From time to time, we at The Poker Store get asked a very good question.
How many chips do I need to for my game? What denominations should I get?
The answer varies on how you play the game and with how many people.
Here are 2 basic ways of playing poker.
Tournament Style
Tournament style is when every player gets the exact same amount of chips and you play until 1 person remains. Usually the blinds would go up every 10-30 minutes. The way tournaments work is that every player Buys In for the same amount, lets say $10. And they all get the exact amount of tournament chips. Lets say $5,000 chips per player with the blinds starting at $25-$50. If there are 10 players you would usually pay out for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. If a player busts before a certain level you can allow rebuys or you cannot if you wish.
We like to recommend the following setup for a tournament.
150 - $25 Chips
150 - $100 Chips
75 - $500 Chips
75 - $1,000 Chips
50 - $5,000 Chips
This is a good way to play tournament for 10 players in a 500 Chips Poker Set.
Check out our tournament poker chips selection here
Cash Game Style
Cash game style is the natural form of poker. Where each player can buy in for any amount he wishes, capped by the game runner. Usually a small 25 cent 50 cent game might have a 50 dollar Max Buy In. Or a $1-$2 game would have a $300 Max Buy In. When you loose your chips you can always rebuy more. Its real money!
We recommend the following for a cash game setup
Small Stakes
.25 Cents - 100
.50 Cents - 100
$1 - 150
$5 - 100
$10 - 50
Mid Stakes
$1 - 200
$5 - 250
$25 - 50
High Stakes
$1-100
$5 - 300
$25 - 75
$100 - 25
Check out our cash games poker chip selection here
You can always email us for suggestions, just describe us your game and player count and we will give you an honest answer. I can't count how many times people came to me at our Dallas Poker Store with a 2000 chip order when they only play with 10 people. The honest joe that I am, I let them know that you don't need that many chips for your game! But you are welcome to buy that many if you desire :)
Contact us for suggestions on how to build your poker set, please email us, we check and respond to our emails 18hrs a day!
sales@thepokerstore.com