China Clay Sets (2 Viewers)

MD Mike

MD Mike

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Other than Milano, Pharaoh and Dunes, what other China Clay sets are out there?

Also how old is the China Clay poker chip? Is it a relative newcomer to the field? How long do sets like these usually last?

Thanks guys!
 
Bluff Canyon from Claysmith are another China Clay. Championship Poker Series (CPS) were a group buy through Palm Gaming (PGI). Additionally Palm Gaming offered their blank china clays (solid, edgespot, and edgespot vee)... There were also the Desert Sands chips through The Chiproom.

My first "good" set was a custom label on Palm Gaming china clays. Here's an image of that set.
full
 
Bluff canyons are not china clay. They are slugged abs. There are also the upcoming majestics from Apache, and a series of solid, two color and three color chips on the sprint/spirit mold from way back.
 
Shaggy said:
Bluff Canyon from Claysmith are another China Clay. Championship Poker Series (CPS) were a group buy through Palm Gaming (PGI). Additionally Palm Gaming offered their blank china clays (solid, edgespot, and edgespot vee)... There were also the Desert Sands chips through The Chiproom.

My first "good" set was a custom label on Palm Gaming china clays. Here's an image of that set.
http://www.pokerchipforum.com/media/kahuna-club-pgi-china-clay-customs.621/
Click to expand...

The 'Bluff Canyon' chips are actually 13.5g injection-molded plastics. They're the exact same as the 'Desert Heat' chips and the 'Gold Rush' chips. They just have different labels.

There was also a line of China clays that emulated the Desert Palm line. Other than that it's PGI blanks, the CPS line, and The Majestic line coming soon from Apache.

From what I know, the China clay has only been around a short while. They should last a very long time as long as they're not being pitched against walls. ;)
 
I don't believe they're readily available anymore, but there were also the PGI great wall china clays. One of the original big china clay group buys were done on these - Private Cardrooms:



 
MD Mike said:
Other than Milano, Pharaoh and Dunes, what other China Clay sets are out there?

Also how old is the China Clay poker chip? Is it a relative newcomer to the field? How long do sets like these usually last?

Thanks guys!
Click to expand...

One of the more recent additions to the China clay chip family is the CPS group buy set modeled after the WSOP Paulsons. Here's just one of the many threads I could find: http://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/championship-poker-series-tournament-set-with-pics.5310/

Apache is also working on this new Majestic design, which is looking pretty awesome IMO: http://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/coming-soon.5517/


I have no idea how long cheaper chips from China date back or what the first big set was, but chances are they'll be continuing as long as there is demand. I've also never heard of anyone having durability issues with China clays, and they're as close as you'll get to the sound and feel of real clay at a fraction of the price.
 
PGI does offer a few different lines of China Clays (most have been mentioned already). I love the look of the 8Vs (see Shaggy's sweet set above).

http://online.flipbuilder.com/yxac/jcrj/#p=4

I think anything in this catalog referred to as "compression clays" is considered China Clay...with the addition of "double trapezoid" (Milano blanks) and "Tower and Spear Mold" (CPS).
 
I have a sample of the PGI Private Cardrooms (solids and spotted), and the solids are my favourite CC's of the samples I have (Milanos, PGI, Desert Palms, CPS, and Pharaoh Club). If they still offered a yellow solid chip, I'd have a set.

As for longevity, there have been issues with some china clays "chipping" or leaving bits behind with use (I'll see if I can dig up the threads). I haven't seen that myself, though.

Edit: this post mentions it with respect to the PGI chips.
 
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A lot of the flaking had to do with bad runs of chips... my pink solids in the Kahuna set flaked badly... to the point of PGI sending me the browns as replacement. I don't think flaking ever really occurred as the chips aged. Generally, I would say they are quite solid. It is likely there are sets of Pharaoh's Club chips that see lots of use.

Another china clay were the Progen 80's. These are often referred to as a lower quality version of the PGI "Great Walls" or "Wallsons."
 
I need to get in on these group buys!!!! Someone hit me on the head when the next affordable group buy happens and I will make it rain for a 1000 pc set.
 
Shaggy said:
A lot of the flaking had to do with bad runs of chips... my pink solids in the Kahuna set flaked badly... to the point of PGI sending me the browns as replacement. I don't think flaking ever really occurred as the chips aged. Generally, I would say they are quite solid. It is likely there are sets of Pharaoh's Club chips that see lots of use.
Click to expand...

Good to know!
 
MD Mike said:
I need to get in on these group buys!!!! Someone hit me on the head when the next affordable group buy happens and I will make it rain for a 1000 pc set.
Click to expand...

That is likely the run of Majestic's someone mentioned above... from Apache. I believe he is taking pre-orders.

This is a slippery slope. My recommendation is the next offering from The Chiproom on used casino sets is your best bet. Shortly after I made the Kahuna Club set, The Chiproom offered the Garden City used set and the Par-A-Dice set. I snapped those up for nearly the same price as the China Clays.
 
China Clay should last a long time under normal use. I've had 2 break in half either from shipping or during the washing process (I washed 2000 in a jacuzzi tub, and may have stepped or sat on it). That however, is well within the acceptable loss range for the price, and definitely not normal.
 
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MD Mike said:
I need to get in on these group buys!!!! Someone hit me on the head when the next affordable group buy happens and I will make it rain for a 1000 pc set.
Click to expand...

You can also keep your eyes on the classifieds here (and people post eBay links as well) as you'll find sets going up for sale that you can snag as well. I know the Championship Poker Series over the past few months has seen some 750+ piece sets hit the market. You could always post a "wanted" thread in the forum as well and you might get some hits that way. Just be sure to include your budget and ideally a breakdown of what denoms, etc. you're interested in
 
Anthony Martino said:
You can also keep your eyes on the classifieds here (and people post eBay links as well) as you'll find sets going up for sale that you can snag as well. I know the Championship Poker Series over the past few months has seen some 750+ piece sets hit the market. You could always post a "wanted" thread in the forum as well and you might get some hits that way. Just be sure to include your budget and ideally a breakdown of what denoms, etc. you're interested in
Click to expand...
Sounds like a good idea. I always liked the look of the CPS chips. I'm assuming that was a limited group by as well since they are a little scarce. What do they normally go for?

Edit: MrBo already mentioned they were a group buy. Guess that shows my terrible reading and comprehension skills! :ROFL: :ROFLMAO:
 
Last edited:
MD Mike said:
Sounds like a good idea. I always liked the look of the CPS chips. I'm assuming that was a limited group by as well since they are a little scarce. What do they normally go for?

Edit: MrBo already mentioned they were a group buy. Guess that shows my terrible reading and comprehension skills! :ROFL: :ROFLMAO:
Click to expand...

The CPS chips are available on Apache's website. (y) :thumbsup:
 
MD Mike said:
Sounds like a good idea. I always liked the look of the CPS chips. I'm assuming that was a limited group by as well since they are a little scarce. What do they normally go for?

Edit: MrBo already mentioned they were a group buy. Guess that shows my terrible reading and comprehension skills! :ROFL: :ROFLMAO:
Click to expand...


There were something like 250,000 - 300,000 CPS chips sold under the group buy is my understanding. Moscow is correct that Apache has them, a 1,000 piece set is available for $450 here's the link:

http://www.apachepokerchips.com/championship-poker-series.html

It should be noted that the 100 and 500 chips when in a pot together are unfortunately easy to mix up due to the colors. So something to consider when making your purchase. The 25 value green chips and the 5K value orange chips absolutely POP with their colors once they've been broken in, and are my two favorites. I only got a tourney set, so can't comment on the cash chips.
 
Anthony Martino said:
There were something like 250,000 - 300,000 CPS chips sold under the group buy is my understanding. Moscow is correct that Apache has them, a 1,000 piece set is available for $450 here's the link:

http://www.apachepokerchips.com/championship-poker-series.html

It should be noted that the 100 and 500 chips when in a pot together are unfortunately easy to mix up due to the colors. So something to consider when making your purchase. The 25 value green chips and the 5K value orange chips absolutely POP with their colors once they've been broken in, and are my two favorites. I only got a tourney set, so can't comment on the cash chips.
Click to expand...
I can see that I'm going to need a second mortgage for this hobby... There are so many sets I want!
 
MD Mike said:
I can see that I'm going to need a second mortgage for this hobby... There are so many sets I want!
Click to expand...

Lol, yes it can get pricey, just wait until you start ordering customs! Well, if you're new to the hobby make sure you get samples of chips first. It'll help you to get a feel for the chips, how well they stack, how they sound shuffled, how their colors look, etc. If you're going to be making a big purchase it always pays to do your research first. There may be other chippers in your area who have events that you could attend and you'd get to see and feel their chips to help you decide as well.

You can ask questions here, but everyone has personal preferences so you may get varied opinions. But if you have a specific budget you're locked into for your 1,000 chip set you can always ask for recommendations. We have lots of knowledgeable folks who can steer you in the right direction based on your budget. Just realize that the Championship Poker Series set (CPS) are actually pretty reasonably priced. You can go lower, but then you're likely moving into more plastic offerings I believe.
 
Anthony Martino said:
Lol, yes it can get pricey, just wait until you start ordering customs! Well, if you're new to the hobby make sure you get samples of chips first. It'll help you to get a feel for the chips, how well they stack, how they sound shuffled, how their colors look, etc. If you're going to be making a big purchase it always pays to do your research first. There may be other chippers in your area who have events that you could attend and you'd get to see and feel their chips to help you decide as well.

You can ask questions here, but everyone has personal preferences so you may get varied opinions. But if you have a specific budget you're locked into for your 1,000 chip set you can always ask for recommendations. We have lots of knowledgeable folks who can steer you in the right direction based on your budget. Just realize that the Championship Poker Series set (CPS) are actually pretty reasonably priced. You can go lower, but then you're likely moving into more plastic offerings I believe.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the info! I'm in Maryland and certainly have had some plastic chips in the past. Milanos were my first non plastic chip and I am very happy with them. I generally can spend 30-70 cents a chip (unless I finally design my own set - which CPC has an awesome design tool!!!)

So I never want to go back to plastic unless someone designs a plastic that feels like butter (use that Area 51 tech guys, I know you have it!)

But I can tell you guys are truly passionate about chips and I know that deep inside its more than just a little circle with letters and numbers.

I know it represents an integral part of gaming, history, culture, and artform.

It's beautiful really!
 
Yeah, I think you'll probably progress similarly to myself. Get some china clays or used casinos, then eventually sell those off to fund a custom set (I have a few custom set ideas in the planning stages, but not ready to pull the trigger just yet)
 
Does anyone know if there is any lead content in the China Clay sets? Just curious.
 
Short answer - I believe no lead.

There was a thread back on CT where someone did a spectral analysis through a lab. IIRC, none showed any lead. I gave it a look but could not rediscover the thread. Just to be safe, don't eat them.
 
Poker Zombie said:
Short answer - I believe no lead.

There was a thread back on CT where someone did a spectral analysis through a lab. IIRC, none showed any lead. I gave it a look but could not rediscover the thread. Just to be safe, don't eat them.
Click to expand...
*with mouth full* sure?? They are really good with some chik fil a Polynesian sauce...
 

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