Color Up

Also known as: Colour Up, Chip Race, Color-Up

Removing the lowest-denomination chips from play as blinds rise, exchanging them for higher denominations; odd chips are settled by a chip race.

What it is

A color up removes the lowest-denomination chips from play once the blinds and ante have grown past them, swapping them for higher denominations. It happens at level or break changes.

Why it's done

Table space — fewer physical chips to stack and handle.
Faster dealing — no fishing for small chips when posting blinds or antes.
Cleaner counts — easier to read stacks and bet sizes at a glance.

The chip race

Your chips rarely divide evenly into the new denomination. The leftover odd chips are settled by a chip race, run by the dealer or floorman: one card is dealt per odd chip, and the highest cards win a full higher-value chip. No player is ever raced out of the tournament — if you'd drop to zero, you're guaranteed one chip.

Example

Blinds move to 300/600 and the 25-value chips are now nearly useless. The floor calls a color up: all 25s are raced off, players exchange them, and the lowest chip in play becomes the 100. You had three 25s (75); a card is dealt per chip and your best card lands you a single 100, rounding you up.