Best option for NEW poker chips? (1 Viewer)

Mysticum

Mysticum

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I'm finally in a place where I want and can afford some nice poker chips that I hope can last me for life (or at least a very long time).

My dream was always to have the BCC Modern Clay (Sidepot Gaming) or Paulson, but I'm late to the game, and now, neither of them are for sale anymore.

Yes, there are options to get Paulson sets, but I really don't like second-hand when it comes to poker chips, and I would like to purchase a new set. I should also mention that part of why I upgrade is because I want to use them for board games, which I play a lot. So printed denominations is a requirement, and clear ones as well. Preferably without the $ sign, but it's acceptable with.

Right now, I'm looking strongly at two options:

1. Rounders Replica set from Classic Poker Chips. I've ordered samples, but heard nothing from them since.
+ They look amazing
+ From an iconic film that will draw attention
- Dollar sign
- I need 1/5/25 mostly, and the most iconic chips from the movie is the 100
- I don't know how they feel at all
- They are very expensive (with shipping, VAT, customs etc, I'm counting on $1500 for a 500 set)

2. Majestic China Clays with custom labels. I've ordered samples and they are on their way.
I'm sold on this set. It looks really great, and with custom labels, I can have it any way I want. But I read some threads on this forum and it seems a lot of people really look down on China Clays and that they are not comparable at all to the Paulsons. I'll have to wait for samples and see.

+ They look amazing
+ Customizable
+ Thus, no dollar sign
+ Very cheap (less than half the price of Rounders replica set)
+ Sound of the chips seems very much like Paulsons (?)
- I'm afraid they will "feel" cheap
- Toxic smell
- Custom chips makes it harder or impossible to re-sell
- Almost too cheap
- They're not the "real deal" after all, yet still spending some money on them


Besides these two options that I'm considering, what other options are there? What would be the best NEW poker chip set to get for a price less than $1500 including customs/VAT/shipping (to Sweden)?
 
The good news: I contacted Classic Poker Chips and the shipping was far less than expected.

The bad news: I didn't convert currency correctly so it's still $1500 (~13500 SEK).

I also want to add that I like ceramic chips, but not for my upcoming "main set". I want something clay-ish for this.
 
I'm thinking of getting a Chesterfield set from Classic pokr chips- no dollar sign by the way.

My only concern is the QC - I have a sample set and see a few inlays aren't centered... remind me of the old day of BC's. If I'm paying $2 per chip I think I'd want better QC.

I am thinking of getting a 1/2, 2/5 cash set. for 6-8 folks.
 
I think it will simply come down to how you like the feel of the china clays vs. real clay chips, and how important the money savings is to you. I think china clays feel great, and the sound is very similar to clay. Real clay chips are fantastic and are certainly better IMO to china clays, but given what you are looking for, I think being able to customize labels would be valuable for your case.
 
Being located in Europe, and thus not being able to afford (not just financially but rater mentally too) "touch and release" trials and waiting, praying and begging, as is the case with Paulsons, your only true option for a top-quality set is CPC.
It's the only rational choice, offering peace of mind (you will have to wait of course if customised).
If off-the-shelf, it's shorter, simpler and cheaper.
In the latter case, check out the KeyWest chips too (CPC-made also), offered by the name-sake business which is a respected vendor here, also.
 
I think it's funny that you're seriously considering buying something that you believe has a toxic smell.
 
I'm not a fan of the china clays... at all. I had a set of them many years ago when they first started, did not like them then.
 
You could also look at custom ceramics, that would be on par with the majestics price.
 
Mysticum said:
2. Majestic China Clays with custom labels. I've ordered samples and they are on their way.
I'm sold on this set. It looks really great, and with custom labels, I can have it any way I want. But I read some threads on this forum and it seems a lot of people really look down on China Clays and that they are not comparable at all to the Paulsons. I'll have to wait for samples and see.

+ They look amazing
+ Customizable
+ Thus, no dollar sign
+ Very cheap (less than half the price of Rounders replica set)
+ Sound of the chips seems very much like Paulsons (?)
- I'm afraid they will "feel" cheap
- Toxic smell
- Custom chips makes it harder or impossible to re-sell
- Almost too cheap
- They're not the "real deal" after all, yet still spending some money on them
Click to expand...

Just pitching in here about the Majestics, as I recently acquired a nice little microstakes set of these :)

+ They look amazing They absolutely do!
+ Customizable No experience here, but they look like they'd match a lot of different new themes, so curious to see what you're doing with them :)
+ Thus, no dollar sign Eh, I don't mind playing € value on $ chips, but to each their own.
+ Very cheap (less than half the price of Rounders replica set) Very good price/quality-wise
+ Sound of the chips seems very much like Paulsons (?) No idea, but I do love the sound :D
- I'm afraid they will "feel" cheap They don't.
- Toxic smell I had a little bit of smell when first unpacking, but I've cleaned them, played them once and have been shuffling them in small batches for a while now and 0 smell left.
- Custom chips makes it harder or impossible to re-sell Unless you have a very specific personal design, it shouldn't be too hard I imagine.
- Almost too cheap This is a + not a - :p
- They're not the "real deal" after all, yet still spending some money on them I'll give you this one. I admit that I'm still somewhat tempted to spring the extra $$$ fpr some Horseshoes or something "real", but it really depends on what you want and how much you care.

As usual with Europeans looking for Majestics, I recommend pokershop.de as your source :)
 
Mysticum said:
I'm finally in a place where I want and can afford some nice poker chips that I hope can last me for life (or at least a very long time).

My dream was always to have the BCC Modern Clay (Sidepot Gaming) or Paulson, but I'm late to the game, and now, neither of them are for sale anymore.

Yes, there are options to get Paulson sets, but I really don't like second-hand when it comes to poker chips, and I would like to purchase a new set. I should also mention that part of why I upgrade is because I want to use them for board games, which I play a lot. So printed denominations is a requirement, and clear ones as well. Preferably without the $ sign, but it's acceptable with.

Right now, I'm looking strongly at two options:

1. Rounders Replica set from Classic Poker Chips. I've ordered samples, but heard nothing from them since.
+ They look amazing
+ From an iconic film that will draw attention
- Dollar sign
- I need 1/5/25 mostly, and the most iconic chips from the movie is the 100
- I don't know how they feel at all
- They are very expensive (with shipping, VAT, customs etc, I'm counting on $1500 for a 500 set)

2. Majestic China Clays with custom labels. I've ordered samples and they are on their way.
I'm sold on this set. It looks really great, and with custom labels, I can have it any way I want. But I read some threads on this forum and it seems a lot of people really look down on China Clays and that they are not comparable at all to the Paulsons. I'll have to wait for samples and see.

+ They look amazing
+ Customizable
+ Thus, no dollar sign
+ Very cheap (less than half the price of Rounders replica set)
+ Sound of the chips seems very much like Paulsons (?)
- I'm afraid they will "feel" cheap
- Toxic smell
- Custom chips makes it harder or impossible to re-sell
- Almost too cheap
- They're not the "real deal" after all, yet still spending some money on them


Besides these two options that I'm considering, what other options are there? What would be the best NEW poker chip set to get for a price less than $1500 including customs/VAT/shipping (to Sweden)?
Click to expand...

I’d say wait for a new/mint/ex condition BCC set to come up in the classifieds. They do exist and are usually somewhere between $1-2/chip.
 
In terms of china clay quality, the Royals are the closet to feeling like a real clay chip IMO. I've not handled majestics specifically, but I own a large set of CPS (Championship Poker Series), which I've been told are similar to majestic except for some texture added to the chip face. I like them for the price, but they def feel more plasticy than Royals. Do take that FWIW.
 
I agree that the Royals (majestic the same I guess) are the best of china clays and feels close to clay. I don’t see them as a keeper set though (in fact I just sold my set). They’re awesome at their price range but not a substitute for the real deal.
 
Eriks said:
I agree that the Royals (majestic the same I guess) are the best of china clays and feels close to clay. I don’t see them as a keeper set though (in fact I just sold my set). They’re awesome at their price range but not a substitute for the real deal.
Click to expand...
This indeed. If your end goal is clay. Then just go straight to clay. If you care more about value, then Royals and Majestics are great for what they are.
 
To clarify: What I really meant with my post was in the lines of "New Paulson chips doesn't exist more, so what is the best thing I can purchase in new condition?"

I should have been clearer :) But then my mind have become poisoned with custom thoughts :p

I should also mention that my dream set would be Paulson Elite. Apache have it, but not for 5/100/500 denominations. The price is very good, though.

Jake14mw said:
I think it will simply come down to how you like the feel of the china clays vs. real clay chips, and how important the money savings is to you. I think china clays feel great, and the sound is very similar to clay. Real clay chips are fantastic and are certainly better IMO to china clays, but given what you are looking for, I think being able to customize labels would be valuable for your case.
Click to expand...

Money savings itself is not that important, but I already think $3 per chip is quite a lot, coming from old times where Paulsons were $1 per chip. But that's just my mindset that is outdated. I was always against custom chips, but now, the thought has grown on me and I have some ideas of how to design them the way I want. But that idea originally came from looking at stacks with Majestic chips and the fantastic look.

Coyote said:
Being located in Europe, and thus not being able to afford (not just financially but rater mentally too) "touch and release" trials and waiting, praying and begging, as is the case with Paulsons, your only true option for a top-quality set is CPC.
It's the only rational choice, offering peace of mind (you will have to wait of course if customised).
If off-the-shelf, it's shorter, simpler and cheaper.
In the latter case, check out the KeyWest chips too (CPC-made also), offered by the name-sake business which is a respected vendor here, also.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice. I think CPC seems to the best option as well.

upNdown said:
I think it's funny that you're seriously considering buying something that you believe has a toxic smell.
Click to expand...

Well, I should clarify that some people have described it as a toxic smell, or rather plastic that smells like it's toxic. To be honest, I have never felt any smell from any poker chips, but after reading that, I smelled my Paulsons, and they smell fucking disgusting. As long as I don't feel the smell from a normal distance, then it's fine. I won't order any China clays without samples first, that is for sure.

MathijsVS said:
Just pitching in here about the Majestics, as I recently acquired a nice little microstakes set of these :)

+ They look amazing They absolutely do!
+ Customizable No experience here, but they look like they'd match a lot of different new themes, so curious to see what you're doing with them :)
+ Thus, no dollar sign Eh, I don't mind playing € value on $ chips, but to each their own.
+ Very cheap (less than half the price of Rounders replica set) Very good price/quality-wise
+ Sound of the chips seems very much like Paulsons (?) No idea, but I do love the sound :D
- I'm afraid they will "feel" cheap They don't.
- Toxic smell I had a little bit of smell when first unpacking, but I've cleaned them, played them once and have been shuffling them in small batches for a while now and 0 smell left.
- Custom chips makes it harder or impossible to re-sell Unless you have a very specific personal design, it shouldn't be too hard I imagine.
- Almost too cheap This is a + not a - :p
- They're not the "real deal" after all, yet still spending some money on them I'll give you this one. I admit that I'm still somewhat tempted to spring the extra $$$ fpr some Horseshoes or something "real", but it really depends on what you want and how much you care.

As usual with Europeans looking for Majestics, I recommend pokershop.de as your source :)
Click to expand...

Yeah, I have some nice ideas for customization, but maybe they're better in my head than in reality :) Will do mockups if I'm satisfied with the China clay samples.

Some of the ideas, though, involves my local city or local references, so that basically kills the reselling value, unfortunately. But I also imagine having the chips for life as well so.

I did check on pokershop.de and was close to order samples from there, but in the end I needed more samples (Royal, Milano, etc), which they couldn't provide. They also don't offer blank chips (for customization), and even a regular set is slightly cheaper from Apache, even considering shipping, customs and VAT.

Eriks said:
I’d say wait for a new/mint/ex condition BCC set to come up in the classifieds. They do exist and are usually somewhere between $1-2/chip.
Click to expand...

That's Very interesting. I love the BCC Modern Clay, but I don't like the BCC Mardi Grass that I have. That makes it hard to decide without samples first.

If Paulson is considering tier 1, where would you put BCC and CPC then?

sbp8984 said:
I completely get that 2nd hand poker chips are a no go, but with the recent chip sale from thechiproom, I have grabbed a set of 800 mint Paulsons including shipping for around $1600
Click to expand...

That would be a slam dunk for me, if the design is satisfying.

Eriks said:
I agree that the Royals (majestic the same I guess) are the best of china clays and feels close to clay. I don’t see them as a keeper set though (in fact I just sold my set). They’re awesome at their price range but not a substitute for the real deal.
Click to expand...

Too bad you just sold them, considering you live in Sweden :)

Legend5555 said:
This indeed. If your end goal is clay. Then just go straight to clay. If you care more about value, then Royals and Majestics are great for what they are.
Click to expand...

Royals are interesting. They look as good as Majestic (the label even better), and the size is nice, but unfortfunately I'm not convinced the increased size is benefitial for board games with limited space. I was considering having some Royals for higher denominations though.
 
If Paulson and the king are 1a then cpc and bcc are 1b.

Paulson, tr king, cpc(asm), bcc, older compression chips such as Burt company, Ceramics, high end plastics (bud jones, b&g, matsui), China clay

That’s my rankings
 
I have plenty of Paulson, Ceramic, Ceramic Hybrid and CCs.
They all have their place and I love them all. Sure I prefer Paulsons but that doesn't mean I cannot love a huge Tourney set of CC Royals. Imagine the cost of a Paulson oversized set 2K+ chips all high denoms.
 
For clay chips your best bet is the classifieds here. All can be customized with labels if you want. That may or may not devalue the chip depending on, well, the chip itself, if you do full replacement or just label over.

The most recent china clays are very good chips. The royals in particular.

Ceramics are really a blank page where you can do whatever you like. I'm a big fan of 43mm sun-flys with a label. Pm your adress and i'll send you some samples if you wish. ;)
 
Mysticum said:
I should also mention that my dream set would be Paulson Elite. Apache have it, but not for 5/100/500 denominations. The price is very good, though.
Click to expand...

Do you have samples of the Elites yet?

When I got my samples, I was disappointed in how they felt. They feel very different from Paulsons. They're one of the few chips I've handled that I didn't like the feel of, and I like darn near everything.

But, that's a completely subjective matter. You may love the way they feel, and in fact, I hope you do! Just understand that even though they're marketed with the Paulson name, they're nothing at all like the typical Paulson chip that most people here are trying to collect.
 
CrazyEddie said:
Do you have samples of the Elites yet?

When I got my samples, I was disappointed in how they felt. They feel very different from Paulsons. They're one of the few chips I've handled that I didn't like the feel of, and I like darn near everything.

But, that's a completely subjective matter. You may love the way they feel, and in fact, I hope you do! Just understand that even though they're marketed with the Paulson name, they're nothing at all like the typical Paulson chip that most people here are trying to collect.
Click to expand...

No, I will receive them in the same package as the China clay samples from Apache. Still waiting :/

Thanks for the heads-up. The look amazing, though.
 
Just an update to the thread with my latest thoughts and findings.

First of all, huge thanks to @HMK and @Eriks for long and pleasent conversations and answering my many questions, but also for insisting on sending me free samples, even though I offered to pay for them. I owe any future gaps in my wallet to them ;)

I received samples from CPC, ceramic Dia de los Muertos from Eriks, and customized PolyInno 43mm from HMK.

First of all, I can't stress enough what everyone already have been saying: Get samples before you purchase! I knew that before, but now I will live and die by this statement. These sample sets were a game changer for me, and I'm so glad I had the opportunity to get to feel them.

I'm still awaiting a lot of samples from Apache and Pokershop.dk. Hopefully they arrive soon so I can make my final decision.

--

My impressions from the samples:

Rounders Replica (CPC)

From everything I've read and researched, this seems to be the best option for me to get "real" clay chips if I want them new and on demand. There aren't many other options, and to get the iconic Rounders look was very attractive to me. Less attractive was the price tag, with shipping/customs to Sweden, but after looking around more, I think my budget could have stretched to that level for getting a set that really feels right to me.

Unfortunately, this set isn't it. This was a huge disappointment for me on almost every point. Besides the nostalgic look, there isn't much else that makes these chips look attractive to me. The side is glittering, and it looks absolute terrible. The worst side look I have ever seen on a poker chip. Not only is it ugly, they look constantly dirty as well. The sharp edge may be sharp, but it's also flawed and looks like someone have done a bad job with a rasp on it. No, no, no. In addition to that, the material looks very plastic and cheap. What a disappointment.

I know that you could oil them and get a better look from it, but I don't think it will recover from all those points. For this price point, this is not an option anymore. I prefer my old chips better. I wouldn't even concider these chips for half the price.

On the positive note, though, the sound is really amazing. It's on par with Paulsons which is top-tier for me. Very satisfying sound.

(Since I mention Paulson, I should add that the Paulsons I have are the opposite of these samples, with razor sharp edge without any flaws, nice side look and very premium feeling overall and not plastic at all.)

Ceramic Dia de los Muertos (BRProPoker)

I know that Hobbyphilic and some other users hold the Tiki chips in very high regard. It was always weird to me since I prefered clay chips over ceramics, but now I understand why. These ceramics are way more nice than what I had (Chipco and some other brand I don't know). Specifically, the sound is WAY better. That was the big downside of ceramics for me, that they sounded extremely clunky and almost metal/plastic-ish. These chips, on the other hand, sound completely different. Sure, they are still not even close to Paulsons or the top tier chips in terms of sound, but I would say they are a solid middle. Maybe even better.

The look and feel is what I expected and it's very good. This is what I like about ceramics so I wasn't too surprised there, even if the texture on these chips are different from my other ceramic samples.

I can understand why people like the Tiki chips. The look is ok for me, not 10/10, but I could totally see myself being fine with a nice set of Tiki's.

HMK PolyInno 43mm (Sun-Fly)

My expectations were high for these chips. HMK himself had praised them highly, and all the customization you can do made them a really attractive option. I didn't know if I wanted ceramics, though, even if it's a "hybrid", and from pictures on the forum, I was afraid that they would look and feel plastic and cheap, and that the print resolution would be a problem. But there had to be a reason for so many people liking them, right?

If the CPC chips made me disappointed, this was the exact opposite. They didn't look or feel cheap or plastic at all. Quite the opposite - the look and feel is amazing and the label makes the chip feel high-end and luxury. Very premium feeling overall.

The sound surprised me - a very different sound than anything I've heard. Not as good as other top-tier options, but ok. Mid-tier I would say.

The feel of 43mm was very pleasant. Playing with them and doing tricks in one hand was so nice, even with my tiny, tiny hands. After playing around with them for many hours, the other 39mm chips almost felt like toys in comparison.

Unfortunately, the size is also a downsize for my set since I want to use it in board games as well, and the bigger size is not benefitial there.

But all in all, I just love how these chips look and feel.

--

I will await my other samples before making a final decision, but right now, the Sun-Fly option looks like the most attractive one. I would say it's either these, or China clays for my upcoming purchase.

The Sun-Fly's will cost me a bit more, and probably force me to purchase a lot more chips than I would have bought otherwise, but right now, I'm so pot commited to a nice set that I don't really care.
 
Great post! Clearly shows why samples are so important; it’s very subjective what one likes and dislikes.
 
Mysticum said:
I'm finally in a place where I want and can afford some nice poker chips that I hope can last me for life (or at least a very long time).

My dream was always to have the BCC Modern Clay (Sidepot Gaming) or Paulson, but I'm late to the game, and now, neither of them are for sale anymore.

Yes, there are options to get Paulson sets, but I really don't like second-hand when it comes to poker chips, and I would like to purchase a new set. I should also mention that part of why I upgrade is because I want to use them for board games, which I play a lot. So printed denominations is a requirement, and clear ones as well. Preferably without the $ sign, but it's acceptable with.

Right now, I'm looking strongly at two options:

1. Rounders Replica set from Classic Poker Chips. I've ordered samples, but heard nothing from them since.
+ They look amazing
+ From an iconic film that will draw attention
- Dollar sign
- I need 1/5/25 mostly, and the most iconic chips from the movie is the 100
- I don't know how they feel at all
- They are very expensive (with shipping, VAT, customs etc, I'm counting on $1500 for a 500 set)

2. Majestic China Clays with custom labels. I've ordered samples and they are on their way.
I'm sold on this set. It looks really great, and with custom labels, I can have it any way I want. But I read some threads on this forum and it seems a lot of people really look down on China Clays and that they are not comparable at all to the Paulsons. I'll have to wait for samples and see.

+ They look amazing
+ Customizable
+ Thus, no dollar sign
+ Very cheap (less than half the price of Rounders replica set)
+ Sound of the chips seems very much like Paulsons (?)
- I'm afraid they will "feel" cheap
- Toxic smell
- Custom chips makes it harder or impossible to re-sell
- Almost too cheap
- They're not the "real deal" after all, yet still spending some money on them


Besides these two options that I'm considering, what other options are there? What would be the best NEW poker chip set to get for a price less than $1500 including customs/VAT/shipping (to Sweden)?
Click to expand...

If you’re considering the Majestics, the same company makes the Bank chip set which is meant for use in both Poker and board games:

https://www.apachepokerchips.com/product/bank-18xx-board-games-poker-chips/

@Hobbyphilic reviewed these on his YouTube channel:


Note: Pardon me if this is a duplicate suggestion. I mentioned these once before, but can’t remember on whose post.
 
Last edited:

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