Chip distribution calculator
How many chips of each colour should every player start with?
Poker chip counter
Type how many chips of each value you have; the total updates as you type.
Total: 0
Standard poker chip colours and values
There is no rule for home sets, but many follow the colours US casinos use. New Jersey, for example, fixes the primary colour of each casino chip by regulation (N.J.A.C. 13:69E-1.3): white $1, red $5, green $25, black $100, purple $500 and orange $1,000. If your set has different colours, keep the order: lighter colours for smaller values.
| Colour | Common value | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| White | 1 | Small blinds in low-stakes games |
| Red | 5 | Blinds and small bets |
| Green | 25 | Standard bets and raises |
| Black | 100 | Bigger bets, later levels |
| Purple | 500 | Tournaments with deep stacks |
| Orange (yellow in many home sets) | 1,000 | Late tournament levels |
How many chips per player?
A comfortable starting stack is 50 to 100 big blinds. With 5/10 blinds that is 500 to 1,000 chips in value. Shorter stacks make the game faster and more all-in; deeper stacks give more room to play.
In physical chips, each player needs about 20 to 50 chips, enough small ones to post blinds and make change. That is why chip sets come in these sizes:
| Chip set | Comfortable for |
|---|---|
| 300 chips | 4 to 6 players |
| 500 chips | 6 to 8 players |
| 750 to 1,000 chips | 8 to 10 players, or tournaments with re-buys |
Tips for choosing chip values
- Make the smallest chip equal the small blind. Anything smaller is never used; anything bigger forces change on every hand.
- Keep each colour 4 to 5 times the one below (5, 25, 100, 500). Fewer colours with big jumps cause change problems; tiny jumps waste colours.
- Give more small chips than you think. Running out of small chips is the most common home-game slowdown.
- Colour up as blinds rise. In a tournament, swap the smallest chips for bigger ones once the small blind outgrows them.
Skip the counting entirely
If the maths above is the part of poker night you dread, use virtual chips instead. With EasyPoker, every player's stack is an exact number on their own phone: no colours, no change, no counting at the end. How virtual poker chips work.