Are all chips this bad? (1 Viewer)

[DirtyTIVA]

RHC vs THC. Leaded vs not leaded. 39mm vs 43mm. Sharp vs used vs tires. These all affect the hand feel.

 

[philhut]

Those are very nice looking chips! Do the Paulsons vary a lot in feel? I know everyone says to get samples; how much does that matter if you're settling on some form of Paulson chips?

Paulsons are very consistent. The main issue is wear, new chips are chalky with sharp square edges. Over time these edges are worn to a rounded edge. New chips generally cost more. Personally I like slightly used Paulsons, the edges are mostly sharp and they will stand on edge but not hurt your fingers and will shuffle easy. Used HSI chips are in the perfect slightly used range for me and I have built a huge set of them as a result (not selling currently). Another variance in Paulsons is the inclusion of lead in the formula of the chip material. Chips made in the 90's and earlier likely contain small amounts of lead for weighting the chips. Formula's afterwards remove the lead content. Some players swear by leaded chips others do not. I find used leaded chips to be the best shuffling Paulsons around so to each their own.

 

[EbbNFlow]

Paulsons are very consistent. The main issue is wear, new chips are chalky with sharp square edges. Over time these edges are worn to a rounded edge. New chips generally cost more. Personally I like slightly used Paulsons, the edges are mostly sharp and they will stand on edge but not hurt your fingers and will shuffle easy. Used HSI chips are in the perfect slightly used range for me and I have built a huge set of them as a result (not selling currently). Another variance in Paulsons is the inclusion of lead in the formula of the chip material. Chips made in the 90's and earlier likely contain small amounts of lead for weighting the chips. Formula's afterwards remove the lead content. Some players swear by leaded chips others do not. I find used leaded chips to be the best shuffling Paulsons around so to each their own.

Used HSI chips. Thank you! I have something specific to look for at least. Sounds exactly what I'm interested in. I don't need anything in mint condition as long as there is lots of life left in them. As for the lead, I don't think I care either way but I play with some people that definitely would not want lead. I guess I'll just have to see what's available and in my price range. Is it better to piece a set together by the barrel/rack or find a full set? Appreciate the help. Everyone here has been awesome so far!

 

[Eriks]

As for the lead, I don't think I care either way but I play with some people that definitely would not want lead.

It’s not the kind of levels that will make them hazardous (unless they eat them). It has to do with weight and feel

 

[EbbNFlow]

It’s not the kind of levels that will make them hazardous (unless they eat them). It has to do with weight and feel

I understand but I have some old lead D&D figurines that my group refused to touch so I doubt I could convince them otherwise, lol.

 

[philhut]

Used HSI chips. Thank you! I have something specific to look for at least. Sounds exactly what I'm interested in. I don't need anything in mint condition as long as there is lots of life left in them. As for the lead, I don't think I care either way but I play with some people that definitely would not want lead. I guess I'll just have to see what's available and in my price range. Is it better to piece a set together by the barrel/rack or find a full set? Appreciate the help. Everyone here has been awesome so far!

Sets come up here once and a while, a few were up recently. I'd suggest buying a workable set of whatever chips you decide on first then adding on as you want/need/can afford. For a 1/2 set you could do well with this as a rough base.
100+ 150-$1
200+ 300-$5
80+ -$25
20+ -$100

It would be a shame to buy a few racks then to find other pieces hard to source later. At least that is why I'd suggest starting with a set in some variant close to the above. If needed the 80x$25 could be played as quarters and the $100's used at face if your game is wild.

 

[natumes]

Used HSI chips. Thank you! I have something specific to look for at least. Sounds exactly what I'm interested in. I don't need anything in mint condition as long as there is lots of life left in them. As for the lead, I don't think I care either way but I play with some people that definitely would not want lead. I guess I'll just have to see what's available and in my price range. Is it better to piece a set together by the barrel/rack or find a full set? Appreciate the help. Everyone here has been awesome so far!

I would say most of the used RHC chips are in good condition and fit your price range. Home game use will likely never deteriorate chips like casino wear does. Leaded chips are generally out of your stated price range. Definitely try and get a full set. I would say that the used RHC chips you should target are usually sold as sets rather than pieced together like rarer/older/leaded sets. HSI's are a great, but if you look through past The Chip Room sales you will see a lot of used sets that are also great. I usually build my cash sets with 800 chips which covers .25/.50 and 1/2 and fits nicely in an apache case:

120 - quarters (sub to $5/$25 if not needed)
200 - $1
300 - $5
160 - $25
20 - $100

 

[EbbNFlow]

You folks are the best! Thanks for the chip break-downs and suggestions. I'm feeling a lot more comfortable/informed now at least. Seems like the general consensus is to get the actual denominations you'll need in a game. Bad idea to buy for $1/$2 NL cash game and just convert cash-outs? I like the idea of simulating actual casino values, and the last game we played it worked out pretty well (I thought..). I guess my main concern is that our group is currently playing at VERY small micro stakes ($5 buy-in for 100BB) and I don't really want to build a set around that because I could see it going up; seems like I'd need a lot of low denominations that will be useless at even a slightly larger buy-in. Even a .25/.50 game is 10x our current buy-in lol.

 

[natumes]

You folks are the best! Thanks for the chip break-downs and suggestions. I'm feeling a lot more comfortable/informed now at least. Seems like the general consensus is to get the actual denominations you'll need in a game. Bad idea to buy for $1/$2 NL cash game and just convert cash-outs? I like the idea of simulating actual casino values, and the last game we played it worked out pretty well (I thought..). I guess my main concern is that our group is currently playing at VERY small micro stakes ($5 buy-in for 100BB) and I don't really want to build a set around that because I could see it going up; seems like I'd need a lot of low denominations that will be useless at even a slightly larger buy-in. Even a .25/.50 game is 10x our current buy-in lol.

You can definitely play $1 = 1c if that's what you need, and it would be much better than getting custom penny chips. I use a tournament set as a cash set the same way, where t500 = $5. The key is to not use a set for cash and tournament in the same day (some will say ever, but as long as you account for the chips before switching there isn't an issue).