Fun with Bounties: Chocolate Bounty Chips
25 April 2021 by CG Thomas
Early in 2020 I had an idea for introducing a fun but harmless type of Bounty into a monthly poker game I run - Chocolate Bounty Chips!
I didn't want to affect the game's basic structure as we had already started our 2020 league season. But I knew that adding a free element to the game (the chocolate was my treat) which players could either joke about or ignore as they wish, would be acceptable to everyone.
So, I bought a kilo bag of chocolate poker chips (easily found online) which I thought would last for ages. Unfortunately, the pandemic struck and so were only used for a couple of games.
However, the edible "mini bounty" was certainly a talking point, resulted in a few laughs, and (importantly) didn't affect the EV calculations too much!
You could instead use chocolate coins, such as these Harry Potter-themed coins
Some notes on how it went in my games:
- Firstly, there was no way anyone would confuse the chocolate poker chips I handed out with the real poker chips we were playing with!
- Because they had no monetary or league points value, I freely handed out extra bounty chips not just for rebuys but also as a consolation for the occasional bad beat.
- Some players would eat them at the table! Thankfully, they only ate the chocolate they had won, and always had a bounty chip to give up when the inevitable happened.
- One caveat: Some of my players couldn't have any chocolate due to dietary restrictions and allergies. Happily, they still saw the fun of it.
Finally, the games at which I gave out these edible bounties consisted of a small group of friends and colleagues I've known and played with for years. It may be a fun idea, but I wouldn't want to try something as flippant as this at a serious public tournament!
