[johanstrom]

hello. i'm ready to start up a serious homegame. until now i have had 11,5 coin inlay chips but that's all gonna change now.
our equipment so far is:
a poker table, round 8 seats
2 decks of cards, copag regular index
2 bags with a total of 600 11,5 coin inlay chips
dealerbutton.

what do you think i need for a serious game?
i'm in the making of buying 1000 faux clay chips. where can i buy a bag for them? can i use the old bags? do i need like a cutcard or something? thinking about little stools that people can have snacks and beverages on, is that something that's necessary? do i need more decks? is there something else i should have?

thanks /Johan

[links_slayer]

Originally Posted by johanstrom

hello. i'm ready to start up a serious homegame. until now i have had 11,5 coin inlay chips but that's all gonna change now.
our equipment so far is:
a poker table, round 8 seats
2 decks of cards, copag regular index
2 bags with a total of 600 11,5 coin inlay chips
dealerbutton.

what do you think i need for a serious game?
i'm in the making of buying 1000 faux clay chips. where can i buy a bag for them? can i use the old bags? do i need like a cutcard or something? thinking about little stools that people can have snacks and beverages on, is that something that's necessary? do i need more decks? is there something else i should have?

thanks /Johan

I'm not sure what kind of bag you are talking about, but there are a lot of decent 1000 chip cases out there (aluminum, "mahogany", oak, birdgage carrier, 4x25 racks....

A cutcard? Absolutely. They're a must in my opinion.

Snacks and beverage stools? I'd vote no. Snacks can be greasy and messy. Greasy and messy fingers are no good at the table. Drinks? Well....I have cupholders built in my table to minimize (although not completely eliminate) spills.

2 decks of cards should be fine for one table.

I gather from your other post that this is going to be primarily a cash game? For tourneys, a timer of some sort is necessary even if it's the timer on your microwave. A sheet displaying blinds would also be incredibly helpful.

[the3rd]

I would opt for a birdcage carrier. It is not the best option for on the go, but it has the benefit of chip trays. These make cashing out and keeping track of chips easier. If you don't travel much, you'll be fine. And they look cool.

It sounds like you might be raising the stakes from what you played previously. Print out a copy of Robert's Rules of Poker. Read over it thoroughly and add any house rules and etiquette you like. Do what is in the best interest of the game. Some players use strict adherence to the rules as a means to shoot angles.

[mattjrocks]

Get a case for your chips. You can use the Jokers for cut cards. The stand up TV trays work well for drinks, etc. and will keep spills off your table. Determine what stucture you want to play (starting chip stack) and find a blind progression chart here or on Homepokertourney. Kitchen timer, cash, players, and you're all set for home tournaments.

[dad604]

Have the right equipment such as table, cards, chips, etc. are nice but the main thing for a serious game is the players. As far as equipment goes, sounds like you are heading in the right direction with excellent cards, good table. As this is a chip forum, most members here will be chip oriented but for a good game you don't need expensive chips but having nice chips will add to the game.

Just my 2 cents worth.

[luckychick]

Sounds like you are doing okay for a set up. You can always upgrade if you want later. At this point, the only thing you *really* need is a plan.

Are you going to be playing cash games or a tourney? If you are playing a tourney you will need a good blind structure and a timer. People here are good about helping with that sort of thing.

Chip racks are a useful tool if you don't have a case; probably better than bags.

If you are playing a cash game, I really recommend a banker. This is usually the host, but not always. Having only one person take money, give out chips, and cash people out at the end really circumvents any major F* ups at the end.

The other thing I would recommend to have on hand is some rules. If you are the host, familiarize yourself with them first. Robert's rules of poker are commonly used; here is a useful printable version . Robert's rules covers tournaments, but if you want you can also check out the Tournament Director's Association version.

If you are playing with two decks, it is useful to have both in play simultaneously. We usually have the person who dealt the hand shuffle the cards (clean up your mess!), then pass them on to the SB, who will deal next time.

[johanstrom]

thank you all for you advice. in my first post i said 2 bags of chips, i'm from sweden so that was a little lingo problem, i meant cases =) and what i was wondering with that is will my new faux clay chips fit in the 11,5 gram dice cases?

the robert rules of poker tips was very helpful, so that we can reference to something if a problem arises.

like i said in the beginning. thanks everybody!

[bolgenmod]

Originally Posted by johanstrom

thank you all for you advice. in my first post i said 2 bags of chips, i'm from sweden so that was a little lingo problem, i meant cases =) and what i was wondering with that is will my new faux clay chips fit in the 11,5 gram dice cases?

the robert rules of poker tips was very helpful, so that we can reference to something if a problem arises.

like i said in the beginning. thanks everybody!

Of course, some tiny mistake in idiomatic usage is always the problem with a second language, thus the bag/case confusion.

Most chip cases are fairly standard in size so that almost all chips fit. There are a few oversized chips out there that do not fit standard cases, but dice-type chips and faux clay have similar diameters. The one thing you WILL find is that chips are often slightly different in their thickness. And most cases will actually fit a few more chips in a row than a standard number (for example, 53 chips might fit in a row instead of 50).

What we do with our cases is arrange them so that each row is most of a standard buy-in: 52 chips actually -- 40 reds, 12 blues. The buy-in also includes 3 blacks, but those don't fit in the rows, so I (or whoever is banking that night) just count those out after I give each player a row of chips. After I cash everyone out, I put the chips back in the cases just as they were (arranged in buy-ins) so they are ready for the next game.

But as others said -- the most important thing about the game is to have a GOOD TIME!!

[Captn_All_In]

Originally Posted by bolgenmod

Of course, some tiny mistake in idiomatic usage is always the problem with a second language, thus the bag/case confusion.

Lisa, I am sure that he understood all of that....




Now back to the topic....

You want to look into shipping for those faux clays if your from sweden and you still live there! You will pay 100 times thier cost in shipping overseas...


*Notice to all of you "real clay" lovers I didn't say 100 times what they are worth, because we ALL know that they worth 1000 times what we pay for them from DCG, I would say they are worth their weight in gold!!!

[johanstrom]

hehe i am actually quite skilled at understanding english, it's just grammar and sometimes word by word translations that sometimes mess things up a little. it's alot easier to read and understand english than to write or verbalize my thoughts in english.

yeah i know about the shipping cost. the price for 1000 chips is 45$ and the shipping to sweden is 270$, that's why i ordered them to my brother who's in houston now =) he'll bring them to me for alot less than 270$

i have started making cheese and sausage plates for our homegame now, it's a real success, and no sticky icky on the chips or cards because we use picks to eat from the plates