Advice for first cash set (1 Viewer)

[Unsteady_Legs]

I’ve had some really great advice so far. I’m debating whether I go all in and purchase a set of THC or RHC chips. Relabeled them utilizing the Gear labels. My second option from the great advice I received is utilizing CPC. Which rabbit hole for a first poker chips (roughly 500 chips) do you recommend? This will be for home games with the friends. I’ll be receiving both my samples of these chips this week. Thank you in advance for your advice!

Sincerely,
Jack.

 

[Unsteady_Legs]

I do plan on getting 1000 piece set at some point but might have to watch the Wallet depending on which way I go.

 

[Rieguy]

I would strongly recommend Paulson over CPC to start out. First, if you change directions you will not take as big of a price hit. Second, and some may disagree, CPC is basically end-game, because you now know your preferred color-schemes, inlays, breakdowns, etc. If you're going fully custom, it is good to know exactly what floats your boat after settling in and making that vision come to life. It probably takes at least a year to really get all of the little intricacies sorted out.

 

[Machine]

Welcome!
​

1) Why do you want a 1000 chip set?

2) Of your two options I would suggest the RHC option, they shouldn't break the bank, they are good chips and you don't have to worry about the regret of purchasing before you know what you really want, and what you really need.

CPCs are great, but if you don't understand what makes a great chip or set, if you're not passionate about a theme, if a certain mold doesn't appeal to you, you might do more research, its really not a journey to take out the gate. Everyone (including me) wants to chopper in to the top of the mountain, its a climb, start at the beginning!

Ben's not around so I'll go on.

What are some of your favorite 5s? What stakes do you play? Do you want to run a raked game (this is a rhetorical question, don't answer here), do you host a game now? What current equipment do you have, what would be your biggest upgrades?

What games do you play, is it just holdem? Cash game or Tournament? What denoms do you prefer, 20s or 25s? which way to you plan to go with Fracs? Non denom, .25, or .50?

The best advice is get samples, and take your coat off, stay a while!

 

[Unsteady_Legs]

I would strongly recommend Paulson over CPC to start out. First, if you change directions you will not take as big of a price hit. Second, and some may disagree, CPC is basically end-game, because you now know your preferred color-schemes, inlays, breakdowns, etc. If you're going fully custom, it is good to know exactly what floats your boat after settling in and making that vision come to life. It probably takes at least a year to really get all of the little intricacies sorted out.

Thank you for your advice!

 

[Rhodeman77]

Go Paulson to start. Easy to transition from them to something else if you paid a fair price. Plus the lead time for CPC is a few months to a year plus depending on the mold. So if want to start having games right away existing chips will be much faster.

 

[Unsteady_Legs]

Welcome!
​

1) Why do you want a 1000 chip set?

2) Of your two options I would suggest the RHC option, they shouldn't break the bank, they are good chips and you don't have to worry about the regret of purchasing before you know what you really want, and what you really need.

CPCs are great, but if you don't understand what makes a great chip or set, if you're not passionate about a theme, if a certain mold doesn't appeal to you, you might do more research, its really not a journey to take out the gate. Everyone (including me) wants to chopper in to the top of the mountain, its a climb, start at the beginning!

Ben's not around so I'll go on.

What are some of your favorite 5s? What stakes do you play? Do you want to run a raked game (this is a rhetorical question, don't answer here), do you host a game now? What current equipment do you have, what would be your biggest upgrades?

What games do you play, is it just holdem? Cash game or Tournament? What denoms do you prefer, 20s or 25s? which way to you plan to go with Fracs? Non denom, .25, or .50?

The best advice is get samples, and take your coat off, stay a while!

Thank you for your input!

The 1000 chip set would be for two tables if I were to. One game could be low stakes and the other one to be medium stakes. I currently have cash games in my barn with friends. I became a quadriplegic four years ago and the friends introduced me to poker in January. I know I’m new but I absolutely love the game! It’s one of the few activities I can fully do with them. We usually have the buy-in between $20-$50. I would like to have low denominations as majority of us are in our 20s. After watching a lot of YouTube and reading throughout the PCF for the last month this is some of the advice I’ve gathered. I want to stay in this game long-term bringing camaraderie between our group. To achieve this low denominations are desired. I want everyone to have a good time and not feel like they’re always losing money or they can’t fully play at higher stakes.

These are some of the denomination I’m thinking of.

500 ships is bare minimum, but this is my ideal sizes for each set

(620-720 chip set)
200 X $.25
200 X $1
200-300 X $5
20 X $20

(1000 chip set)
200 X $.25
100 X $.50
275 X $1
250 X $5
75 X $10
50 X $20
25 X $50
25 X $100

All 39mm

Please feel free to advise denominations/chip quantity from your experience.

For the $5 chips I do like are bold red colors. I thought Isle Cape Girardeau and Jack’s were really nice. I suppose it might need to be more picky.

I have plenty of tables we can play on, but would have to get more felt. The biggest upgrade or most important purchase would be the chips. As a quadriplegic I don’t feel the chips but I know it’s important to our group. Growing up, I was always told if you’re going to do some thing, do it right the first time.

If I go to the custom route, which is very appealing. I would make labels of our farm, which is Garden Montana/lazy 3 hanging J brand or a cool design with our area code.

At some point in the future, it would be nice to buy a nice table.

I suppose I might not be completely sure what makes a great poker chip set. I suppose I will guess it’s based off of color chip, denomination, quantity and design of the logo/chips.

Sincerely,
Jack

 

[KHarp1]

What chips are you playing with currently? I would suggest getting some samples, letting the group feel them, look at them, listen to them, talk about it, and then get a set to start out with. That gets you playing with a decent set while the ideas for your custom set percolates. You can get decent sets relatively inexpensively here in the classifieds, and, when you're ready to move on from then you can relist them here without losing much. There are cheap China plastic chips, "Tina" chips which are a Chinese "ceramic" chip that can even mimic clay chips. These are often sold here in group buys. They offer a nice look, and quality befitting is price point. Then there are BR Pro, Sunfly for higher quality ceramics that have several serviceable stock designs. Many of these can be had out of the classifieds at a decent price as well. Then you move into Paulson, and those like Paulson, for "clay"chips. You will step up in price here, but, some good (relatively) deals are still out there.

Budget will dictate what you get, but, I recommend getting some samples and seeing what you like, what you can live with, or can't live with, and then decide what you're willing to spend. Be aware, you'll end up spending more than what you decide. I don't think anyone on here has been immune to this.

 

[Machine]

Thank you for your input!

The 1000 chip set would be for two tables if I were to. One game could be low stakes and the other one to be medium stakes. I currently have cash games in my barn with friends. I became a quadriplegic four years ago and the friends introduced me to poker in January. I know I’m new but I absolutely love the game! It’s one of the few activities I can fully do with them. We usually have the buy-in between $20-$50. I would like to have low denominations as majority of us are in our 20s. After watching a lot of YouTube and reading throughout the PCF for the last month this is some of the advice I’ve gathered. I want to stay in this game long-term bringing camaraderie between our group. To achieve this low denominations are desired. I want everyone to have a good time and not feel like they’re always losing money or they can’t fully play at higher stakes.

These are some of the denomination I’m thinking of.

500 ships is bare minimum, but this is my ideal sizes for each set

(620-720 chip set)
200 X $.25
200 X $1
200-300 X $5
20 X $20

(1000 chip set)
200 X $.25
100 X $.50
275 X $1
250 X $5
75 X $10
50 X $20
25 X $50
25 X $100

All 39mm

Please feel free to advise denominations/chip quantity from your experience.

For the $5 chips I do like are bold red colors. I thought Isle Cape Girardeau and Jack’s were really nice. I suppose it might need to be more picky.

I have plenty of tables we can play on, but would have to get more felt. The biggest upgrade or most important purchase would be the chips. As a quadriplegic I don’t feel the chips but I know it’s important to our group. Growing up, I was always told if you’re going to do some thing, do it right the first time.

If I go to the custom route, which is very appealing. I would make labels of our farm, which is Garden Montana/lazy 3 hanging J brand or a cool design with our area code.

At some point in the future, it would be nice to buy a nice table.

I suppose I might not be completely sure what makes a great poker chip set. I suppose I will guess it’s based off of color chip, denomination, quantity and design of the logo/chips.

Sincerely,
Jack

Okay you're in the ballpark with chip count, but I think you might be jumping the gun just a little. I would say heed the warning about customs for now, RHCs are not $$$ and you can get the money back out when you're done. I wouldn't consider relabeling them. I would suggest getting some samples from BRPro, then weight the pros and cons of custom art of your Farm house on 'ceramics' vs the RHCs. I'm just not a fan of Tina chips, I'm a buy once, cry once kinda guy as well. You can't ( no one can ) do it right the first time with customs if they are the first thing you buy out the gate. If you chopper to the summit of a mountain you're going to only be able to stay like 30 mins because you won't be able to breath, your body has to acclimate as you ascend the mountain. much like that it takes time to know what you like and what is 'right'.

Okay so your chip break down, you'll not need 200 x .25 unless you plan to play .05/.1 because .25 in a .25/.50 game isn't a work horse chip. Personally, I run a .25/.5 and I play in a 1/2, a 5/5, and a weird PLO game that straddles the button with no blinds 5-25 w/ a 25 bringing at any time.

I am one of the odd balls in this but I only use 60 x .25s, and 200 x 1 and 200 x 5s then I put in 20s and 3ish hundos. I've been playing for years and I know what I like and want out of my game, I'm familiar with my players. I like the game to go and not be slow.

First figure out your banking needs.
Blind structure you plan to play most frequently, then you count on deep stack play so 200 x BB (call it .25/.5) = 100 (we'll say the buy in is 100 USD) count on pleople re-buy up to 3 times, so that gives us 100(buyin) x 4 (buyin + rebuys) = 400 x 9 (players) = 3600 which may cover 2 tables of average play but will cover a Crazy game.

1 table would be

100 x .25
200 x 1
200 x 5
80 x 20
20 x 100

So the 20s and 100s would cover the bank needed, hard to play with just 20s and hundos though. You can x 2 this, but I would like to this to cover two tables like this:

200 x .25
300 x 1
400 x 5
100 x 20
40 x 100

You NEED to take out the .50 or the .25 - personally I'd take out the .50 although there is an argument that you need less fracs if you use .50s; You NEED to take out the 10s and 50s as well both denoms will slow the game down.
Also the availability of the chips you're looking for will play a part in the budget =)

Hopefully you're at least playing on a table topper, if not, personally I would prioritize that over the chips, search for table topper you'll for rjdev7's stuff

 

[MeridianFC]

I 100% am on team get custom CPCs. They are to me the best possible option for custom clay cash chips.

With that said I think the advice to go slow, get samples, and maybe start with a different set for now, either ex casino RHC or semi custom/fully custom BR poker, is probably your best bet. CPC are very expensive (worth it mind) and the potential to make mistakes with them it’s very high. I’m just now correcting a problem with my set from nearly 20 years ago. Plus you’ll be waiting a long time before you get CPCs in your hands.

might take on the breakdowns might be slightly different than some of the other folks here but there’s a lot of experience going, and you should pay attention to what people say. Make your own decision, but make it based on good information.

 

[Unsteady_Legs]

Okay you're in the ballpark with chip count, but I think you might be jumping the gun just a little. I would say heed the warning about customs for now, RHCs are not $$$ and you can get the money back out when you're done. I wouldn't consider relabeling them. I would suggest getting some samples from BRPro, then weight the pros and cons of custom art of your Farm house on 'ceramics' vs the RHCs. I'm just not a fan of Tina chips, I'm a buy once, cry once kinda guy as well. You can't ( no one can ) do it right the first time with customs if they are the first thing you buy out the gate. If you chopper to the summit of a mountain you're going to only be able to stay like 30 mins because you won't be able to breath, your body has to acclimate as you ascend the mountain. much like that it takes time to know what you like and what is 'right'.

Okay so your chip break down, you'll not need 200 x .25 unless you plan to play .05/.1 because .25 in a .25/.50 game isn't a work horse chip. Personally, I run a .25/.5 and I play in a 1/2, a 5/5, and a weird PLO game that straddles the button with no blinds 5-25 w/ a 25 bringing at any time.

I am one of the odd balls in this but I only use 60 x .25s, and 200 x 1 and 200 x 5s then I put in 20s and 3ish hundos. I've been playing for years and I know what I like and want out of my game, I'm familiar with my players. I like the game to go and not be slow.

First figure out your banking needs.
Blind structure you plan to play most frequently, then you count on deep stack play so 200 x BB (call it .25/.5) = 100 (we'll say the buy in is 100 USD) count on pleople re-buy up to 3 times, so that gives us 100(buyin) x 4 (buyin + rebuys) = 400 x 9 (players) = 3600 which may cover 2 tables of average play but will cover a Crazy game.

1 table would be

100 x .25
200 x 1
200 x 5
80 x 20
20 x 100

So the 20s and 100s would cover the bank needed, hard to play with just 20s and hundos though. You can x 2 this, but I would like to this to cover two tables like this:

200 x .25
300 x 1
400 x 5
100 x 20
40 x 100

You NEED to take out the .50 or the .25 - personally I'd take out the .50 although there is an argument that you need less fracs if you use .50s; You NEED to take out the 10s and 50s as well both denoms will slow the game down.
Also the availability of the chips you're looking for will play a part in the budget =)

Hopefully you're at least playing on a table topper, if not, personally I would prioritize that over the chips, search for table topper you'll for rjdev7's stuff

Awesome, thank you so much for your advice! I like your chip breakdown and blind structure of .25/.5 and play in a 1/2. When running two games. I’ll take out and modify the denominations you mentioned.

Do you ever use separate chip sets to prevent any chips added to one of the games from another?

I do have a fold out table topper.

Sincerely,
Jack

 

[Machine]

I have multiple cash sets, that I rotate in. There is no need to have different sets out on different tables unless you have multiple banks going with multiple bankers. In other words unless different people per table are handling the money for that table no need for different sets.

If you are taking a rake these breakdowns won’t work.

As far as people running chips in, I don’t worry about it, all my stuff is custom or too cost prohibitive to get let a lone easy to get. You can check out my sets in my signatures

Also I only invite people I believe I can trust. The gear and the way most of the hosts here run a game is far too prestigious to mess up and not get an invite to. I have friends that actually complain because they notice the gear other games use and now it bothers them that they notice.

 

[Unsteady_Legs]

What chips are you playing with currently? I would suggest getting some samples, letting the group feel them, look at them, listen to them, talk about it, and then get a set to start out with. That gets you playing with a decent set while the ideas for your custom set percolates. You can get decent sets relatively inexpensively here in the classifieds, and, when you're ready to move on from then you can relist them here without losing much. There are cheap China plastic chips, "Tina" chips which are a Chinese "ceramic" chip that can even mimic clay chips. These are often sold here in group buys. They offer a nice look, and quality befitting is price point. Then there are BR Pro, Sunfly for higher quality ceramics that have several serviceable stock designs. Many of these can be had out of the classifieds at a decent price as well. Then you move into Paulson, and those like Paulson, for "clay"chips. You will step up in price here, but, some good (relatively) deals are still out there.

Budget will dictate what you get, but, I recommend getting some samples and seeing what you like, what you can live with, or can't live with, and then decide what you're willing to spend. Be aware, you'll end up spending more than what you decide. I don't think anyone on here has been immune to this.

Thank you for your input! We currently play with one of my buddies sets. He got a custom set, but lives an hour away. Ideally having my own set would be nice so he doesn’t feel pressure on transporting. I did pick up some samples from a Tina group buy put on by Justin. I was super excited on the Bellagio. However, our group did not like the no mold textured ceramics. I thought they were great but again I can’t feel sensation. I’m looking to drop between $1000-$2000 on a set. I did pick up a sample of rounders as well. I have looked through BR pro a little, but will do more thorough dive. I have thought about maybe picking up some of those CPC or tiki chips on a large set that I could also potentially lease out for weddings. After all the grades input from this wonderful community. I feel a little bit better on denomination/quantity of the chips I’m looking for. I’m sure this won’t be the only set I buy. Like one hilarious comment mentioned. “PCF is like Costco, you go there for eggs and milk that come out with a $700 bill.” Again thank you so much!

Sincerely,
Jack

 

[Unsteady_Legs]

I have multiple cash sets, that I rotate in. There is no need to have different sets out on different tables unless you have multiple banks going with multiple bankers. In other words unless different people per table are handling the money for that table no need for different sets.

If you are taking a rake these breakdowns won’t work.

As far as people running chips in, I don’t worry about it, all my stuff is custom or too cost prohibitive to get let a lone easy to get. You can check out my sets in my signatures

Also I only invite people I believe I can trust. The gear and the way most of the hosts here run a game is far too prestigious to mess up and not get an invite to. I have friends that actually complain because they notice the gear other games use and now it bothers them that they notice.

I’ll definitely check out your content! I really appreciate your advice. I will not rake our home game. I want to try to have a game sustain long-term and I feel that might potentially create tension. I’m really just searching for the camaraderie between the friends. Besides flyfishing, this is one of my favorite activities. Having trustworthy friends is also very important.

Sincerely,
Jack

 

[Unsteady_Legs]

I 100% am on team get custom CPCs. They are to me the best possible option for custom clay cash chips.

With that said I think the advice to go slow, get samples, and maybe start with a different set for now, either ex casino RHC or semi custom/fully custom BR poker, is probably your best bet. CPC are very expensive (worth it mind) and the potential to make mistakes with them it’s very high. I’m just now correcting a problem with my set from nearly 20 years ago. Plus you’ll be waiting a long time before you get CPCs in your hands.

might take on the breakdowns might be slightly different than some of the other folks here but there’s a lot of experience going, and you should pay attention to what people say. Make your own decision, but make it based on good information.

I just got home tonight and open up a couple packages of rounders and ex casino RHC and THC. I think they’re both great. However, I do lean towards RHC & THC. I really appreciate your advice. When I go to make my custom set, I probably will do CPC. Like another gentleman mentioned, it takes probably six months to a year to really hammer out what I’m searching for on the custom. I appreciate you letting me know how long the CPC will take too. Individuals like yourself have been amazing! This community has been wonderful and I am honored to be a part of it.

Sincerely,
Jack

 

[Unsteady_Legs]

I would strongly recommend Paulson over CPC to start out. First, if you change directions you will not take as big of a price hit. Second, and some may disagree, CPC is basically end-game, because you now know your preferred color-schemes, inlays, breakdowns, etc. If you're going fully custom, it is good to know exactly what floats your boat after settling in and making that vision come to life. It probably takes at least a year to really get all of the little intricacies sorted out.

Thank you, I really appreciate your advice!

Sincerely,
Jack

 

[BGinGA]

The 1000 chip set would be for two tables

One game could be low stakes and the other one to be medium stakes.

We usually have the buy-in between $20-$50.

500 ships is bare minimum, but this is my ideal sizes for each set

(620-720 chip set)
200 X $.25
200 X $1
200-300 X $5
20 X $20

(1000 chip set)
200 X $.25
100 X $.50
275 X $1
250 X $5
75 X $10
50 X $20
25 X $50
25 X $100

Please feel free to advise denominations/chip quantity from your experience.

#1 -- Drop the 50c, $10, and $50 chips from your plans. You will only need four (or five) denominations total: 25c, $1, $5, $20, and maybe $100 chips. Note that each of those denominations are spaced 4x to 5x from the next, which is the optimum spacing for efficiency (which means your $$ spent will get more 'bang for the buck', and your actual usage/play will be most enjoyable).

For a single-table low-stakes 25c/50c cash game, you are best prepared with these 600 chips ($3,225 bank value):
100 x 25c
200 x $1
200 x $5
100 x $20
Double those values for two tables (1200 chips).

For a single-table mid-stakes 1/2 cash game, plan on these 600 chips ($5,600 bank value):
100 x $1
300 x $5
200 x $20
Double those values for two tables (1200 chips).

Combining those two set/scenarios, you get this combo set of 800 chips (covering one table of either stakes):
100 x 25c
200 x $1
300 x $5
200 x $20
But adding another rack of quarters, $1s, and $5s (and substituting some $100s for $20s), you can stretch it to cover two tables at either stakes with just a single 1100 chip set ($9,550 bank value):
200 x 25c
300 x $1
400 x $5
160 x $20
40 x $100

 

[KingZilla]

I have run and played in a .25/.50 NL holdem home game for many years. You have some good advice already. From my own experience you need more than 100 - 25¢ chips if you're running a full table of 10 players. Only 10 - 25¢ chips per player will result in people making change frequently as many will run out of blinds chips in short order. If using quarters at these stakes, I'd give them 16 - 25¢ chips to start (along with $1 and $5 as you see fit). This is my long term experience, take it or no. Either way, good luck with your chips and game.