Cheap Chips - MRC Yin Yang - fixable? (1 Viewer)

[hecticenergy]

I’m sure I’ll get a ton of flame from you premium chippers.. but here goes anyway

I bought the MRC Poker Yin Yang chips. From everything I could find online they seemed to be “a step up from the dice chips.”

WHY THESE AND NOT CLAY/CERAMIC?!

I have kids who like to play poker and wanted something they could also enjoy for a more “premium” game. I don’t think the guys in my poker group are really going to care a ton.. we’re all used to plastic dice chips, but I thought this might be a slight upgrade we could use for a while before taking the next step

I don’t love how ceramics sound. Also, I got samples of one I liked the design of and some came in chipped, so durability seems low.

THE PROBLEM:

Nearly all the Yin Yang chips have a slightly sharp edge, the sides of many of the chips don’t look “clean” - slight discoloration..? Could be just not being cleaned up after the molding?

The face of some of the chips feel like they got splattered with the hot plastic after they were removed from the mold - or maybe defects on one of the molds - quite rough to the touch. The picture doesn’t show it well. It’s more than just the injection molding points.

Some of the stickers are off center, but that was expected and I'm sure support will help remedy that.

FINAL WANDERINGS:

These do not feel like an upgrade from the dice chips especially not for 2-3x the price.

Does anyone else have any experience with these? It seems like the plastic is through the chip, but I haven’t tried to slice one up to find out, maybe I can just sand them down a bit to smooth out the rough edges?

 

[BigGrizz]

Ya, that's flashing that's super common on ABS plastic chips. The easiest solution is the get a microfiber towel and rub the edges along it until the smooth out. If that doesnt work then some very fine grain sandpaper will do it, but risks rubbing off all the color.

Otherwise, those chips are super cheap for a reason. If you cant go beyond ABS chips, The Poker Store and Discount Poker smooth out their chips. Buy from them instead of other dealers. Everything I've heard about MRC has said they have a ton of flash. I honestly don't know any Canadian vendors that smooth their ABS chips.

 

[mipevi]

Buy once, cry once. High end plastics that are not ABS would probably be a great fit for you, but they of course come with a heftier price tag. Bud Jones, Bourgogne et Grasset, Abbiati, or Matsui (their nylon chips over ABS). Get samples to see what you like.

 

[Bronson]

Buy once, cry once

That the best advice you can get. Buying sets of cheap chips and updating “quality” step by step will give you drawers full of worthless rubbish.

https://www.pokerchipforum.com/thre...loon-majestic-star-chips.139406/#post-2841479

Go for a set like this and forget about cheap stuff. Market place is full of great sets.

 

[hecticenergy]

Ya, that's flashing that's super common on ABS plastic chips. The easiest solution is the get a microfiber towel and rub the edges along it until the smooth out. If that doesnt work then some very fine grain sandpaper will do it, but risks rubbing off all the color.

Thanks! I’ll give the microfiber towel rub a try and maybe upgrade to denim if need be..?

I ended up taking sandpaper to one that had a rough face. The sandpaper was obviously too coarse for knocking down the rough spots on surface and left “deep” scratches. All this to say, I’m pretty sure that the color isn’t painted on.

Sanded and rinsed:

Flattened ridges with a fingernail:

 

[hecticenergy]

Bud Jones, Bourgogne et Grasset, Abbiati, or Matsui

Who sells these? I haven’t noticed those come up in my searches.

 

[hecticenergy]

That the best advice you can get. Buying sets of cheap chips and updating “quality” step by step will give you drawers full of worthless rubbish.

I figured I’d go with these ABS chips - aside from the sticker they should be durable, and still cheap enough the kids can go nuts with them without me getting nervous about it

I’m not looking to up the quality step by step.. though I’ll likely go to China Clay next. The price on Paulsons is quite a bit out of my range…

Each of these two sets will have their purpose.

Market place is full of great sets.

I’ve been looking over market place, and even the catalogs of designs across this forum.. apparently I’m quite picky about the design on the chip and denominations
I’ll probably get on a group buy in the next several months so I can get what I want.

 

[mipevi]

Who sells these? I haven’t noticed those come up in my searches.

Some vendors here may have chips available, and there are some for sale in the classifieds. Sometimes there might be a group buy for Abbiati or Matsui chips. You can always post a wanted ad to see what might shake loose.

For example some Bud Jones, Gemaco and Matsui plastics here, not sure what is in stock, if interested DM the seller: https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/presidents-day-weekend-sale.51696/

And a tourney set of Bourgogne et Grasset, though there seems to be a trade pending: https://www.pokerchipforum.com/thre...ourney-set-split-pricing.139425/#post-2833377

 

[BigGrizz]

Who sells these? I haven’t noticed those come up in my searches.

Those are casino direct sellers. People here tend to throw huge sums of money at after market chips. I'm more like you. The price just isn't in my range.

I figured I’d go with these ABS chips - aside from the sticker they should be durable, and still cheap enough the kids can go nuts with them without me getting nervous about it

I’m not looking to up the quality step by step.. though I’ll likely go to China Clay next. The price on Paulsons is quite a bit out of my range…

Each of these two sets will have their purpose.

I think one thing to note is that your ABS chips are actually on the cheap end of ABS chips in terms of quality. Hell, Monte Carlos, the most made home game chip in the world, is a step up in quality. Outlaws are generally the peak of ABS quality (and they still have issues).

I’ve been looking over market place, and even the catalogs of designs across this forum.. apparently I’m quite picky about the design on the chip and denominations
I’ll probably get on a group buy in the next several months so I can get what I want.

Justin's Tina group buys are 100% the best bang for your buck out there right now.

 

[GamingWithChips]

If you really want to clean up your chips I’d use one of those plastic kitchen scrubs like a Scotch-Brite. I used those for my set of plastic slug Poker Knight chips years ago. It worked great and the edges are very smooth, makes the set 10x better than default. Do a pass on each of the four “sides” of the chips edges with the rough side of the scrub, and then again with the finer side of the scrub. I’ll post a before and after picture for you if you are curious how it turned out.

I would never do it again though as it took about 8 hours of sanding each of the 500 pieces by hand lol…this was before I knew about PCF.

 

[GamingWithChips]

Before left, after right:

Before:

After:

As bad as the before’s LOOK they FEEL 10x worse with the flashing. They feel so much cheaper and plasticky with it.

Ultimately I still don’t recommend it lol…I’ve seen others recommend other cheap plastic sets that don’t have the flashing. Might be worth looking at that.

 

[hecticenergy]

I already have the chips, and I’m fine putting a little time into cleaning them up. They’ll get a lot of play in the near term.

I rubbed them down with a microfiber cloth and they are 80-90% better! Most of the flashing is cleaned up.. but yeah, cleaning up the 650 pc set took all day.

They were clean enough, and in time, to play a game with the kids tonight! They enjoyed them. The stacks feel more substantial than with the dice chips, and they stack higher without tumbling at the slightest vibration on the table.

We have extended family coming over tomorrow for a friendly game, so hopefully there a hit there too.

 

[Santa123]

@hecticenergy : Check the marcetplace. You will find real clay and ceramcis regulary priced very low.

 

[hecticenergy]

Real clay chips will happen at some point.. but the couple of games we’ve played with these went over well!

I also fixed a bunch of the chips with off center stickers today. 25-30 chips I think. It’s easy enough to peel up the side of the sticker with a knife then line it up and replace it in the center of the chip. This doesn’t bode well for the sticker staying in place long term, but I’m sure that’s a lot of chips.

There are another 30 or so that are rough on one side, still not sure how to fix that, but they’re sending replacements, so no big deal I guess.

 

[ekricket]

I already have the chips, and I’m fine putting a little time into cleaning them up. They’ll get a lot of play in the near term.

I rubbed them down with a microfiber cloth and they are 80-90% better! Most of the flashing is cleaned up.. but yeah, cleaning up the 650 pc set took all day.

They were clean enough, and in time, to play a game with the kids tonight! They enjoyed them. The stacks feel more substantial than with the dice chips, and they stack higher without tumbling at the slightest vibration on the table.

We have extended family coming over tomorrow for a friendly game, so hopefully there a hit there too.

Leave them in the rack and do five barrels at once, rotating to go all the way around.

 

[Santa123]

There are smooth Monte Carlos.

 

[maxim_666666]

I think you're reinventing the wheel. How much did you spend on them?

 

[hecticenergy]

Leave them in the rack and do five barrels at once, rotating to go all the way around.

Tried that, didn’t quite get the job done.

It worked out though, let me find and sort out the messed up chips.

 

[hecticenergy]

I think you're reinventing the wheel. How much did you spend on them?

Reinventing the wheel? How so?

Paid 195USD for the 650ct.

 

[maxim_666666]

I've seen these stories many times, where people tinker with really cheap chips and aren't always satisfied. The only truly high-quality plastic chips I've personally been happy with are Matsui or Bud John. But, it's expensive.
30 cents a chip isn't bad. Basically, if you don't mind the time, fine sandpaper will do the trick, and the chips will look quite good. But, to my taste, I'd add another 25 cents and go with something like that.
https://www.apachepokerchips.com/product-category/poker-chips/

Besides, you don't need a lot of chips if your game has a maximum of 10 players. A set of 300-400 chips is more than enough...

 

[maxim_666666]

And by the way, don't think that when people pay $5-$10-$20 for a chip, they're getting chips that are 10-20 times better than the Chinese ones. Yes, they are better, but not that much better. Sometimes it's a matter of rarity, limited supply, and personal preference.

 

[hecticenergy]

I've seen these stories many times, where people tinker with really cheap chips and aren't always satisfied. The only truly high-quality plastic chips I've personally been happy with are Matsui or Bud John. But, it's expensive.
30 cents a chip isn't bad. Basically, if you don't mind the time, fine sandpaper will do the trick, and the chips will look quite good. But, to my taste, I'd add another 25 cents and go with something like that.
https://www.apachepokerchips.com/product-category/poker-chips/

Besides, you don't need a lot of chips if your game has a maximum of 10 players. A set of 300-400 chips is more than enough...

Thanks for clarifying!

Im spending too much time cleaning these up, for sure.

I looked at Apache chips, the penthouse were ok.. I don’t love casino names on the chips - fictitious or otherwise. I want large, clear, identifiable denominations with no dollar sign. I’m just too damn picky I’ll likely have to design my own inlay/sticker, and that’s a project I’m not biting off right now.

I’m going for a tournament set and looking to grow the group over the next few months and hopefully support 2 tables. Also my son has expressed interest in hosting and he could probably get 20 people over with no effort

300-400 chips is probably enough for a single table, and I might end up going that route depending on how things shape up over the next few months.

I’m not recommending people follow my path, buy once cry once is probably better advice.

I do greatly appreciate all the help here though! Even if my approach is suboptimal.

 

[maxim_666666]

Don't worry, almost everyone has gone through this "non-optimal" path.