I was scrolling through Bravo and saw this listed. Anyone know why it's not simply 10-20?

It might be because they want to use more chips in the game. The theory is that more chips create bigger physical pots and more action. So a 9-18 game would be played with $3 chips as essentially a 3 chip/6 chip game, rather than a 10-20 game which would be played with $5 chips as a 2 chip/4 chip game.

This.

It's like the old pink chip game at the Trop many years ago. 7.50/15 limit game with tons of chips in the pot!

A 9-18 game with $3 chips, or an 8-16 game with $2 chips is much bigger and gets far more action, and lasts longer than a 2 chip - 4 chip redbird game. And it isn't even close.

I assume you're talking about Bellagio, where they switched from 10/20 to 9/18 almost a year ago.

Personally I don't believe the more chips=more action theory, but last summer after the WSOP the 10/20 game did seem to be dying, so I figure it didn't hurt for them to try something different. I don't think it has actually helped the quality of the game, but it has seemed to go more often and for longer, so maybe it was a good decision.

There also a better blind structure when it's 2 & 3 chip blinds vs 1 & 2 chip blinds. I.e. A 9/18 will have 6 & 9 blinds where a 10/20 would do 5 & 10. The bigger sb relative to the bb encourages action.

I think the whole more chips=more action thing is silly.
3 chip/6 chip structures are OK, but 4 chip/8 chip structures start to get a little annoying, especially when a half kill is in play and you need 12 chips just to raise preflop.

That said, I'm not a big fan of 10/20 limit for mixed games, because they tend to have a $1 ante in the stud rounds, and that just seems too low and makes the games too tight. It's usually also $1 for pink chip mix ($7.50/$15) or $8/16, and $3 for $20/40, both of which seem a little more reasonable.

Sounds like a brutal waste of time if you are playing a hi/lo split. Unless you have special chips just for such a game [$3 chips for instance for 9/18].

They do use $3 chips at Bellagio, and likely anywhere there has ever been a 9/18 game. Years ago they officially spread an 8/16 game, but had no $2 chips so had to use $5s and $1s. I imagine that contributed to its unpopularity, because I never saw the game go.

Do dealers get stiffed more often for tips if the smallest chip in play is $5? Just wondering if the casino switches to this format without considering the impact on dealer tips.

Players use $1 chips for tips, no matter if they are in play or not. (Almost) everybody in a 5/10 NL game has a stack of blues for that purpose, can't imagine limit players handling that differently.

Well if the game is raked (as opposed to time) there are likely $1 chips in the pots.

I remember the pink chip game at the Trop, good times.

I've dealt a 10/25 PLO game where the smallest chip in play was $5 and I used to get a $5 tip on just about every hand dealt. Occasionally I'd get stiffed, but that was more than offset by the instances when I'd get multiple $5 chips for a tip on a single hand. Some players would go as far as to tip *all* of the red chips in the pot and would keep the greens and blacks, so it wasn't unusual for me to get a $20 tip if I hit the right player, even on an average-sized pot.

There were always 1 or 2 players who'd ask for $1 chips for the purpose of tipping, but the majority of the players seemed content to tip generously.

And, yeah, if I got to deal this table during my shift it would make my day.

I used to play the 8/16 at Bellagio often 10 yrs ago or so. It did get a little dicey after 20 drinks trying to calculate the 4 bets with two different colored chips.