CPC - Cali set - On a budget (2 Viewers)

JustDave

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I've been part of some threads recently where there was a discussion of CPC chips and their expense and either low or zero resale value. Some comments were made about using L9+ chips and average price per chips well over $5 a chip. As a thought exercise I put together a CPC Lakeshore tribute set using CPC edge spots and colors. There were some really constructive feedback given and I feel like I learned some in the process. Additionally there was some feedback in DMs about previous Lakeshore tributes and how they never really landed well given the CPC limitations.

Taking what I learned from that thread I've come up with the following design.

Goals would be to create a set with the following qualities:
-800 chips: .05/.25/1/2/5/20/100
-Cali colors
-Average price per chip of $3 per chip

6a5cf33f-22cd-487f-be93-32988d58f5e9.png


Brown: 0.05 - 100
Red: 0.25 - 100
Blue: 1.00 - 200
Green: 2.00 - 100
Yellow: 5.00 - 200
Black: 20.00 - 80
White: 100.00 - 20

This set gives an average price per chip of $3.49. This is obviously not meeting all of the goals as it misses by $0.50 per chip.

The single most expensive chip is the $100 at $4.95 chip however at a qty of 20 there is not much ground to be gained here. The Yellow $5 chip is $4.88 a chip owing to the complicated spot patterns as a Level 9 chip. Taking this chip to a 4D14 instead of a 4QD14 drops from Level 9 to Level 4 drops the price per chip from $4.88 to $3.36 a chip and the average price per chip to $3.11.

For example:

20a2e241-c8da-484e-871b-4057fbb513f4.png


Similarly, the shaped inlays could all be removed from the set, this would drop the average price per chip to $3.19 per chip.
 
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Other notes:
-The Fracs get hot-stamped with a fractional stock die
-I don't like the $5 but it's really just I don't like the CPC yellow options
-I really like how the $20 came out
-The $100 has the base color of each other chip
--The $2 chip exists entirely for a 6th color to make the $100 work
 
waaaaaaay too much going on in the 3 highest denoms, IMO. less is more. and why te backwards spot progression from the 20 to the 100?
 
I think my set was an average of maybe $2.75/chip after tax? Also, get a CPC color sample - “yellow” is very dark in person. You can defintiely optimize spots and colors for a good progression that doesn’t get into too high a level chips until the fewer hi denoms.
200FA1DC-C47A-433E-8384-F26CA5E9B97B.jpeg
 
I think my set was an average of maybe $2.75/chip after tax? Also, get a CPC color sample - “yellow” is very dark in person. You can defintiely optimize spots and colors for a good progression that doesn’t get into too high a level chips until the fewer hi denoms. View attachment 608344
I've got one. I dislike all of the yellows but some sets, yours for instance make them work.
 
Other notes:
-I don't like the $5 but it's really just I don't like the CPC yellow options
Fine, but seriously consider Canary or DG Yellow. "Yellow" looks like brown mustard that has been on the counter for weeks.


--The $2 chip exists entirely for a 6th color to make the $100 work
Not the best reason to include a $2 chip (although I like the $2 chip).
 
Fine, but seriously consider Canary or DG Yellow. "Yellow" looks like brown mustard that has been on the counter for weeks.
Agreed. They really pulled off that color amazingly well.

Not the best reason to include a $2 chip (although I like the $2 chip).
Again, agreed. But I do really like it as a chip.
 
62c5b10a-5f81-4b04-abca-3879be870380.png


-Moved the red to the $0.05
-Moved the green to the $0.25
-Simplified the edge spots for the $5
-Adjusted the edge spots for the $20
-Dropped the qty to 700 chips now that there is no $2
--100/100/200/200/80/20

Aside from the $100, every chip is L4 or below. Average price per chip is $3.10.

Dropping the shaped inlays completely drops the price to $2.83 per chip.
 
View attachment 608415

-Moved the red to the $0.05
-Moved the green to the $0.25
-Simplified the edge spots for the $5
-Adjusted the edge spots for the $20
-Dropped the qty to 700 chips now that there is no $2
--100/100/200/200/80/20

Aside from the $100, every chip is L4 or below. Average price per chip is $3.10.

Dropping the shaped inlays completely drops the price to $2.83 per chip.

I can see dirty stack issues with the $1 & $20. A single $20 with the blue and grey side facing out in a stack of the $1’s would be hard to spot.
 
View attachment 608415

-Moved the red to the $0.05
-Moved the green to the $0.25
-Simplified the edge spots for the $5
-Adjusted the edge spots for the $20
-Dropped the qty to 700 chips now that there is no $2
--100/100/200/200/80/20

Aside from the $100, every chip is L4 or below. Average price per chip is $3.10.

Dropping the shaped inlays completely drops the price to $2.83 per chip.

This is an improvement, but that $100 is a trainwreck IMO. Less is more. Don't get carried away by trying to create a chip with as many colors as you can. Try to create a set that flows well across the set. A set that looks well balanced looks best.
 
How recent is your sample set? If it's older than a year or two, you might have the older version of DG Yellow. That chip has gotten much brighter recently.
 
How recent is your sample set? If it's older than a year or two, you might have the older version of DG Yellow. That chip has gotten much brighter recently.
Would have bought it early 2020. Don't know when it would be manufactured.
 
Yellows.png


Here are the yellow from my color sample next to an Atlantic Club Hot-stamp from CPC and an Aurora Star Hot-stamp from Paulson as well as two other GPI yellows. The yellows are confusingly bad to me. Dayglo yellow looks like what you'd see on a high-viz reflector, Yellow as described above looks like old mustard left on a counter, Saturn is closer to lime than anything else. Canary is the more palatable to me and I'm not happy with it.
 
This is an improvement, but that $100 is a trainwreck IMO. Less is more. Don't get carried away by trying to create a chip with as many colors as you can. Try to create a set that flows well across the set. A set that looks well balanced looks best.
While I understand what you are saying, that too many colors doesn't work, I think taking all of the base colors from the rest of the rest on this plain white canvas does flow across the set. It isn't just 6 random colors.
 
While I understand what you are saying, that too many colors doesn't work, I think taking all of the base colors from the rest of the rest on this plain white canvas does flow across the set. It isn't just 6 random colors.
By all means, you should design the set that you love. I am but one vote. Personally, I just don't like it.
 
This is an improvement, but that $100 is a trainwreck IMO. Less is more. Don't get carried away by trying to create a chip with as many colors as you can. Try to create a set that flows well across the set. A set that looks well balanced looks best.
I see this, just no idea what to do about it.
 
I agree that the hundo stands out like a sore thumb. I get that it incorporates the base colours of all the chips but that isn't necessarily a good thing. Maybe use it as a seating/bounty/rebuy chip instead?
 
Thanks for the feedback on the $100. I've got something very similar coming as part of the Cards mold group buy where I did something similar for the hundred. I'm interested to see how it comes out in person.

Sorry if 've been a bit touchy, working on my pride of ownership and trying to learn why something is a train wreck instead of just hearing it's a train wreck.

@RainmanTrail Did you have a thread for those? looked through your post history and search and found references to them but not a thread. Would be interested in the colors you used.

Found it: https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/cali-rounders-tourney-set-scrown-tri-moons.41676/post-774032
 
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Thanks for the feedback on the $100. I've got something very similar coming as part of the Cards mold group buy where I did something similar for the hundred. I'm interested to see how it comes out in person.

Sorry if 've been a bit touchy, working on my pride of ownership and trying to learn why something is a train wreck instead of just hearing it's a train wreck.

@RainmanTrail Did you have a thread for those? looked through your post history and search and found references to them but not a thread. Would be interested in the colors you used.

Found it: https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/cali-rounders-tourney-set-scrown-tri-moons.41676/post-774032
Maybe think about dropping the $100 out of the picture for the time being? I know you probably want the chip and it not many that you are going to order, you are saving a little bit now to help the budget, then later go back and get the hundo and possibly more when you find out how the game plays.
 
https://www.pokerchipforum.com/chipdb/paradise-los-angeles.56/
https://www.pokerchipforum.com/media/albums/paradise-los-angeles-cpc.1548/

If you're looking for more cali inspiration...
Weighted average cost per chip $2.68

Note: It's faux shaped inlays, not real shaped ones, this shaves big $$$ off the bill.
Note 2: The 5c chip is suboptimal. Redesign with 4D18 spot is currently in production to fix it. This raises the average chip cost a little of course.
Note 3: The best way to save on chip costs is to order less chips, not downgrading spots or features.
 
Acutely answering these questions will greatly effect my recommendation:

What game(s) do you play?
Do you play limit or pot limit/no limit?

How many players?
What is each player normal starting buy in? Are you expecting this to grow? If so how many people?
What are your normal blinds or bets? Are you expecting an increase in the blinds or bets?

What is the normal buy in for each player? What is the largest total bank you have had in play?
Are you expecting this (money on the table) to grow? How much money to you expect to be in play in future?

Do you like many, many chips on the table? or do you like fewer chips on the table?
Is 800 chips your max number of chips? Is more possible? (In addition to you usable set buy 5-10 spares of each denomination)

The more accurate the reply the better

eg. 8-12 players that normally start with $20-$40 and the most money in play was $600, we play No limit holdem with 5c10c blinds, I have no room for more players, 25c25c blinds are a possibility, 800 chips is my maximum
 

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