1. Starting Poker Chip Count
2. Clay Poker Chip Sets
3. Poker Starting Chips 3 Players
4. Poker Starting Chips 4 Players
5. Poker Starting Chip Count

Note about poker chips - Chip weights may vary from their stated weight. Weights could be slightly lighter or heavier. This is something that will be hardly noticeable and not affect the playability of the chip. Chip colors may also vary from one manufacturing batch to another. If you are wanting to purchase a large quantity of chips, we would recommend purchasing them all at the same time. We do not recommend purchasing chips over time, the colors may not match.

It is best to have the total starting chips per player to be around 1,000-1,500 because this is what most tournament players are used to. Most poker chip sets will come with an uneven number of chips of. It is best to have the total starting chips per player to be around 1,000-1,500 because this is what most tournament players are used to. Most poker chip sets will come with an uneven number of chips of each color. For example, a typical 500-chip set may give you 300 white chips, 100 blue chips, and 100 red chips.

Once you start looking around for chips, you will realize that there are many choices. You will find chips with denominations, chips with no denomination, bulk chips, chips in sets and they all come in several colors and are made with different materials.

What chips are right for you? Are you on a budget? Looking for quality? Do you play tournaments, cash games, or both?

Chip Bundles - Bundles are just bulk chips. Most of the chips come in bundles of 25 chips. Some do come in bundles of 50 chips.

Chip Sets - All of our chip styles are available in a variety of set sizes. Getting a set is the more cost effective way of purchasing chips. Most of the sets are available in sizes from 300 to 1000 chips. The cases are aluminum, wood, acrylic and chip carriers. Cases styles are not available in all sizes.

What are poker chips made with?

You will find three types of materials; composite (plastic), clay and ceramic. The composite are usually the most economical, but not always. The clay have a wide range in quality and the ceramic are casino grade.

Composite – They are made from a compressed PVC material. These chips are strong and will last a long time. The edges will not wear down. These chips are a popular choice for poker leagues, were they get a great amount of use. These chips are generally less expensive too, but not always. These chips have a slippery feel.

Clay - Most casinos use clay chips. Clay chips come in a wide range of quality and costs. Clay chips have composite materials in them to add strength and durability. Less expensive clay chips generally contain more composite materials in them. Clay chips edges will begin to wear and become rounded, giving them a great feel. Clay chips have a less slippery feel to them. They have a “soapy” feel and tend to stack much better than composite.

Ceramic – a ceramic have the unique feature of having the graphics being part of the chip. Several casinos use ceramic chips. These chips are generally more expensive.

Chip Weight - Most chips sold range between 8 and 15 grams; with the most popular weight being the 14g poker chips. When the poker boom began in the early 2000’s, the 11.5g chips were the first poker chips widely available and there were just a few chip styles to choose from. Then the 13.5g poker chips hit the market and they were made with a clay material. Most recently, the 14 and 15 gram chips have become the heavy weights of the poker chip world.

Many people think that the heavier the chip, the higher the quality of the chip. This is not true, the heavier chips weigh more because there is a metal insert inside of them; the more metal, the heavier they are. 10 grams is the weight of most casino chips.

The weight of a chip is just personal preference. So pick a chip that feels the best to you, has a look you like and one that fits in your budget.

Chip Denominations - About half of our chips have denominations on them and half do not. Whether you have denominations or not is a personal preference.

Denominations – The benefit of denominations is that it eliminates any confusion of the value of the chips. Most chip styles have denominations of $1, $5, $10, $25, $50, $100, $500, $1,000, $5,000 and $10,000. Some sets include chip denominations that are under $1 and over $10,000. You will also find some denominational chip styles that have no dollars sign. These chips have the flexibility to be us as dollar or cent chips.

No Denominations – The benefit of non-denominational chips is that it gives you flexibility. Any color can equal any value. For example, if you play both tournaments and cash games, the chip values needed for each game can be different.

How many poker chips do you need?

The most important aspect to take into consideration is how you will be using the chips. If you are going to be using them for cash games, then that is different compared to using them for tournament play. When using chips for cash games, you will only need a couple of chip colors or maybe even just one color of chip. While tournament play will use three, four or maybe five chip colors; depending on the number of players in the tournament.

Tournaments – The number of chips you will need for a tournament is typical about 50 per person. The number of colors you will need depends on how big of tournaments you run. Smaller tournaments up to about 12 people, you could use just three colors. From 12 to 25, you will want to use at least four colors. From 25 to 100, you will want to use at least 5 colors.

Cash Game – When playing a cash game you generally want about 50-80 chips per person. As far as chip colors go, you could do the whole set one color, but you may want one or two other colors too.

If you’re asking yourself “How many poker chips do I need?”, you’ve probably decided to buy a set of chips to run your home cash games or tournaments. Well, you’ve come to the right place.

When you consider buying a new set of premium poker chips, the first thing you need to consider is how many chips you need. The answer is: it depends! Yeah, I know, you wanted a more specific answer than that, but if it was that easy you wouldn’t need to search for the answer now would you?

What Kind of Game Are You Hosting

One of the first things to consider is what kind of poker game are you planning on hosting? Are you hosting T100 or T10,000 tournaments, structured Hold’em games in your basement, or just general use for whatever card games you want to play? It all makes a difference. The optimal set of chips for a T10,000 tournament may be completely different than the optimal set of chips for a $10 home game. A no-limit game is also different than a limit game, and must be taken into consideration. Also, using the chips for other games, like Blackjack, may require additional consideration. You need to start by looking at what you intend on doing with the set before spending your money on something that is not right for you. In general, a tournament set will require more chips per person, and a lower number of colors. A home cash game, on the other hand, will usually require less chips per person, but may also require a wider range of colors or values.

Denominations

What denominations do you need? Do you need denominations at all? Most people like to have a nice set of chips with denominations. A home game just feels better with a good set of chips with nice graphics and denominations. You can also have a set of plain chips that can be used for whatever game value you are playing. Here are some things to consider:

• Chips without denominations can be used for home cash games, as well as tournament play, without needing extra chips for low value or high value denominations.
• Some chips simply have a number denomination, without the dollar sign ($). These can be used for either dollar or penny chips so that the “5″ can be five dollars or five pennies.
• Chips with denominations can always represent different values by dividing or multiplying the face value. A $5 chip can always be used for $.05.
• You can usually buy low value and high value chips with a high quality chip set. If it is that important for you to actually have $.01 chips, you can buy them.

Starting Poker Chip Count

• 150 – $1 – White
• 100 – $5 – Red
• 100 – $25 – Green
• 100 – $100 – Black
• 25 – $500 – Purple
• 25 – $1,000 – Yellow

Chip Colors

If you are buying non-denominational chips, it is best to follow the standard colors. You can also post a chart near your game table to let everyone know the chip values. Common chip color values are:

• White (1)
• Blue (2)
• Red (5)
• Green (25)
• Black (100)
• Purple (500)
• Yellow (1,000)

So, How Many?

OK, we’ve held you around here long enough. There is clearly a lot of math that can be done to determine the exact breakout of chip colors/denominations based upon tournament games, buy-in, and size, but you are looking for some guidance. This is general guidance, and not law.

If you are planning on mainly hosting tournaments, you will need fewer colors/denominations based upon your tournament structure. A good general rule of thumb is to have a 4/3/2/1 distribution of chips. You want more of the lower value, and less of the higher value chips. So, if you were to buy a 1,000 piece set, you may have the following breakdown:

• 400 – Red (lowest denomination)
• 300 – Green (lowest x 5)
• 200 – Black (lowest x 20)
• 100 – Purple (lowest x 100)

If you plan on playing a lot of cash games, you may be able to go to a 2/2/1 split: In addition, you may want to consider purchasing white ($1) and blue ($2) chips. These chips are used more in cash games and much less in tournament play

Clay Poker Chip Sets

• 400 – Red (White)
• 400 – Green (Blue)
• 200 – Black (Red)

This can vary, of course, depending on the game. If you plan on using your chip set for a variety of games, including games like blackjack or craps, you may want some additional colors as well to handle the diversity.

T1000 Tournament – 41 chips per player

• 20 – Red
• 16 – Green
• 5 – Black
• Plus, have some purple chips around for re-buys and color-ups.

T10000 Tournament – 46 chips per player

• 20 – Green
• 15 – Black
• 6 – Purple
• 5 – Yellow
• Plus, have some grey (5,000) chips around for re-buys and color-ups.

General home use (multiple games)

Poker Starting Chips 3 Players

If you are getting a set for general home use, to play multiple different games including poker, blackjack and others as well as multiple game values, here is a general guideline for the number of chips needed. You will want to have about 75-100 chips per person, and a wider variety of colors available for versatility.

• 1-3 players – 300-400 chips
• 3-4 players – 400-500 chips
• 5-6 players – 500 -600 chips
• 6-8 players – 600 -800 chips
• 8-10 players – 800 – 1000 chips

Poker Starting Chips 4 Players

The standard chip set breakdowns that you will find are fine for your general games, and usually carry more than the standard 4-5 colors for tournament play. This will provide an overall chip set that is useful for multiple purposes. If you find that you need additional quantities of individual colors, you can always order more of them later.

Poker Starting Chip Count

DK Outlet carries a large selection of casino quality poker chip sets in all sizes and colors. Stop in today and buy a set for yourself.