[Buzz]

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I've been buying in 80, but I see people buying in from 60-150

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Bulbarainey - Sixty dollars is the minimum buy-in, and that's why some buy in for $60. But playing with only sixty bucks in front of you is (foolishly, I believe) risking running out of chips when you might need them.

You don't ever want to get caught short of chips, in my humble opinion, in case you get a winning hand when there's a lot of action.

With three raises per round, as in the Los Angeles area, the maximum you could invest in a hand is eight small bets plus eight big bets, a total of the equivalent of twelve big bets. With the kill rule in effect in a $3-$6-kill game, that amounts to $144. In such a game, buying in for at least $150 makes sense.

In a place where the limit is four raises per round instead of three, the maximum you could invest in a $3-$6-kill game would be $180. In such a game, buying in for $200 makes sense.

Investing a total of twelve big bets in a three raise limit $3-$6 game game, with or without the kill rule in effect, would be very unusual, but not impossible.

I've never been in an Omaha-8 game where I needed twelve big bets, but I have been in Omaha-8 games where I needed ten big bets. Ten big bets in a $3-6 game with the kill rule in effect amounts to $120.

I think you shouldn't want to drop much below the ten big bet level, in case a wild betting melee erupts when you have a winning hand. Doesn't happen often, but it does happen and is one of the things you wait for. It's kind of like fishing. You want to be ready when the big one bites.

With less than ten big bets in front of me, I actually feel vaguely uneasy, because I realize I'm taking the unnecessary risk of running out of chips I might want to use.

Eighty bucks? I'd rather have $144 in front of me, just in case.

A reasonable way for you to have the back-up you might need would be to buy in for $80 in blue chips plus a white chip (or several $20 chips). Rebuy blue chips as needed to stay at that level. You may not use that white chip, but you'll have it if you need it.

Buzz