New Member First Time Cash Set (3 Viewers)

Sereph

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Hi Everyone,

Brand new to the chip scene. Thank you already to Davin and members for the warm welcome!

I'm looking to start a cash set for a 1 table 0.25/0.50 game.

mipevi had posted in another thread about his starting stack for a $100 buy-in, and I like it:
16x 0.25
16x 1
16x 5

I'm thinking of the following breakdown:
200x 0.25
300x 1
300x 5
100x 20
100x 100

I like the round figure of a set of 1000, and it gives the potential to expand. But do you feel this is too much just starting out?

My budget is up to $3000 (I understand that good chips that last a lifetime are hard to come by), but would entertain offers north of that based on rarity etc.

I've been doing a lot of research already (starting to become a lot more time consuming than I thought). And have narrowed it down to some basic criteria. I, like the majority of members it seems, I'm attracted to the bright, unique color schemes of Cali sets. Although, I'm not naive to believe that any of these sets come easily or cheap. But being in Hawaii, it would definitely match the vibe, and certainly stand out for my friends.

Also, the two "boat sets" that caught my eye, Empress Star and Pacific Star (Aurora Stars are less bright), while I was familiar with Paulson being the gold standard, I am discovering and learning so much about the other manufacturers here such as Bud Jones, Blue Chip Company (the samurai set caught my eye because of the Asian motif) etc. If anyone can recommend a pros and cons thread I may have missed, or just recommendations in general based on my budget. I've handled Paulson THC's before, and love the way they shuffle, but that's not a main concern. Just top quality really. But any feedback, or anything I'm missing, advice, is greatly appreciated.

Thanks again for the welcome.
 
Your suggested breakdown down has a bank of almost $14,000. Most single table .25/.50 games won’t need anywhere close to a third of that. Maybe your game is different. I think you’ll find that 200 quarters is too many for a single table.

A pretty standard breakdown for 1 table:
25¢ x 100
$1 x 200
$5 x 200
$20 x 80
$100 x 20

That’s a bank of $4850. 600 chips, which means you can probably get some Star chips under your budget. Maybe. :)

But if you insist on 1000 chips, you can do something like your suggested breakdown to run two tables (I’d do more 20’s and fewer 100’s, probably 160/40), add a bunch of ones to play 1/2 limit games, or add a 400-chip set to play a single table tournament.
 
100 fracs should be enough.

The rest just depends on how much bank you need to cover for your game. Most would get away with:
100x 0.25
200x 1
200x 5
100x 20 or 25
600 chips total strictly for 0.25/0.50

You can expand as you need to 1000 chips total if you want to cover 1/2 and maybe carefully up to 2/5.
 
Your suggested breakdown down has a bank of almost $14,000. Most single table .25/.50 games won’t need anywhere close to a third of that. Maybe your game is different. I think you’ll find that 200 quarters is too many for a single table.

A pretty standard breakdown for 1 table:
25¢ x 100
$1 x 200
$5 x 200
$20 x 80
$100 x 20

That’s a bank of $4850. 600 chips, which means you can probably get some Star chips under your budget. Maybe. :)

But if you insist on 1000 chips, you can do something like your suggested breakdown to run two tables (I’d do more 20’s and fewer 100’s, probably 160/40), add a bunch of ones to play 1/2 limit games, or add a 400-chip set to play a single table tournament.
Thank you for the feedback. I guess in my head I was like thinking that if I was starting stacks of 0.25 x16, then I need more. But you're probably right. My eyes might be too big for my stomach right now :)
 
Clay Cali colored sets are unicorns for the most part, and when they do pop up are usually very expensive.

if you really want a Cali colored set you may want to look at a custom set from CPC.
$3k can get you a very nice set. Even 1000 chip if you stick to mostly lower edge spots.

but if you want more complex spots you can still get a great set for that much, but less chips.

single table set:

25c—100
$1–200
$5–400 (500)
$20/25—100
$100—100

this will cover you for future growth if you end playing higher stakes games.
 
For 10 players and any specific stakes, you should be able to get by with just 600 chips or enjoy abundance with an 800 chip set.
Sets bigger than that are only required to cover a variety of stakes.

Read a lot, see a lot and get samples to see if you 're going to spend your money more towards quantity or towards high-end aesthetics and vanity (top quality i.e. "clay" is guaranteed anyway at that kind of budget).

16 fracs for each and every one of 10 players is too much at any rate. 12 per player (120 total) would be the absolute maximum I 'd recommend.
IMHO, it 's smart to not denominate fracs, so they could be used also as .50, much more practical than quarters in .50/.50 and .50/$1 games (just the first step up from your current stakes).

Striking a means I 'd say (if I had to give a generic variable-stakes breakdown)
100x ND fracs
200X $1
300X $5
160x $20
40x $100
for a total of 800
 
Thank you guys for the feedback. I really appreciate it. And now, I see that 600 (max 800) is probably the way to go. Thank you Coyote for your logic and breakdown. And yes, I most definitely will be in the market for samples.

Rhodeman77, I just checked out http://www.pokerchipdesigntool.com/ and it's overwhelming all the choices I have, but I like the idea of having totally unique chips. I think I'll definitely have to do some more research on this idea! One question I had was, in another thread, some people were recommending to still go with Paulson's due to the fact that CPC chip colors were not nearly as bright?

RichMohogany, that was one of the first threads I found! Still staring in disbelief!

Trying to design a custom set, question on proper Cali chip colors:

25c - Pink?
$1 - Blue?
$5 - Yellow?
$20 - Black?
$100 - White?

Also, as far spots go, it appears that the number of them should increase as the denomination goes up?
 
Welcome friend. I am in the (12) quarters per players club. 120 total, even though most games I play are after tourneys so it's never 10 players sitting down at the same time. We usually just give a barrel of quarters to the first 5 or 6 players (20/20/15 starting stacks) and the rest just get 10 - $1s and 18 - $5s. You can easily buy a few fracs for blinds from the chip leader at that point.

But if it is a new game, your players are new to cash you may want a few more fracs if you think the game will be soft (limp around, or $1 - $2 raises) if they are learning the bets will probably be pretty small. All depends on YOUR game.

Also foe the record, those samurai chips that @sheikh617 is selling are absolutely amazing and top notch in my book! MGK mould is much better than the cheap BCC chips on the sun moulds. Awesome weight and a bit more dense than paulsons. I honestly believe these chips will out last most of us. Very very well built, BCC kind if got a bad name with some of their lower end chips, bad quality control, off centered inlays, you name it they were kind of letting them slip through. But the higher end chips like the Samurai's are nothing like the cheapies!

If you are a fan of the inlays, and the breakdown works for your game. I highly recommend trying these out!! AND the price is right, even if you aren't a fan, you can list them and sell them back to another member.

Hope that helps!

Fellow Chipper Ben
 
Thank you for the feedback. I guess in my head I was like thinking that if I was starting stacks of 0.25 x16, then I need more. But you're probably right. My eyes might be too big for my stomach right now :)
It really depends on how your game plays. If it's really limpy, with min raises, and small bets after the flop, you may need more quarters. But if it's really splashy, with opens to $1+, you'll find almost no quarters being used after the flop, then 100 will be plenty. My group plays 5¢/10¢. When we first started, there were never enough nickels. But as the game has become more splashy, I feel like 60 nickels on the table would be plenty.

Of course, no harm in having surplus, as moar chips is always better. :D
 
Welcome friend. I am in the (12) quarters per players club. 120 total, even though most games I play are after tourneys so it's never 10 players sitting down at the same time. We usually just give a barrel of quarters to the first 5 or 6 players (20/20/15 starting stacks) and the rest just get 10 - $1s and 18 - $5s. You can easily buy a few fracs for blinds from the chip leader at that point.

But if it is a new game, your players are new to cash you may want a few more fracs if you think the game will be soft (limp around, or $1 - $2 raises) if they are learning the bets will probably be pretty small. All depends on YOUR game.

Also foe the record, those samurai chips that @sheikh617 is selling are absolutely amazing and top notch in my book! MGK mould is much better than the cheap BCC chips on the sun moulds. Awesome weight and a bit more dense than paulsons. I honestly believe these chips will out last most of us. Very very well built, BCC kind if got a bad name with some of their lower end chips, bad quality control, off centered inlays, you name it they were kind of letting them slip through. But the higher end chips like the Samurai's are nothing like the cheapies!

If you are a fan of the inlays, and the breakdown works for your game. I highly recommend trying these out!! AND the price is right, even if you aren't a fan, you can list them and sell them back to another member.

Hope that helps!

Fellow Chipper Ben
Thanks Ben, that set definitely caught my eye because of the inlays. As did the "boat sets" for sale. I going to try to take everyone's advice here and buy some samples, and hopefully not make some stupid impulse buy just because I see some pretty colors! Ideally I would like a Cali colored set as my first choice, but I understand the demand and rarity for those sets already. I'm still working on trying to work on a custom set design. I've already gotten a lot of inspiration from the various threads.

It really depends on how your game plays. If it's really limpy, with min raises, and small bets after the flop, you may need more quarters. But if it's really splashy, with opens to $1+, you'll find almost no quarters being used after the flop, then 100 will be plenty. My group plays 5¢/10¢. When we first started, there were never enough nickels. But as the game has become more splashy, I feel like 60 nickels on the table would be plenty.

Of course, no harm in having surplus, as moar chips is always better. :D
Lol yea, that's what I tell myself to get over my buyers guilt every time I *accidentally* click Buy Now on Amazon.

My small group definitely has some beginners. Also, there is a visual appeal for them, having more chips on the table. But I think you and everyone else is right, 1000 might be too large (and expensive) just starting out.
 
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Don't feel constrained to think in terms of "I want starting stacks to be X/Y/Z and I have ten players so I need 10X/10Y/10Z in the bank". You don't need everyone to have identical starting stacks in a cash game. Instead, consider roughly how many of each denom you want on the table per player and buy enough of each denom to meet that target... but don't worry about how to split the bank up evenly between your players.

When it's time to buy in, hand out round numbers of the low denoms until they're all gone.

For example: a common recommendation around here is to buy 100 quarters, which gives you between 10 and 20 per player depending on how full your table is. Then give a barrel of quarters to each of the first five players who buy in. Buy-ins #6 and later won't get any quarters, but that's fine... they can make change from the other players when they sit down.
 
Thank you guys for the feedback. I really appreciate it. And now, I see that 600 (max 800) is probably the way to go. Thank you Coyote for your logic and breakdown. And yes, I most definitely will be in the market for samples.

Rhodeman77, I just checked out http://www.pokerchipdesigntool.com/ and it's overwhelming all the choices I have, but I like the idea of having totally unique chips. I think I'll definitely have to do some more research on this idea! One question I had was, in another thread, some people were recommending to still go with Paulson's due to the fact that CPC chip colors were not nearly as bright?

RichMohogany, that was one of the first threads I found! Still staring in disbelief!

Trying to design a custom set, question on proper Cali chip colors:

25c - Pink?
$1 - Blue?
$5 - Yellow?
$20 - Black?
$100 - White?

Also, as far spots go, it appears that the number of them should increase as the denomination goes up?

Go with 800 chips minimum. 100/200/300/100/100 will give you over $14k in bank(using a $25 chip) which should cover almost any home game stakes should your game start to play bigger. I’m a firm believer of future proofing cash sets when building them.

As for colors, you pretty much nailed it. Pink fracs work but more traditionally for Cali sets red, green, or peach/orange fracs are the norm.

CPC colors can create some beautiful sets, but yeah, their colors don’t compare to Paulson colors. Here’s an abandoned Cali relabel project of mine

1D2FAD5C-FF5D-4EB0-BBBE-B6CEFCF84C20.jpeg

D2F0ED24-5DB5-4D75-A050-E48367EEB0FF.png


Peach/blue/yellow/fuchsia/white

As far as increasing the number of spots on each successive chip, that is called spot progression. To some of us, it’s important, not so much to others. I’m a firm believer in more complex spots as the chip denomination get larger. You’ll have to decide whether or not it’s important to you.

Good luck, and have fun with it!

P.S. get samples!
 
100 x .25
200 x 1
300 x 5
100 x 25

with starting stacks of

12 x .25
17 x 1
16 x 5

Rebuys are done in fives until you run out. Then you move onto the twenty fives.

This is how I build all of my sets. I host .25/.50 with a 100 max buy in.
 
Thank you guys for the feedback. I really appreciate it. And now, I see that 600 (max 800) is probably the way to go. Thank you Coyote for your logic and breakdown. And yes, I most definitely will be in the market for samples.

Rhodeman77, I just checked out http://www.pokerchipdesigntool.com/ and it's overwhelming all the choices I have, but I like the idea of having totally unique chips. I think I'll definitely have to do some more research on this idea! One question I had was, in another thread, some people were recommending to still go with Paulson's due to the fact that CPC chip colors were not nearly as bright?

RichMohogany, that was one of the first threads I found! Still staring in disbelief!

Trying to design a custom set, question on proper Cali chip colors:

25c - Pink?
$1 - Blue?
$5 - Yellow?
$20 - Black?
$100 - White?

Also, as far spots go, it appears that the number of them should increase as the denomination goes up?

If you are seriously considering a custom set get a color sample set first! There are some great colors available for sure, but for the most part they are more subdued than Paulson colors.

also the lead time is several months at least so if you want something right away I’d recommend getting a set like the Horseshoe Indiana chips that are available from the Chip Room right now. That way you have something to play with and can easily be sold later on when your custom chips arrive if you need to. Or you can be like most of us and have many sets!!
 
For CPC, absolutely color sample set (and mold sample set, I 'd say) first!
Which you 'll clean and oil to let the true colors pop-up.

There are also off-the-shelf CPCs ("stock designs") including CPC-made Key Wests, sold by the name-sake vendor here.
 
Go with 800 chips minimum. 100/200/300/100/100 will give you over $14k in bank(using a $25 chip) which should cover almost any home game stakes should your game start to play bigger. I’m a firm believer of future proofing cash sets when building them.

As for colors, you pretty much nailed it. Pink fracs work but more traditionally for Cali sets red, green, or peach/orange fracs are the norm.

CPC colors can create some beautiful sets, but yeah, their colors don’t compare to Paulson colors. Here’s an abandoned Cali relabel project of mine

View attachment 538658
View attachment 538659

Peach/blue/yellow/fuchsia/white

As far as increasing the number of spots on each successive chip, that is called spot progression. To some of us, it’s important, not so much to others. I’m a firm believer in more complex spots as the chip denomination get larger. You’ll have to decide whether or not it’s important to you.

Good luck, and have fun with it!

P.S. get samples!
Thanks Rich, I just ordered a set of samples from CPC today. Also, thank you for the insight on spot progression. Definitely something I'll have to factor in, I had noticed a pattern when view some of the pron threads, but didn't know if I was just seeing things.
 
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Thank you all for the chip breakdowns, and advice so far. I think 600-800 a realistic expectation. I had grand dreams of building a huge room right off the bat, on day 1, so it's good to come down to earth. I've really dug into the poker chip design tool and have a couple sets rendered already:

Custom Cali themed set
Custom NY retro set
Custom Cali retro set
Sacramento (coke giraffes) replica set
Lakeshore Inn replica set

I'm trying to research and learn how to design the inlays. I know there are several members here that can provide services but I'm so early in the process, it would be a waste of their time right now. I'm trying to use Adobe Illustrator since that's the template the site uses. Is this still the way to go? Thanks again!
 
Just so you are aware, CPC has an order backlog and can take many months or up to a year to make your chips once you have all the decisions done and the art ready. It just depends on what mold you use and where it is in the rotation.

If you need some cash chips to use sooner, and that you can repurpose as a travelling set for when your customs are in hand, feel free to browse the Classifieds or look out for Vendor sales, or even PM me for something interesting.
 
Just so you are aware, CPC has an order backlog and can take many months or up to a year to make your chips once you have all the decisions done and the art ready. It just depends on what mold you use and where it is in the rotation.

If you need some cash chips to use sooner, and that you can repurpose as a travelling set for when your customs are in hand, feel free to browse the Classifieds or look out for Vendor sales, or even PM me for something interesting.
Thanks allforcharity. Right now, I'm trying to take everything in and listen to everyone's advice. I'll be the first to admit, patience isn't my strong suit. But I just ordered a sample set from CPC so I'll be excited when those arrive and I can judge the quality and look and feel. I'll be sure to share with everyone when they come in.

Right now I'm still on the fence, whether I would want to wait and see if an opportunity comes to purchase a nice Paulson set, or create my own custom set. I'm starting to understand the great lengths that members have gone to, and the time it's taken for them to put these rare sets together. Also, I'm amazed at how the community is so close, and can almost account for all of the known quantities of some of these rare chip sets and even who has them. So wanting to sell their entire life's work to someone is probably not what they envision. Obviously, waiting a year for a custom set to be crafted is a long time too, but at least that is a known quantity.

Either way, I'm just trying to be patient and not just go and buy the first set I see (no promises on that).
 
I recently purchased a set of 800 Royals from Apache and this is what I went with. We play 50c/50c, but this set up will easily cover 50/1 and 1/2 If you want to go higher.
 

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Update #1:

I'm taking everyone's advice to purchase some samples. My CPC color and mold samples should arrive on Tues. Also, I purchased a partial Paulson color sample set from @Marhault, and look to continue the journey of completing it. If anyone has any extra Paulson sample color chips available, I would be interested in purchasing them (Royal Blue? ;)). I was also lucky enough to be able to purchase a sample BTP set, thanks to @sheikh617, and will eagerly await that arrival as well.

Now I'm moving in to playing cards. I've only used and handled Bicycle, Copag, and Da Vinci. But after discovering this community, I see that there is an affinity for a lot more brands. Desjgn seems to always come up, and I can see why, the designs are beautiful. But also KEM, Modiano & Fournier 2800 and 2818, can anyone provide more info on why those specific 2 models?

Thanks again everyone who's helped me so far, I really appreciate the feedback & advice!
 

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