Thursday, December 23, 2004
How Many Poker Chips Do I Need for a Home Poker Game?
Been reading my referral logs, and I saw that someone found this poker blog by searching for how many poker chips do I need for a home poker game, so I thought I'd write about that a little bit. Heck--it's a good question. If you don't know how many chips you need, then you don't know. So here's some thoughts.
First of all--don't buy the plastic poker chips. (I'd be surprised if any readers of this blog would even consider it, but you never know who'll turn up here.) Plastic poker chips suck. It seems like a silly distinction to someone who hasn't played poker, but the fact is that lightweight, cheap plastic poker chips don't have any significance. They don't way anything, you don't feel them in your hand, and they're harder to take seriously. All of which leads to a lack of relevance and a lack of reverence.
Buy clay poker chips. You can get them almost anywhere on the internet now, including eBay, and they're available at nicer game stores. I've even seen decent sets of clay poker chips for sale at the drugstore. (Which is where I bought mine.)
You'll need no fewer than 500 chips of different colors. (And more is better. In fact--you can't have too many poker chips, IMO.) You should have about 150 each of red and white chips, and 100 each of green and black chips. Some sets might have different colors, but these colors are pretty standard. White chips are typically worth $1. Red chips = $5. Green $25 and black $100. Make sure everyone knows what the different colors are worth when they buy in.
So there's the short answer: you need 500 chips to host a home poker game. And while you're at it, buy some decent playing cards.
First of all--don't buy the plastic poker chips. (I'd be surprised if any readers of this blog would even consider it, but you never know who'll turn up here.) Plastic poker chips suck. It seems like a silly distinction to someone who hasn't played poker, but the fact is that lightweight, cheap plastic poker chips don't have any significance. They don't way anything, you don't feel them in your hand, and they're harder to take seriously. All of which leads to a lack of relevance and a lack of reverence.
Buy clay poker chips. You can get them almost anywhere on the internet now, including eBay, and they're available at nicer game stores. I've even seen decent sets of clay poker chips for sale at the drugstore. (Which is where I bought mine.)
You'll need no fewer than 500 chips of different colors. (And more is better. In fact--you can't have too many poker chips, IMO.) You should have about 150 each of red and white chips, and 100 each of green and black chips. Some sets might have different colors, but these colors are pretty standard. White chips are typically worth $1. Red chips = $5. Green $25 and black $100. Make sure everyone knows what the different colors are worth when they buy in.
So there's the short answer: you need 500 chips to host a home poker game. And while you're at it, buy some decent playing cards.
How Many Poker Chips Do I Need for a Home Poker Game? posted by Randy Ray @ Thursday, December 23, 2004 
