Cash Game What comes before a .25/.50 game? (1 Viewer)

[AdamAAAA]

Afternoon all.

I'm off to a small home cash game next week. It's a beginners group who are just finding their poker feet and therefore not up for losing great amounts of money at this stage.

We have some nice blank clay chips (someone bought them in Vegas a few years ago, feel nice and weighty), so we can set the blinds to whatever we think is appropriate.

I wouldn't have thought people would want to spend more than around £20-40 each so what would be a good blind for keeping a good game going?

Was thinking .10/.25 could work and just have two chips in play for 10 and 25.

Does anyone have experience of smaller stakes cash games?

Adam

 

[jbutler]

Afternoon all.

I'm off to a small home cash game next week. It's a beginners group who are just finding their poker feet and therefore not up for losing great amounts of money at this stage.

We have some blank chips (someone bought them in Vegas a few years ago, feel night and weighty), so we can set the blinds to whatever we think is appropriate.

I wouldn't have thought people would want to spend more than around £20-40 each so what would be a good blind for keeping a good game going?

Was thinking .10/.25 could work and just have two chips in play for 10 and 25.

Does anyone have experience of smaller stakes cash games?

Adam

Plenty of people have run $.10/.25, but honestly there's no point in the small blind. Just make it $.25/.25.

I doubt you will be able to get away just using quarters. Most likely you'll need $5s as well, but I guess it depends on the tenor of the game. A rack of quarters, three or four racks of $1s, and a rack of $5s should be more than enough for the game.

 

[links_slayer]

If you really want to pare down the stakes to keep it friendly you could play 0.05/0.10 and use the chips as 0.05 and 0.25

 

[ruskba]

My home game is .25/.25 blinds with a $25 max buyin. It's been pretty good for my group of beginners.

 

[AllinBallin]

Afternoon all.

I'm off to a small home cash game next week. It's a beginners group who are just finding their poker feet and therefore not up for losing great amounts of money at this stage.

We have some nice blank clay chips (someone bought them in Vegas a few years ago, feel nice and weighty), so we can set the blinds to whatever we think is appropriate.

I wouldn't have thought people would want to spend more than around £20-40 each so what would be a good blind for keeping a good game going?

Was thinking .10/.25 could work and just have two chips in play for 10 and 25.

Does anyone have experience of smaller stakes cash games?

Adam

Shots?

 

[Whiteside]

My group was similar and I had to introduce many of them to poker. We've always just played tournaments because everyone knows the maximum they can lose. The beauty of that for us is that there are a few players who virtually never win anything, but they keep coming back because it's still a cheap, but entertaining evening.

The only issue I have is that on the rare occasions a cash game has started afterwards, they miss the point and insist on the blinds increasing so that eventually one person takes the lot.

Personally, I would do 0.05/0.10 - it will encourage a lot more action which in turn increase participation and hopefully enjoyment for newer players. Better to start too small and go higher on future occasions than start too high and scare a few people off.

 

[AdamAAAA]

Thanks guys.

It seems like .25/.25 is the way to go then. I start with quarts and ones to begin with and if we end up with a lot of chips we'll add some fives into the mix.

Shots?

I'll take some next Saturday at the game.

 

[AdamAAAA]

My group was similar and I had to introduce many of them to poker. We've always just played tournaments because everyone knows the maximum they can lose. The beauty of that for us is that there are a few players who virtually never win anything, but they keep coming back because it's still a cheap, but entertaining evening.

The only issue I have is that on the rare occasions a cash game has started afterwards, they miss the point and insist on the blinds increasing so that eventually one person takes the lot.

Personally, I would do 0.05/0.10 - it will encourage a lot more action which in turn increase participation and hopefully enjoyment for newer players. Better to start too small and go higher on future occasions than start too high and scare a few people off.

We did a tournament the first time we played together, but some people busted out and then felt left out whilst watching the others. This will be the second time we've played as a group and want to try cash to see how that works. Obviously when you're out of money you're out of money but at least this way people will feel like the end is at a set time rather than when they go out.

I guess after this game we'll decide what the preference is.

 

[mike32]

What comes before a .25/.50 game?

Unfortunately usually a tournament

 

[Toonexile]

I have played in a game with blinds of 10p/20p.
They used 10/20/50p and £1 chips which I hated; I would much have preferred to lose the 20p chip. It was a small, friendly game although it played much more like a limit game than NLHE

 

[Jambine]

.05 / .10 makes a friendly game with a $20 buy in....

 

[Jambine]

.05 / .10 makes a friendly game with a $20 buy in. Not sure what the equivalent would be in £ Sterling

 

[Toonexile]

3.5p/7p ?
Now what was that old chip progression again? 3.5p / 13.3p / 35.6p ?

 

[manamongkids]

playing online for play money?

 

[Whiteside]

We did a tournament the first time we played together, but some people busted out and then felt left out whilst watching the others. This will be the second time we've played as a group and want to try cash to see how that works. Obviously when you're out of money you're out of money but at least this way people will feel like the end is at a set time rather than when they go out.

I guess after this game we'll decide what the preference is.

I had the same issue with people busting out early in tournaments, so I run a 'double chance' tournament. You get half your chips at the start, the other half when you bust out or after 90 minutes, whichever is sooner. No-one can bust out too early that way.

 

[Irish]

I play with a group that for years played a 15¢/30¢ game with a $20 buy-in. Nickels everywhere, lol. I made the suggestion to move to a 25¢/25¢ game to ditch the nickels - some are still a little apprehensive about not having a small blind (or being able to bet in 5¢ increments ) but the game plays virtually the same. The group usually plays pretty conservative so it works for the $20 buy-in, and we do buy-ins with quarters and dollars and rebuys with fivers.

 

[trever]

I suggest 10/25 so you don't have to explain why the small blind is the same size as the big blind. To keep the game small limit the buyin amounts. Stacks matter a lot more than the stakes.

 

[Marius L]

I would go for one of the two solid options mentioned by jbutler and links

- .25/.25 with quarters, ones and some fivers

or

.5/.10, with quarters, ones and use the fivers as 5cents. (unless you have 5cent chips of course)

The added bonus of going with the lower stakes is that the buyins could be a biit lower, which would let people rebuy once or twice if they bust early (which i assume was the point of not playing tournaments) Buyins in the range of 10-15$ should be good for .5/.10 and maybe around 20-40$ for .25/.25. If people are willing to spend 20-40 on the game total, you might wanna go for .5/.10, so people can rebuy once or twice and still be within 20-40$.

 

[Shaggy]

.25-.25 or .10-.10 or .10-.20

I don't like the idea of .10-.25 because there will be people who are trying to complete from the small blind that will want nickels. If they can't comprehend the small and big being the same... that will be the same person that can't comprehend to pull back the dime and throw out the quarter...

The other option is half quarter - quarter... the small blind chip is a 12.5 cent chip... because why not. At the end of the night when you are cashing out... if two people have a lone small blind chip... they can draw high card to see who gets the quarter.

 

[AdamAAAA]

Thanks guys, some excellent suggestions. I think I like the 25.25 idea then betting is kept to quarter increments and is easier from a chip denomination point of view.

As the chips are not labeled, it'll make it easier just having a .25 and a 1 chip in play. I don't think we'd ever get to a point of needing a 5 but we'd have the option if the night plays out requiring one.

Thanks again

 

[Marius L]

Thanks guys, some excellent suggestions. I think I like the 25.25 idea then betting is kept to quarter increments and is easier from a chip denomination point of view.

As the chips are not labeled, it'll make it easier just having a .25 and a 1 chip in play. I don't think we'd ever get to a point of needing a 5 but we'd have the option if the night plays out requiring one.

Thanks again

Sounds good! Enjoy the game

 

[moose]

I had the same issue with people busting out early in tournaments, so I run a 'double chance' tournament. You get half your chips at the start, the other half when you bust out or after 90 minutes, whichever is sooner. No-one can bust out too early that way.

Similarly, I can also recommend a 'double or nothing' tournament, where you play until half the field is gone. You then win double your buyin and you can start a new game quickly.

 

[Chicken Rob]

I like .05/.10 with a $10 buy in. If your max loss is $20-$40, this gives you 2-4 buyins and people will be able to survive longer.

 

[ruskba]

I like .05/.10 with a $10 buy in. If your max loss is $20-$40, this gives you 2-4 buyins and people will be able to survive longer.

I've found in my .25/.25 game, people are pretty passive and can make $20 last a while. We only play 5 hour or so sessions, so unless the new folks are doing marathon sessions off the bat I wouldn't be too surprised to hear one buyin lasting a whole night.

 

[Chicken Rob]

I've found in my .25/.25 game, people are pretty passive and can make $20 last a while. We only play 5 hour or so sessions, so unless the new folks are doing marathon sessions off the bat I wouldn't be too surprised to hear one buyin lasting a whole night.

We also play about 5 hours, and people like to go all-in. My group rebuys a lot. I've been in for over 10 buy ins myself.

If your group is very active, and not comfortable losing a lot, this may be a way to slow down the losses. If your group plays more like ruskba's, then .25/.25 will be fine.

 

[ruskba]

We also play about 5 hours, and people like to go all-in. My group rebuys a lot. I've been in for over 10 buy ins myself.

If your group is very active, and not comfortable losing a lot, this may be a way to slow down the losses. If your group plays more like ruskba's, then .25/.25 will be fine.

Well now I'm just jealous. If we get two rebuys a night I'm happy.

But you make a good point, take into account how active they are when deciding. I was assuming beginners everywhere were like my group, which was a bad assumption.

 

[hod]

I have played in a game with blinds of 10p/20p.
They used 10/20/50p and £1 chips which I hated; I would much have preferred to lose the 20p chip. It was a small, friendly game although it played much more like a limit game than NLHE

Our games are 10p/20p blinds, but have also played 25p/25p blinds. Buy ins £10-£20 and £20 respectively.

Unsurprisingly with bigger blinds (and effectively two big blinds), the pots and ultimately average buy-in costs are higher for 25p/25p game. I've found giving players lots of lower denom chips makes for a looser game.

Your chip breakdown could influence the decision, especially using non-denominated chips with relatively new players. There's only so much 'how much is the green chip worth' I can take.

Also some of our players bitched about using quarters, as we don't have a 25p coin in the UK it can make for 'untidy' cashouts, was the argument. Moot point as funnily enough, every game when it comes to cashing out at 3am after several beverages, no one gives a rats ass about 25p either way.

 

[Chicken Rob]

I'm really lucky. I have a group in our Thursday night .05/.10 game who started out like your group ruskba, and then I moved to town and joined the game and turned them all into a bunch of degenerate LAGtards. There is a lot of gamble in my group, but since it's low stakes, no one gets in too deep for a weekly game with friends.

 

[AdamAAAA]

I've found in my .25/.25 game, people are pretty passive and can make $20 last a while. We only play 5 hour or so sessions, so unless the new folks are doing marathon sessions off the bat I wouldn't be too surprised to hear one buyin lasting a whole night.

We'll likely play a maximum of 5 hours I'd have thought. It's a toss up between 5/10 and 25/25 at the moment. I'll ask the group what they're expecting to spend in terms of buying into the game and if most are only in for £10-20 then I'll do 5/10 or 10/10 to make it easier cashing out. If they've brought a larger amount I'll go for 25s. I don't know if we have enough chips, but I'll check.

We also play about 5 hours, and people like to go all-in. My group rebuys a lot. I've been in for over 10 buy ins myself.

If your group is very active, and not comfortable losing a lot, this may be a way to slow down the losses. If your group plays more like ruskba's, then .25/.25 will be fine.

I'd love to find a group like this. For me it's less about the money and more about the thrill of chucking all your money in the pot with my trusted J9 and seeing what happens! Although some take it a little too serious and will bring £10 and then sit out for the rest of the night.

Well now I'm just jealous. If we get two rebuys a night I'm happy.

But you make a good point, take into account how active they are when deciding. I was assuming beginners everywhere were like my group, which was a bad assumption.

When we did a tournament (that was the first time we played together) people were entering all sorts to pots, but it was a T10000 so they had the chips to do it with. If they've bought in for £20 I'm thinking 20x.25 and 15x1 to try encourage play.

Our games are 10p/20p blinds, but have also played 25p/25p blinds. Buy ins £10-£20 and £20 respectively.

Unsurprisingly with bigger blinds (and effectively two big blinds), the pots and ultimately average buy-in costs are higher for 25p/25p game. I've found giving players lots of lower denom chips makes for a looser game.

Your chip breakdown could influence the decision, especially using non-denominated chips with relatively new players. There's only so much 'how much is the green chip worth' I can take.

Also some of our players bitched about using quarters, as we don't have a 25p coin in the UK it can make for 'untidy' cashouts, was the argument. Moot point as funnily enough, every game when it comes to cashing out at 3am after several beverages, no one gives a rats ass about 25p either way.

I like the idea of getting more chips on the table. When we did a T10000 we had a lot each and it was a LAG fest. So I'm thinking if we can replicate this for the cash game it'll make for an entertaining evening.

 

[Ghoti]

I suggest 10/25 so you don't have to explain why the small blind is the same size as the big blind. To keep the game small limit the buyin amounts. Stacks matter a lot more than the stakes.

Lol. We play .25/.25 as well (and .50/1 for limit games) and I think I've explained 5 times already why the sb is the same as the bb.