Home game guide
Chips are how Texas Hold'em keeps score: every bet, blind, and pot is just chips moving across the table. This guide covers everything a home game needs — what each chip color is worth, how many chips to give each player, how blinds and betting work, and how to settle up at the end. No chip set? You can run the same game with free digital chips in your browser.
Standard chip values and colors explained
Starting stacks that actually work for home games
Blinds, betting, and settlement without arguments
Most home sets follow casino color conventions. If your set differs, agree on values before the first hand and keep a note visible at the table.
| Chip color | Typical value | Common use |
|---|---|---|
| White | $1 | Small blinds and low-stakes bets |
| Red | $5 | The workhorse chip in most cash games |
| Blue | $10 | Mid-size bets |
| Green | $25 | Raises and bigger pots |
| Black | $100 | High-value chip, used for deep stacks |
| Purple | $500 | Rare in home games, common in casinos |
A good starting stack is 50–100 big blinds. For a casual $0.25/$0.50 home game, a $20 buy-in with the mix below plays comfortably for hours.
| Players | Chips per player | Suggested mix (T = chip value) |
|---|---|---|
| 2–4 | 50–75 chips | 20 × T1, 20 × T5, 10 × T25 |
| 5–6 | 40–60 chips | 15 × T1, 20 × T5, 8 × T25 |
| 7–8 | 35–50 chips | 10 × T1, 18 × T5, 8 × T25 |
| 9–10 | 30–40 chips | 10 × T1, 15 × T5, 6 × T25 |
Players
6-8 seats
Setup
15 minutes
After game
Share results
Decide the buy-in, give every player an identical starting stack, and record who bought in. Keep the bank (spare chips) away from play so rebuys stay clean. If players want different buy-ins, convert everything to the same chip values so stacks stay comparable.
The player left of the dealer posts the small blind and the next player posts the big blind — forced chip bets that start the pot. A common home structure is a big blind worth 1/100 of the buy-in. Move the dealer button clockwise after every hand so blinds rotate fairly.
To call, push chips equal to the current bet. To raise, you must at least double the current bet. Announce your action before moving chips: silently tossing a single big chip counts as a call under the one-chip rule, and pushing chips in stages (a string bet) is not allowed — declare the amount first.
Stack chips in piles of 20 by color so anyone can estimate your stack at a glance. You may always ask an opponent for a rough chip count. Never hide big-value chips behind smaller ones — most groups treat that as cheating.
When a player is all-in for less than the current bet, they can only win the main pot they contributed to; extra bets between remaining players form a side pot. This is the most error-prone chip math in home games — use a side pot calculator when three or more players are all-in.
In a cash game, players can rebuy from the bank at the agreed rate at any time between hands. When someone leaves, count their stack, record the cash-out, and check that total chips in play still match total buy-ins before continuing.
Count every stack, convert chips back to money, and compare against buy-ins. The winners' profits must equal the losers' losses — if the totals don't match, a rebuy went unrecorded. Tracking buy-ins during the game (or using a settlement calculator) avoids the end-of-night argument entirely.
You can play real-card Texas Hold'em without any physical chips: every player opens a free room link on their phone, and blinds, bets, pots, side pots, and settlement are tracked automatically. It's the same game — just without counting piles at midnight.
FAQ
01
Home cash games usually start each player with 50–100 big blinds, around 35–75 physical chips. For tournaments, a common starting stack is 5,000 in tournament chips with blinds starting at 25/50.
02
The standard convention is white $1, red $5, blue $10, green $25, and black $100. Home games can assign any values as long as everyone agrees before playing.
03
If you toss a single oversized chip into the pot without announcing a raise, it counts as a call — regardless of the chip's value. Always declare your action first.
04
Yes. You can use anything countable, or use free digital poker chips: each player joins a browser room on their phone while you deal real cards. Bets, pots, and settlement are tracked automatically.
05
The two players left of the dealer post forced bets (small and big blind) before cards are dealt. The blinds seed the pot and rotate clockwise every hand so everyone pays them equally over time.
06
Give each of the 6 players an identical stack — for example 15 × T1, 20 × T5, and 8 × T25 (T315 total). Keep leftover chips in the bank for rebuys.
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