[SingleMaltFan]

starting a small poker group, for fun mostly...(a litlle profit i hope)

planning my chip purchase (trk-h/s k/c's)
how many players do you usually host?
we were planning 6, but how do you handle extras?

How many rebuys do i need to plan for in a cash game on average ...(ring=$10-25 max buy-in micro NLHE, using 25c-$1-$5, may have a non-denom avail for 10c small blinds))

do you do freezout or rebuy tourneys? and if so how many rebuys do you allow there (I was thinking $25 gets you 5000 in chips 25-100-500's, should give a decent stacked tourney, without being too cumbersome...right?)

i just have never been a host and my group is fairly inexperienced in these things...

1malt

[Matthew]

how many players do you usually host? 5-11
we were planning 6, but how do you handle extras? get more chairs and sit closer together (j/k)

How many rebuys do i need to plan for in a cash game on average ...(ring=$10-25 max buy-in micro NLHE, using 25c-$1-$5, may have a non-denom avail for 10c small blinds)) - this wholly depends on the players, we do .50/$1 NL holdem cash game initial buy in $20 or so and can get a few hundred in play - never more than $500. With .10/.25 blinds are you going to have more than $300 in play?

do you do freezout or rebuy tourneys? and if so how many rebuys do you allow there (I was thinking $25 gets you 5000 in chips 25-100-500's, should give a decent stacked tourney, without being too cumbersome...right?) - we do single rebuy tourney's $20 gets you 200 in chips - blinds start at 1/2 - starting stack = 100XBB. Otherwise what you have looks good, doesn't have your cash chips mixed with the tourney chips (no common denoms) and is the same ratio.

Good Luck and have fun!!! - Matthew

[jk2587]

Rebuys in a cash game aren't very predictable, but with 6 players you can probably count on at least 3 rebuys, and depending on how it runs even up to 10 rebuys.

I'd recommend checking out CaptLego's breakdown calculator, put in the buy in and whichever blind structure you want (I prefer 200xSB for a cash game), and press recommend. You'll probably want to tweak the numbers it gives you a bit but it's a great way to optimize the chips you're buying. You can also mess around with the number of players and rebuys to see how it will effect the number of chips you need.

[SingleMaltFan]

Originally Posted by jk2587

Rebuys in a cash game aren't very predictable, but with 6 players you can probably count on at least 3 rebuys, and depending on how it runs even up to 10 rebuys.

I'd recommend checking out CaptLego's breakdown calculator, put in the buy in and whichever blind structure you want (I prefer 200xSB for a cash game), and press recommend. You'll probably want to tweak the numbers it gives you a bit but it's a great way to optimize the chips you're buying. You can also mess around with the number of players and rebuys to see how it will effect the number of chips you need.

thats what i've been using, but dont want to buy more chips than necessary..so i dont want tooverdo the rebuy thing...

[CaptLego]

Rebuys are incredibly efficient, chipwise. Just hand them one or two big-denom chips, and have them make change at the table. (The breakdown calculator's Recommend calculations take this into account.)

The things that most affect the number of chips you need are: # of players, and # of starting chips per player.

Next, in order of influence are: Colorups (I'm still planning to improve the calculator's algorithms to make colorups more efficient); and the ratio of your buyin to small blind. For example if you specify the buyin= 100xSB, but have a buyin of 2000, then you'll need $5 chips, whereas with a tweak of the buyin to 2500 you could get along with a $25 chip as your min denomination.

But rebuys are really cheap, since it only takes a couple of chips per rebuy.

BTW: It's really great to hear that you guys are using the Breakdown Calculator. Let me know how it could be improved!

[SingleMaltFan]

Originally Posted by CaptLego

Rebuys are incredibly efficient, chipwise. Just hand them one or two big-denom chips, and have them make change at the table. (The breakdown calculator's Recommend calculations take this into account.)

The things that most affect the number of chips you need are: # of players, and # of starting chips per player.

Next, in order of influence are: Colorups (I'm still planning to improve the calculator's algorithms to make colorups more efficient); and the ratio of your buyin to small blind. For example if you specify the buyin= 100xSB, but have a buyin of 2000, then you'll need $5 chips, whereas with a tweak of the buyin to 2500 you could get along with a $25 chip as your min denomination.

But rebuys are really cheap, since it only takes a couple of chips per rebuy.

BTW: It's really great to hear that you guys are using the Breakdown Calculator. Let me know how it could be improved!

using larger denoms for rebuys in a cash game is fine, to a point i would imagine...then everyone clamoring to make change...i certainly dont want a casinos worth of small chips, but would like a mix of both "small change" rebuys and "big chip" rebuys....i have already planned and played with the color ups/buy in's (see OP)

my main reason for the post is to know ahead of time a "reasonable estimate" of the number of rebuys by asking you guys :
a) # of RB's you encounter in your home ring games and
b) how many you allow in your tourneys (single table, short field..6 or 8 max)

( i have not unlimited funds to buy nice chips, but at the same time dont want short stacks for all)

your calc has been super helpfull Capt keep up the good work...i think the color-up part is pretty effecient, no? i will keep an eye out for anything i may find helpfull...

one thing tho, what if your small blind and BB are not multiple of one another say 10c/25c??? how does your calc deal with that?

1malt

[CaptLego]

Originally Posted by SingleMaltFan

<snip> , but would like a mix of both "small change" rebuys and "big chip" rebuys....i have already planned and played with the color ups/buy in's (see OP)
<snip>
one thing tho, what if your small blind and BB are not multiple of one another say 10c/25c??? how does your calc deal with that?

1malt

I'm thinking that if your start each player in a cash game with a decent supply of chips, then there's no need to add more of those denoms with rebuys. You've still got the same # of players and the same blinds/stakes before and after a rebuy, right? So there should be plenty of chips on the table already to make change for the big rebuy chips. (Plus, it's a matter of pride for players to accumulate those big chips...)

As for the SB and BB thing, my calculator doesn't care what the big blind is. The small blind dictates the smallest denom you need. (Oflten, people will structure their tournament with the first round of blinds having SB=BB). That way, you can save a few chips.

[UW85]

I started with 8-12, it quickly grew to 30+ and a lot of people I didn't even know in my own house. I'm now running just two tables a month (18 people) and I never have an empty spot -- great friends, lots of help cleaning up, and no worries -- the big prize pools with 30+ was great but not worth the loss of that feeling you get when you and your buddies sit down and play cards.

Anyway, I NEVER do re-buys and never will. We have a standard $20 buy-in and sometimes go $30 with a shootout format (if you don't know what that is, ask me, it's a blast). I like the challenge of playing the cards you have and knowing you can't just run over and get more chips if you go out.

I also use D&D Tournament Poker (www.ddpoker.com) on the computer to run the blinds & times and prize pool -- it is a fantastic piece of software for under $30 (I think) and available all over the place. I also made up some "cheat" sheets on small cardstock that have the blinds AND the order of poker hands -- this was really important to get the new people on board and feeling good.

Finally for the # of chips -- your call -- if you like cash games you can get away with probably a smaller # but there's nothing like starting with 100K in chips and having pots worth a million or more!

Best of luck.

[SingleMaltFan]

new question at the end of post

Originally Posted by UW85

Anyway, I NEVER do re-buys and never will. We have a standard $20 buy-in and sometimes go $30 with a shootout format (if you don't know what that is, ask me, it's a blast). I like the challenge of playing the cards you have and knowing you can't just run over and get more chips if you go out.

oki'll bite...'splain "shootout"..i like your thought behind no tournament rebuys, but the question still remains for ring(cash) games...how many to plan on...

Originally Posted by UW85

I also use D&D Tournament Poker (www.ddpoker.com) on the computer to run the blinds & times and prize pool -- it is a fantastic piece of software for under $30

have the first version of this..fist poker "game" i bought..havent yet upgraded

Capt...re: enough chips on the table..yeah i guess i was thinking what if the chips get distibutd evenly among remaining players in the cash game, it will be harder to make change..(kinda a worst case scenario thing)...still on average, how many rebuys per nite per cash game should i plan on people buying into...(remember on average..cause i am sure someone isnt gonna need to rebuy...)

also..

new question comes to mind...


for cash games...do you do RB's when "empty" or fill up to max buy-in anytme or if under a set amount???

[UW85]

The way I do it -- you can tweak the numbers for your game.

Normal game, $20 each and the prize pool is based totally on this.

Shootout: $30 buy-in but the prize pool remains based on $20 each. The other $10 each person pays goes towards the "shootout". Meaning, each time a player takes out another (shoots them out) they get $10. So it's entirely possibly for someone to take out 4 or 5 or ? people and each time they do they get $10. A person might not place in the prize pool yet win back their buy-in or part of it -- just a fantastic way for more people to go away feeling like they didn't lose.

Twist One: Buy yourself a bounty chip or two. The person who wins the previous time you played has a "bounty" on his/her head of $10. This $10 comes out of the last place you pay-out from the normal prize pool. So if you had 4 places paying for example and 4th place was normally $20 bucks, they would only get $10, because you had to pay the bounty.

Twist Two: Show'em Chips. Great idea to spice up the regular game. Normal buy-in and in addition players can purchase a "show'em" chip -- for a $1 or $2 or ?? you want. How it's used: Let's say you're in a big pot with someone, they bet big and you go FOLD -- you can slide the winning player your show'em chip and that player slides his/her down cards over to you. You can see what he/she had but you don't show others. The show'em chip is now dead and taken off the table -- one time use and the player you slide it to cannot use it for themselves. This is a great way for the house to get a few bucks toward the many hidden costs of hosting games. There are many spins on how to use the bounty or show'em chips.

OK, how's that for being long winded? Hope it helps