I could see myself burning a lot of money from this forum - beginner learnings & thoughts.. (5 Viewers)

[Eriks]

I couldn't disagree more, I ordered multiple samples. Tina's, Br pro, cpc, ect. The difference was night and day. I'm going to end up owning multiple sets involving all three. However knowing what they feel like before deciding was paramount to deciding what maker to go whith what set.

Yeah sure, you can use samples to tell the fundamental difference between different types of chips but you still can’t tell me how a certain set will feel, stack and shuffle from handling a handful of chips.

 

[Josh Kifer]

I tend to agree, you can’t tell much from individual samples. Unless you already have lots of experience (perhaps regardless) from handling different kinds of chips, you’d need a barrel of the same chips to get a proper idea of how they feel, stack, shuffle.

What the fuck. I couldnt disagree more. You don't need more than 5-6 chips to get a mold feel.. and every ceramic feels and shuffles different. Every CPC mold feels and shuffles different. Every color translates different outside of the different phone and cameras we use.

Y'all crazy or far richer than I am.

 

[Josh Kifer]

Thread 'Poll - Buying Samples... Yay or nay?' https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/poll-buying-samples-yay-or-nay.136758/

For funsies.

 

[Josh Kifer]

but you still can’t tell me how a certain set will shuffle from handling a handful of chips.

uhhhh... Sample set... 6-7 chips

Shuffle stack... 6-8 chips...

Wut.

 

[lettucecookmeat]

Outlaws are from discount poker. They are probably the best sluggo chips out there. They have an actual mold, vivid color, and are pretty flat for a slugged chip. They also dont feel as plasticy as other slugged chips (possibly because of the mold but the plastic feels higher quality). Monte Carlos are very slightly heavier than Outlaws. They have a distinctly plastic feel and no texture to speak of. They are also very busy without actually looking very good. Outlaws try to "mimic" (strong word) paulsons while Monte Carlos mimic matsuis. Outlaws are also cheaper. I really could never make a solid argument for having Monte Carlos over Outlaws.

The other popular sluggo is Casino Royale. They feel like very cheap plastic, even more so than Monte Carlos. Do not recommend.

Thank you for this! I was about to fall into this trap of Monte Carlos as a cheap set to tide me over till a Tina GB. Outlaws you mentioned are what I might get first.

 

[Eriks]

uhhhh... Sample set... 6-7 chips

Shuffle stack... 6-8 chips...

Wut.

Good thing I’m also bored
6-8 chips is a shuffle stack, wut?
Bro, do you even shuffle?

 

[Josh Kifer]

Good thing I’m also bored
6-8 chips is a shuffle stack, wut?
Bro, do you even shuffle?

Literal "shuffle stack holders" are like 8 chips. I got like 5 of them on my desk at work.

 

[BigGrizz]

Thank you for this! I was about to fall into this trap of Monte Carlos as a cheap set to tide me over till a Tina GB. Outlaws you mentioned are what I might get first.

Good choice. Dont get me wrong, saving for Tinas is the best, but that takes twice the money and months of waiting. If you want an entry set now, Outlaws are literally the only ABS slug set I recommend. (Spartans from discount poker are the same chips I believe if that design appeals to you).

 

[Ugsdre]

Hi there, I am a new member too, I just joined a little over a month ago, but I was fortunate enough to find Justin’s October group buy and got in on the 0 label fee CDI Web Mold Set. I ended up ordering 500 chips for tournaments I run. This will be my third chip set, my first Tina Ceramic set, the first 2 being China Clays. The CC’s get a lot of hate on here, but I actually like them a lot, they kill regular plastic chips and feel and play really nice I feel. My original set was the Desert Palms CC’s from Apache sold about 15 to 20 years ago. They have held up incredibly well, they still feel and look like new and my players love them. I have 25 through 5000 demons, though we don’t use the 25’s anymore. I run a 10 man game, but have enough chips for 15 with starting stack of 7500. My 2nd set, I just bought a week ago actually, is from ThePokerStore..com, it’s the Olympus set, highly recommend if u go the cc route, GREAT chips, u can get a 500 chip set for 160 shipped, for your starting set at your budget, u cant do better imo.

For the Olympus set and my new CDI Tina’s from the group buy, the chip break down is as follows:

$100/ 225 chips
$500/ 150 chip
$1000/ 100 chips
$5000/ 25 chips

We start our games at 100/200 with 20 minute blinds. I used to start at 25/50, hence the green 25 chips on the desert palms set, but it just made the game longer for no reason so we stopped using them.

I’d say look at those Olympus chips to start with, they are nicer than the price reflects, believe me, if not, do what others have said, get in on a 0 label fee Broken Arrow group buy, it’s a minimum of 300 chips, I got 500, it ended up being just under 260 with shipping, I just have to wait until sometime in January to get them. The next group buy should be posting soon for November, I’m sure there will be a couple options with 0 label fee. It was super easy, I just commented what I wanted, Justin messaged me an invoice, and I chose to pay with Venmo, he accepts PayPal as well, it really is pretty simple and nothing to be scared about, he made it very easy, highly recommend. I included a couple pics of the Olympus chips I bought, and a pic of my Desert Palms cc set from Apache for reference, plus a pic from Justin’s site of the CDI set I ordered and am waiting on from the group buy.

 

[Huskerchipper]

Hi there, I am a new member too, I just joined a little over a month ago, but I was fortunate enough to find Justin’s October group buy and got in on the 0 label fee CDI Web Mold Set. I ended up ordering 500 chips for tournaments I run. This will be my third chip set, my first Tina Ceramic set, the first 2 being China Clays. The CC’s get a lot of hate on here, but I actually like them a lot, they kill regular plastic chips and feel and play really nice I feel. My original set was the Desert Palms CC’s from Apache sold about 15 to 20 years ago. They have held up incredibly well, they still feel and look like new and my players love them. I have 25 through 5000 demons, though we don’t use the 25’s anymore. I run a 10 man game, but have enough chips for 15 with starting stack of 7500. My 2nd set, I just bought a week ago actually, is from ThePokerStore..com, it’s the Olympus set, highly recommend if u go the cc route, GREAT chips, u can get a 500 chip set for 160 shipped, for your starting set at your budget, u cant do better imo.

For the Olympus set and my new CDI Tina’s from the group buy, the chip break down is as follows:

$100/ 225 chips
$500/ 150 chip
$1000/ 100 chips
$5000/ 25 chips

We start our games at 100/200 with 20 minute blinds. I used to start at 25/50, hence the green 25 chips on the desert palms set, but it just made the game longer for no reason so we stopped using them.

I’d say look at those Olympus chips to start with, they are nicer than the price reflects, believe me, if not, do what others have said, get in on a 0 label fee Broken Arrow group buy, it’s a minimum of 300 chips, I got 500, it ended up being just under 260 with shipping, I just have to wait until sometime in January to get them. The next group buy should be posting soon for November, I’m sure there will be a couple options with 0 label fee. It was super easy, I just commented what I wanted, Justin messaged me an invoice, and I chose to pay with Venmo, he accepts PayPal as well, it really is pretty simple and nothing to be scared about, he made it very easy, highly recommend. I included a couple pics of the Olympus chips I bought, and a pic of my Desert Palms cc set from Apache for reference, plus a pic from Justin’s site of the CDI set I ordered and am waiting on from the group buy.

Congrats on finding this forum and finding chips you are happy with. That's what we are all here for. Definitely better than dice chips!

 

[Baldeagle9]

Welcome to PCF, tons of great people and info throughout this forum, enjoy!

 

[Jers28]

Welcome to the forum and best of luck on your journey. If I was in your shoes I would find the exact amount of chips needed for your micro stakes game, find the design you like in Justins monthly group buy and save until you have the $$$. He makes it unbelievably easy. Tell him what you want, pay and wait 2-3 months for chips to be delivered to your front door. Whala...a set of chips you likely won't regret buying.

This

 

[Jers28]

Sorry, I skimmed most of the thread, so you may be beyond this point. I have “samples” of numerous sets, Tina’s, BRPro, CPC, Paulson’s, even Tiger Palace. I’d damn near give away any you like minus the Tiger Palace and Paulson’s. I have no need for the numerous sample sets I own at this stage. Pay for shipping and maybe a tiny fee to pass along to my wife to cover her time to ship to you…a handling fee if you will and I’ll send you whatever you need. Just DM me if you’re interested and we can figure out what exactly you are after.

 

[lettucecookmeat]

Hi there, I am a new member too, I just joined a little over a month ago, but I was fortunate enough to find Justin’s October group buy and got in on the 0 label fee CDI Web Mold Set. I ended up ordering 500 chips for tournaments I run. This will be my third chip set, my first Tina Ceramic set, the first 2 being China Clays. The CC’s get a lot of hate on here, but I actually like them a lot, they kill regular plastic chips and feel and play really nice I feel. My original set was the Desert Palms CC’s from Apache sold about 15 to 20 years ago. They have held up incredibly well, they still feel and look like new and my players love them. I have 25 through 5000 demons, though we don’t use the 25’s anymore. I run a 10 man game, but have enough chips for 15 with starting stack of 7500. My 2nd set, I just bought a week ago actually, is from ThePokerStore..com, it’s the Olympus set, highly recommend if u go the cc route, GREAT chips, u can get a 500 chip set for 160 shipped, for your starting set at your budget, u cant do better imo.

For the Olympus set and my new CDI Tina’s from the group buy, the chip break down is as follows:

$100/ 225 chips
$500/ 150 chip
$1000/ 100 chips
$5000/ 25 chips

We start our games at 100/200 with 20 minute blinds. I used to start at 25/50, hence the green 25 chips on the desert palms set, but it just made the game longer for no reason so we stopped using them.

I’d say look at those Olympus chips to start with, they are nicer than the price reflects, believe me, if not, do what others have said, get in on a 0 label fee Broken Arrow group buy, it’s a minimum of 300 chips, I got 500, it ended up being just under 260 with shipping, I just have to wait until sometime in January to get them. The next group buy should be posting soon for November, I’m sure there will be a couple options with 0 label fee. It was super easy, I just commented what I wanted, Justin messaged me an invoice, and I chose to pay with Venmo, he accepts PayPal as well, it really is pretty simple and nothing to be scared about, he made it very easy, highly recommend. I included a couple pics of the Olympus chips I bought, and a pic of my Desert Palms cc set from Apache for reference, plus a pic from Justin’s site of the CDI set I ordered and am waiting on from the group buy.

This is awesome and a gem of a response. Your progression and journey are just the specific sets and examples I need. I’m tempted to leaning toward a tournament set up so that denomination breakdown is use super useful for me. Thank you!

Sorry, I skimmed most of the thread, so you may be beyond this point. I have “samples” of numerous sets, Tina’s, BRPro, CPC, Paulson’s, even Tiger Palace. I’d damn near give away any you like minus the Tiger Palace and Paulson’s. I have no need for the numerous sample sets I own at this stage. Pay for shipping and maybe a tiny fee to pass along to my wife to cover her time to ship to you…a handling fee if you will and I’ll send you whatever you need. Just DM me if you’re interested and we can figure out what exactly you are after.

Oh man this is a tempting offer let me get the approval of the wife…

 

[Ugsdre]

This is awesome and a gem of a response. Your progression and journey are just the specific sets and examples I need. I’m tempted to leaning toward a tournament set up so that denomination breakdown is use super useful for me. Thank you!

Oh man this is a tempting offer let me get the approval of the wife…

Justin just posted the November group buy for the next Tina order, there are 2 options for 0 cost label fee chips, the KGB chips from Rounders, and Pioneer Club, which was an original casino on Fremont St in Downtown Vegas back in the day, that’s a nice looking set. The Pioneer Club building still stands today, but it is a souvenir shop I believe, but the famous Vegas Vic and Pioneer sign still hang greeting visitors daily

Thread 'CHIPS* WEB, JESTER, GREEK, SUN, TANGIERS* NOVEMBER 2025'
https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/chips-web-jester-greek-sun-tangiers-november-2025.136777/

 

[grelco]

It's not burning money, it's simply storing value in the form of usable art rather than raw currency. This is what rich people do.

 

[ziimulis]

I'm a newbie too staring at the abyss. To shred my wallet or not to shred it is the question. Too many beautiful chips...

 

[Gus]

Hi Mr Lettuce,

I've sent samples to a couple members here, happy to send you some (along with another chap here in this thread by the looks of it).

You pay shipping both ways (about $20 total) and I'll ship 10x shuffle stacks your way.

In my experience it's great to get acquainted with the different chip types and see Hobbyphilic videos to see them in action but there's no substitute for getting hands on.

Accessible and affordable:
TINAs, china clays, Monte Carlos and other slugs, slow plays (both slugged and ceramic), etc...

Ceramics:
BR Pro, vintage Chipco, Slow Play, Sun-Fly, etc

Vintage clay both mint and worn:
CPC, Paulson, TR King, etc

Casino plastic:
Bud Jones, B&G, Abbiati, Matsui, etc

Easiest alternative is to simply buy a TINA set from the classifieds (links below). Worst case is you don't love them and just re-sell here, maybe take a 20% loss for your troubles.

750 chip James Bond replicas at $400 shipped
https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/750pc-tina-hybrid-cdi-98-replica-cash-set.136958/

600 chip microstakes at $280 shipped with racks:
https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/dunes-of-arrakis-tina-microstakes.136607/

800 chip low-to-mid stakes set, $450 shipped
https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/tina-tangiers-cash-set.136169/

 

[Jaxen]

My good man @lettucecookmeat , from another newb, welcome to PCF! I finally made an account here in July after lurking off and on for years. In less than 3 months I've ordered cards, buttons and cut cards. I've spent $85 ... and haven't bought a single damn chip yet (that comes in next month's group buy).
My current chips (Nexgen River Poker Tour, in the profile pic) are over a decade old and fine. A new Tina tourney set will definitely hold me. I won't host another cash game until May, and I want to do that and ask my players about them before I even think about a new cash set. Therein lies the rub. What you have is fine (well, once you get it). This site will definitely give you a sense of "I want this, this, these, them and those." Treat PCF like an art gallery — enjoy the works knowing you could become a small-time curator yourself, and aspire to be no more than that.

Or, get a new credit card, go Paulson and Tiger Palace crazy, then fake your own death when the bill comes. Either or.

 

[dragonmire]

using this thread for inspiration of what to do for my first set - getting tired of my shitty dice chips , but I feel like I'm drowning in options

 

[TheYeti]

using this thread for inspiration of what to do for my first set - getting tired of my shitty dice chips , but I feel like I'm drowning in options

If you have a set budget the choices get easier.

 

[dazoki]

Beware (or ignore PCF style) the intruding logic of “…it’s just one rack, technically a sample of a larger set”

 

[dragonmire]

If you have a set budget the choices get easier.

trying to keep things in the range of 250-400$, have some leftover funds from some other hobbies I could redirect (this is not great logic! )

 

[BigGrizz]

How many chips do you need?

 

[dragonmire]

How many chips do you need?

thinking somewhere between 500-600 chips, my group enjoys 5c/10c micro so perhaps a breakdown of 5c/25c/50c?/1$/5$ is what I'm looking around for

 

[SeanGecko]

thinking somewhere between 500-600 chips, my group enjoys 5c/10c micro so perhaps a breakdown of 5c/25c/50c?/1$/5$ is what I'm looking around for

No 50¢

 

[BigGrizz]

For your price point, get samples of the new Olympus chips from the Poker Store. Those are probably some of the best bang for your buck chips out there.

 

[dragonmire]

No 50¢

not worth having that small of a jump in denoms?

For your price point, get samples of the new Olympus chips from the Poker Store. Those are probably some of the best bang for your buck chips out there.

thank you! these look very clean honestly, like the vibe and will probs put in a sample to see how they are

 

[SeanGecko]

not worth having that small of a jump in denoms?


thank you! these look very clean honestly, like the vibe and will probs put in a sample to see how they are

Correct. Waste of money really and space. Also take longer to cash people out with another denomination.

 

[Isorg]

Newer Thoughts​

At the moment my thoughts are I want to enter a group by, but am too scared about how to even enter one/what info I need to provide. Think i missed it too October 2nd cut off.. I'll try to wait for the next one.

I'm a new guy too!


I've had all the same thoughts myself, was seriously eyeing a set like the Monte Carlos. But after a whole lot of reading, ordering some samples, and missing out on two different group buys, I’m finally figuring out what I want.


Chip-wise, I’ve been narrowing down the game I want to play: maybe $0.25/$0.50 or even $1/$2. I’m finally dipping my toes into the water and joining this month’s group buy.


The KGB was the first chip I saw that made me go, “Damn, I want those!”—but I wasn’t a fan of the colors or patterns. So I decided to mix things up: I’m getting the KGB label on a chip color and pattern I actually like. Even spent some time in GIMP hacking together a rough mock-up.