Cash Game *New Poker Host Needing Advice* $0.25/$0.25 eventually $0.25/$0.50 NLHE Home Cash Game (1 Viewer)

Can someone comment on what they think the pros and cons to having .25 and .50 chips on the table? I've seen some of the explanations above, i come from a game that we played .25/.50 with usually a 30 to 50 buyin and had both chips on the table, but as I research and listen to others I'm thinking about getting rid of the .50 chips and just using .25 chips. Sort of torn between the two.
 
jbomb1018 said:
Can someone comment on what they think the pros and cons to having .25 and .50 chips on the table? I've seen some of the explanations above, i come from a game that we played .25/.50 with usually a 30 to 50 buyin and had both chips on the table, but as I research and listen to others I'm thinking about getting rid of the .50 chips and just using .25 chips. Sort of torn between the two.
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$0.50 chip is only useful in a 0.50-1.00 game
 
jbomb1018 said:
Can someone comment on what they think the pros and cons to having .25 and .50 chips on the table? I've seen some of the explanations above, i come from a game that we played .25/.50 with usually a 30 to 50 buyin and had both chips on the table, but as I research and listen to others I'm thinking about getting rid of the .50 chips and just using .25 chips. Sort of torn between the two.
Click to expand...

To me it really comes down to the comment I made above.

JustinInMN said:
Would you rather add in your head.

11 singles + 13 halves + 9 quarters

OR

17 singles + 11 quarters
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The nature of no-limit requires frequent counting of stacks. To count stacks correctly, you have to get a sum of each denomination in the stack. It's much easier to add 2-3 numbers mentally than 4-5, even if only having 2-3 denominations means more chips.

So by limiting denominations you should space them efficiently. Two quarters does the job of one half and two halves does the job of a single. Having all three together just doesn't make sense. One of the fracs should be forgone. In most cases you get more flexibility with quarter-dollar to support 0.25-0.25 and 0.25-0.50, but in the case of 0.50-1, there is no need for quarters at all, so keeping the halves makes sense. (Or alternatively just switching to 1-1 of there are no halves in the set.)
 
JustinInMN said:
To me it really comes down to the comment I made above.



The nature of no-limit requires frequent counting of stacks. To count stacks correctly, you have to get a sum of each denomination in the stack. It's much easier to add 2-3 numbers mentally than 4-5, even if only having 2-3 denominations means more chips.

So by limiting denominations you should space them efficiently. Two quarters does the job of one half and two halves does the job of a single. Having all three together just doesn't make sense. One of the fracs should be forgone. In most cases you get more flexibility with quarter-dollar to support 0.25-0.25 and 0.25-0.50, but in the case of 0.50-1, there is no need for quarters at all, so keeping the halves makes sense. (Or alternatively just switching to 1-1 of there are no halves in the set.)
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So if you are playing a .50/$1 game you would switch to the .50 chip instead of using .25 chips?
 
BearMetal said:
What's better for future proofing a set with only 4 denominations? 25c might become outdated at some point. Do you go 25c/1/5/20 and add in a ton of 25c's for the inevitable jump to 50c/$1?
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OK - for future proofing purposes, you are definitely better off with .25/1/5/20 or 25. These are standard denominations and if you should ever need to order more or get replacements it will be a lot easier.
jbomb1018 said:
So if you are playing a .50/$1 game you would switch to the .50 chip instead of using .25 chips?
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I have played in .50/$1 games - we just used quarters and it was just fine. When chips have a usable breakdown it makes life so much easier. I have seen sets with breakdowns of .50/2/10/50 and that would work out great, but if you already have the 1 and the 5 then just stick with quarters. Having a .50 chip would makes your $1 chip useless.
 
tabletalker7 said:
OK - for future proofing purposes, you are definitely better off with .25/1/5/20 or 25. These are standard denominations and if you should ever need to order more or get replacements it will be a lot easier.

I have played in .50/$1 games - we just used quarters and it was just fine. When chips have a usable breakdown it makes life so much easier. I have seen sets with breakdowns of .50/2/10/50 and that would work out great, but if you already have the 1 and the 5 then just stick with quarters. Having a .50 chip would makes your $1 chip useless.
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What is your preference? Using a .50 chip or using .25 chips for .50/$1
 
Coyote said:
You make the fracs Non Denominated.:)
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No. No. Noooooooooooooo
tenor.gif
 
jbomb1018 said:
What is your preference? Using a .50 chip or using .25 chips for .50/$1
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Lije a previous post, I don't think the $0.50 has a place at a table unless you run $0.50/$1, but even with that, I'd prefer to just use $0.25 chips. Keeping track of all those chips can get confusing. if this is a friendly get together and alcohol is in play, that throws out everyone's math skills. :whistle: :whistling:
 
I'm currently building a small 600-piece cash set and plan on just using 60-100 $0.25 chips. I'll just rely on the table making change for any extra buy-ins that occur. I think 60-100 is sufficient small denomination chips. Plus if the game evolves, you're invested in the $1 and $5, which will be your workhorse chips in most small to mid stakes home games.
 
jbomb1018 said:
Can someone comment on what they think the pros and cons to having .25 and .50 chips on the table? I've seen some of the explanations above, i come from a game that we played .25/.50 with usually a 30 to 50 buyin and had both chips on the table, but as I research and listen to others I'm thinking about getting rid of the .50 chips and just using .25 chips. Sort of torn between the two.
Click to expand...
.50 is just redundant and adds more to the overall cost. Not really anything too bad if you budget for them
 
jbomb1018 said:
Can someone comment on what they think the pros and cons to having .25 and .50 chips on the table? I've seen some of the explanations above, i come from a game that we played .25/.50 with usually a 30 to 50 buyin and had both chips on the table, but as I research and listen to others I'm thinking about getting rid of the .50 chips and just using .25 chips. Sort of torn between the two.
Click to expand...
It's inefficient to have .25's and .50's on the table. Look at how casinos do it, because they're usually the model of efficiency. Casinos own $2 chips - they use them for $2/4 and $4/8 fixed limit games. But you'll never see them on a $1/2 NLHE table.
 
upNdown said:
It's inefficient to have .25's and .50's on the table. Look at how casinos do it, because they're usually the model of efficiency. Casinos own $2 chips - they use them for $2/4 and $4/8 fixed limit games. But you'll never see them on a $1/2 NLHE table.
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Yup; totally ineffecient. Yep; totally costs you more. Yep; totally unncessary (just buy more quarters if you have a 25c/50c game).

or...

Have both on the table because everyone loves MORE PRETTY COLORS AND SPLASHES!
 
upNdown said:
It's inefficient to have .25's and .50's on the table. Look at how casinos do it, because they're usually the model of efficiency. Casinos own $2 chips - they use them for $2/4 and $4/8 fixed limit games. But you'll never see them on a $1/2 NLHE table.
Click to expand...

Well I would point out my normal room decided to use $2 chips instead of $5 chips for the 2-100 spread limit game, and I bet that's a decision that has probably cost them six figures by getting two fewer drops per hour :).

Also $2 chips are more commonly used in $6/12 and $8/16 games in limit games, and I have seen $4/$8 games run with either twos or single. But $2/$4 limit is still pretty firmly singles territory :).
 
JustinInMN said:
Well I would point out my normal room decided to use $2 chips instead of $5 chips for the 2-100 spread limit game, and I bet that's a decision that has probably cost them six figures by getting two fewer drops per hour :).

Also $2 chips are more commonly used in $6/12 and $8/16 games in limit games, and I have seen $4/$8 games run with either twos or single. But $2/$4 limit is still pretty firmly singles territory :).
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The fact that I've never even seen a spread limit game suggests that there might be differences between east coast poker and minnesota poker.
As far as the $2/4 game goes - I've only ever played it in one location and they used $2's. If they ever reopen poker at the Encore, I'll take a peek and see what they're using.
And despite what everybody tells me here, there's no sane reason why a $2/$4 game shouldn't be played with $2 chips (with a few $1's on the table for small blinds.) And I absolutely wouldn't want to play $8/16 with $2's. Jesus, those games are dominated by old guys - I can't imagine how long it would take them to count out 8 chips for a big bet, or god forbid 16 or 24 if there's a raise.
 
upNdown said:
The fact that I've never even seen a spread limit game suggests that there might be differences between east coast poker and minnesota poker.
As far as the $2/4 game goes - I've only ever played it in one location and they used $2's. If they ever reopen poker at the Encore, I'll take a peek and see what they're using.
And despite what everybody tells me here, there's no sane reason why a $2/$4 game shouldn't be played with $2 chips (with a few $1's on the table for small blinds.) And I absolutely wouldn't want to play $8/16 with $2's. Jesus, those games are dominated by old guys - I can't imagine how long it would take them to count out 8 chips for a big bet, or god forbid 16 or 24 if there's a raise.
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In some states, only limit is allowed by law. It's not just E coast! :) My casino uses exclusively $1's for 2-4 and 4-8 because it is a smaller room. For them, $2's would increase cost of chips significantly and only be used in the poker room while $1's are flexible and their cost can be more easily justified. 1's are especially useful on busy days where chips need to be efficiently distributed between games tables and poker.

edit: Your point about older players stands

JustinInMN said:
Well I would point out my normal room decided to use $2 chips instead of $5 chips for the 2-100 spread limit game, and I bet that's a decision that has probably cost them six figures by getting two fewer drops per hour :).

Also $2 chips are more commonly used in $6/12 and $8/16 games in limit games, and I have seen $4/$8 games run with either twos or single. But $2/$4 limit is still pretty firmly singles territory :).
Click to expand...
Your room uses 1's, 2's but no 5's in 2-100 spread? Do they use 25's?

Could you tell me about how switching has effected bet and pot sizes?
 
upNdown said:
The fact that I've never even seen a spread limit game suggests that there might be differences between east coast poker and minnesota poker.
Click to expand...

StatTracker said:
In some states, only limit is allowed by law. It's not just E coast!
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True, and this is the case in Minnesota, we we have a 100 wager limit in poker by regulation, about 10 years ago, the limit was only 60.

All games were fixed limit, but they did introduce spread limit when they got the increase to 100.

upNdown said:
As far as the $2/4 game goes - I've only ever played it in one location and they used $2's. If they ever reopen poker at the Encore, I'll take a peek and see what they're using.
Click to expand...

I have counted at least 6 rooms in my head where I have played that have had 2/4 and they all used singles. There are a few more where the low game was 4/8 and they also used singles.

StatTracker said:
Your room uses 1's, 2's but no 5's in 2-100 spread? Do they use 25's?

Could you tell me about how switching has effected bet and pot sizes?
Click to expand...

25s don't get a lot of use in many poker games except for the rare 50/100 limit game, or as the color up chip in blue chip ($1 chip) games.

Some players (myself included) will request only a small quantity of yellow ($2s) and the rest in red ($5s) when buying into the spread game, but otherwise they bring all yellow by default.

I don't play this game a lot because it's slow and the chip situation makes it worse. You have to move half a rack into the pot to bet max. Also the aforementioned 8/16 limit game is much faster, better action, and plays bigger.

Not having played a lot of 1-2 NL, in other states obviously, it would be hard for me to compare bet sizes. Most pre openings are for 6-8, and I think most players still bet half pot or pot on early streets. The 100 limit does change the equation later in hands in huge pots, however.
 
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Then what are $2.50 chips mainly used for then? Why even have them? Doesn't seem like they would fit to well in a limit or even a NL game?
 
jbomb1018 said:
Then what are $2.50 chips mainly used for then? Why even have them? Doesn't seem like they would fit to well in a limit or even a NL game?
Click to expand...
That's a great question. In blackjack, they're needed for the 3:2 payout on some bets.

For home games? They're pretty and pink. And fun. What more do you need? Some villain tosses in $1 and you throw a snapper in there as an "FU".
 
jbomb1018 said:
Then what are $2.50 chips mainly used for then? Why even have them? Doesn't seem like they would fit to well in a limit or even a NL game?
Click to expand...
They're for blackjack. A $5 hits blackjack and gets paid $7.50. Or at least it used it.
I have NO idea why people buy them for home use.
Though a couple times, guys have bought ten or more racks to use them for a fixed limit game. And that's pretty spectacular.
 
BearMetal said:
For home games? They're pretty and pink. And fun. What more do you need? Some villain tosses in $1 and you throw a snapper in there as an "FU".
Click to expand...

"Call. Single chip rule mfer."

upNdown said:
I have NO idea why people buy them for home use.
Though a couple times, guys have bought ten or more racks to use them for a fixed limit game. And that's pretty spectacular.
Click to expand...

I heard of posters saying there are rooms out east that spread a limit snapper game like 7.50/15 or something. I want to say like Borgata, but I am totally guessing.

I could search PCF, but I am sure someone will chime in soon enough :p.
 
BearMetal said:
That's a great question. In blackjack, they're needed for the 3:2 payout on some bets.

For home games? They're pretty and pink. And fun. What more do you need? Some villain tosses in $1 and you throw a snapper in there as an "FU".
Click to expand...
Would you use or have you used a snapper in a home game?
 

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