Poker Chip Values Explained: Colours, Stacks and Setups
You open a new set, pour the chips on the table and the first question is always the same: what is each chip worth? Poker chip values decide how smoothly your game runs. With the wrong mix you run out of small chips after three hands, or you spend the night making change. In this guide we explain the common poker chip colour values, how to assign values to chips without printed numbers, and give you ready-made stacks for a home tournament and a cash game.
Short answer: there is no official standard, but the most common poker chip values are white = 1, red = 5, green = 25, black = 100 and purple = 500. Give every player more small chips than big ones, about 30 to 50 chips each. The easiest option is a set with values printed on the chips, such as the Ultimate 300 for tournaments or the Ceramic Crown 300 for cash games. Then nobody has to remember which colour is worth what.
Poker chip values at a glance
Many home games and card rooms follow roughly the same colour order. Use this table as a starting point if your chips have no printed values:
| Chip colour | Common value | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| White | 1 | Small blinds and small bets in a cash game |
| Red | 5 | Standard bets and raises |
| Blue | 10 | Used in some home games between red and green |
| Green | 25 | Bigger bets, or the smallest chip in a tournament |
| Black | 100 | Big pots and later tournament levels |
| Purple | 500 | Deep stacks and higher tournament levels |
| Yellow or orange | 1,000 | Late tournament stages |
Colours vary between casinos, chip series and countries, so treat this as a convention rather than a rule. Agree on the values before the first hand and write them down if needed. Prefer to skip the discussion altogether? Choose chips with values on them from our poker sets.
Poker chips with values or without?
Both work well. The question is how you play.
Chips with printed values
Chips with denominations show their value on the inlay, so every player can read a stack at a glance. That makes betting faster and prevents mistakes, especially with new players or in tournaments where the blinds go up. Many of our sets come with printed values: tournament values like 25 to 5,000 or cash game values like 0.50 to 100.
Chips without values
Chips without numbers give you full freedom: you decide what each colour is worth, and you can change it from one game to the next. That suits groups that switch between cash games with different stakes and tournaments. The downside is that everyone has to remember the colour values, so put a small card with the values on the table.
How to assign poker chip colour values yourself
Do you have chips without denominations, such as The Dice 300? This set has 100 white chips and 50 each of red, blue, green and black. A practical way to give those colours a value for a cash game:
| Colour | Chips in the set | Value | Per player (5 players) |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 100 | 1 | 15 |
| Red | 50 | 5 | 7 |
| Blue | 50 | 10 | 4 |
| Green | 50 | 25 | 2 |
| Black | 50 | 100 | In the bank |
Every player starts with 28 chips and a stack of 140, which is 70 big blinds at blinds of 1/2. The black chips stay in the bank for rebuys and for colouring up big stacks. Three simple rules help you choose values for any set:
- Give the smallest value the most chips. Blinds and small bets use them constantly.
- Use steps that are easy to count, such as 1, 5, 10, 25 and 100, or 25, 100, 500 and 1,000.
- Keep the lightest colour for the lowest value and the darkest colours for the highest. That is what most players expect.
Poker chip values for a home tournament
In a tournament the chips have no cash value. Everyone gets the same starting stack and plays until one player has all the chips. The Ultimate 300 has values from 25 to 5,000 in this standard distribution: 50 × 25, 50 × 50, 75 × 100, 50 × 500, 50 × 1,000 and 25 × 5,000. For five players with a starting stack of 5,000 and blinds starting at 25/50, this works well:
| Chip value | Chips per player | Total for 5 players | In the set |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | 8 | 40 | 50 |
| 50 | 6 | 30 | 50 |
| 100 | 10 | 50 | 75 |
| 500 | 3 | 15 | 50 |
| 1,000 | 2 | 10 | 50 |
| 5,000 | 0 | 0 | 25 |
That is 29 chips and 100 big blinds per player. The 5,000 chips stay in the case for later, when stacks grow and you colour up the small chips. Want a heavier chip with the same tournament values? The Las Vegas Poker Club Tournament 300 has 14-gram chips in the same distribution. All options are in our tournament poker chips.
Colouring up during the tournament
Once the small blind is 100 or more, the 25 chips are hardly used. Take them out of play and swap them for bigger chips: four 25 chips become one 100 chip. Do the same with the 50 chips later in the night. This keeps stacks small and easy to count.
Poker chip values for a cash game
In a cash game the chips stand for the buy-in, so you need small values. The Ceramic Crown 300 has ceramic chips with this standard distribution: 50 each of 0.50, 1, 2, 5 and 10, plus 25 each of 50 and 100. For five players with blinds of 0.50/1 and a buy-in of 100:
| Chip value | Chips per player | Total for 5 players | In the set |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.50 | 8 | 40 | 50 |
| 1 | 8 | 40 | 50 |
| 2 | 4 | 20 | 50 |
| 5 | 6 | 30 | 50 |
| 10 | 5 | 25 | 50 |
Each player gets 31 chips. The 50 and 100 chips stay in the bank for rebuys and big pots. Our chips have no currency printed on them, so you decide what one chip unit is worth at your table. Already have a case and only need the chips? Ceramic Crown poker chips are also sold without the set, and you will find more series in our cash game poker chips.
How many chips per player?
For most games 30 to 50 chips per player is enough. Fewer chips make it hard to bet in small steps, more chips mainly make the table busy. Count on a 300-chip set for up to five players and a 500-chip set for six to nine players. Our guide to the best poker sets has a full table per group size.
Custom poker chip values
Do your stakes not match any standard series, or do you want your club logo on the chips? With custom poker chips you choose the values, the colours and the design yourself. They are 10-gram ceramic chips with full-colour, edge-to-edge printing, and the front and back can have different designs. Custom chips are sold per chip, from 10 pieces.
Complete your setup
The right chip values make the game run smoothly. These extras make it even better:
- Poker Mat Deluxe Black 180x90: a felt surface where chips stack neatly and cards slide easily.
- Poker Case Aluminium Black 300: lockable storage for 300 chips, ideal when you buy loose chips.
- Dealer Button Classic: shows who deals and who posts the blinds. See all dealer buttons.
- Poker cards: spare decks for long nights.
Our advice: which poker chip values should you use?
- Home tournaments: values from 25 upwards, like the Ultimate 300, with a starting stack of 5,000 to 10,000.
- Cash games: small values from 0.50 or 1, like the Ceramic Crown 300.
- Flexible games with changing stakes: chips without values, like The Dice 300, and your own colour values.
- Your own values and design: custom poker chips.
Not sure which mix suits your group? Compare all our poker sets with chip values and check the chip distribution on each product page, or read our guide on what poker chip set to buy. We are happy to help you choose.
Find the right poker chip set
Compare sets by chip count, material and budget.
