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Otherwise the poker player with the most money would always win if he bet all his chips, and it wouldn’t be a very enjoyable game. When a player puts all his chips into the pot he is said to be “all-in”. Although the chip leader has 60% of chips in play, the poker ICM dictates that the value of his stack is just $410 (41% of the total prize pool). Likewise, the shortest of the three stacks are valued at $280, $80 more than the third-place payout, because he also has a chance to finish higher.
A Texas hold 'em match in progress. Hold 'em is a popular form of poker in the USA.
Poker is a game which people play with a normal set (or deck) of 52 cards. Poker is a gambling game which involves some luck, but also some skill. In poker, players make bets against each other depending on the value of their poker hand. Bets are usually made with plastic or ceramic discs called chips. Bets may also be made with real money, but chips are more often used because they are easier to handle and count. At the end of the game, players either swap their chips for money, or the chips are counted to determine the order of winners.
There are many different kinds of poker. In draw poker, each player is dealt five cards. A player can decide to throw away a number of these cards and then take (draw) new cards to replace them.
In stud poker (for example, seven-card stud), some of each player's cards are laid (face-up) on the table so that the other players can see them. In community card poker (for example, Texas hold 'em), players share some of their cards in the center of the table.[1]
History[change | change source]
The history of poker is a matter of some debate. The name of the game likely descended from the Frenchpoque, which descended from the Germanpochen ('to knock'), but it is not clear whether the origins of poker itself lie with the games bearing those names. It closely resembles the Persian game of as nas, and may have been taught to French settlers in New Orleans by Persian sailors. It is commonly regarded as sharing ancestry with the Renaissance game of primero and the French brelan. The English game brag (earlier bragg) clearly descended from brelan and incorporated bluffing (though the concept was known in other games by that time). It is quite possible that all of these earlier games influenced the development of poker as it exists now.
English actor Joseph Crowell reported that the game was played in New Orleans in 1829, with a deck of 20 cards, four players betting on which player's hand was the most valuable. [2] Jonathan H. Green's book, An Exposure of the Arts and Miseries of Gambling (G. B. Zieber, Philadelphia, 1843), described the spread of the game from there to the rest of the country by Mississippiriverboats, on which gambling was a common pastime.
Soon after this spread, the full 52-card English deck was used, and the flush was introduced. During the American Civil War, many additions were made, including draw poker, stud poker (the five-card variant), and the straight. Further American developments followed, such as the wild card (around 1875), lowball and split-pot poker (around 1900), and community card poker games (around 1925). Spread of the game to other countries, particularly in Asia, is often attributed to the U.S. military.
The game and jargon of poker have become important parts of American culture and English culture. Such phrases as ace in the hole, beats me, blue chip, call the bluff, cash in, pass the buck, poker face, stack up, up the ante, when the chips are down, wild card, and others are used in everyday conversation even by those unaware of their origins at the poker table.
Modern tournament play became popular in American casinos after the World Series of Poker began in 1970. It was also during that decade that the first serious strategy books appeared, notably The Theory of Poker by David Sklansky (ISBN1880685000), Super System by Doyle Brunson (ISBN1580420818), and The Book of Tells by Mike Caro (ISBN0897461002).
Poker’s popularity has experienced an unprecedented spike in recent years, largely due to the introduction of online poker and the invention of the hole-card camera which finally turned the game into a spectator sport. Viewers can now follow the action and drama of the game, and broadcasts of poker tournaments such as the World Series of Poker and the World Poker Tour have brought in huge audiences for cable and satellite TV distributors.
Game play[change | change source]
Royal Flush in hearts
The game of poker is played in hundreds of variations, but the following overview of game play applies to most of them.
Depending on the game rules, one or more players may be required to place an initial amount of money into the pot before the cards are dealt. These are called forced bets and come in three forms: antes, blinds, and bring-ins.
Like most card games, the dealer shuffles the deck of cards. The deck is then cut, and the appropriate number of cards are dealt face-down to the players. In a casino a 'house' dealer handles the cards for each hand, but a button (any small item used as a marker, also called a buck) is rotated among the players to determine the order of dealing and betting in certain games. In a home game, the right to deal the cards typically rotates among the players clockwise, but a button may still be used.
After the initial deal, the first of what may be several betting rounds begins. Between rounds, the players' hands develop in some way, often by being dealt additional cards or replacing cards previously dealt. During a round of betting, there will always be a current bet amount, which is the total amount of money bet in this round by the player who bet last in this round. To keep better track of this, it is conventional for players to not place their bets directly into the pot (called splashing the pot), but rather place them in front of themselves toward the pot, until the betting round is over. When the round is over, the bets are then gathered into the pot.
After the first betting round is completed (every participating player having called an equal amount), there may be more rounds in which more cards are dealt in various ways, followed by further rounds of betting (into the same central pot). At any time during the first or subsequent betting rounds, if one player makes a bet and all other players fold, the deal ends immediately, the single remaining player is awarded the pot, no cards are shown, no more rounds are dealt, and the next deal begins. This is what makes it possible to bluff.
At the end of the last betting round, if more than one player remains, there is a showdown in which the players reveal their previously hidden cards and evaluate their hands. The player with the best hand according to the poker variant being played wins the pot.
Hands[change | change source]
The following are poker hands, from best to worst:
- Straight flush: Five cards of the same suit in sequence (if those five are A, K, Q, J, 10; it is a Royal Flush)
- Four of a kind: Four cards of the same rank and any one other card
- Full house: Three cards of one rank and two of another
- Flush: Five cards of the same suit
- Straight: Five cards in sequence (for example, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
- Three of a kind: Three cards of the same rank
- Two pair: Two cards of one rank and two cards of another
- One pair: Two cards of the same rank
- High card: If no one has a pair, the highest card wins
Poker Chips[change | change source]
Poker chips are small disks. They made by various materials including molded plastic, colored metal molded clays. They are used in table games as play money. Modern poker traces its roots towards the 1800s, and in those days, players used what you could to help keep a tally. Coins, gold dust and nuggets were used until they considered replacing with something which would indicate them. Thus, the casino chips happen to be introduced within the gambling business.
Poker rooms started using casino chips to simply manage the cash and then collect charges. In those days, casino chips were created of ivory, bone, paper wood. However, the most generally used chips were created of composite clay. One problem made an appearance due to the developing casino chips which was cheating. Some players considered sneaking some chips in their hands. To avoid this, manufacturers created differentiated disks. Consequently, a range of styles was created. With time, other manufacturers could use many other materials for making casino chips, for example, plastic and metal.[3]
Poker variations[change | change source]
References[change | change source]
- ↑Reuben, Stewart 2001. Starting out in Poker. London: Everyman/Mind Sports. ISBN 1-85744-272-5 Basic teaching text, explains terms, gives advice.
- ↑'poker betting> Poker Betting'. sbo360. Retrieved 2017-06-11.
- ↑'poker-teacher.net > Poker Chips'. poker-teacher.net. Retrieved 2018-08-10.
Retrieved from 'https://simple.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Poker&oldid=7048609'
If you are setting up a poker home game and want to know what each chip is worth and how many to give to each person, you have come to the right place. I have been a poker tournament player for over 10 years and can give you solid answe rs.
What are the poker chip values for home games?
- White or Gray – $1
- Red – $5
- Blue – $10
- Green – $25
- Black – $100
- Purple – $500
- Yellow – $1,000
- Pink – $5,000
- Orange- $10,000
While these are the traditional values assigned for poker chips, what denominations you use can be tailored for whatever type of game you happen to be playing. The rest of this article will cover everything you need to know about optimizing your poker home game so that your friends will think you are a pro.
What Values for Common Chip Sets?
The traditional chip values for each color were established by casinos to represent real money. In other words, a blue chip at a casino can be traded in for a $10 bill.
Nowadays, this system doesn’t make a whole lot of sense for home games unless you happen to be playing a high stakes cash game.
Most people either play cash games for small amounts of money, where the highest denomination is something like $5. Or, they play a tournament.
Setting Up Cash For Games
In cash games, your chips count as actual money and there is no prize pool. If you run out of chips you are out of the game unless you reload. This format is the easiest to organize and play, since you don’t have to worry about a tournament clock or rising blind levels.
Cash Game Chip Values
If you are using your poker chips to play a home cash game, I recommend just following the traditional rules. White is $1, red is $5, blue is $10, green is $25. This will cover you for games up to $2/$5 blinds.
If you want to play higher stakes, say $5/$10 or $10/$20, you will need black and possibly purple chips. Or, you can just convert the white chips to $100 and red to $500 if your set does not contain black and purple.
How Many Poker Chips Do We Need for Cash Games?
A good rule of thumbs is to figure that you need at least 50 chips for every person in the game.
If you have 6 or more players, you will definitely want to invest in a 500 piece set, like this inexpensive one (Click to see Amazon Listing).
If you want to customize the denominations of an individual poker chipset, you will likely need to get a higher-end brand, like my absolute favorite chipset.
How Many Poker Chips per Person? What Do They Start With?
In cash games, poker players may buy in for as much as they want. If you want to set a minimum or a maximum, that is fine. A 20 big blind(bb) minimum and a 100bb maximum are common.
Here are the chip distributions for common stack buy-in sizes:
$1.00/$2.00 Blinds
$2.00/$5.00 Blinds
$5.00/$10.00 Blinds
$10.00/$25.00 Blinds
What If We Want to Play Smaller Stakes?
If you want to play a small friendly game, feel free to play as low as you want. For example, you could make chips worth the following:
- White – $0.10
- Red – $0.25
- Blue – $1.00
Here is a good distribution for playing .10/.25 blinds. For a friendly game, I recommend playing with 40 big blind stacks of $10 each:
$0.10/$0.25 Blinds
By choosing to play 40bb each, no one would be likely to lose more than $50 in a typical night. I included the 100bb distribution if you prefer deeper stacked play.
Tournament Setup & Starting Stack Distributions
Tournaments are actually a fairly recent invention that has grown immensely in popularity since Chris Moneymaker won the World Series of Poker in 2003. Now, it’s the most common poker format played in home games.
The great thing about tournaments is that it’s easy to limit the amount you can lose in a session. If it’s a $10 buy-in that’s all you can lose for the events. Just throw your money in a hat and play.
Tournaments do, however, take a bit more organization and maintai ence from the host. You have to:
- Setup and decide on the prizes
- Manage the rising blind levels
- “Color up” the chips as the blinds go up
Poker Tournament Chip Values
If you decide to play a poker tournament and want to be able to play more than 5 or 6 blind levels, then you will need at least 4 chip colors. Most chip sets now come with at least red, white, green, and black.
Here is a simple and flexible chip value system commonly used in live poker tournaments:
- Red – $25
- White – $100
- Green – $500
- Black – $1,000
- Pink – $5,000
This distribution will work perfectly in most events with less than 30 people.
If you get to the point where $5,000 or $10,000 chips are needed, you can just bring $25 chips back into play and change them to whatever is needed. Or, if you have a 5th color, usually either black or pink, you can designate them as $5,000 or $10,000 chips.
How Many Poker Chips Are Needed for Tournaments?
Tournaments tend to require fewer chips per person since the chips are usually worth more each. Even so, a common 300 piece set will still only accommodate up to 6 players. It is definitely worth your while to have at least a 500 piece set for every 9 people that will be playing.
I did some research and found a really good inexpensive 500-piece set (Click for Amazon price). I would suggest getting one of these for every 9-person table you are hosting.
What If My Chip Set Only Comes with Three Colors?
Some of the cheaper chips sets come with three colors. Usually, you get white, red, and blue.
For tournaments, if you only three chip colors you will want to assign them as follows:
- Red – $25
- White – $100
- Blue- $500
If you have different colors, use the same values but just assign them to whatever color you want.
How Many Poker Chips per Person?
For most home game tournaments, a solid option is to have each player start with 3,000 chips using the following distribution:
- 8 Red $25 Chips
- 8 White $100 Chips
- 2 Green $500 Chips
- 1 Black $1,000 Chips
This will have each player starting with 60 big blinds. I find this amount to be a good balance between having enough room to play without having the event take too long.
What If We Want to Play Deeper Stacked?
If you want to play a deeper stacked tournament and have enough chips to go around, I recommend starting with $10,000 chips each with the following distribution:
- 8 Red $25 Chips
- 8 White $100 Chips
- 8 Green $500 Chips
- 5 Black $1,000 Chips
What blind levels should we play?
Based on the recommended chip distributions, here is a solid blind level schedule:
Helpful hint: If you want a deeper stacked feel to the tournament but don’t have many chips, just play a standard 3,000 stack with longer blind levels. Instead of the usual 15 or 20-minute blind levels, you might play 30 or 45-minute levels.
How Long Should Blind Levels Be?
For most home games, I advocate never having blind levels higher than 20 minutes. 15 minutes is a really popular choice. Even 1 table events will still last a couple of hours using this speed.
If you want a fast event, go with 10-minute levels. In live play, 5 minutes is difficult to maintain and it will only allow 2-3 hands per blind level.
When Should I Color up the Chips?
Here is a good schedule for removing smaller chips and introducing a larger denomination:
What Is a Good Tournament Prize Schedule?
For friendly home poker tournament games, I recommend a fairly wide distribution of prizes. Therefore, I suggest paying out at least 1/3 of the field. Here is an example payout structure:
Final Thoughts
Hopefully, I have given you all the information you need to get set up for your poker home game. If I missed anything please be sure to let me know in the comments and I will get it added.
Also, if you need more help planning your poker event, be sure to check out my article on hosting the perfect poker night. And don’t forget to use high-quality playing cards, they’ll take your game to the next level. Thanks for stopping by!
Related Products
If you want to really add class to your home poker games, here are a few products that I recommend:
Best Poker Chip Sets
- Copag Playing Cards– My favorite premium brand of playing cards. Trust me on this, don’t use those cheap Bicycle cards anymore.
- Octagon Folding Table– For smaller games with 5 players or less.
- Oval Poker Table– For games with 6 or more players.
- Heavy Duty Folding Chairs– These will fit any size player up to 600 pounds. I come from a rather “large” family if you catch my drift. Make sure you have good solid chairs to prop them up.
Related Questions
What is a short stack in poker? A short stack if poker is usually any chip stack that is 40 big blinds or lower. 50 to 100 big blinds is a mid stack , while greater than 100 big blinds is usually called a deep stack.
What poker table shape is best for home games? The best poker table shape for a home game varies based on how many players you are hosting. You will also need to factor in the size of the space you are fitting the table into. A safe bet is to buy an oval-shaped table. They usually seat at least 6 players comfortably and come in a variety of sizes.
Poker Chips Set
How many buy-ins should I take to a poker game? When going to a casino or home game to play poker, it is usually a good idea to take at least 3 buy-ins for the stake you intend to play. However, it is a personal decision as to how many buy-ins you can stand to lose in one session. Limiting the amount of money you can lose in a poker session is known as setting a “stop-loss.”