Ceramic vs. China Clays (1 Viewer)

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I’m getting a ton of samples this week so I can make a decision on what kind of chips to purchase for my tournament set. Someone gave me this advice, “Go with the clay chips. The more you play with ceramics the face of the chips becomes smooth and eventually the picture will disappear.”

Is there any truth to this? I gotta believe that you’d have to play every day for many years in order for the ceramics to smooth out and fade. What does the community say?

AC
 
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I’m getting a ton of samples this week so I can make a decision on what kind of chips to purchase for my tournament set. Someone gave me this advice, “Go with the clay chips. The more you play with ceramics the face of the chips becomes smooth and eventually the picture will disappear.”

Is there any truth to this? I have to believe that you’d have to plays every day for many years in order for the ceramics to smooth out and fade. What does the community say?

AC
It is true. But it ain't going to happen with just home use. So it's just going to come down to which you prefer in terms of feel. I prefer China Clay, specifically the Royals.
 
I’m getting a ton of samples this week so I can make a decision on what kind of chips to purchase for my tournament set. Someone gave me this advice, “Go with the clay chips. The more you play with ceramics the face of the chips becomes smooth and eventually the picture will disappear.”

Is there any truth to this? I have to believe that you’d have to plays every day for many years in order for the ceramics to smooth out and fade. What does the community say?

AC

If durability is your primary concern then avoid the CCs. Some are better than others, but many of them can be pretty brittle. Ceramics on the other hand are very hard to kill.

The only ceramics I know to actively avoid are the scrolls - they are prone to shattering from light use (splashing a pot, dropping on a carpeted floor, etc). So if you go with ceramics, get decent ones from @ABC Gifts and Awards or another reputable source.
 
In case you weren't aware, China clays aren't really clay. They're injection molded plastics made to feel a bit more like clay.

Quality ceramics are terrific, and will last a lifetime of home games. Less expensive ceramics don't stack as well (spinners), and may not handle as well (odd texture and feel).

I find Majestics, Dunes, and Pharaohs to be too slippery. The Royals are much better.
 
It is true. But it ain't going to happen with just home use. So it's just going to come down to which you prefer in terms of feel. I prefer China Clay, specifically the Royals.
I’m getting Royals samples from one of the members. I’ve heard only good things about them. Just got my Majestics, Dunes, and Pharaohs today. They’re nice. I’m getting Scrolls, NJs, DDLMs, and Royals this week.
 
Personally ceramics are my least favorite of nearly all chips. I'll still happily play with them, but I prefer CCs to them. I even prefer CCs to quality ceramics. But i'm not saying I would never buy ceramics if the price was right.
 
I am going down the ceramic rabbit hole myself right now. Getting some samples of ABC WPS tribute ceramics in a few days and expecting to either really like them or really hate them.
 
If durability is your primary concern then avoid the CCs. Some are better than others, but many of them can be pretty brittle. Ceramics on the other hand are very hard to kill.

The only ceramics I know to actively avoid are the scrolls - they are prone to shattering from light use (splashing a pot, dropping on a carpeted floor, etc). So if you go with ceramics, get decent ones from @ABC Gifts and Awards or another reputable source.
ABC has the NJ skulls for $.50/chip. That seems like a good deal right now. I like the Saloons better and at $.59/chip that's not bad either.
 
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"The more you play with ceramics the face of the chips becomes smooth and eventually the picture will disappear."

Is there any truth to this?
Anyone with Tiki Kings or Muertos have any wear issues to date? I'd be interesting in hearing how they hold up.

Re: CC vs Ceramics, I have a CC set and will likely buy a Muertos set at some point. I think you can love them both. They are fantastic for different reasons.
 
If you’re new to chips and want to learn hot to do tricks and shuffling chips. China clays will be much easier to learn how to shuffle and do tricks than ceramics. That’s how I learned.

But once you’ve got shuffling chips down ceramics are hard to beat. Yes they’re much more slippery than China clays. But Man, when you learn how to shuffle pretty good, it’s hard to beat a good set of ceramics.

I know what I’m about to say might trigger an up roar, but IMO a good set of ceramics shuffle better than real clay chips. Because they’re so slippery you just can’t beat shuffling with ceramics.

Now having said that, I play with Paulsons chips in my cash games. Yes I believe ceramics shuffle better, but the feel and sound of clay chips are truly my favorite and the BEST!
 
I can do all kinds of chips tricks with my Nexgen chips and I'm shuffling the Majestics, Dunes, and Pharaohs I just received in the mail tonight. The Dunes and Pharaohs are a little heavier than the Majestics but the Majestics are beauties!
 
I know what I’m about to say might trigger an up roar, but IMO a good set of ceramics shuffle better than real clay chips. Because they’re so slippery you just can’t beat shuffling with ceramics.
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I've had a set of custom ceramic chips for almost 5 years now and with twice monthly play, they show no sign of fading. A little dirty maybe, but no wear on the face.
 
If you’re new to chips and want to learn hot to do tricks and shuffling chips. China clays will be much easier to learn how to shuffle and do tricks than ceramics. That’s how I learned.

But once you’ve got shuffling chips down ceramics are hard to beat. Yes they’re much more slippery than China clays. But Man, when you learn how to shuffle pretty good, it’s hard to beat a good set of ceramics.

I know what I’m about to say might trigger an up roar, but IMO a good set of ceramics shuffle better than real clay chips. Because they’re so slippery you just can’t beat shuffling with ceramics.

Now having said that, I play with Paulsons chips in my cash games. Yes I believe ceramics shuffle better, but the feel and sound of clay chips are truly my favorite and the BEST!

100% full of shit

Lol not trying to be a dick but exellent condition paulsons feel like nothing else. Especially oldschool leaded paulsons with just the right amount of wear. There is no comparison at all.

That said china clays or ceramics seem like the nuts to 99.9 percent of the population. But we are that .1% thats why we are here.
 
I owned a set of Milanos and they smelled of burnt rubber, but worse than that the remained powdery no matter how many times I tried cleaning / oiling.
Personally I would go for ceramics.
 
To myself, Ceramics > China Clays pretty much all the time. Especially when you are considering a custom ceramic, as they offer a degree of design customization which is unparalleled. Printable rolling edge art really opens up the possibilities for multi-chip graphics.

But I shudder to think that these are the only possibilities for chippers on a budget. Ask me how I know.
 
IMO, it goes like this:

Milanos<cheap ceramics<Majestics, Pharaohs, Dunes<PGI 8V's<Royals<good ceramics
Of today's readily-available chips, that's pretty close to my assessment as well.

I'd drop the PGI chips from the list (no longer available), and switch the bottom two listed (cheap ceramics like Nile Club and Scrolls are pretty bad, with poor graphics, brittle materials, and slick or non-flat surfaces). But otherwise pretty accurate imo.

A quality ceramic chip will last many, many years in a home game environment. Can't say that about most china clays.
 
I can do all kinds of chips tricks with my Nexgen chips and I'm shuffling the Majestics, Dunes, and Pharaohs I just received in the mail tonight. The Dunes and Pharaohs are a little heavier than the Majestics but the Majestics are beauties!
Got a sample of Majestics the other day and they are really nice. Torn between them and Royals currently. Royals sold out of denominations I want until May, which is a super bummer.
 

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