Cash Game Ideal chip/blind set up for playing $10 buy-in up to $100 cash game? (1 Viewer)

[QuietMaple]

I'm currently hosting a $0.25/$0.25 game with a $30 max buy-in with a 500pc set of dice chips. I'd like to get a set of denominated chips that can support cash games from $10 buy-in up to $100. Can't imagine I would play higher stakes than that with my current crew. I typically cap the game at 8 players, and I've never had someone buy in more than 3 times (most are 1 or 2). I like the idea of having 10 starting stacks of chips available because it makes the first couple re-buys quick and easy.

I think that including 25c chips in the set (as opposed to 10c and 50c chips) is pretty much a requirement for me because 25c/25c is what we play most often.

This is what I'm thinking for blinds:

• $10 buy-in: 5c/10c
• $20 buy-in: 10c/20c
• $25 buy-in: 10c/25c
• $30 buy-in: 25c/25c
• $50 buy-in: 25c/50c
• $100 buy-in: 50c/$1

I think all of these would work well with 5c/25c/1/5 chips except for the $20 buy-in game which requires an annoying number of nickels to be doled out in the blinds each orbit. But I think I'm going to have to settle with that structure being slightly sub-optimal. Below is what I'm thinking for chip breakdowns and starting stacks. But since I have hardly played anything besides 0.25/0.25, I'd love some advice on if y'all think this setup is reasonable. Could I get away with fewer chips? Any obvious mistakes here?

Note: I'm using the term "effective" buy-ins here to normalize for the fact that the big blind isn't always twice the size of the small blind.

effective_bb = (buy_in/(SB+BB))*1.5

 

[allforcharity]

Keep 0.05/0.10 up to $20
Keep 0 25/0 25 up to $50
Keep 0 25./0.50 up to $100

 

[QuietMaple]

I haven't tried letting people buy 200x the big blind. What does that do to the game? I guess it might keep people playing for longer?

 

[Labrat]

It loosens up our game quite a bit.

 

[allforcharity]

I haven't tried letting people buy 200x the big blind. What does that do to the game? I guess it might keep people playing for longer?

Well, I did say "up to". The guideline is generally good for minimum 100BB.

 

[springbox]

I haven't tried letting people buy 200x the big blind. What does that do to the game? I guess it might keep people playing for longer?

It really depends on how your players respond. Proper strategy would tell you certain things change (preflop ranges, postflop bet sizing, etc.), but in my experience people just start opening larger (say 50~75c instead of 30~50c).

 

[caballo993]

Keep 0.05/0.10 up to $20
Keep 0 25/0 25 up to $50
Keep 0 25./0.50 up to $100

This and an 800 chip breakdown.

700 might be enough for the higher stakes, but a rack of $5s is not.

This is what I came up with using the Chip Calculator and this tool: https://www.pokerchipforum.com/resources/poker-set-selection-tool.90/

.05 x 100
.25 x 200
1 x 200
5 x 200
25 x 80
100 x 20

Starting stacks would look like:
.05/.10
10/18/5 (15 max)

.25/.25
20/20/(5 max)

.25/.50
20/20/5 (10 max)

The 25s would cover rebuys, and the $5s for your lowest stakes.

 

[QuietMaple]

I played $0.10/$0.25 with $25 buy-in tonight, and I can report that the nickels felt totally useless. I gave everyone 20 to start with (for an even $1) but I probably could have just given everyone 10, or even less. They were pretty much exclusively used for the SB, or when someone wanted to dump them. Standard raise was 75c. Makes sense that that happened in hindsight.

My bind is that I really want to find blinds/buy-in that is somewhere more than $10 buy-in with .05/.10, and less than $30 buy-in with .25/.25, but it really bothers me to have buy-ins that are less than 100bb or significantly over. But maybe having people buy in 200bb is really not such a big deal. People would have re-bought in before, anyways...

 

[Labrat]

.25/.25 with a $25 buy in is 100bb. That should be fine to start. We play exactly that but I allow a $50 buy-in. It works well for us. especially since we play mixed games ranging from a bunch of 7-card games to PLO. We are a rather limpy group, so it works for us.

IMO you are over-thinking this and you should start with 100bb and then adjust as you see fit for your group.

I do agree with the train of thought that anybody playing in your game should plan on a three-rebuy for a bad night so you may want to adjust your stakes accordingly.

 

[PseudoPsanity]

I also think you're overthinking this. Then again, this forum exists for people to obsess over the tiny details.

Do you really need such fine granularity? Offering $20, $25, and $30 buying games seems a bit much. I would imagine they all play about the same anyways. Just stick to $10, $25, $50 and $100.

Every game has exactly 100bb and you don't need a ton of nickels just to cover blinds.

 

[QuietMaple]

Agreed I’m over thinking it, but that’s the fun of it

Since we already play 25c/25c with $30 buy-in, I’ll keep that as my “regular” stakes, and will probably try either 5c/10c with $10 buy-in or 5c/15c with $15 buy-in for my next “low” stakes game.

I’m starting to see the wisdom of 150 nickels being unnecessary. Although I wonder if it could feel a little thin in a $10 game.