Tools / Chip Distribution Calculator
Poker chip distribution calculator
Tell it what's in your chip case and it works out each player's starting stack. Free, no sign-up!
In short
Give each player 20-30 chips, with plenty of the smallest value. For 9 players with a standard 500-chip set and a 10,000 stack, that's 8 white (25), 8 red (100), 8 green (500), 5 black (1000).
Your chip set
ColourValueHow many
Give each player 29 chips worth 10,000
| Colour | Each player | Worth | Left in the box |
|---|---|---|---|
| White (25) | 8 | 200 | 78 |
| Red (100) | 8 | 800 | 78 |
| Green (500) | 8 | 4,000 | 28 |
| Black (1,000) | 5 | 5,000 | 5 |
| Blue (5,000) | 0 | 0 | 50 |
This set can deal the same stack to up to 25 players. Keep the chips left in the box for rebuys, add-ons and making change.
The calculator tries every way to make the stack from your set and picks the one closest to 25 chips, with at least 8 of the smallest chip and a few of each colour used, and no chip worth a quarter of the stack.
Common questions
- How many chips should each player start with?
- About 20 to 30 chips. Fewer and players can't make change; more and stacks get slow to count. Give plenty of the smallest chip, because the early blinds are paid in it.
- What's a good starting stack for a home game?
- 100 big blinds at the first level is a good default: for example 10,000 chips with 50/100 blinds. With 20-minute levels that plays for about four hours with 8-10 players.
- How do I split a 500-chip set for 9 players?
- With the usual 150 white (25), 150 red (100), 100 green (500), 50 black (1,000) and 50 blue (5,000), a 10,000 stack is 8 white (25), 8 red (100), 8 green (500), 5 black (1000). That's 29 chips each.
- What do the chip colours mean?
- There's no fixed rule at home: use whatever values your set has and say them out loud before you start. Casinos usually use white or blue for 1, red for 5, green for 25 and black for 100.
Running a home game? The rest of the kit
- Blind structureLevels that finish when you want them to.
- PayoutsSplit the prize pool, rounded to real money.
- ICM dealWhat each stack is worth if you chop.
Need a timer on the night? BlindClock is a free blind clock for iPhone and iPad.