[dammitjim]

I think the $1000 chip is out of place in the typical tourney setup and should be replaced by a $2500 chip. Consider that from $5 on up, every consecutive denom is a multiple of 4 or 5 of the previous denom except $1000:

5 x 5 = 25
25 x 4 = 100
100 x 5 = 500
500 x 2(?) = 1000

And then you continue normally to $5000. Why not scrap the $1000 for a $2500 and skip $5000 and go to $10000. That gives you this:

5 x 5 = 25
25 x 4 = 100
100 x 5 = 500
500 x 5 = 2500
2500 x 4 = 10000

It would be nice to see some group buys offer a $2500. I almost got in on the WSOP chipco buy due to the 4 and 5x multiples on the upper denom chips.

[Wooderson]

I, frankly, am with you sir.

[Dimes]

In theory you are very right. But I guess the $2500 is found too difficult to work with. When you are in the thousands, the basic unit is $1000, and I think many people find it easier to start the 1-5-25 sequence from the beginning when they reach 1000. So instead of continuing 1-5-25-100-500-2500-10000, you reset and get two parallel systems

1-5-25-100-500
1,000-5,000-25,000 (...)

The idea of 1000 as a new unit (rather than 100 or 10000) is also reflected in the way thousands are sometimes separated from the rest of the number with commas. So in many ways a $500 - $2,500 - $10,000 - $50,000 sequence would be perceived more like a $0.50 - $2.50 - $10 - $50 sequence than like a $5 - $25 - $100 - $500 sequence.

That said, if you make a custom set and you for financial reasons would like to limit the number of denominations a $2500 chip could be an alternative to having both a $1000 and a $5000 chip.

Another possibility is to start from $1000 and $5000 and then adjust the lower denominations instead of the higher ones: ... - $50 - $250 - $1000 - $5000 - $25000. This could be an option for a high denomination set.

Instead of $25, $2500 etc, an option could be $20, $2000: 1-5-20-100-500-2000-10000-...

Finally you could also go with a scale that only have denominations starting with 1 and 5: 1-5-10-50-100-500-1000-5000-10000-50000.

TT

[dad604]

I think the reason to go from 1000 to 5000 is that the progression starts again at 1000. So therefore 1k, 5k, 25k, etc.

[dammitjim]

Originally Posted by dad604

I think the reason to go from 1000 to 5000 is that the progression starts again at 1000. So therefore 1k, 5k, 25k, etc.

That may be true, but it sure makes for an annoying color-up at the 1k mark.

[dammitjim]

Originally Posted by Dimes

In theory you are very right. But I guess the $2500 is found too difficult to work with. When you are in the thousands, the basic unit is $1000, and I think many people find it easier to start the 1-5-25 sequence from the beginning when they reach 1000. So instead of continuing 1-5-25-100-500-2500-10000, you reset and get two parallel systems

1-5-25-100-500
1,000-5,000-25,000 (...)

If someone can handle calculations with a $25 chip they should be able to handle the same calculations with a $2500 chip. If not, you defanitly want them in your game

As to the 1-5-25-100-500-1000-5000-25000 theory, most tournaments that I'm familiar with start at 5 or higher, not at 1. So you either get:

5-25-100-500-1000-5000-25000

or with a 2500:

5-25-100-500-2500-10000

The second setup seems to have the symmetry you were talking about. I think you're onto something that the 1k chip has a definite place in a high $$$ cash game. In a big tourney that encompasses low to high denoms, I think the $1k is out of place.

Maybe a better way to look at this problem is that a 1k chip is more of a cash game chip than a tourney chip.

[Dimes]

Originally Posted by dammitjim

If someone can handle calculations with a $25 chip they should be able to handle the same calculations with a $2500 chip.

We perceive large numbers in thousands, not in hundreds or ten thousands. $2500 is perceived as 2.5 x 1000, and a $2500 chips is thus as easy to calculate with as a $2.50 chip, i.e. not that easy at all. Even if $25 and $2500 in theory should be equally easy, they aren't.

When the numbers get even higher we think in millions (1000 x 1000) and billions (1000 x 1000 x 1000, at least in the United States). Obviously 1000 is the base of high denominations. That is why it is easier to calculate higher amounts when you reset the chip sequence at 1000 instead of continuing. The mathematical logic has to give way for practical use.

Originally Posted by dammitjim

In a big tourney that encompasses low to high denoms, I think the $1k is out of place.

Maybe a better way to look at this problem is that a 1k chip is more of a cash game chip than a tourney chip.

Most tourneys have a $1000 chip, (almost) none have a $2500 chip. And I can't see why a $1000 should not be a tourney chip, and why it should be better for cash games than tourneys. After all, I guess more people play with $1000s as tourney chips than as cash chips. That tourneys don't use $2500s are not because the organisers are idiots. They are just adjusting the chip denominations to our Western counting system. In a counting system where 100 and 10000 are more important base numbers than 1000, the 2500 chip might be better solution than a 1000 chip.

TT

[99%evil]

I got my pharaohs with an NCV orange just for this reason, now I can make it 2500 if it suits the specific tourneys needs. Of course I have a low denom set so it won't be used as 2500, more likely 100 or 50 or 20. I have two NCV chips (blue and orange) and 3 denom chips $1,$5,$25. Tossing in the NCV allow me to use my set for a wide variety of set ups. I do a T50 tourney with blinds starting at .25/.50. But with the NCV I can also do a T1000 if folks feel the need to announce larger bets.

[MeridianFC]

To be honest there's no reason to have a $1K (or higher) chip at all unless you're using only one set for cash and tourney.

Since most home cash games I'm familiar with wouldn't ever need a chip higher than $100 and tournies can be anything, like many of the above I'd do .25-$100 for all cash game contingencies and $500-$25K for tournies.

But it's your money you can do what you like.

[PocketRocket]

I think the tournament chips in some tournaments (like WSOP) go in 1/5/10/25/50K intervals, though in terms of cash chips in casinos that have high value chips, they'll usually go $1/5/25/100/500/1000/5000, with the $500/1000/5000 values in somewhat limited circulation.