How do you stack YOUR chips?

Some people build castles, others just have stacks of 10 spread out evenly, while others have very small stacks that are designed as units for betting. Or maybe you just don't care, whatever get's the job done works for you.

I don't usually pay much attention to the way my chips are stacked, but I usually have pretty tall stacks (about 20 chips) set up in levels, and sometimes I have one large stack going up higher than all the others.

Share?

That really depends on how many chips I do have. Sometimes you want to make your stack look bigger then it really is. I usually am always shuffling with my right hand, making sure I don't change my shuffling pattern when involved in a hand.

I always remember Phil Hellmuth being asked this and his answer was - High

which i thought was quite funny

I just spread 'em out on the plate next to my hot dog. Left side of the key board. Mouse is on the right.

Medium sized and into a big triangle lol

Stacks of five, two columns, in order from biggest to smallest, and one always shuffled with my left hand (Lefties rule)

I usually hold my 3 chips in my hand lol.

Stacks of 10. Value cant cut a stack of 10 they get moved in front, furthermost right - again stacked in descending order. I dont shuffle.

Shuffling with both hands = pro

Theres something about how you stack your chips in Caro's Book of Poker tells!
A player who stacks chips by value, in piles of x amounts are usually conservative players - alot usually have a small stack on top of their stacks which represent their profit - so betting the value of their profit can force them from a pot!
(Something like that anyway)

crancko said:

Stacks of 10. Value cant cut a stack of 10 they get moved in front, furthermost right - again stacked in descending order. I dont shuffle.

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Pretty much this. I don't even try to shuffle the chips. I'd only end up messing up and send my chips flying across the table.

Four Dogs said:

I just spread 'em out on the plate next to my hot dog. Left side of the key board. Mouse is on the right.

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:laugh: I <3 Four Dogs.

tonymaclennan said:

Theres something about how you stack your chips in Caro's Book of Poker Tells!
A player who stacks chips by value, in piles of x amounts are usually conservative players - alot usually have a small stack on top of their stacks which represent their profit - so betting the value of their profit can force them from a pot!
(Something like that anyway)

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I might start making two seperate stacks, with a sign saying "Do Not Use" next to one of them.

juiceeQ said:

Pretty much this. I don't even try to shuffle the chips. I'd only end up messing up and send my chips flying across the table.

:laugh: I <3 Four Dogs.

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That happened to some guy on my table once - was quite amusing

Four Dogs said:

I just spread 'em out on the plate next to my hot dog. Left side of the key board. Mouse is on the right.

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hahaha that was great!!! Made my day~!

I stack mine in betting units compared to the big blind. That way when the BB goes up I have something to do for a while (restacking chips). Helps pass the time between crappy hands. Also provides the illusion of raking pots.

Sometimes I stack high sometimes I stack low...either way it looks like I'm ignoring value and stacking randomly but I'm not. Usually I'll keep the stacks valued the same and grouped into groups of the same value. That is until the manager tells me to clean them up

Theres something about how you stack your chips in Caro's Book of Poker Tells!
A player who stacks chips by value, in piles of x amounts are usually conservative players - alot usually have a small stack on top of their stacks which represent their profit - so betting the value of their profit can force them from a pot!
(Something like that anyway)

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This is generally true but you still have to be observant of individual players, it's kind of 1 + 1 or multiple tells.

I normally like to stack 1 dollar chips in stacks of 10 and build pyramids, 5 dollar chips in 25 or 50 dollar stacks in pyramids if I have enough. I've not played with larger chips ... lol someday

I will however sometimes if the conditions are right at a loose table with a bunch of inexperienced players just rake in my pots and let them sit in a sloppy pile to give an image of inexperience or that I'm generally a sloppy player. I will also do this at a conservative table if I think I can get away with it, depends on players and mood. If I think how my stack looks to another player makes a difference I will try to use that to my advantage.

by color

In limit cash games I prefer to put my chips in racks and stack them up. In tournaments I make a wall of chips 20 high 2 deep.

I have to share this story about the last time I played in a casino. I only had an hour to spare but I won a couple of quick pots and finished up around $50 ahead by my best guess. When my time was up I thanked the table and announced my intention to leave. The player 2 seats to my left asked if he could take my seat, and as I had no objections, I picked up my pace to accomodate him. I grabbed my coat and a book I had purchased from under the table, and as he set his stack down next to mine, I tried to one hand mine back into the rack, but instead I knocked the whole thing over into his. Fortunately he was gracious enough not to make me feel like a total goober as we came to a quick agreement on how many chips we both had. I was so embarrased that I intentionally shortchanged myself and left the dealer a $10 chip for his patience. I'm so glad I wasn't privy to the table talk after I left.

Tried the "playing smartly with a chip" once. After loosing it into the pot 3 times, i gave it up...

Stacks of 10 normally and I use two stacks for betting purposes. Those two stacks contain three bets each...

I'm not anal retentive or anything close to a neat freak, but there are certain things I do that are quirky and carry over to my chip stacking. I like things to be flush. I am always fidgiting with things so they are flush, or so something is in the exact middle. For instance, my cigarette lighter I always have in the exact middle of my pack of smokes, when I place my mouse in a position while waiting to bet I have it flush against the chat box, and the list goes on. With my chips, I keep them evenly spaced from each stack. I do not however worry so much about how neat the individual stacks are but damnit, they better evenly spaced...

chiefer77 said:

by color

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You HAVE to stack them by color and stack them. You cant have them all mixed together and the higher chips(the ones worth more) must be in clear view of the table and be in the front.

Pyramids, 20 chip stacks, as per Mason Malmuth in Gambling Theory and Other Topics (p. 299-30): "Twenty is the optimal number not only for tabulation purposes, but for intimidation purposes as well."