Where Have all the Chips Gone? (8 Viewers)

[BigGrizz]

Seriously. This is why I've mostly written off a paulson set ever. Idk what people here do for a living, but damn. I have to assume a lot of people here are:

1. Completely rekless with their finances.
2. Have amazing, very high paying jobs in the private sector.
Or 3. Are retired (or near) and can use disposable investments on a hobby.

- Signed: A 35yo public servant with children.

 

[Hot Nuts]

Seriously. This is why I've mostly written off a paulson set ever. Idk what people here do for a living, but damn. I have to assume a lot of people here are:

1. Completely rekless with their finances.
2. Have amazing, very high paying jobs in the private sector.
Or 3. Are retired (or near) and can use disposable investments on a hobby.

- Signed: A 35yo public servant with children.

You need to be in the top 1% to afford a Paulson set living in Cali.

 

[Jacks]

1. Completely rekless with their finances.

This is something I have pondered. What is reckless? I have often thought about it from the percentage of net worth I have "invested" in poker chips.

As an opportunity cost compared to giving up that money in index funds (~7% real growth a year), poker chips I think can be thought of as roughly 0% real growth a year (may keep up with inflation, may not) -- this is obviously not historically perfectly accurate but I think a fair way to look at it going forward.

In that world, I think 1-2% of net worth being tied up in poker chips for a fun hobby is something I am personally comfortable with and not something I feel is at all reckless (though my wife disagrees).

I think it gets a bit sketchy if people are putting 10% of their net worth or more in poker chips. I personally wouldn't want to do that!

 

[Lil Tuna]

Seriously. This is why I've mostly written off a paulson set ever. Idk what people here do for a living, but damn. I have to assume a lot of people here are:

1. Completely rekless with their finances.
2. Have amazing, very high paying jobs in the private sector.
Or 3. Are retired (or near) and can use disposable investments on a hobby.

- Signed: A 35yo public servant with children.

Something to ponder……..

If you found yourself a job making the same money you do now in a state that doesn’t steal…….I mean take state income taxes out of your paycheck. Then you invested just those funds you pay to Cali in state income tax, you’d probably have close to a million bucks by the time you were ready to retire in 30 years or so and you could afford that dream Paulson set.

As far as those high paying privet sector jobs go…….they also come with a lot of 12-14 hour days, lots of times working weekends and no monthly 3 day holiday weekends for things like “flag day” and such. Not a lot of 2 hour long water cooler conversations in the office on a daily basis either and definitely no 15 minute bathroom or smoke breaks every hour of the work day.

Outside of all that, a good paying job in the private sector in a state that doesn’t steal your pay in the disguise of state income taxes is a pretty sweet gig.

PS…

Rumor has it that the Hospice business is booming in California. Maybe something to look into and you could probably afford multiple Paulson sets. Maybe even upgrade to a sweeter TRK set.

 

[TKEUofM]

Ahhh…the new market saturation thread. Just what we needed to rinse and repeat.

Saturation would mean that there would be so many chips available that you would be able to freely buy/trade whatever you want at low prices.

Seems we are more of a drought.

My original point was that when I joined in 2020 there were tons of playable sets being offered, constant Chip Room sales and relatively affordable prices. There were a bunch of popular Paulson sets that were constantly moving and being listed. It seems like a lot of sets that used to be talked about and desired aren't mentioned anymore and have been locked away in vaults. And as mentioned, one person came in a bought up a ton of chips and has since disappeared from the forum taking all those chips with him.

 

[doublebooyah85]

Saturation would mean that there would be so many chips available that you would be able to freely buy/trade whatever you want at low prices.

Seems we are more of a drought.

My original point was that when I joined in 2020 there were tons of playable sets being offered, constant Chip Room sales and relatively affordable prices. There were a bunch of popular Paulson sets that were constantly moving and being listed. It seems like a lot of sets that used to be talked about and desired aren't mentioned anymore and have been locked away in vaults. And as mentioned, one person came in a bought up a ton of chips and has since disappeared from the forum taking all those chips with him.

Def due by the law of averages for a banger chip room sale. Honestly when was the last chip room sale with mint desirable rhc or THC in quantity?

 

[ekricket]

Saturation would mean that there would be so many chips available that you would be able to freely buy/trade whatever you want at low prices.

Seems we are more of a drought.

My original point was that when I joined in 2020 there were tons of playable sets being offered, constant Chip Room sales and relatively affordable prices. There were a bunch of popular Paulson sets that were constantly moving and being listed. It seems like a lot of sets that used to be talked about and desired aren't mentioned anymore and have been locked away in vaults. And as mentioned, one person came in a bought up a ton of chips and has since disappeared from the forum taking all those chips with him.

Some if it is the little guys. They come in, look around, find a set of chips they can finally afford, they get them and they are gone. Even if they were middle range chips they are gone to us. The owners don’t post here, they just wanted some better chips for some reason. There’s hundreds of these kind of members.

 

[Eriks]

And as mentioned, one person came in a bought up a ton of chips and has since disappeared from the forum taking all those chips with him.

A lot of those chips weren't actually available/for sale, but became so because of the prices offered.

 

[doublebooyah85]

Some if it is the little guys. They come in, look around, find a set of chips they can finally afford, they get them and they are gone. Even if they were middle range chips they are gone to us. The owners don’t post here, they just wanted some better chips for some reason. There’s hundreds of these kind of members.

Lucky SOBs

But you nailed it imho

 

[Cratty]

This is something I have pondered. What is reckless? I have often thought about it from the percentage of net worth I have "invested" in poker chips.

As an opportunity cost compared to giving up that money in index funds (~7% real growth a year), poker chips I think can be thought of as roughly 0% real growth a year (may keep up with inflation, may not) -- this is obviously not historically perfectly accurate but I think a fair way to look at it going forward.

In that world, I think 1-2% of net worth being tied up in poker chips for a fun hobby is something I am personally comfortable with and not something I feel is at all reckless (though my wife disagrees).

I think it gets a bit sketchy if people are putting 10% of their net worth or more in poker chips. I personally wouldn't want to do that!

This is my approach, ~2% of net worth in hobby assets (watches, poker chips, etc). Also gives me something to balance around vs over spending in a category.. if I want another chipset, I need to sell a watch or a set, etc.

But in the end, also view my hobby assets as heirloom pieces as well. The story behind a custom chip set or a anniversary watch is more meaningful to me than other purchases or passing down more money in the end.

 

[BarrieJ3]

When I have to pretend I know what SPR mean, pretend to make educated buying decisions, and pretend to know what a net worth would be:

 

[Lil Tuna]

It seems like a lot of sets that used to be talked about and desired aren't mentioned anymore and have been locked away in vaults.

This happens a lot because once the vultures learn something is desired, they waste no time trying to buy it up and hold it hostage for higher prices.
It makes the folks with the sets you mention not want to have much to do with this so called community once they’ve acquired and are happy with their set/sets.

 

[FestiveKnight]

Some if it is the little guys. They come in, look around, find a set of chips they can finally afford, they get them and they are gone. Even if they were middle range chips they are gone to us. The owners don’t post here, they just wanted some better chips for some reason. There’s hundreds of these kind of members.

And this why I grimace slightly every time a brand new member goes for the nicest chips. Some turn into longterm contributing members but when I see something rare sell to a brand new member I wonder if the seller really knows what they were doing

 

[Tonysquander]

Saturation would mean that there would be so many chips available that you would be able to freely buy/trade whatever you want at low prices.

Seems we are more of a drought.

My original point was that when I joined in 2020 there were tons of playable sets being offered, constant Chip Room sales and relatively affordable prices. There were a bunch of popular Paulson sets that were constantly moving and being listed. It seems like a lot of sets that used to be talked about and desired aren't mentioned anymore and have been locked away in vaults. And as mentioned, one person came in a bought up a ton of chips and has since disappeared from the forum taking all those chips with him.

I understand the point of the original question is almost the inverse of the original Saturation question. My point is that many of the responses stray far from that original query and into the same areas as the responses that strayed from the original saturation question. You can basically copy and paste a bunch of responses between the two and they would not look out of place in either thread.

My thoughts on your question is there do seem to be less complete sets being listed. I believe that is because there are more folks in the hobby and they are not making any more of those older sets. Limited supply and we saw a huge influx of demand in the last few years. Those who worked to get a set they wanted (like myself for example, with CDIs or WTHC) are not re-selling them because they are not flippers and it was the set they wanted and they are happily in love with and keeping it. It has nothing to do with chip price fluctuations (at least for me). Or as others have observed, someone comes in to find the set they want, finds it, buys it, and is happily living in chipping nirvana because they are not a sicko w/ a desire to have multiple different chip sets (again, like myself...lol) or to swap sets in or out. Also, I see a lot of sets listed that then get split up anyway because people are only looking for parts of it.

 

[BigGrizz]

Something to ponder……..

If you found yourself a job making the same money you do now in a state that doesn’t steal…….I mean take state income taxes out of your paycheck. Then you invested just those funds you pay to Cali in state income tax, you’d probably have close to a million bucks by the time you were ready to retire in 30 years or so and you could afford that dream Paulson set.

As far as those high paying privet sector jobs go…….they also come with a lot of 12-14 hour days, lots of times working weekends and no monthly 3 day holiday weekends for things like “flag day” and such. Not a lot of 2 hour long water cooler conversations in the office on a daily basis either and definitely no 15 minute bathroom or smoke breaks every hour of the work day.

Outside of all that, a good paying job in the private sector in a state that doesn’t steal your pay in the disguise of state income taxes is a pretty sweet gig.

PS…

Rumor has it that the Hospice business is booming in California. Maybe something to look into and you could probably afford multiple Paulson sets. Maybe even upgrade to a sweeter TRK set.

Well... this was... interesting for sure. Clearly we have different philosophies on taxes and living in a society but okay. Also I didn't mean to insult anyone with a high paid private sector job. I just figured that demographic would seem to fit the big spenders. I'm sure its a sweet gig.

Honestly, I would love to know demographic info about the people here. What is the average age? Median income? etc.

 

[Lil Tuna]

Well... this was... interesting for sure. Clearly we have different philosophies on taxes and living in a society but okay. Also I didn't mean to insult anyone with a high paid private sector job. I just figured that demographic would seem to fit the big spenders. I'm sure its a sweet gig.

Honestly, I would love to know demographic info about the people here. What is the average age? Median income? etc.

I like to keep it interesting. As far as living in a society, I’m of the philosophy of treating people the way I want to be treated. Pretty simple. I won’t ever lie, cheat or steal from you. And if I’m privileged enough to get an invite to a meet up or game someone is hosting, I’m respectful of that person and their home.

When it comes to taxes, I feel like I can make better decisions with MY money than my government can. The state I live in feels the same way and many of its residents also agree in that philosophy, to me, thats comforting to know.

When I see the fraud and abuse that’s recently been discovered in states like California or Minnesota, it makes me wonder why I pay any taxes at all honestly?

And last but not least I don’t understand why demographics of members here should matter to you?
I can tell you personally that I’ve met and gotten to know many members here on the forum.
They come from all different backgrounds and walks of life. The people I get along with and really enjoy the most tend to have a passion for poker and chips. Again, pretty simple.

Many of them have spent years acquiring the sets they currently own and they love nothing more than to felt those chips with like minded people.
Honestly…….when I’m sitting at the table with other chippers, I don’t seem to recall ever wondering how old they are, what they do for a living or how much money they make.
I’m really just trying to grow my chip stack with their chips.

 

[BarrieJ3]

When Pippa gets his CPC chips and Group Buy Cut Cards, the market will return.

Until then, we're cursed.

 

[BigGrizz]

I like to keep it interesting. As far as living in a society, I’m of the philosophy of treating people the way I want to be treated. Pretty simple. I won’t ever lie, cheat or steal from you. And if I’m privileged enough to get an invite to a meet up or game someone is hosting, I’m respectful of that person and their home.

When it comes to taxes, I feel like I can make better decisions with MY money than my government can. The state I live in feels the same way and many of its residents also agree in that philosophy, to me, thats comforting to know.

When I see the fraud and abuse that’s recently been discovered in states like California or Minnesota, it makes me wonder why I pay any taxes at all honestly?

Eh. I see my tax dollars at work and am pretty satisfied. There is always going to be some fraud and inefficiency but overall we have well paved roads and adequate policing. Social services are pretty functional. But hey, this is why we have states. CA is my preference. TX is yours. That's how its supposed to work.

And last but not least I don’t understand why demographics of members here should matter to you?
I can tell you personally that I’ve met and gotten to know many members here on the forum.
They come from all different backgrounds and walks of life. The people I get along with and really enjoy the most tend to have a passion for poker and chips. Again, pretty simple.

Many of them have spent years acquiring the sets they currently own and they love nothing more than to felt those chips with like minded people.
Honestly…….when I’m sitting at the table with other chippers, I don’t seem to recall ever wondering how old they are, what they do for a living or how much money they make.
I’m really just trying to grow my chip stack with their chips.

"Matters to you" is much more on the nose and accusatory than my interest. I'm an academic. I teach economics and link that with demographic data. For me it would be a purely academic exercise to further understand the microeconomics of this hobby.

 

[GamingWithChips]

"Matters to you" is much more on the nose and accusatory than my interest. I'm an academic. I teach economics and link that with demographic data. For me it would be a purely academic exercise to further understand the microeconomics of this hobby.

I've also wondered the median age, and I'm sure there's a poll thread out there, but my guess would be about 55 y/o

 

[BigGrizz]

Exactly. This community feels like it skews on the older side. I'd love to get some data and see what's what.

 

[BarrieJ3]

Eh. I see my tax dollars at work and am pretty satisfied. There is always going to be some fraud and inefficiency but overall we have well paved roads and adequate policing. Social services are pretty functional. But hey, this is why we have states. CA is my preference. TX is yours. That's how its supposed to work.

"Matters to you" is much more on the nose and accusatory than my interest. I'm an academic. I teach economics and link that with demographic data. For me it would be a purely academic exercise to further understand the microeconomics of this hobby.

The answers are very prevalent in some other threads and searching.

Your assumptions are likely mostly correct regarding membership makeup.

The question has been asked and answered before without the sensitive backlash, I believe there's even polls.

 

[Johnblue]

Not sure about you guys, but chipping comes in waves for me. Especially the selling part, you gotta be in the groove for listing, paying attention, responding, packing, shipping… it’s work…

I actually want to sell a few things, but the reason I haven’t has nothing to do with the market, everything to do with little league baseball coaching and other obligations.

HSI gotta go.

 

[BigGrizz]

The answers are very prevalent in some other threads and searching.

Your assumptions are likely mostly correct regarding membership makeup.

The question has been asked and answered before without the sensitive backlash, I believe there's even polls.

Ya. I don't get the sensitivity either. What wrong with analyzing a market? Plus that could yield some very interesting information. If the community does skew older it would make sense why millennial and gen z members would be a bit overwhelmed at times. We are in a market dominated by generations who have had more time to accumulate wealth, and thus excess funds to spend on a hobby. Its well established that hobbies' economics tend to mirror the economics of their core generations (this is why young people often lament older people gaining interest in their hobbies). This might just be a mature hobby with more free flowing capital on average, which pushes younger people to the sidelines. That would also track with gambling as an activity overall which is overwhelmingly most popular with gen x and boomers, while millennials and zoomers don't touch it. (Sports betting aside).

 

[ekricket]

but overall we have well paved roads

There are 150 miles of unpaved roads in my village. But we do have 6 miles of pavement

Social services are pretty functional.

There are no social services for 50 miles from our village. No hospital, no doctor, but we do have a police and fire dept. People in my state still live in houses made out of mud.


I hope you enjoy all your amenities.
I hope we don’t need emergency care.

 

[BigGrizz]

Yikes! Average ambulance/fire response times here are sub 5 minutes. Hospital is a 5 minute trip code 3. Downtown has a thriving small business scene and is fully walkable. So ya, I'm okay with my taxes. lol.

Also I feel like people overestimate how much CA takes in state income taxes. Every year I file its really not too bad, especially considering what I get.

 

[ekricket]

I just wish people would quit looking around and think that “everyone and everything everywhere looks like it does here, so things must be the same everywhere”

 

[GamingWithChips]

Ya. I don't get the sensitivity either. What wrong with analyzing a market? Plus that could yield some very interesting information. If the community does skew older it would make sense why millennial and gen z members would be a bit overwhelmed at times. We are in a market dominated by generations who have had more time to accumulate wealth, and thus excess funds to spend on a hobby. Its well established that hobbies' economics tend to mirror the economics of their core generations (this is why young people often lament older people gaining interest in their hobbies). This might just be a mature hobby with more free flowing capital on average, which pushes younger people to the sidelines. That would also track with gambling as an activity overall which is overwhelmingly most popular with gen x and boomers, while millennials and zoomers don't touch it. (Sports betting aside).

I laugh at some of the comments and remarks I've seen from people against Tina's and other lower end chips saying "just buy paulson's" like brother, I'd love to own some of the premium stuff, but that's just not how it works. We all have a budget and the nice stuff is far and away out of the budget for many people.

 

[LeLe]

I been away from chipping/poker for about a year now and this is my 2 cents (at least my own experience)

A typical Chipper Life Cycle

1. Generally, a new chipper who only wanted to buy 1 set initially will google for info.

2. As there are tons of option and despite a lot of useful information available from experienced chippers. FOMO will kick in and you will end up buying a lot of chips/set just to know what your preferences is too.

3. Buy/Sell Buy/Sell repeat cycle until you are satisfied with what you want, keep those and sell the remaining set back to PCF

4. "Retired" chipper status achieved until the next big thing maybe?

5. If no new wave of chippers to repeat the cycle, the chips are generally not going to be put for sales or moving fast at all.

 

[LeLe]

Honestly when was the last chip room sale with mint desirable rhc or THC in quantity?

I will say THC will be Harrah's and RHC will be Diamond Jacks?

TCR basically have no sales for over a year now, even BFS 2025 is just harrah sales part 2 which Jim keep and hold off from since 2024

 

[elemeno]

The answers are very prevalent in some other threads and searching.

Your assumptions are likely mostly correct regarding membership makeup.

The question has been asked and answered before without the sensitive backlash, I believe there's even polls.

Can you please link them?

Ya. I don't get the sensitivity either. What wrong with analyzing a market? Plus that could yield some very interesting information. If the community does skew older it would make sense why millennial and gen z members would be a bit overwhelmed at times. We are in a market dominated by generations who have had more time to accumulate wealth, and thus excess funds to spend on a hobby. It’s well established that hobbies' economics tend to mirror the economics of their core generations (this is why young people often lament older people gaining interest in their hobbies). This might just be a mature hobby with more free flowing capital on average, which pushes younger people to the sidelines. That would also track with gambling as an activity overall which is overwhelmingly most popular with gen x and boomers, while millennials and zoomers don't touch it. (Sports betting aside).

I’d be surprised if the people that frequently buy aren’t in a higher income/net worth bracket and skew older. I’d guess that most who frequently transact probably lean to middle income (could be upper or lower) since they’re looking for profit and they deem the pursuit to be worth their time and effort (of course there are exceptions - those who frequently transact at a loss are probably also high income/net worth). As a blended group, the average income on PCF is probably higher than the average income in the US.

That said, everyone is different and there’s no right answer/judgement from me. An ultra rich person might think you’re insane to spend $5k on a chip set and in the same breath spend more on a bottle of wine. Flip this for a chipper.