Blinded by Samples (1 Viewer)

[GreekRedEye]

Get samples they said...so I did! I bribed my kid to administer a blind test. I divided them based on feel and sound.

Notable absences include Abbiati and Sunfly (I have but forgot to include) and TRK.

Don't Like
From left to right, top to bottom: Bud Jones injection roulette; Pharoahs China Clay; Bud Jones; Jack THC unleaded; B&G Europa; Bud Jones CIC; Showdown Slugged plastic; Bud Jones roulette; Gemaco; Lucky Horseshoe slugged plastic; The Mint slugged plastic; Black Diamond Ranch Matsui

Take aways:

• Surprised by B&G and THC. Rest make sense to me.
• I already knew I do not like Bud Jones and Matsui

Pretty Good
From left to right, top to bottom: ASM Paranoids; Bud Jones again ( oops); All-In Plastic; Prestige Pro ABS; Chipco ceramic worn; THC leaded bike tire Sahara $1

Take aways:

• Surprised by leaded THC bike tires - I thought I loved how those feel.

Great
Left to right, top to bottom: CPC A-mold Atlantic; ASM no mold roulette; CPC H-mold Key West; BR Pro Poker DDLM ceramic; ASM HHR hot stamp; THC leaded hot stamp; Gemaco ABS; RHC hotstamp Isle of Capri; Paulson Roulette mold Isle of Capri hot stamp; Majestic China Clay; Tina Cards Mold ceramic; Milano China Clay; Tina no mold ceramic Casa Grande; Tina hybrid River Rat; Outlaw ABS plastic; ASM Circle Square mold hot stamp.

Take aways:

• Surprised by the Outlaws. I said out loud while blindfolded: "I don't think I'm supposed to like these, but I do for some reason."
• I did not expect a "winner" but the Atlantics were a clear stand out and I asked they be set aside.
• I also asked for HHR and Tina hybrids to be set aside because I liked the feel and sound so much.
• I did not think I was a hot-stamp guy, but I must say I like how they feel.
• Apparently, I prefer CPCs the most, followed by ceramics.

 

[improviseallday]

I need an outlaw set. They seem to punch well above their price according to everyone I've heard from.

 

[RedDirtBo]

My brother has a set of the Outlaws. They are probably the nicest slugged chips I've handled. Smooth edges, no flashing.

 

[GreekRedEye]

I need an outlaw set. They seem to punch well above their price according to everyone I've heard from.

The Outlaws are slugged, which is how I knew I "should not like them."

I almost didn't post these results, because some of my ratings are not what they "should be." But the point of the exercise was to blind myself to brand and looks. And this was my sincere (subjective) results.

And I don't think the THCs in the bottom group is a fluke - a couple weeks ago I tried to self-administer a blind test with THC, RHC, and CPC and I ranked the unleaded THC last out of those. I don't know what that says about me.

Anyone else tried a blind test like this?

 

[improviseallday]

The Outlaws are slugged, which is how I knew I "should not like them."

I almost didn't post these results, because some of my ratings are not what they "should be." But the point of the exercise was to blind myself to brand and looks. And this was my sincere (subjective) results.

And I don't think the THCs in the bottom group is a fluke - a couple weeks ago I tried to self-administer a blind test with THC, RHC, and CPC and I ranked the unleaded THC last out of those. I don't know what that says about me.

Anyone else tried a blind test like this?

It's good to challenge preconceptions! I should do the same, right after I clean my Paulson barrels.

 

[GreekRedEye]

It's good to challenge preconceptions! I should do the same, right after I clean my Paulson barrels.

You should! And post the results please.

 

[BigJackJones]

I don't own a set of Outlaws, but I did buy a roll of 50 of the orange off of Amazon. They stack like bricks and you can damn near use a barrel as a striker in a game of air hockey without knocking them over. I was impressed with everything except the small label and denomination size suitable for young people's eyeballs.

 

[yoke386]

I have the Spartan version of the outlaws, I really like them. Only thing is they’re heavy when shuffling stacks greater than ten, but for the price I’d recommend them. I can’t wait to order some more premium chips, but still searching for what I really like.

 

[GreekRedEye]

I was impressed with everything except the small label and denomination size suitable for young people's eyeballs.

I personally think both (outlaws and spartans) are pretty ugly. So don't think I will own a set. But at the price, it could work as a cheap limit set and then denom legibility doesn't really matter since you are dealing with 2 colors only. I checked, you can take the labels off, but once you get into replacing labels that ups the cost and you are now in the Tina ceramic price range.

Speaking of Tina...the hybrid scrown Tina really impressed me as a great all-around chip, especially given you can fully customize it and in the future you can relabel. I am waiting on greek mold hybrid samples - I am hopeful.

And the Tropicanas also punch above their weight. I missed the boat on those. Would make a great multi-table, casual/charity tournament set.

But it seems for me, like many PCFers, the road will eventually lead to custom CPCs.

 

[yoke386]

I personally think both (outlaws and spartans) are pretty ugly.

Definitely not a brag, I bought them before I found this site lol ! Boy oh boy do I wish I found this site first.

 

[Beakertwang]

I need an outlaw set. They seem to punch well above their price according to everyone I've heard from.

Yup. And Monaco and Lucky Horseshoe, which all seem to be a softer, less slippery material than other sluggers, with nice smooth edges. If they were 10g instead of 13.5g, they’d be unbelievably good for the price.

 

[justincarothers]

No Greek hybrids?

 

[FestiveKnight]

I totally hear you on the CPC style clay chips! I got this barrel from the recent ASM archive sales to add to the barrels I shuffle during work calls and I have been obsessed. They’re amazing. If an old school elephant crown set came available I’d struggle not to chase it down.

They have a high pitched shuffling sound that’s so amazing and even with super sharp edges they move and shuffle sooo smoothly.

These Jatre + Co HHR I made into a custom heads-up set hit a similar feeling for me.

 

[GreekRedEye]

No Greek hybrids?

I don't have them yet! I will get a batch with the October order. If they are like the hybrid scrowns I may have to design and order a set.

I am waiting on greek mold hybrid samples - I am hopeful.

 

[BGinGA]

Get samples they said...so I did! I bribed my kid to administer a blind test. I divided them based on feel and sound.

Notable absences include Abbiati and Sunfly (I have but forgot to include) and TRK.

Don't Like
From left to right, top to bottom: Bud Jones injection roulette; Pharoahs China Clay; Bud Jones; Jack THC unleaded; B&G Europa; Bud Jones CIC; Showdown China Clay; Bud Jones roulette; Gemaco; Lucky Horseshoe China Clay; The Mint China Clay; Black Diamond Ranch Matsui

Take aways:

• Surprised by B&G and THC. Rest make sense to me.
• I already knew I do not like Bud Jones and Matsui

View attachment 1215172

Pretty Good
From left to right, top to bottom: ASM Paranoids; Bud Jones again ( oops); All-In China Clay; Prestige Pro ABS; Chipco ceramic worn; THC leaded bike tire Sahara $1

Take aways:

• Surprised by leaded THC bike tires - I thought I loved how those feel.

View attachment 1215173

Great
Left to right, top to bottom: CPC A-mold Atlantic; ASM no mold roulette; CPC H-mold Key West; BR Pro Poker DDLM ceramic; ASM HHR hot stamp; THC leaded hot stamp; Gemaco ABS; RHC hotstamp Isle of Capri; Paulson Roulette mold Isle of Capri hot stamp; Majestic China Clay; Tina Cards Mold ceramic; Milano China Clay; Tina no mold ceramic Casa Grande; Tina hybrid River Rat; Outlaw ABS plastic; ASM Circle Square mold hot stamp.

Take aways:

• Surprised by the Outlaws. I said out loud while blindfolded: "I don't think I'm supposed to like these, but I do for some reason."
• I did not expect a "winner" but the Atlantics were a clear stand out and I asked they be set aside.
• I also asked for HHR and Tina hybrids to be set aside because I liked the feel and sound so much.
• I did not think I was a hot-stamp guy, but I must say I like how they feel.
• Apparently, I prefer CPCs the most, followed by high quality ceramics.

View attachment 1215174

Just for the record....

Pharaoh's Club, Majestic, and Milano chips are all china clay (10g unslugged plastic chips with chalk/silicate additives).

The others you noted as such -- Showdown, Lucky Horseshoe, Mint, All-In -- are all just plain plastic chips with no additives. The first three contain metal slugs.

 

[GreekRedEye]

Just for the record....

Pharaoh's Club, Majestic, and Milano chips are all china clay (10g unslugged plastic chips with chalk/silicate additives).

The others you noted as such -- Showdown, Lucky Horseshoe, Mint, All-In -- are all just plain plastic chips with no additives. The first three contain metal slugs.

Thanks. I edited the post to correct it. I use the term China Clay to loosely.

Except for the Pharoahs, the China clays made it to the top tier. The feel of the All-ins is different (superior) than the other non-China clay plastics too, imo.

 

[BGinGA]

The feel of the All-ins is different (superior) than the other non-China clay plastics too, imo.

Yes, those are pretty unique chips. Shame the company didn't last very long.

 

[MajorTom]

Except for the Pharoahs, the China clays made it to the top tier.

interesting
why do you think the Pharaohs are so much worse than the other china clays?
I have a set of Pharaos and I don´t think they are too bad.

 

[GreekRedEye]

interesting
why do you think the Pharaohs are so much worse than the other china clays?
I have a set of Pharaos and I don´t think they are too bad.

I was blindfolded so I don't know which stack I was holding when. There must have been something either in the feel or the sound that did not work for me. This is all very unscientific.

And definitely you should buy and own Pharoahs if you like them. For crying out loud, I put THC in the lowest tier! And looks and value matter as much as feel and sound to me and the Pharoah's score high on those two indicaators.

Maybe I should redo this in a couple weeks to see if I get same results. I would be very curious to see one of the more experienced chip handlers here take a blindfold test.

 

[floeICE]

Can you share how you acquired all your samples? Lots of Classifieds shopping?

 

[GreekRedEye]

Can you share how you acquired all your samples? Lots of Classifieds shopping?

Classified purchases, some samples sets direct from vendors, some eBay purchases. Takes a lot of time and costs add up. But I don't think there really is another way to understand the differences and find out what you like.

I have a listing currently in the Classifieds for a random mix of some samples. I will likely post tomorrow a more comprehensive and turnkey sample set. I can tag you on that listing if you are interested.