Having insufficient chips should not prevent you from participating in a card game. If you want to host a live poker game but don’t have access to traditional poker chips, many options are available.
Poker chips can almost always be replaced by something as simple as a deck of cards. Here are some alternatives to poker chips that you may want to consider:
Without chips, you can play poker!
Any small countable object can be used as a substitute for poker chips. Among the best alternatives to poker chips are the following:
Play money is a great alternative to poker chips, whether from Monopoly or another board game. Because play money already has the denominations printed on it, it’s the best option for keeping track of pots.
Pieces of a board game Scrabble tiles can be used as poker currency if Monopoly is your preferred board game. There is no problem with using components from other board games. Various board game pieces can be given monetary values, or each piece can be treated as a single unit.
Poker chips can be replaced with dried, small pieces of food, just like in board games. Poker currency can be made from dried beans, corn, or seeds that are large enough. It’s a bad idea to play poker with candy-like M&Ms, Skittles, cookies, or potato chips. Players’ hands can become greasy or sticky after using these food items for a long period.
When it comes to using office supplies as poker chips, paper clips are probably your best bet. If a spontaneous poker game breaks out at work, office supplies can come in handy. Rubber bands, post-it notes, and tacks are more common office supplies.
For a substitute for poker chips, spare change may seem like the obvious choice. If you have a lot of spare change lying around, this is a great option.
Short-handed players should not call 3-bets.
Deep stack 3-bets can be profitable for suitably connected players, but their value drops dramatically as their effective stack size decreases to around 50 blinds.
This is because their previously high implied odds have decreased. As a result, you’ll have to pay a lot more to see a flop than you would to win. Observe how much the two differ:
When you’re 100bb deep, your best chance of winning 100bb is when you call 5–6.5bb. You stand a 16–20 fold chance of winning depending on the preflop bet.
At 50bb, you typically have to call 5–6.5bb (still) to have a chance of winning the entire pot. This means that you have a 7.5%–10% chance of making a profit.
The reduced fold equity postflop due to more hands being committed to the pot is the final nail in the coffin for suited connectors at this stack depth.
