2021: Best Substitute for Paulson Chips? (Similar to Top Hat & Cane) (2 Viewers)

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Thank you for all for your time in advance...

What would you consider to be the best 2021 equivalent to Paulson Clay chips?

Your suggestions are most appreciated.

Thanks again!
 
Are you asking about chips which are in active production today which are equivalent? And when you say equivalent, are you asking about price or weight or feel or colors?

For chips being actively made today, I think the only ones that would even qualify as close are CPC chips. And they still feel/sound different than Paulsons.
 
Only compression molded clay currently made for the home market is CPC and the wait for those (new) are long.

you can often find in the classifieds compression chis for sale either BCC, CPC, TRK, or the older companies from mid 20th century like burt Co.
 
Vintage ASM chips can usually be gotten quite cheap, but often only in solid colours. If you have a router or drill press setup, you can mill them and customize with after market labels for a reasonable price.
 
More importantly, China Clays (even the nice ones) don't come close. And forget about "Official Casino Weight" garbage.

What's your goal here @vectorbased ? Just looking to learn about alternatives to Paulsons? Or are you trying to build a "Paulson-Quality" set but not with Paulsons.
 
To be blunt there is no equivalent to Paulson. They're unequalled and they're just the best.

Everything else is a compromise. There are still very decent options at a wide range of pricing and quality.

Best options other than Paulson:

1A) Getting older sets of TRK, BCC, ASM, etc.
1B) For new, you're only option is CPC (previously known as ASM).

And then there's everything else. High end plastic chips, ceramics, china clay, etc (in that order).
 
Welcome to the forum. you sound like someone who should really be handling a varied sample set so that you can decide what is the closest for you.

If we are considering what chips that are currently available to be custom made in 2021, in my opinion, the following are the "closest" to Paulson:
Feel - China Clays (YMMV)
Manufacture - CPC (Classic Poker Chips) the only correct answer
Colour Palette - Ceramics (they actually far exceed Paulson colours)

If you are asking which chips are available for purchase (used) in 2021, then the closest to Paulson (feel) are:
1. Paulsons (duh)
2. A high pressure compressed clay chip with enough wear to "soften" it up - ASM, BCC, old Burts
3. China Clays - which will be starting to flake and fall apart because they're old and used
 
BCC Tmolds, but out of production for years. You can still find sets here, but they're not cheaper than some Paulsons.
 
To be blunt there is no equivalent to Paulson. They're unequalled and they're just the best.
Everything else is a compromise.
This is false.
Personally I think compressed clays are best. And while older Paulsons from the 80s and early 90’s are my favorite chips, I would much prefer CPCs (on certain molds) to any chip Paulson has produced in the last 15-20 years.
 
This is false.
Personally I think compressed clays are best. And while older Paulsons from the 80s and early 90’s are my favorite chips, I would much prefer CPCs (on certain molds) to any chip Paulson has produced in the last 15-20 years.
Which molds?
 
i knew this was gonna be a powder keg.......

goodplace.gif
 
This is false.
Personally I think compressed clays are best. And while older Paulsons from the 80s and early 90’s are my favorite chips, I would much prefer CPCs (on certain molds) to any chip Paulson has produced in the last 15-20 years.

LOL, it's false but you agree - your personal favorite are Paulsons... :unsure:

Sorry, but CPCs just aren't in the same league as Paulsons. Not saying they're not nice, but they're just not the same.

Hypothetical question, If Paulson opened up business and made customs available for retail where would your business go? Where would 99% of PCFers go?

Also, there's a reason people go absolutely bananas whenever there is a whiff of Paulsons (see the latest Chip Room thread).

Paulson is king.
 
I think the OP was truly asking; if I dont want to dish out cash for these crazy @$$ prices on paulsons, what else can i buy
or if i dont want to wait and try to put a set together, especially when snappers and fracs disappear in 30 secs after they post
what are my other high end choices.
 
LOL, it's false but you agree - your personal favorite are Paulsons... :unsure:
Yeah. The Paulsons that were made 30 years ago are my favorite. I'm not interested in the chips they're producing today.
Quite simply, the only advantage of today's Paulson chips is the available color palette.
Their current clay and CPC's clay are a wash in my opinion.
CPC advantages: Mold selection, molds that produce textured inlays, and shaped inlays. Oh and made in America is a plus for a lot of people.
It's taken me a few years to realize it, but no, if Paulson opened up shop today, with their current offerings, my business would not go there.
99% of PCFers? I doubt it. 75-80%? Probably. But there's no accounting for taste.
 
Which molds?
I haven't played with all of them. But A mold and B mold for sure, HHR and E&C too. Probably quite a few others - CSQ, DIASQ, Ewing, Roman, maybe scroll - but I'd have to check to see which ones produced textured inlays, because they don't all. Point is, they have like 15 different molds to choose from.
 
Man if CPC ever put out the roman\wreath mold again, i would be all over that in a heart beat.
 
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Yeah. The Paulsons that were made 30 years ago are my favorite. I'm not interested in the chips they're producing today.
Quite simply, the only advantage of today's Paulson chips is the available color palette.
Their current clay and CPC's clay are a wash in my opinion.
CPC advantages: Mold selection, molds that produce textured inlays, and shaped inlays. Oh and made in America is a plus for a lot of people.
It's taken me a few years to realize it, but no, if Paulson opened up shop today, with their current offerings, my business would not go there.
99% of PCFers? I doubt it. 75-80%? Probably. But there's no accounting for taste.
Well, if Paulson opened up shop to PCF, they would be more than capable of producing textured inlays (hot-stamp THC and RHC molds still have textured recesses), they would be heavier than CPC, have more colors, more edge spots, more inlay sizes, more chip sizes, and the possibility for custom molds, which makes all of your points moot excluding shaped inlays. Not to mention, there’s still a chance they can make chips with shaped inlays, and if they can’t, the price for adding the equipment would be much more realistic than the price for adding a new shape or size of inlay to CPC (or for that matter, adding a mold or edge spot or color). Point is, unless they had the QC or Customer Service problems of BCC, then I’d confidently say 100% of PCFers would most go there except out of pity to CPC losing all of their business.
 
Yeah. The Paulsons that were made 30 years ago are my favorite. I'm not interested in the chips they're producing today.
Quite simply, the only advantage of today's Paulson chips is the available color palette.
Their current clay and CPC's clay are a wash in my opinion.
CPC advantages: Mold selection, molds that produce textured inlays, and shaped inlays. Oh and made in America is a plus for a lot of people.
It's taken me a few years to realize it, but no, if Paulson opened up shop today, with their current offerings, my business would not go there.
99% of PCFers? I doubt it. 75-80%? Probably. But there's no accounting for taste.

Just curious, how many Paulson sets do you own? How many CPC sets do you own? Just interested to know how your wallet has voted on the issue.
 
Just curious, how many Paulson sets do you own? How many CPC sets do you own?
For Paulson, right now, I own two sets plus two heads-up sets. I've owned at least 5 other paulson sets in the past. I've never owned a CPC set, but I've probably played 50 hours on various other people's CPCs.
 
You’re talking about the same fantasy situation.
What are you talking about?
You can buy CPCs right now. Not Fantasy.
The Chiproom cranks out a major Paulson sale a couple of times a year. Not fantasy.
Of those currently available non-fantasy situations, I'll take CPC. I realize I'm in the minority, but that doesn't mean it's a fact that Paulson currently makes the best compressed clay chips.
 
What are you talking about?
You can buy CPCs right now. Not Fantasy.
The Chiproom cranks out a major Paulson sale a couple of times a year. Not fantasy.
Of those currently available non-fantasy situations, I'll take CPC. I realize I'm in the minority, but that doesn't mean it's a fact that Paulson currently makes the best compressed clay chips.
It's taken me a few years to realize it, but no, if Paulson opened up shop today, with their current offerings, my business would not go there.
99% of PCFers? I doubt it. 75-80%? Probably. But there's no accounting for taste.
This is a fantasy situation. This is what I was replying to.
 
For Paulson, right now, I own two sets plus two heads-up sets. I've owned at least 5 other paulson sets in the past. I've never owned a CPC set, but I've probably played 50 hours on various other people's CPCs.

Your Honor, counsel rests it case.

Paulson is indeed king!

The defendant's wallet has spoken! It also prefers Paulsons. :LOL: :laugh: :p

All kidding aside, I do think CPC makes great chips. I'll eventually get off my butt and put in an order.
 
I haven't played with all of them. But A mold and B mold for sure, HHR and E&C too. Probably quite a few others - CSQ, DIASQ, Ewing, Roman, maybe scroll - but I'd have to check to see which ones produced textured inlays, because they don't all. Point is, they have like 15 different molds to choose from.
Yeah, I have the mold samples, but it's hard to get a feel for them with only a single chip. DSQ, HHR seem to be universally loved.
 
...a tale as old as time. New member asks a legitimate question and existing members end up squabbling about something else.


Real talk though... as you can see opinions differ and it’s largely in the eye of the beholder. Pick your spending limit $/chip and get samples of chips that fall below that amount. Personally my new favorite (minus leaded chips) are “cards mold” chips from China that cost ~$0.32/chip. I wouldn’t say they’re an equivalent to Paulsons but they sure are my favorite substitute right now.

Welcome to PCF @vectorbased
 

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