Re: Strange increments in spread limit?

Subject:      Re: Strange increments in spread limit?
From:         Jim Geary 
Date:         1997/01/17
Newsgroups:   rec.gambling.poker


The pots in these seemingly unusual increment games are sexier.
A pile of white chips looks like more fun than a smattering of reds.
Also, I think spread-limit isn't the term you mean here, otherwise
smaller chips would in fact be necessary.  Spread limit is like
1-4 stud where you can bet 1,2,3,4 dollars as opposed to 10-20 
where you either bet in 10 increments or 20 increments depending on
the round.  Casinos in general try to avoid spread limit games in
that it makes it easier for the good players to take the bad players
money quicker (limp in, punish later).

Mark Parisi wrote:
 
>         Has anyone else out there wondered why spread-limit games are
> always for increments that seem counter-intuitive?  I thought about
> this when playing $5-$10 hold'em over the holidays.
> 
>         Consider $5-$10 vs. $6-$12.  With the $5-$10 game, you have
> only one type of chips on the table ($5, with a few $1 for the small blind
> or taking out the rake), which makes the game faster.  It's also easier
> to count down the pot and estimate odds with multiples of 5 or 10 than 6
> or 12.  So why do so many places spread $6-$12?
> 
>         Another game that I would expect to find is $25-$50, played with
> quarter chips.  I've never seen that game spread or heard anyone talk
> about it, but I would think it could easily take the place of $20-$40 with
> its mountains of red $5 chips.
> 
>         This morning's brainstorm was that a $3-$6 game could be modified
> into a $2.50-$5 game, played with pink chips like the 7.50-15 game that
> the Taj Mahal used to spread (do they still? I'm not sure).  How many
> times have you seen the dealer toss someone change when they called or bet
> in a $3-$6 game played with $5 chips on the table?  And how much easier
> would it be to keep track of the pot and your odds?
> 
>         What gives?
> 
>                                                 Mark P.
> 
>         PS.  As you might guess, I've played in casinos with standardized
> chip denominations ($1, $2.50, $5, $25, etc).  I know that California
> cardrooms use different denominations, so the traditional limit games
> might make more sense there.  Hmmmm....perhaps this is part of the
> explanation??

Back to Poker Letters Page.

Back to Jim's Poker Page

Back to Jim's Main Page