Fellow pokermos: When you host home games, how do you handle chip denominations? We're doing NL microstakes .25/.50 with max $50 buy-in (we're all lower middle classmos, no rich lolyers here). I'm thinking .25, .50, $1, $2, and $5 chip amounts. Anybody have any thoughts or tips?

Also interested to see pics of other peoples setups if they've got em.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5617571&forum_id=2#48236536)

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5617571&forum_id=2#48236548)

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5617571&forum_id=2#48236544)

I'd prefer for people to have 100 BB to start, so it makes sense to do $50 buy-ins for a .25/.50 game. I'm considering allowing one additional buy-in but would be hesitant to do unlimited because I want to avoid people losing too much money and getting upset bc of it. Have you ever had any issues with that?

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5617571&forum_id=2#48236563)

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5617571&forum_id=2#48236641)

You can easily control game length with blinds.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5617571&forum_id=2#48236581)

(bow chicka wow woooowwww)

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5617571&forum_id=2#48236689)

point taken, though. maybe i'll just do 4 denominations. .25, 50, 1, 2

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5617571&forum_id=2#48236746)

if you were playing live 1/3 with a 100bb max buy-in and starting a new table, they're probably going to give you $280 in $5 chips and $20 in $1 or $290/$10.

i'd mirror that kind of set up with .25/50/1 and maybe designate a $5 chip if people rebuy/add-on and you need to conserve the small denoms. PLUS, people want to play with a good amount of chips in front of them.

what kind of cards are you going to use? i'd recommend having 2 decks to save time. unless you don't give a shit.

are you going to take a rake at all?

don't let people play on credit, even if everyone is friends or friends of friends or related or whatever. it will fuck you.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5617571&forum_id=2#48236993)

Noted about the chips. I figured out the math when I first got the set with the plan to use 5 denominations. I'll look at it again.

I have three new decks of cards- two came with my set of chips and I bought another deck as an extra.

I'm not taking a rake to start. Going to keep it very basic the first few games. I will be buying snacks and drinks for the group and asking everyone to chip in a few bucks for those, that's it. Also not allowing straddles, etc. After a few weekly games I will assess where we're at and potentially make changes.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5617571&forum_id=2#48237197)

this kind of thing is how i got my start. there were actually a shocking number of friend groups playing; the girls always hated it when an impromptu game would break out.

we played all kinds of games too, i have no idea where people learned them. i vividly remember a friend's dad coming downstairs and watching a couple hands before asking, "what the hell game are you playing?" somebody told him some ridiculous game, and he said, "Aww man, you guys are playing nigger poker..."

agree with no straddles.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5617571&forum_id=2#48237440)

The game we were playing when his dad walked in was something we called "buck-five" which was some stupid blind poker single draw game where you ante a dollar, draw, and then have to pay $5 to show, which can be raised by subsequent players. I don't even know if it's a real game. We stopped playing after his dad made fun of us.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5617571&forum_id=2#48240172)

i never understood why people run tournaments so often in house games. i guess because it's easier for accounting? but with venmo running cash games is simple.

tournaments suck. the worst part is that people bust out and then just have to stand around after the buy-in period. boring. and the rapidly increasing blinds makes the game much more luck based.

in a cash game everyone will always be playing. people can come and go as they please. the game can end whenever you want. you don't have to sit around playing heads up for 30min while several people watch. you don't have to YOLO with J10 just because the blinds are increasing. if someone has to leave, they can. if someone arrives late, it's nbd.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5617571&forum_id=2#48238090)

imagine you had a golf foursome, and every 6 holes one of the players was out of the game and had to just chill in the cart and drink beer. that's what a tournament is. by the 13th hole half the participants are just farting around watching the remaining players do what they wish they were doing.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5617571&forum_id=2#48238103)

i don't want a zillion transactions in my venmo for a weekly game. i'm asking everyone to bring cash and will text people the day-of to remind them. i live less than a 10 minute walk from multiple ATMs, so should be no problem. right now i have $125 in 10s, 5s, and 1s set aside to make change. keeping lots of small bills always on-hand will probably be one of the most annoying parts of running a cash game, but its a minor annoyance all things considered. i can always use venmo occasionally if i run out of specific bill denominations.

agree about tourney vs cash game. i do think a lot of people prefer playing the tourney style because mentally its easier for them to just pay a buy-in fee and then consider that money gone than it is for them to not overthink bet amounts mid-game. ("wow, this pot is $20, do i really want to call?" etc)

the table you built looks very nice. i wish i had a large, spacious home just for a game room, RIP.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5617571&forum_id=2#48239267)