[R Deckard]

The game is cash 10¢/25¢ NLHE, $10-$25 buy-in. Mostly newbies, with two vets, and most bought in for $10.

For the first $10 of buy-in money, I handed out:
10 x 5¢
14 x 25¢
6 x $1
and $5 chips for any amount over $10.

During the game, the standard pre-flop opening bets were either: a limp (one 25¢ chip), a 4x BB raise (one $1 chip), or a 8x BB raise (two $1 chips). Nobody would bother picking up 3-5 25¢ chips to make the "normal" 3x-to-5x BB open raise. And then, because they were newbies, there would always be a couple weak "ehh, what the hell" callers of the big raises. Post-flop, betting would continue in increments of $1, sometimes with the $5 chips coming out.

Needless to say, I felt like the game didn't really play like a 10¢/25¢ game, and people were running out of money pretty quickly.

I'm thinking that the betting went like this because it is easier (both physically and psychologically) to just bet/call with one or two big chips vs. a stack of smaller ones.

So Plan A would be to not give out any $1 chips at all for the first $10 of buy-in, i.e.:
10 x 5¢
38 x 25¢
and additional amounts in $1 and $5 chips.

I'm hoping that this will "recalibrate" people's minds/hands into betting in increments of 25¢ vs. $1.

Plan B would be to scale the blinds and chips back a notch, to a 5¢/10¢ game, but I don't have many 5¢ chips (only 150).

Thoughts? Anybody else see this in their games?

[KYBill]

I think your correct in thinking that more low denom chips will encourage more betting in a cash game.

[Niagara_All_In]

Plus with more lower dem chips people wont see there stacks shorten as much and will be more compelled to play I think.

[Wylecoyo]

Wow, I usually see the exact opposite: players are more likely to keep calling when they have a ton of low value chips but tighten up when they have the same value amount but with fewer high value chips.

Most players in my weekly game hate it when I color up chips because they care more about the number of chips they have rather than the actual value of thier stacks.

[SpaceMonkey]

In cash games, you'll always see more action with more chips of smaller demoninations. For example, if you play 4/8 with $1 chips vs. $2 chips, you'll get more juicy action as the pots seem bigger.

Not giving out any $1 chips in your NL game should work. Playing 1/2 NL or 2/4 NL at casinos with redbirds, you always get preflop raises of 10, 15 or 20. You'll almost never see a raise to 6 or 7.

[dad604]

You have the right idea in switching to more low den chips. That is why casino poker rooms give you lots of the low denom chips.

[Captn_All_In]

Originally Posted by Wylecoyo

Wow, I usually see the exact opposite: players are more likely to keep calling when they have a ton of low value chips but tighten up when they have the same value amount but with fewer high value chips.

Most players in my weekly game hate it when I color up chips because they care more about the number of chips they have rather than the actual value of thier stacks.

Guys in my game say the same thing. I still give out higher denom chips....just to make then sweat!!

[PocketRocket]

Another option to consider with a 25¢ BB is a flat 25¢ blind for both the little blind and the big blind, forego the 5¢ chips altogether, and just start everyone off with 40 25¢ chips for a $10 buy-in, or 20 25¢ and 5 $1. And for a $25 buy-in, maybe 40 25¢ and 15 $1 chips, or 20 of each demonmination. Tourneys that start with a T1000 chip distribution often start with T25 for both blinds, moving to a 25/50 blind at the first increment, often starting with all T25 chips changing to T100 when the blinds reach 100/200. While it is understood that your game is NLHE, most cardrooms only use a single demonination on a table for limit games and that might also work for you as well given the structure of your game.

[Phaetos]

The amount of chips a person has in front of them is more condusive to them calling more often. We played last night a cash game of Dealer's Choice, everyone bought in for $5. We had 2 $1, 8 $.25 and 20 $.05. We play everything at 5/10 in cash games. Since the chip stacks "appeared" larger, there was more calling and openness going on, since everyone had more nickels to try and limp, which I took advantage of sometimes, when everyone tried to limp I raised. Great way to pick up about $.60 easy.

[Matthew]

This is definatly player specific and just like every thing else won't apply to everyone - but if someone bets with higher denomination chips - it can be a sign of strength. It's a psychological thing to want to hold the high denoms becasue they're worth more. A player betting with the low denoms may be willing to let them go and may not be expecting to get them back.