Noob Question (1 Viewer)

moordb

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This may have been answered in a thread somewhere but I can't find it. When people refer to their chips as T500 or T1000, what does the T stand for. I originally thought it stood for tournament, but I have also seen chips listed as T25 which wouldn't make sense.

Sorry for the noob question, but this has really been bugging me.
 
Tournament. So when someone starts it with a T, they are talking tournament as opposed to cash.
 
That's actually exactly what it means... They are chips that are used in tournaments and have no cash value. T25 chips are used in tournaments with lower starting stacks.
 
To add, you will often see it used casually in conversation as
  • the value of a specific no cash value chip such as “the WTHC T5 chip”
  • the base tournament blind value. So people may say they are playing a T25 base tournament or a T25 set or T25 tournament all for a tournament structure starting with T25 blinds
  • the tournament starting stack. So people may say they are playing a T10K tournament or say a set is for T10K all referring to the starting stack size structure.
 
When people refer to their chips as T500 or T1000, what does the T stand for. I originally thought it stood for tournament, but I have also seen chips listed as T25 which wouldn't make sense.
At the core of the matter, the "T" is simply used in text (and sometimes speech) to easily show the difference between a denominated chip with no value -- a '5' or '25' chip, for example -- from a denominated chip that represents an actual cash value and includes a currency symbol, such as "$" for Dollars (or a Cents or Euro symbol, etc.). The no-value denominated chips are denoted as T5 vs $5, representing Five Tournament Units vs Five Dollars in U.S. Currency.

Value chips such as $1, $5, and $25 are used in cash games (and are more accurately referred to as 'cash checks', not chips), since they are negotiable instruments that represent actual currency in the casino, similar to a bank draft check.

No-value chips such as '5' or '25' (represented in print/speech as T5 or T25) have no cash value, and are typically used in tournaments and other non-cash environments where the numbers on the chip merely represent theoretical 'units', not actual currency amounts.

In addition, as @Eloe2000 noted above, the use of the no-value "T" nomenclature in print (or speech) can also be extended to include the sums of denominated no-value chips, such as a tournament starting stack that totals 10,000 units (a T10000 or T10K stack), which may consist of a varying number of different tournament chips with different non-cash values (perhaps 12 x T25 chips, plus 12 x T100 chips, plus 5 x T500 chips, plus 6 x T1000 chips, with the total sum of those quantities of those different units equal to 10,000 -- and also known as a 'breakdown' of that T10000 stack).

Reference to a T10000 tournament would be an event that used starting stacks equal to 10,000 Tournament units.

Reference to a T25-base set (or event) would indicate that the smallest Tournament unit chip in the set (or event) is equal to 25 units (aka a T25 chip).

And lastly, the increasing blind level amounts found in a given tounament blind structure are also referenced using Tournament units, such as T50/T100, T75/T150, T100/T200, etc. Each of those posted small blind and big blind amounts would consist of an appropriate number of tournament chips as needed.

For example, if using a T25-base set, posting a T150 big blind would require a player to use two T25 chips plus a T100 chip from his chip stack (which by that time has likely changed from his T10000 total starting amount of chips, due to previously posting blinds, making/calling bets, and winning/losing pots).

Clear as mud, eh? :)
 
At the core of the matter, the "T" is simply used in text (and sometimes speech) to easily show the difference between a denominated chip with no value -- a '5' or '25' chip, for example -- from a denominated chip that represents an actual cash value and includes a currency symbol, such as "$" for Dollars (or a Cents or Euro symbol, etc.). The no-value denominated chips are denoted as T5 vs $5, representing Five Tournament Units vs Five Dollars in U.S. Currency.

Value chips such as $1, $5, and $25 are used in cash games (and are more accurately referred to as 'cash checks', not chips), since they are negotiable instruments that represent actual currency in the casino, similar to a bank draft check.

No-value chips such as '5' or '25' (represented in print/speech as T5 or T25) have no cash value, and are typically used in tournaments and other non-cash environments where the numbers on the chip merely represent theoretical 'units', not actual currency amounts.

In addition, as @Eloe2000 noted above, the use of the no-value "T" nomenclature in print (or speech) can also be extended to include the sums of denominated no-value chips, such as a tournament starting stack that totals 10,000 units (a T10000 or T10K stack), which may consist of a varying number of different tournament chips with different non-cash values (perhaps 12 x T25 chips, plus 12 x T100 chips, plus 5 x T500 chips, plus 6 x T1000 chips, with the total sum of those quantities of those different units equal to 10,000 -- and also known as a 'breakdown' of that T10000 stack).

Reference to a T10000 tournament would be an event that used starting stacks equal to 10,000 Tournament units.

Reference to a T25-base set (or event) would indicate that the smallest Tournament unit chip in the set (or event) is equal to 25 units (aka a T25 chip).

And lastly, the increasing blind level amounts found in a given tounament blind structure are also referenced using Tournament units, such as T50/T100, T75/T150, T100/T200, etc. Each of those posted small blind and big blind amounts would consist of an appropriate number of tournament chips as needed.

For example, if using a T25-base set, posting a T150 big blind would require a player to use two T25 chips plus a T100 chip from his chip stack (which by that time has likely changed from his T10000 total starting amount of chips, due to previously posting blinds, making/calling bets, and winning/losing pots).

Clear as mud, eh? :)
Thank you for the detailed explanation @BGinGA, that makes perfect sense. I'm a little embarrassed that I couldn't figure that out on my own.
 

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