Creating a custom casino quality chip set (newbie) (2 Viewers)

yones

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Hi all,

I am new to the forum and loving it. I want to create a very nice casino quality custom set. Same chips as you would see in the Vegas casinos. I want 1,000 chips with denominations from $1 - $100 (or maybe even $500). Will be used for home cash games and tournaments (max 18 people, but usually 9 people).

Where can I go to get casino quality chips. For the design I really like what the Wynn used to do with just Steve Wynn's signature on it. I am thinking of putting my signature on it.

TIA
 
Classic Poker Chips is your best bet. They are a vendor sponsor here. Take a look at their website, the chip design tool, as well as the myriad of custom design threads that are here for inspiration. Good luck in your chip journey!
 
CPC classicpokerchips.com makes absolutely fantastic clay chips, but they can get pricey. Click the “Chip Design Tool” under the “Links” tab at the top of the page to use the CPC chip designer. It’s a ton of fun!

Custom ceramics are a great way to get fully custom chips if your budget is a little more limited. @ABC Gifts and Awards is a trusted member of PCF, and makes casino quality ceramics.

Some chippers have purchased casino or home market/fantasy Paulsons and relabeled them. @Gear is too-notch for labels. Again, this can get pricey, but they’re worth the money, if you have the cash.

Welcome to PCF! Lots of great people, information, and chips to be found here.

And most importantly, get samples first!
 
Oh, and separate designs for cash and tourney, please.
Thank you! Why separate lol?

CPC classicpokerchips.com makes absolutely fantastic clay chips, but they can get pricey. Click the “Chip Design Tool” under the “Links” tab at the top of the page to use the CPC chip designer. It’s a ton of fun!

Custom ceramics are a great way to get fully custom chips if your budget is a little more limited. @ABC Gifts and Awards is a trusted member of PCF, and makes casino quality ceramics.

Some chippers have purchased casino or home market/fantasy Paulsons and relabeled them. @Gear is too-notch for labels. Again, this can get pricey, but they’re worth the money, if you have the cash.

Welcome to PCF! Lots of great people, information, and chips to be found here.

And most importantly, get samples first!
I want the best of the best. Casino quality. Obv I want to save anywhere I can? How much per chip for CPC if I get 1,000 and how much should the designing cost roughly?
 
@yones. Separate cash and tourney so people don’t accidentally keep a tourney chip eg $25 or $100. And then reintroduce it into your cash games.

Often times people who get knocked out of a tourney may start a cash game on the side. It’s for your protection or your games banker’s protection.
 
Thank you! Why separate lol?
Several reasons, really.

1) For security. If your $25's are being used in a tournament one week, and cash the next, a player could conceivably pocket a few $25's from the tourney and sneak them into the cash game, and suddenly your bank is down $100. This is easily most important.
2) Convenience. If you're playing a tourney, and the players who bust early want to start a cash game, it would be nearly impossible.
3) Cash games and tourneys play differently and require different breakdowns.
4) MOAR CHIPS! :)


I want the best of the best. Casino quality. Obv I want to save anywhere I can? How much per chip for CPC if I get 1,000 and how much should the designing cost roughly?
Check the pricing options at the link provided by @links_slayer. As for chip or inlay designs, there are several PCF'ers who do fantastic design work at reasonable rates.
 
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All things pricing/options/etc can be found here: http://www.pokerchipsonline.com/pokerchips/realclaypokerchips.htm

Also, spend some time here: http://www.pokerchipdesigntool.com/

For clays, this is your only option that I'm aware of. There are lots of great options for ceramics.
And for semi-custom clays, as already mentioned, you could go with your own labels. This means you buy casino chips and replace (or label over) the existing inlays with your design.

Just one of many great examples are the Havanas from @WhiteMamba1646
https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/havana-cardroom-rhc-custom-set.33374/
https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/havana-cardroom-thc-secondary-custom-set.39781/
https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/tournament-havana-thc-custom-set.38114/
 
I was just where you are 3 months ago...

Hi and welcome to this amazing place where you will fall in love with poker chips and more...;)

I sold my set as well. Had previously employed one set for both tourney and cash. However, taking in experience and advice from other members here...I quickly realized two main things. I needed to do sampling. First and foremost. Then...I went ahead with an order from CPC. PM me if you have any questions on this. It's pricey, but they do have stock designs that is available for immediate shipment and the quality is awesome. I'm extremely pumped with my purchase.

I have also gone ahead and purchase a cash set as well. Totally different chips.

It's fun to have a different set of chips for the 2 styles. MOAR:wow:

Enjoy!
 
You can build a T25 based tourney set for 18 people with 600 chips.
Denoms 25/100/500/1000/500, starting stacks 8/8/4/7/2 for a total of T10000.
T25 x 180
T100 x 180
T500 X 80
T1000 x 140
T5000 x 20

This gives you plenty of 500's and 1000's to color up the low denoms, and can easily cover rebuys.

Your cash set would depend on how your group plays. How many players play cash? What games? What stakes? How splashy are they (as in, how much money will be on the table)? We can help you build a set that will work for your group.
 
Thank you! Why separate lol?


I want the best of the best. Casino quality. Obv I want to save anywhere I can? How much per chip for CPC if I get 1,000 and how much should the designing cost roughly?
Be extremely wary of anything that claims "Casino Quality", or "Casino weight". They are not.

There are 4 primary types of casino chips used in Vegas today.
  • Paulson - These are clay chips manufactured by Gaming Partners International (GPI). They do not sell directly to the public anymore. ClassicPokerChips (CPC) get the closest.
  • 296057
  • Bud Jones - these are a "soft" plastic chip. Nothing at all like the cheap plastic chips you can find at Walmart. A lot of online retailers try to deceive you by claiming "Casino Quality", or "Casino weight" with their Bud-Jones-like chips, but they are way, way, waaayyyy different. Like Aston Martin to Kia different. The Bud Jones chips are also manufactured by GPI, and do not sell them directly to the public.
  • 296069
  • Icon - another plastic chip, these are harder and more slippery (a trait disliked by most people because tall stacks spill easily, and are subject to "barrel explosions"). It may be possible to order from Icon, but nobody here ever would. It would be cheaper to buy old Bud Jones chips and relabel them, and the chips are better. Icons are better than your online "Casino Quality", or "Casino weight" vendors, but not by much.
  • 296068
  • Ceramics - These are more common in smaller casinos. They are made by a number of different companies, and all sell directly to the end user. These became popular in the mid 90s, but most Vegas casinos have shifted back to Paulsons. The only Vegas strip casino that still uses ceramics, is Hooters, and only for their $1 chip, and they tried to make it look like a clay chip. The photo is deceptive, it does not really look or feel like a clay chip.
  • 296072
 
Be extremely wary of anything that claims "Casino Quality", or "Casino weight". They are not.

There are 4 primary types of casino chips used in Vegas today.
  • Paulson - These are clay chips manufactured by Gaming Partners International (GPI). They do not sell directly to the public anymore. ClassicPokerChips (CPC) get the closest.
  • View attachment 296057
  • Bud Jones - these are a "soft" plastic chip. Nothing at all like the cheap plastic chips you can find at Walmart. A lot of online retailers try to deceive you by claiming "Casino Quality", or "Casino weight" with their Bud-Jones-like chips, but they are way, way, waaayyyy different. Like Aston Martin to Kia different. The Bud Jones chips are also manufactured by GPI, and do not sell them directly to the public.
  • View attachment 296069
  • Icon - another plastic chip, these are harder and more slippery (a trait disliked by most people because tall stacks spill easily, and are subject to "barrel explosions"). It may be possible to order from Icon, but nobody here ever would. It would be cheaper to buy old Bud Jones chips and relabel them, and the chips are better. Icons are better than your online "Casino Quality", or "Casino weight" vendors, but not by much.
  • View attachment 296068
  • Ceramics - These are more common in smaller casinos. They are made by a number of different companies, and all sell directly to the end user. These became popular in the mid 90s, but most Vegas casinos have shifted back to Paulsons. The only Vegas strip casino that still uses ceramics, is Hooters, and only for their $1 chip, and they tried to make it look like a clay chip. The photo is deceptive, it does not really look or feel like a clay chip.
  • View attachment 296072
Yes I want one most similar to the Paris one. Which CPC one comes closest with weight and feel? Should I get the 39mm or the 44mm? I like the A-crest design best. Those would be $2.50-$3 each?
 
Yes I want one most similar to the Paris one. Which CPC one comes closest with weight and feel? Should I get the 39mm or the 44mm? I like the A-crest design best. Those would be $2.50-$3 each?

39 mmm is the same size as the Paulson Paris chip. 44mm are oversized chips. Lots of us like them as they are different/add variety. But they are bigger and heavier than the Paris chip.

I strongly suggest you pick up some samples before deciding on an order. I found CPC chips are nice, but they don’t have the same sound or feel as a Paulson chip. I do like the small crown mold, but the A mold was not for me. YMMV.

If you like the Paris chip, you could do what a lot of us have done, just use that chip and relabel. @Gear does high quality work and you could have your own custom set on whatever casino chips you pick up.

Here’s a quick pic of some of my relabels (everything is a relabel except the JACK set; the Vegas house mold on the top left are still waiting for labels):

1724F619-718E-4924-BDAE-C654511AEB64.jpeg


And a close up sample:
FAA9A806-15DE-445C-BF87-2FE46F2E16F8.jpeg


I would also check out @WhiteMamba1646 ’s Havana Club set for another really good example of what can be done.
 
Yes I want one most similar to the Paris one. Which CPC one comes closest with weight and feel? Should I get the 39mm or the 44mm? I like the A-crest design best. Those would be $2.50-$3 each?
Generally, it seems people say the jockey mold feels closest to the THC mold, like on the Paris chip. But any 39mm mold with the smaller recess and outer ring will approximate the THC, such as A, B-diamond, HHR, and diamond square (which is my personal favorite). YMMV. Get samples.

However, CPC material feels noticeably different than Paulsons, and the color options are limited, compared to Paulson. That said, they’re absolutely fantastic chips, and they only place in the world that you can get fully custom clay chips. And they’re a great company, too!

As for pricing, you can build a set for under $2/chip depending on edgespots and colors. Bright white is a 50¢/chip upcharge if you want it as the base chip color without color imperfections. Dayglo colors are an additional 13¢/chip as vase color.

I took a screenshot of the price list, but you’ll have to account for design fees, shipping, storage etc. You can see that some
molds are significantly higher priced than others
296084
 
Hi all,

I am new to the forum and loving it. I want to create a very nice casino quality custom set. Same chips as you would see in the Vegas casinos. I want 1,000 chips with denominations from $1 - $100 (or maybe even $500). Will be used for home cash games and tournaments (max 18 people, but usually 9 people).

Where can I go to get casino quality chips. For the design I really like what the Wynn used to do with just Steve Wynn's signature on it. I am thinking of putting my signature on it.

TIA

how deep is your pocket book? :ROFL: :ROFLMAO:
 
Opinions very wildly as to which CPC mold "feels" the best.

Weight varies both by mold and by color. I didn't weigh every chip I owned (that would take some doing), but... (weight in grams, 10 chips)

Paulson, in mint condition (casino used will be lighter from wear)
296088


CPC FDL Mold, Base light green (a color that is weighted with brass flakes)
296091


CPC FDL mold, Base Dayglo Saturn (an unweighted color)
296093


Other molds will return different results, as will different colors. Even the size of the inlay may affect the overall weight. In the end, get samples and determine which ones feel the best to you, or what works best for your design ("Bob's Billiards" works better on the B-mold than the A-mold).

I personally don't notice the 0.4 gram difference between a CPC chip and actual Paulson chip during play (though the two are not on the table at the same time). I can tell that the unweighted CPC colors are lighter than the weighted CPC colors, but those chips are on the table at the same time. It does not bother me at all, YMMV - again, get samples.
 
If "create" is the key word, then CPC is the only way to go.

Read a lot and see a lot in the Pr0n section, as well as in Galleries/Albums. Sleep on them and don't rush.
If money is not an issue, and you want to cover a spectrum of stakes, then a 1200-cash chip set and an (at least) 800-chip tournament set is ideal.

You could marginally only use the same set for cash AND tourney if you only play with 9 people you 've known since childhood and still there is no way of you hosting a tourney AND a cash game simultaneously or consecutively under the same roof.
 
But any 39mm mold with the smaller recess and outer ring will approximate the THC, such as A, B-diamond, HHR, and diamond square (which is my personal favorite).
Not quite... the reason most say the Jockey mould most closely approximates the THC is not only because of the inner/outer ring similarities but also because of the mould pattern between the rings. The other moulds you mentioned have a more aggressive (or less spacing between the impressions) pattern, which in turn affects how they sound and feel.

20190606_202425.jpg



Closest CPC RHC would be the FDL mould for the same reasons:

20190606_202304.jpg
 
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