Don, I played this game only once, years ago, so my recall can be a little off. But, I think you could buy in for 20.00 to 150.00 and get real chips 5.00 to 25.00 you would get the 2.50 NCV marker chips 1 for every 5.00 worth of real chips, or 4-30 markers. Min. bet 5.00 each bet required a 2.50 NCV marker chip on the side and if you lost they took the marker, when all markers gone game over, and you could take what ever real chips and cash in or play another game. I know they counted the markers closely and if harvested any they would know when game ended.