mostly, keeping them in a case out of sight just gives the appearance of security, and I think appearances matter.

I suppose if I had a drawer installed under the table that could hold cash and chips, that would accomplish the same thing.
And if I had more space in my room, maybe I could put in a cabinet at arms length from my seat, and that would work too. But the way my room is, all I have is some open shelves behind be, and I'm not really interested in taking up more space with a cabinet. So it sounds really simple and basic, but with experience and a bunch of thought, I'm convinced that I'll be sticking with briefcases for the forseeable future.

 

[BearMetal]

If your system works for you, then more power to it! However, you can still use a display birdcage when your game is not running, and then setup the barrels/rows in the suitcase during game night, right?

I recently switched to a two-box system. I have a locked cash box which includes all buy-ins as well as extra cash. This cash box ALSO has a key in it, and that key goes to a lock around the top of my birdcage. Before the game starts, I have rebuys already setup and portioned out in the top racks in the birdcage. When someone rebuys, I take their money over the cash box, open it, get the key to the birdcage, unlock it, and grab a pre-portioned barrel.

This way I don't ever make mistakes with rebuys. Cash in, unlock birdcage, chips out. And the giant f-ing padlock looks cool as hell on the birdcage (even though with my group of friends it's 100% unnecessary)

 

[MeridianFC]

I think birdcage look cool, and I guess for tournaments and such where you are dumping racks of NCVs on the table it works, but I like my cases. A couple are now long in the tooth so need to be replaced. It's tough finding the intersection of quality/cost/reliability/weight with them though.