Easy fix. Before the game, go to the bank and get $200 in $10s, $5s, $1s etc.
I gotta do this when I host/banker, especially for bounty tournaments.
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Should I reduce the stakes? (3 Viewers)
- Thread starter Sisu41
- Start date
I gotta do this when I host/banker, especially for bounty tournaments.
JustinInMN
4 of a Kind
My rule of thumb for NL cash games is the players should be comfortable losing around 300xBB in a night. (or 3 buy-ins of 100BB in other terms.) But it does sound like there may be other things going on here as well that should be resolved.
1) Cash game culture understanding
It should be expected that players come to a game with multiple buy-ins. It is not a tournament by design.
2) Chipset issues
Side note.
I can tell you are getting started and it's good that you are asking questions. Lots of experienced hosts on here with good advice. But the key to making a game sustainable is figuring out a sustainable stake amongst your players. It's okay to make due with whatever chipset you have for now, but once you find a comfortable stake, or people get comfortable with the idea of rebuying in cash games, then you can start to tweak things.
Good luck.
1) Cash game culture understanding
It should be expected that players come to a game with multiple buy-ins. It is not a tournament by design.
2) Chipset issues
I cannot stress enough how important this point is. The chipset does you no good if it's not catered to what the players want to do. It's okay to make due and experiment with what you have short term, but that shouldn't be an objection to making a change for the good of the game. Figure out where the players are at and adjust the chipset accordingly, not the other way around.
Side note.
This is something you need to get used to doing as a host. I always have at least $100 in singles and fives available for change. If you can't break 20s, it's going to be tricky. Not just for buy-ins but for cash-outs too. You could probably start asking players to bring what low bills they can at first to build up a "change bank."
I can tell you are getting started and it's good that you are asking questions. Lots of experienced hosts on here with good advice. But the key to making a game sustainable is figuring out a sustainable stake amongst your players. It's okay to make due with whatever chipset you have for now, but once you find a comfortable stake, or people get comfortable with the idea of rebuying in cash games, then you can start to tweak things.
Good luck.
Mandos
3 of a Kind
I don't think you've given us any info yet on how many you have of each denomination. It sounds like you can probably make your current chips work for either .05/.10 or .10/.10 but it all depends how many you have of each denomination. Also, even though it sounds neat to use different chip denominations it's far easier to count stacks when you don't use multiple denominations super close to each other. It gets annoying when you have .05 .10 .25 and .50 all on the table at once.
OP
OP
Sisu41
Pair
I have 125 1s, 125 5s, 75 25s, and 50 100s, 500s, and 1000s
OP
OP
Sisu41
Pair
I really think .25/.50 limit might work because I have so many non-denominated chips so they could all be quarters
NotRealNameNoSir
4 of a Kind
Up to you, you can certainly try it. Limit works with some groups, but others get annoyed at being limited in what they can bet.
You're overthinking this, something we're good at here. Have people over, play cards for money, life's good. If they're not having fun, switch it up, crisis averted.
It would be different if you were deciding on the optimal breakdown for a lifetime clay set, but we're not, we're just figuring out how to use a bunch of toys to have the most fun with them. People won't stay because you played with chips in a specific way, they'll stay because they had fun. Just teach them how to play the game and deal some hands.
OP
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Sisu41
Pair
I'm just stressed that I can't do what every other host on the forum does. I'm just impressed by how well people host and I'm kinda jealous. I know I'm just starting but this is something I'm passionate about so I want to make sure everything is perfect.
NotRealNameNoSir
4 of a Kind
Deep breaths. You're very young, and you're competing with people who have been hosting for decades and making money for new tables/chips/chairs for all of that time. You're comparing very different games and players. Jealousy is fine as long as its constructive; this hobby can get very expensive and it centers around a vice: gambling. Vast majority of people on here have a day job and pay for their hobbies and habits, others are retired and now have the money and time/money/effort to put into hosting in big ways.
Most of the people here started just like you, cheap chips in a basement or garage. Your friends don't care and will never see you as some gambling mogul, they'll see you as their friend that hosts nights to play cards. Everything will not be perfect, and that's fine, it never is, that's real life. If you're spurred only by jealousy or comparing yourself to games on here, YOU WILL NEVER BE HAPPY. I mean it! There will always be a nicer set up.
OP
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Sisu41
Pair
I know I'll never do this for a living but I want to do my best at the things I care about, and this is fun for me. I like doing things like this, and when I get into something, I want to go all in because it's hard for me to keep passion for hobbies.
OP
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Sisu41
Pair
What I really want is for people I play with to recognize the effort I put in to make this work. I don't think I'm jealous, just more impressed with the people on here and I'm willing to emulate them. However I understand that I don't have the funds to do everything they can do. It frusturates me that I don't have a solution right away.
I host my home game with a 500 piece set of cheap plastic chips with no denominations that I got off Facebook Marketplace for $20. They're discolored and cracked, and my friends don't care. We have a great time.
Eventually I'll order a nice set of chips and I'd bet dollars that my friends will ooh and aah over them at first, then promptly resume having exactly the same amount of fun as we are having right now.
Don't worry dude, you're doing great with what you have. Just make it work and have a great time.
Eventually I'll order a nice set of chips and I'd bet dollars that my friends will ooh and aah over them at first, then promptly resume having exactly the same amount of fun as we are having right now.
Don't worry dude, you're doing great with what you have. Just make it work and have a great time.
NotRealNameNoSir
4 of a Kind
We know. We're not being dismissive, we're talking you through something everyone goes through. Being impatient comes with the age, it happens. Being frustrated and stressed that you're young and broke is fine, but its not helpful.
None of your players will ever recognize the effort you put in to host. That won't change, never expect it. When they do acknowledge it? Great, feels great, but that's a bonus. Do it for you.
NotRealNameNoSir
4 of a Kind
I'll 100% take that bet, your friends will barely notice if not prompted by you. If you just hand them the chips, they may say "Cool" lol, but no "WOAH"s will be had.
SeanGecko
4 of a Kind
JustinInMN
4 of a Kind
I get that completely. But if you read between the lines of a lot of posts here, you will see everyone will preach patience and figure things out before you take your first plunge.
I started hosting in college too (gulp, realizing this was in fact 20 years ago.)
This made me think of my personal "chipping timeline" for as long as I have been hosting games.
2003
I hosted a 4-handed 2c-5c game in my studio apartment near campus (Winona State University in SE Minnesota) using this set that was a Target exclusive. Just horrified to see this is a "collectable" now.
https://www.amazon.com/Michael-Graves-Design-Poker-Cherry/dp/B00008WMIB
Also just had a basic folding table and set of four chairs (which I do still have
) But I sold these chips in a yard sale a few years later when I stopped using them.2005
Moved in with 5 roommates and we rented a house. I start hosting regular tournaments in the basement with 2000 super diamonds. These were 7c a piece back then.
https://www.amazon.com/Brybelly-Dia...uper+diamond+chips&qid=1701874176&sr=8-5&th=1
I did a crazy breakdown of 20/20/15 of 25/100/500 to host the T10K starting stack, bought enough to do 20 starting stacks.
2010
A few years after college, bought my first cash set. Brybelly Black diamonds. Mostly for a 5c-10c family game.
https://www.amazon.com/Brybelly-Dia...refix=black+diamond+poker,aps,102&sr=8-1&th=1
Bought 400 of these 175 quarters, 125 singles, 75 fives, 25 twenty-fives if I recall, and added 200 pink dice chips for unmarked nickels. I was psyched to have denominated chips. But learned the number of nickels was ridiculous. I tweaked this set later a better breakdown of 75 nickels, 225 quarters, 200 singles, 150 fives, 100 twenty-fives, and 50 hundreds. I sold this off just 5 years ago to one of my college buddies.
2017
I stumble on here are start doing custom label chips on blank abs.
https://www.pokerchipforum.com/thre...sibilities-and-perils-of-cheap-chipping.29479
Another PCF member owns these now
2019
My first "big purchase" custom ceramic hybrids from Sun-Fly in China. They arrived in December just a few months before COVID, so who knows, this may be patient zero
?https://www.pokerchipforum.com/thre...edition-2020-custom-43mm-sunfly-hybrid.50781/
Bottom line, take your time and figure out what serves your game first. It's fine to make solutions out of what you have, see what you think as a baseline, and then start planning bigger. Don't rush into big.
I am sure many members have a timeline like this, and collections that run way deeper and more expensive than mine, but I think the path of trial and error is largely the same.
Mandos
3 of a Kind
Yeah, if you're doing this to try to impress your friends, you probably won't have much luck. When i got new chips for our league a few people said something, but that's not what keeps them coming back every month. And most of them don't notice the difference if i use cards mold or Paulson's for the cash game. They have absolutely no idea that the paulsons are at least 5 times as expensive. Honestly, the biggest jump was just from dice chips to anything denominated, as that removes the constant "how much is a green worth" questions.
However, running an good game with an efficient chip breakdown (and well thought out levels/structure for tournaments) should help everyone enjoy more, even if they don't realize that that's contributing to their enjoyment. Just don't expect them to thank you for it or have any idea of the amount of effort you put it to make it run perfectly.
OP
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Sisu41
Pair
I do have super diamonds, I’ve used them for fracs
SeanGecko
4 of a Kind
It's supposed to be fun.
Nickel and dime game. Rib the sb because it's only a nickel!
They can play more!
Nickel and dime game. Rib the sb because it's only a nickel!
They can play more!
JustinInMN
4 of a Kind
To be honest, when you are experimenting with breakdowns, this should be your next step.
SeanGecko
4 of a Kind
OP
OP
Sisu41
Pair
I don't have pics atm because I have chips at home and school
I had a similar issue in the past, what worked for me was halving the chips value so $10 in cash would buy you $20 in chips. Keep in mind this was only because my lowest denom chip was 25c. You could go even further and do $10 cash = $40 in chips. It's a good way to get use out of higher denoms and put more chips in play.
OP
OP
Sisu41
Pair
maybe I'll do 5 to 1, so a 25 dollar chip would be worth $5
If you’re looking for opinions on that, I’d vote no. If I were a perfect poker player where the value of the chips didn’t matter, I’d be fine with it. But I’m not. In a cash game, I like to know how much actual cash is in the middle and how much actual cash I’m committing to a bet or a call. Having to calculate like that mid hand (and maybe after a few beers) would be an extra layer of confusion that I wouldn’t like and that I’d likely screw up.
I vote no extra math!
OP
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Sisu41
Pair
Yeah, I just thought it would be easier for 5 cent chips, but we can use non denominated ones
JustinInMN
4 of a Kind
I would stay away from these ideas as well. You are just asking for banking errors.
SeanGecko
4 of a Kind
And don't make your players do additional math.
Hosting Goals/Tips:
1. Provide a comfortable place to play so everyone can relax and have a good time. You want players to look forward to coming back.
2. Provide a decent table so that jamming players in is the exception, not the rule. (Do the best you can with this, accepting that tables are expensive.)
3. Organize ahead of time so you can enjoy the experience while the event happens. (Whether you play or not is irrelevant. Hosting is the first priority)
4. Take steps to make the pace of play quick, but not rushed. This will keep players interested. Adding additional math to a game that involves enough math already defeats this goal.
5. Put a dollar a night in a jar so you can afford a hot dog roller soon.
1. Provide a comfortable place to play so everyone can relax and have a good time. You want players to look forward to coming back.
2. Provide a decent table so that jamming players in is the exception, not the rule. (Do the best you can with this, accepting that tables are expensive.)
3. Organize ahead of time so you can enjoy the experience while the event happens. (Whether you play or not is irrelevant. Hosting is the first priority)
4. Take steps to make the pace of play quick, but not rushed. This will keep players interested. Adding additional math to a game that involves enough math already defeats this goal.
5. Put a dollar a night in a jar so you can afford a hot dog roller soon.
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