Chip denominations to encourage loose action...

[ChuckyB]

In my normal B&M 3/6 or 4/8 game I'll buy in for $200. My casino has white ($1) and red chips ($5).

Would there be any benefit in buying all $1 chips to help make pots look bigger? Could the physical dimensions of a pot make people more likely to play/call?

Anyone had any experience with this?

[thebeebster]

4/8s with reds are stupid. it actually slows down action because of the constant change being made. just buy two racks.

[Quadstriker]

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Would there be any benefit in buying all $1 chips to help make pots look bigger? Could the physical dimensions of a pot make people more likely to play/call?


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Yes. Good observation. Looks like there's more to shoot for, and encourages more action.

[Brokeski]

At my casino you don't even get a choice. The only time you get any 5 dollar chips is if you are playing no limit. And the only time there are 5 dollar chips or any of higher denomination in play they are usualy just from people bringing them to the table from the pit.

[n.s.]

Limit games should never be played with more than one color of chip, imo. Just buy 2 racks of whites and make everyone's life easier.

[allbad]

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Limit games should never be played with more than one color of chip, imo. Just buy 2 racks of whites and make everyone's life easier.

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agreed, although I don't like playing 4-chip games. My favorite limit experience is from No. Cal where there's only 3-chip games and just change the value ($1 for 3/6, $2 chips for 6/12, and so on and so forth). That way there's no confusion about "how many chips is it?" and the games are lightning fast.

Usually in 2-color games I just collect the reds and play with the whites anyway, so it's not *that* big of a deal.

[Doc]

I respectfully disagree. When I play 4-8, I get a rack of white and a stack of red so I can quickly get 16 or 24 out on the table. It's not logical, but I like to see at least one stack of color in my pile. I understand what you're saying about having to make change, but if I but out of white chips, I typically will buy another rack anyway.

Doc

[mothmandan]

If you only play limit (especially these low limits listed) then play with $1 chips. It makes life easier for everyone, and yes by only playing with $1 chips the pot looks big early and can help keep the action alive if there are a lot of inexperienced players in the hand.

From the dealer's prospective I find that whenever a stray $5 chip ends up in a limit game it either ends up as a card protector or gets used preflop as a large chip call. I do my best to try and drop them as the rake ASAP or have been asked to change them out in my tray if someone gets it and doesn't want it.

Tournaments and NL ring games would be a better arena to test this theory. Using larger chips when small ones are available may help choke action especially if the person using them has a big stack. It has been a while since I have done any reading but I seem to recall Phil Gordon mentioning something in the Little Green Book regarding this (physical dimensions).

Good players won't let chip color affect decisions because they are usually thinking in terms of numbers of big bets in the pot not the actual $ amount.

Dan's 2 cents

[thebeebster]

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I get a rack of white and a stack of red so I can quickly get 16 or 24 out on the table.

Doc

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if you do 20 stacks it's very easy. just add or take off four. besides, yelling RAISE while drunk and angrily formatting your four stacks of four is what 4/8 is all about. the speed and accuracy of your chip handling when raising is part of your image.

[ProfessorBen]

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Limit games should never be played with more than one color of chip, imo. Just buy 2 racks of whites and make everyone's life easier.

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Generally, I agree. However, soemtimes $1 are nice for certain blind/tip structures.