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I just bought a 300 piece poker set and none of the pieces have a denomination on them. I have white (100 count), red (50 count), green(50 count), blue (50 count), and black (50 count) pieces.
I have about 6-12 people coming over this weekend to play. How should I break up the chips and have them be assigned? For value assignments I was thinking of: 10 (white), 25 (red), 50 (green), 100 (blue), 500 (black).
I've encountered several systems of marked denominations on poker chips...
The first is as follows, and is also what's listed at about.com:
White, $1
Yellow, $2
Red, $5
Blue, $10
Grey, $20
Green, $25
Orange, $50
Black, $100
Pink, $250
Purple, $500
Burgundy, $1000
Light Blue, $2000
Brown, $5000
The second is:
White $1
Red $5
Blue $10
Green $20
Black $100
and the third is
White $1
Red $5
Blue $10
Green $25
Black $100
a fourth is as follows, matching what's at EasyPokerChips.com:
White 1
Pink 2.5
Red 5
Blue 10
Green 25
Black 100
Purple 500
Yellow 1000
Gray 5000
This fourth has gray high, and pink at 2.5...
Wikipedia has a good article on "Gaming Tokens" - it explains the why of $20 chips vs $25 - 5% commissions are common in Pai Gao and Baccarat, and that is aided by use of a $20 chip rather than $25. It's not uncommon in a couple other games, including Roulette and Craps, to have 20:1 payouts, also facilitated by having a $20 chip.
There is no official color scheme for chip values, and it varies from venue to venue and by country or governing body if any (Nevada does not regulate chip colors). New Jersey does have a Gaming Control board that does regulate the chip colors. (I couldn't find an official link). These colors match up with many of the standard colors you find in home sets. This site lists the same NJ chip colors, and has some recommendations for chip distributions based upon the number of players, the gametype, and the small blind. They recommend you use whichever colors you prefer.
$1 - white
$5 – red
$10 – blue
$25 – green
$100 – black
The key to making this decision is if you are going to run a cash game, tournament, or both.
If it is a cash game the buy in and blinds will determine what the values are. If the buy in is $10, then there is no reason to have a $100 chip. The small blind/ante should determine the smallest value of the chip. In my own home game, standard buy in is $25 and the blinds are .25/.50. We have one color for .25, one color for $1, one color for $5, and another for $25. In your case I would use white as the $1 chip for this scenario as it is the most common color.
If you are running a tournament then the values you stated would work depending upon the blinds. My buddy has a poker clock that does the math for you on how long you want it to last, how many people you have and what chips each person gets.
Often times my group will run a tourney, then go to a cash game. As players get knocked out they join the cash game. For this scenario it is imperative to have two distinct sets. My cash game set uses blue, white, red and gray. My tourney set uses orange, black, green, and pink. By having two different sets, it helps keep the books better organized. No one mistakenly bringing over a tourney chip to use in the cash game.
I prefer chips without value because you can define your own game and change as needed.
