Set advice (4 Viewers)

[FullSet]

Asking for a friend

But could you guys offer any advice on this set split?
Thinking about buying a 1200 set with:
$0.25 x 260
$1 x 260
$5 x 330
$25 x 290
$100. x 40
$500 x 20

Buy in would be 1000-1500 which would get you:
20 x $0.25
20 x $1
25x $5
22 x $25
3 x $100
(1x $500)


I figured this way I could do a cash game, but also a mini tournament setup.
Happy to receive any input.

Which I will then obviously relay to my ummm friend -_-


First post. Hi!
Please don't shoot me or my friend.

 

[NotRealNameNoSir]

Way too many fracs. I bought super cheap chips and we love fracs but 200 is way overkill, 260 is just silly. Thats also a ton of 25s.

Many will tell you not to use the same set for cash and tourney. Half of that is for security, half is just cause its fun having two sets.


Heres a guide to some breakdowns. You can deviate, but these are good starting points.
https://www.pokerchipforum.com/thre...ut-a-cash-game-chip-set-5c-10c-to-5-10.30897/

 

[abby99]

Many will tell you not to use the same set for cash and tourney. Half of that is for security, half is just cause its fun having two sets.

In other words, half of that is the reason, half is the excuse.

 

[ngmcs8203]

Way too many fracs. I bought super cheap chips and we love fracs but 200 is way overkill, 260 is just silly. Thats also a ton of 25s.

Many will tell you not to use the same set for cash and tourney. Half of that is for security, half is just cause its fun having two sets.


Heres a guide to some breakdowns. You can deviate, but these are good starting points.
https://www.pokerchipforum.com/thre...ut-a-cash-game-chip-set-5c-10c-to-5-10.30897/

This. You need to clarify your cash game stakes and buy accordingly. Don’t mix tourney and cash. Just buy two sets. You can get decent chips for as little as .40/chip and if you plan accordingly you can have two 600 chipsets that are completely different. Check out the @justincarothers TINA no molds, cards molds or Greek molds as a cheap option that are better than the metal slug chips you get from Amazon. @Apache has great china clay options as well that are slightly more expensive.

 

[Machine]

Welcome!
​

You're break down is horrible. I would encourage you / your friend to read the New members start here, you can find a link in my signature (landscape on mobile) it will lead you through explaining how to calculate your chip needs.

I would also encourage you to use the search function for other threads that discuss breakdown.

you never need more than a rack of .25s unless you plan to spread a .05/.10 game. If you have 10 players your break down will not cover 2 buyins for the table, you're about 7k short, but really you'd want to have about 10k more in bank.

What stakes do you plan to spread? 1500 buy in would typically be for a 5/5 game (assuming NLH)
Have you ever hosted a game, do you plan to have a dedicated dealer? With such large buy ins, how you plan to prevent people from running chips in?

 

[FullSet]

Even when ‘my friend’ wants to set up for 10 players? Didn’t seem like that much to me

Thanks for the advice so far either way. Believe it or not I did read those but I’m kind of stubborn I guess…

 

[ngmcs8203]

Even when ‘my friend’ wants to set up for 10 players? Didn’t seem like that much to me

Thanks for the advice so far either way. Believe it or not I did read those but I’m kind of stubborn I guess…

You need to determine your stakes first. Even for ten players your set breakdown is not ideal.

 

[improviseallday]

If you're hosting $2/$5 or $5/10 or $10/$20, you don't need fracs and you'll need way less $1s.

But more pressing is the need for more $25/$100/$500 chips. You're not even covering rebuys at $1500 buyin for 10 people.

Make sure you can add to this set, or pick a different one.

 

[Natskule]

Asking for a friend

But could you guys offer any advice on this set split?
Thinking about buying a 1200 set with:
$0.25 x 260
$1 x 260
$5 x 330
$25 x 290
$100. x 40
$500 x 20

Buy in would be 1000-1500 which would get you:
20 x $0.25
20 x $1
25x $5
22 x $25
3 x $100
(1x $500)


I figured this way I could do a cash game, but also a mini tournament setup.
Happy to receive any input.

Which I will then obviously relay to my ummm friend -_-


First post. Hi!
Please don't shoot me or my friend.

I don't understand. Buy in of 1000-1500, but you are using quarters? Doesn't look like your buy ins match your stakes. Are you inflating chips in the cash game, like 100 dollars gets 1000 dollars in the cash game? Are you doing that to adapt a tournament set for cash purposes? Most cash game don't use that many different chips, 3 denominations are all that are mostly used, sometimes a few of a 4th. Maybe it's a currency issue between US and Belgium.

Need more information as you don't need quarters if the buy in is 1000 plus.

 

[DuckFat]

If buy in is over 1k for 1-3, 2-5, 5-5, and 5-10 you will mostly need 5, 25, and 100. This is my 1500 set for cash
1 x 100
5 x 400
75 x 300
100 x 300
500 x 100
1k x 100
5k x 100
10k x 100

.25 are useless
5k and 10k haven't been used yet but I like having them. If switching those out I would get more 500 and 1k

 

[FullSet]

Kind of depends on the crowd. Sometimes we do a lower buy in and indeed inflate the values x10. This is the crowd that usually goes through a lot of blinds so I figured I’d buy more fracs so they don’t have to trade all the time.
I know I could go 1 5 20 100 if it’s not a true representation of the buy in value anyway but liked the idea of having a spread for when I have a tournament set up.

I get the two separate set ideas, but sort of wanted to get the one chip set I really like.
The trust is big enough that chips won’t get floated in, so I trust that won’t be an issue.

Hope this way it makes more sense to you and might alter the feedback a bit. If not let me know. Either way thanks for the input so far!

 

[Huskerchipper]

Yeah i think if you would share EXACTLY what stakes your planning to play people here could give you perfect direction. Do you occasionally play .25/.50 or .50/1.00? If not the buy in amount you gave, as others have mentioned, makes zero sense with the chips you have listed. What tournament structure and for how many players max?? No disrespect, we all started new at some time so we are glad you asked.

 

[ngmcs8203]

Kind of depends on the crowd. Sometimes we do a lower buy in and indeed inflate the values x10. This is the crowd that usually goes through a lot of blinds so I figured I’d buy more fracs so they don’t have to trade all the time.
I know I could go 1 5 20 100 if it’s not a true representation of the buy in value anyway but liked the idea of having a spread for when I have a tournament set up.

I get the two separate set ideas, but sort of wanted to get the one chip set I really like.
The trust is big enough that chips won’t get floated in, so I trust that won’t be an issue.

Hope this way it makes more sense to you and might alter the feedback a bit. If not let me know. Either way thanks for the input so far!

Still doesn’t change my opinion. I don’t like making a game feel bigger just by using bigger chips. I also don’t like trying to force one set to do two things. I did when I had dice chips and I hated it.

 

[ngmcs8203]

What are you looking to do by making a cash game feel more like monopoly?

 

[FullSet]

What are you looking to do by making a cash game feel more like monopoly?

Excuse me for trying to have some fun.
Never mind. I’ll figure it out myself.

 

[gopherblue]

Cash...two rules of thumb:
1. 100 x 25¢ is plenty for a single table (give a barrel out to each of the first 5 players ala @abby99 , and the others can make change as the game progresses), and
2. Always get spares (at least 5-10) of every denom in case of Murphy.

Breakdown:
This guy keeps getting it right, and I hear he’s a hell of a fella:

https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/breakdown-25-50-and-50-1-nl.15141/#post-265619

Or ignore him and go with this guy’s advice...he’s smaht and good-looking to boot:

https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/need-help-with-cash-set-breakdown.6473/#post-67892

 

[aaron2786]

Excuse me for trying to have some fun.
Never mind. I’ll figure it out myself.

Hey, partner, let's all be cool here

You just got here, and you asked for advice - these guys are giving it in the best way they know how to. Some more crass than other about it, yep. Ever been to a poker game?


That said, you said your heart is set on a certain set.. ok, which set? Maybe some of us will have some ideas to make it work for you and your games.


Most of the guys have been running home cash and tourney games for years, including myself. I can say with %100 certainty, spiking the values of buy ins (say buy in for 40, but get 200 to 400 in chips -5X to 10X) can work fine, but also can make a lot of players lose sight of what a bet actually is, cashouts become division, and there just isnt a need for any of that, when you can just find sets that match your needs.


Mostly run low stakes cash games - get a set for that.

1/2 cash games? Buy a set that has a frac, 1, 5s and 25s (you do not need more than 12 quarters and 12 ones per player. Even playing a 25c, 50c game this is true. People do not need mountains of stack and stacks of fracs.

.25/.50 game at a $40 buy in looks like

(12) .25s = $3
(12) $1 = $12
(5) $5 = $25

There, that's your $40. You do NOT need more fracs and 1s for rebuys, have chip leaders make change. It's the same thing we do in our 1/2, 1/3 or 2/2 games... at initial buy in we've got 4-5 racks of 5s on the table and maybe 1-2 barrels of 25s, rebuys are handed out in 25s and leaders chip them down.


Tourneys work the same way. If you bust a 40K start stack in a tourney, they don't give you a brand new starting stack, they're gonna hand you (8) 5K chips and you make change at the table.

 

[ngmcs8203]

Excuse me for trying to have some fun.
Never mind. I’ll figure it out myself.

I mean, you do what you want but for me personally, poker chips for a cash game should represent their dollar value. It makes it less confusing for those who are playing the game. If I want the high value chips in play, a tournament is more appropriate.

 

[FullSet]

Cash...two rules of thumb:
1. 100 x 25¢ is plenty for a single table (give a barrel out to each of the first 5 players ala @abby99 , and the others can make change as the game progresses), and
2. Always get spares (at least 5-10) of every denom in case of Murphy.

Breakdown:
This guy keeps getting it right, and I hear he’s a hell of a fella:

https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/breakdown-25-50-and-50-1-nl.15141/#post-265619

Or ignore him and go with this guy’s advice...he’s smaht and good-looking to boot:

https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/need-help-with-cash-set-breakdown.6473/#post-67892

Thanks. More constructive and helpful.

 

[aaron2786]

Thanks. More constructive and helpful.

Man I don't know if it's what youre going for, but you're coming off as sarcastic and standoffish


If that's the thing you going for, well ok

 

[FullSet]

Man I don't know if it's what youre going for, but you're coming off as sarcastic and standoffish


If that's the thing you going for, well ok

I was going for some info. Didn’t really appreciate the monopoly remark. Nothing more nothing less. Don’t think you need to read more into it, but feel free to if you want.

Thanks for the info.

 

[aaron2786]

Don’t think you need to read more into it, but feel free to if you want.

Dude, everyone is reading exactly what you mean, and as a result no one is going to want to have anything to do with ya. Either way, it looks like everyone here has given you more than enough advice, use it if you want, or don't.

 

[ngmcs8203]

Plenty of posts asking for clarifying questions that you didn't really answer, and plenty of posts advising you to stick to cash game stakes that are represented in the chips you play with. You said you were stubborn and it didn't seem like you were interested in the advice given. Like @aaron2786 said, there is more than enough advice in this thread to get you started in the right direction.

 

[DuckFat]

I mean, you do what you want but for me personally, poker chips for a cash game should represent their dollar value. It makes it less confusing for those who are playing the game. If I want the high value chips in play, a tournament is more appropriate.

Exactly this, too confusing and tacky? Or just play for higher stakes if you want the bigger chips in play. At 1500 buy in, people come with 5-10 bullets, should get pretty high up there. Just play 5-10 and all the big chips will come out. No, I'm not being sarcastic. You can find me at the Aria NLHE 2-5 or 5-10 or PLO 5-5 w/rock when I'm in Vegas.

 

[FullSet]

Not quite sure what the issue is

Plenty of posts asking for clarifying questions that you didn't really answer, and plenty of posts advising you to stick to cash game stakes that are represented in the chips you play with. You said you were stubborn and it didn't seem like you were interested in the advice given. Like @aaron2786 said, there is more than enough advice in this thread to get you started in the right direction.

I was interested in most the advice given and adjusted accordingly, but it also comes down to my own preference as it is my game and not yours. So yes, as you said plenty of useful info. Not quite sure what the issue is with my reply. If you don’t think my reply was kind enough that’s fine, but let’s just leave it at a difference in opinion. No need to make a major issue out of it. We can agree to disagree. Doesn’t mean I disagree with everything you posted and all the advice you gave.

 

[Natskule]

Not quite sure what the issue is

I think the biggest issue is no one really understands what you want.

As far as I understand, you want 1 set that can be used for cash or tournament, for 1 table up to 10 people. Is that right? Now the base of your tournament which will dictate the chips needed for the tournament will be based on what chips are needed for the cash game.

What you need for the cash game is a complete mystery. You initially want quarters, but say the buy in is 1,000 to 1,500, so that doesn't jive at all. You need to specify what you play in the cash game then a chip breakdown can be given/discussed.

As far as 1 set for cash and 1 set for tournament, which is preferred, at small stakes among friends it is less of an issue to just use one set for both. I did for years and it was never an issue. But if the game grows and starts to have people you don't know well and for bigger money and you play cash and tournaments on the same night having two sets becomes a very good idea.

As far as deflating the chips for a cash game, I'm sure many of us on here have done that before, when playing with youngsters or beginners. I've played many games where the chip value was 10x the actual money. But it wasn't on purpose, it was done because I didn't have the correct chips for the stakes we were playing. It would be silly to build a set with the purpose of doing that. Build the set correctly for the stakes you play at, why buy something wrong on purpose?

If you want helpful advice, then give the necessary information.
One table, 10 players, tournament and cash.
Need to know cash stakes, buy ins or blinds, then you will get good information. If the buy ins are truly 1,000 to 1,500, that's fine, it can be done, but nobody, buys in for a thousand dollars and gets quarters. So are is your cash game a thousand dollar buy in 2/5 game or bigger, or a .25/.25 game with a 40 dollar buy in? Or somewhere in between? Or do the stakes vary and you need to cover both?

Bottom line, the more information share the better the feedback and help will be. Folks were trying to help, but you weren't very forthcoming with information and saying you want quarters for a thousand dollar buy in is ridiculous.

 

[FullSet]

I think the biggest issue is no one really understands what you want.

As far as I understand, you want 1 set that can be used for cash or tournament, for 1 table up to 10 people. Is that right? Now the base of your tournament which will dictate the chips needed for the tournament will be based on what chips are needed for the cash game.

What you need for the cash game is a complete mystery. You initially want quarters, but say the buy in is 1,000 to 1,500, so that doesn't jive at all. You need to specify what you play in the cash game then a chip breakdown can be given/discussed.

As far as 1 set for cash and 1 set for tournament, which is preferred, at small stakes among friends it is less of an issue to just use one set for both. I did for years and it was never an issue. But if the game grows and starts to have people you don't know well and for bigger money and you play cash and tournaments on the same night having two sets becomes a very good idea.

As far as deflating the chips for a cash game, I'm sure many of us on here have done that before, when playing with youngsters or beginners. I've played many games where the chip value was 10x the actual money. But it wasn't on purpose, it was done because I didn't have the correct chips for the stakes we were playing. It would be silly to build a set with the purpose of doing that. Build the set correctly for the stakes you play at, why buy something wrong on purpose?

If you want helpful advice, then give the necessary information.
One table, 10 players, tournament and cash.
Need to know cash stakes, buy ins or blinds, then you will get good information. If the buy ins are truly 1,000 to 1,500, that's fine, it can be done, but nobody, buys in for a thousand dollars and gets quarters. So are is your cash game a thousand dollar buy in 2/5 game or bigger, or a .25/.25 game with a 40 dollar buy in? Or somewhere in between? Or do the stakes vary and you need to cover both?

Bottom line, the more information share the better the feedback and help will be. Folks were trying to help, but you weren't very forthcoming with information and saying you want quarters for a thousand dollar buy in is ridiculous.

I guess the main issue is that I selected my chips on the basis of which ones I liked and not quite the ones I actually needed and figured I could make it work by just giving 1500 worth in chips for a buy in that was reasonable for my audience. If that makes sense?

We used to play like this many years ago and even though it was a bit of a hassle calculating at the end it was quite good fun. We liked to have a lot of chips and were more bothered by switching out chips around the table than the calculations at the end.

I was at work earlier and wasn't really able to give much details, so the replies were indeed not that informative. My apologies.

I'm looking at a buy in of around 50-100 and blinds 25 & 50. Would like to be prepared for 10 if we get more players and that's why I thought 200 .25's weren't that bad since 20 big blinds each wasn't that much and I added a few more for rebuys. I understand that just changing around the table makes more sense, but we used to have a few standard starting stacks standing by so I figured it would save some time when rebuys happen.

Guess just going with chip values in a cash game does make more sense and I'll have to change habits a bit and the just enough blinds to go around is okay for the more expensive sets. I really don't mind having some breathing space on cheaper sets.

I just thought dividing the chips by ten times their value for cash games would make them usable for tournament settings as well? That way I could splurge on the chips and get just one set as we trust each other. I get your point on the issues when new players come in, but we are pretty good friends.

Apologies for the confusion. I came here for information, not to cause mass confusion and a near argument.
I get your reference to monopoly, but I actually quite like monopoly...

 

[Natskule]

I guess the main issue is that I selected my chips on the basis of which ones I liked and not quite the ones I actually needed and figured I could make it work by just giving 1500 worth in chips for a buy in that was reasonable for my audience. If that makes sense?

We used to play like this many years ago and even though it was a bit of a hassle calculating at the end it was quite good fun. We liked to have a lot of chips and were more bothered by switching out chips around the table than the calculations at the end.

I was at work earlier and wasn't really able to give much details, so the replies were indeed not that informative. My apologies.

I'm looking at a buy in of around 50-100 and blinds 25 & 50. Would like to be prepared for 10 if we get more players and that's why I thought 200 .25's weren't that bad since 20 big blinds each wasn't that much and I added a few more for rebuys. I understand that just changing around the table makes more sense, but we used to have a few standard starting stacks standing by so I figured it would save some time when rebuys happen.

Guess just going with chip values in a cash game does make more sense and I'll have to change habits a bit and the just enough blinds to go around is okay for the more expensive sets. I really don't mind having some breathing space on cheaper sets.

I just thought dividing the chips by ten times their value for cash games would make them usable for tournament settings as well? That way I could splurge on the chips and get just one set as we trust each other. I get your point on the issues when new players come in, but we are pretty good friends.

Apologies for the confusion. I came here for information, not to cause mass confusion and a near argument.
I get your reference to monopoly, but I actually quite like monopoly...

So blinds of $0.25/$0.50, with a buy in of $50-$100, totally reasonable.

So you are looking for a set that will support that cash game as well as a 1 table/10 person, T 0.25 tournament? I believe that BGinGA has posted a T 0.25 tournament breakdown on this forum several times, with blinds, starting stacks and total chips needed.

As far as the quantity of quarters needed for the cash game, people vary a bit in what they prefer. I'm on the high side a bit and give every player a barrel, some folks are lower and closer to 10. But I wouldn't give any more out in rebuys, there will be plenty on the table already,

Now that is straightened out you should get some good advice on a chip breakdown that will simplify your game a bit and support both your cash and tournament needs.

 

[BottomPair7]

Hello and welcome to PCF! I'm team lots of fracs. My group plays .25/.25 with a $40 buy-in. Players start with 20-.25's, 20-$1's and 3-$5's Sometimes it makes cashing out a little difficult, but you have lots of chips on the table. There are some good breakdowns for a tournament with exact cash. Most people here really like their chips and would just prefer to get a separate set for tournaments.

 

[tdawgg18]

Might be a little late to this party but here is a great tool under resources made by @BSteck that helped me to choose a cash set recently. It’s a google doc and it’s pretty cut and dry for helping choose a cash or tourney set. Just double the chips recommended since you are striving for 1200.

https://docs.google.com/presentatio...CxPxCk4t2iMOW68c94QQaEgquQ/present?slide=id.p