Chip distribution calculator
Enter your player count, starting stack, and chip inventory. We'll give you the exact breakdown per player.
Number of players
Starting stack
Your chips
Click a chip to change its colour. Set value and quantity for each denomination.
Set your player count, stack size, and chip inventory, then hit calculate.
How the chip breakdown works.
The job is simple to state and annoying to do by hand: take a starting stack like 10,000, and work out which chips make up that exact amount for every player at the table, without running out of any one colour.
The calculator builds each stack from the bottom up. It starts with your smallest chip and uses as many of those as it sensibly can, then moves up to the next denomination, then the next, until the stack adds up to the number you asked for. Building from the small chips first matters, because the small denominations are the ones you actually use early on when the blinds are tiny. Hand everyone nothing but 500s and 1,000s and the first few levels are unplayable.
It also keeps an eye on what you own. The chips have to come out of one shared set, so the calculator never hands out more of a colour than your inventory can cover once it's divided across every player. That's why the player count matters as much as the stack size: ten players splitting the same box of chips get thinner stacks of each colour than four would.
If your set can't cover the stack, you're not left guessing. The calculator suggests promoting one of your lower denominations to a higher value and recalculates straight away, so you can see whether a quick relabel of, say, your 25s to 250s gets you there. Often it does.
Alongside the breakdown, it suggests a blind structure to match, built around your smallest active chip so the opening blinds are always something your chips can actually make. Pick Turbo, Standard, or Deep depending on how long you want the night to run.
Which starting stack to use.
The starting stack is how many chips each player begins with, and it's really a choice about how long you want to play. More chips means more room to make moves before the blinds catch up, which means a longer night. There's no correct number, just the one that fits your evening.
Fast, at 5,000, keeps things brisk. Stacks are shallow relative to the blinds, so decisions come quickly and players bust sooner. Good for a school night or when you've got six people and three hours.
Recommended, at 10,000, is the one most home games want. There's enough depth to play actual poker after the flop without the night dragging into the small hours. If you're not sure, start here.
Deep, at 20,000, gives you a slower game with more post-flop play and fewer coin-flip all-ins early on. Pick it when the table takes the cards seriously and nobody's in a rush.
Ultra deep, at 50,000, is the long-haul option. Big stacks, slow burn, the closest a kitchen table gets to a proper televised feel. Plan for a late one.
You can also type any custom amount. Whatever you choose, the calculator works the breakdown around it, and the suggested blinds shift to match, so a deeper stack gets a gentler blind climb and a fast game gets a steeper one. The stack and the blinds are two halves of the same decision.
Standard chip colours.
Most home chip sets follow the same casino convention for colours. The defaults in the calculator match this standard, so if your chips came in a numbered set, this is likely what you have.
Questions people ask.
What if I don't have enough chips to cover the stack?
The calculator flags exactly which colour you're short on and suggests promoting a lower denomination to a higher value, then recalculates on the spot. Relabelling your 25s as 250s, for example, often closes the gap. You can also drop the starting stack or the player count instead.
Can I use my own chip colours and values?
Yes. Click any chip to change its colour, and set whatever value and quantity you actually own. You can add denominations too, including unusual ones like 2 or 250, so the breakdown matches your real set rather than a generic one.
Why does it hand out the small chips first?
Because that's what you need early. When the blinds are low you're betting in small amounts, so a stack made only of big chips would be useless for the first hour. Building from the bottom up keeps the early levels playable.
How does the suggested blind structure work?
It's based on your smallest active chip, so the opening blinds are always something your chips can physically make. Turbo runs short, fast levels, Standard is the usual home-game pace, and Deep stretches the night out. It's a starting point you're free to adjust at the table.
Is any of this saved?
Your denomination set is saved locally in your browser so your setup persists between visits, and nothing is sent to us or stored on a server. The player count and stack reset to defaults each time, so set those fresh when you play.