Custom Chips / Custom inlays (1 Viewer)

[sm1leycanadian]

So my friends and I are wanting to play some games while at college, and we luckily have a group of good guys that won't be an issue around some chips that matter more than the cheap dice chips. I originally was thinking about getting a set from Apache or possibly a set of china clays, however after talking to my buddy he mentioned getting our own inlays. My question is whether it is a better idea to get a stock set of some chip and replace inlays, or to if it would be a better choice to get custom chips. (If it matters we were thinking a cash game with a max $50 buy in, I remember seeing a post here with lots of breakdowns for cash games with different max buy in options, which had that choice as a set of 500 chips needed. Not sure if that would cause an issue with the minimum order for either option)
Any information or experience would be great, as well as maybe some places to look around for both options as I'm sure there is endless options and I don't want to miss out on something great!

Thanks in advance for anybody who is able to help out!

Curtis

 

[allforcharity]

Depends on your budget. Custom ceramics from China would be best from price point, but would take time to ship. If you can get the breakdown you need, then blank China Clay (plastic) with your own customized labels are also a reasonable option.

Who knows? There might be a budget set in the Classifieds that would be appropriate.

 

[sm1leycanadian]

Depends on your budget. Custom ceramics from China would be best from price point, but would take time to ship. If you can get the breakdown you need, then blank China Clay (plastic) with your own customized labels are also a reasonable option.

Who knows? There might be a budget set in the Classifieds that would be appropriate.

If I wanted them in a somewhat reasonable time, where would be a good option that is a retailer or a vendor here.
Also a worry I've had with cheaper chips is the 'flashing' I believe it is called, the sharp edges that you get form the mold that is the biggest thing that I want to avoid. Would cheaper customs from China have that issue?

 

[TheOffalo]

Ceramic chips do not have flashing, and the cheap custom chips from China people are referring to are ceramics.

 

[TX_Golf_N_Poker]

So my friends and I are wanting to play some games while at college, and we luckily have a group of good guys that won't be an issue around some chips that matter more than the cheap dice chips. I originally was thinking about getting a set from Apache or possibly a set of china clays, however after talking to my buddy he mentioned getting our own inlays. My question is whether it is a better idea to get a stock set of some chip and replace inlays, or to if it would be a better choice to get custom chips. (If it matters we were thinking a cash game with a max $50 buy in, I remember seeing a post here with lots of breakdowns for cash games with different max buy in options, which had that choice as a set of 500 chips needed. Not sure if that would cause an issue with the minimum order for either option)
Any information or experience would be great, as well as maybe some places to look around for both options as I'm sure there is endless options and I don't want to miss out on something great!

Thanks in advance for anybody who is able to help out!

Curtis

The people here on PCF are amazingly helpful. We will load you up with info so you can make a great decision for your group.

As was asked, if you could give us an idea of budget, there are many good options at all price points from a few hundred dollars to many thousands of dollars. If speed is critical, then the Chinese ceramics mentioned may not be the best solution, although they are a very good solution if you are on a tight budget. But the wait could be 2-3 months, or even more from when your order is submitted. And that's after getting your design hammered out. There is an air shipment option, but then the price goes up quite a bit.

BR Pro Poker is another option for custom ceramics that is much faster as they are located here in the US. There may also be some vendors in Canada, but I'll let our Canadian members address that.

This is a neat set that just hit the classifieds yesterday. Seller is proposing it as a tournament set, but you could easily use it as a cash set, and if you like, you could have the chips milled (extra cost) and get custom labels. (extra cost) But these are genuine Paulson real clay chips from actual casinos. For 80 cents a chip. Very reasonable!
https://www.pokerchipforum.com/thre...tstamped-chippes-tourney-set-or-racks.107294/

If I wanted to use these for a cash game, I would use the grey chips as fracs (25 cents) The yellow as dollars, the mauve as $5s and the Lilac as $20s. (or $25s) For a $50 game, you won't really need this many $20s, but it's good to have them if you have a particularly crazy game, or if the game grows. Even without the $20s, you have a bank of almost $900. And you can use the $20s for rebuys once the $5s are all in play.

 

[TheOffalo]

OP, I have a set of 350 ceramic chips (100x25¢, 100x$1, 100x$5, 50x$20) that I may be selling soon. Thinking ~$135 USD for the set. The big expensive will be shipping to Canada, which'll probably cost ~$65 USD. I'll take pics and let you know when I post them.

Edit: Of course since they're ceramics, they are a set design and wouldn't be able to be relabeled. But maybe you'll like the design.

 

[sm1leycanadian]

The people here on PCF are amazingly helpful. We will load you up with info so you can make a great decision for your group.

Budget wise I don't want to spend a massive amount, I've been thinking around 300 CAD at the most but im not sure if that is reasonable for a set the size I need. I am still unsure of exactly what I would want as a breakdown yet as I can't seem to find that post I mentioned in the original post above so I am not sure what price per chip would be.
Appreciate the reply!

 

[allforcharity]

Ceramic chips do not have flashing, and the cheap custom chips from China people are referring to are ceramics.

Not entirely true. The blanks do have flashing when they are made but are typically removed before the dye sub printing process.

My OWPS ceramics have a definite sanded pip, but smooth to the chip surface so it doesn't bother me nor affect play.

 

[TX_Golf_N_Poker]

Budget wise I don't want to spend a massive amount, I've been thinking around 300 CAD at the most but im not sure if that is reasonable for a set the size I need. I am still unsure of exactly what I would want as a breakdown yet as I can't seem to find that post I mentioned in the original post above so I am not sure what price per chip would be.
Appreciate the reply!

Depending on the blinds you are playing, you may not need as many chips as you think. People will usually say you should have a 100/200/200 breakdown, plus another barrel or two of a high denom, but you can certainly get away with less if your game is not real splashy.

I'm guessing with a $50 buy in you are probably playing 25c / 50c or 25c / 25c blinds. If you're playing lower and you need two fracs, then you may have a problem and will probably need at least 500 chips. But for a game with 25c / $1 / $5 / $20 or $25 chips, you could go as low as 100/160/100/40 for 400 total chips. That's almost $1500 in bank and enough chips to keep play moving. It's not ideal, but it is doable.

Your bigger problem is going to be your budget, if you want custom labels or printing. $300 CAD is only about $225 USD which will be tough to do factoring in shipping to Canada. You may have to choose between staying in budget with stock designs, or going over budget for a custom design. And if you go custom, you really don't want to scrimp on the size of the set too much, as you'll want the set to be able to grow with your game, at least a little.

If you were to get in on a custom art "Tina" chinese ceramic group buy, The "no mold" chips in the following vendor thread are about as cheap as you are going to find at 34 cents a chip. That's $170 USD plus shipping for a 500 chip set, or $204 USD for 600. But you will need someone in the US to receive the chips for you, as he only ships within the US. I see you are pretty close to the border, so maybe you have friends or family over here that can receive them for you?
https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/no-mold-group-buy-july-2023-customs-welcome.106442/

This order is closing in a couple of days, so you won't have time to come up with a custom design for this one, but Justin runs these buys about once a month, so you should have time to get in on the next one. Just reach out to him in that thread or by PM and he will tell you what he can do for you.

 

[sm1leycanadian]

Depending on the blinds you are playing, you may not need as many chips as you think. People will usually say you should have a 100/200/200 breakdown, plus another barrel or two of a high denom, but you can certainly get away with less if your game is not real splashy.

I'm guessing with a $50 buy in you are probably playing 25c / 50c or 25c / 25c blinds. If you're playing lower and you need two fracs, then you may have a problem and will probably need at least 500 chips. But for a game with 25c / $1 / $5 / $20 or $25 chips, you could go as low as 100/160/100/40 for 400 total chips. That's almost $1500 in bank and enough chips to keep play moving. It's not ideal, but it is doable.

Your bigger problem is going to be your budget, if you want custom labels or printing. $300 CAD is only about $225 USD which will be tough to do factoring in shipping to Canada. You may have to choose between staying in budget with stock designs, or going over budget for a custom design. And if you go custom, you really don't want to scrimp on the size of the set too much, as you'll want the set to be able to grow with your game, at least a little.

If you were to get in on a custom art "Tina" chinese ceramic group buy, The "no mold" chips in the following vendor thread are about as cheap as you are going to find at 34 cents a chip. That's $170 USD plus shipping for a 500 chip set, or $204 USD for 600. But you will need someone in the US to receive the chips for you, as he only ships within the US. I see you are pretty close to the border, so maybe you have friends or family over here that can receive them for you?
https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/no-mold-group-buy-july-2023-customs-welcome.106442/

This order is closing in a couple of days, so you won't have time to come up with a custom design for this one, but Justin runs these buys about once a month, so you should have time to get in on the next one. Just reach out to him in that thread or by PM and he will tell you what he can do for you.

Funny you mention that, I was just messaging with him about the cards mold he said hes starting up next week I believe. I was thinking that I may just bite the cost that is a bit more than I originally had thought and get the custom work done, as the pricing is pretty good being able to get whatever I want done.

As for the having somebody to receive the package in the US, I am sure there is some people that I could get it shipped to, however is there a way for that person to get it to me without having to pay an absurd amount of tax due to weight, or overall for the shipping? Just not very knowledgeable in getting things here from the States, so thought this would be the place to find out! Will have to do some looking around

Thanks for the reply!

Cheers Curtis

 

[Eriks]

Just stay on here and browse threads for a month or two and mix it up with some of us chip degens. Inevitably you will get (bad) ideas and that CAD $300 budget of yours will soon be nothing but a faint memory. Many before you have walked that path.

Problem solved, you’re welcome

 

[Mick]

As a Canadian, if you do decide to go with China Clays, these are a great choice from a Canadian vendor that I've had nothing but good experiences with:

https://www.straightpokersupplies.com/crazy-horse-10g-clay-poker-chips-500-chips-w-alum-case.html

They are labeled as "Crazy Horse", but they are just relabeled "Milano" China clay chips. I recently made 2 sets from these chips, and couldn't be happier with them. No concerns with flashing or anything like that. Shipping was very fast. Here's links to my 2 projects:

https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/looney-tunes-milano-relabel-100-diy.105795/

https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/you-guys-decide.102594/

It was very easy to peel the old labels off, but it was time consuming. If you look through the threads, you'll see I was able to DIY my labels for very cheap. I'm entirely satisfied with my results. If you do end up buying from that site, pick up some of these while you're there:

https://www.straightpokersupplies.c...oker-wide-jumbo-index-single-deck-orange.html

They are dirt cheap, and they are the best cards I've ever used (I'm really picky about card quality). Better than the Copag and KEM sets I've had that cost 4x as much. They have several colours to choose from.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask here or PM me.

 

[Eriks]

As a Canadian, if you do decide to go with China Clays, these are a great choice from a Canadian vendor that I've had nothing but good experiences with:

https://www.straightpokersupplies.com/crazy-horse-10g-clay-poker-chips-500-chips-w-alum-case.html

As long as one knows just a little bit about chips one realizes these are not actual clay chips and the price point is of course another big hint. And I know they’re far from the only vendor using ”clay” as a marketing gimmick but this is the first one I’ve seen taking their claims this far:

”Made with real compression molded clay” and ”10 gram true clay”.

Pretty disgusting and flat out untrue.

Edit: not saying there’s anything wrong with Milanos or china clays in general. They’re great choices for that price point. But that marketing bullshit rubs me the wrong way.

 

[Mick]

Weird. I never even read any of that, as I went there looking specifically for Milanos, and already was aware what "China Clay" meant. As a Canadian looking for China Clays, I couldn't find better prices anywhere. I agree it is deceptive terminology, but even true "Clay" chips aren't really clay.

 

[Eriks]

but even true "Clay" chips aren't really clay.

Yes I know. But they sure know what they’re trying to convey by describing them as clay. They’re certainly not compression molded. That’s just lying.

 

[TX_Golf_N_Poker]

As a Canadian, if you do decide to go with China Clays, these are a great choice from a Canadian vendor that I've had nothing but good experiences with:

https://www.straightpokersupplies.com/crazy-horse-10g-clay-poker-chips-500-chips-w-alum-case.html

They are labeled as "Crazy Horse", but they are just relabeled "Milano" China clay chips. I recently made 2 sets from these chips, and couldn't be happier with them. No concerns with flashing or anything like that. Shipping was very fast. Here's links to my 2 projects:

https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/looney-tunes-milano-relabel-100-diy.105795/

https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/you-guys-decide.102594/

It was very easy to peel the old labels off, but it was time consuming. If you look through the threads, you'll see I was able to DIY my labels for very cheap. I'm entirely satisfied with my results. If you do end up buying from that site, pick up some of these while you're there:

https://www.straightpokersupplies.c...oker-wide-jumbo-index-single-deck-orange.html

They are dirt cheap, and they are the best cards I've ever used (I'm really picky about card quality). Better than the Copag and KEM sets I've had that cost 4x as much. They have several colours to choose from.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask here or PM me.

As someone who seriously considered getting Milanos 3 years ago, and have quite a few samples, and then bought several thousand Tina cards mold chips - it's my personal opinion that custom cards mold ceramics blow Milanos out of the water. And once to go to the time, trouble and expense of relabeling, I think the cards mold come out less expensive too. Or maybe not if you are buying the Milanos from a Canadian vendor. Your call there, but the bigggest thing I hate about Milanos is the rounded edges so that they won't stand up on edge. Might not matter at all to you, but it did to me. I also don't care for how muted the colors are on Milanos.

 

[TX_Golf_N_Poker]

Funny you mention that, I was just messaging with him about the cards mold he said hes starting up next week I believe. I was thinking that I may just bite the cost that is a bit more than I originally had thought and get the custom work done, as the pricing is pretty good being able to get whatever I want done.

As for the having somebody to receive the package in the US, I am sure there is some people that I could get it shipped to, however is there a way for that person to get it to me without having to pay an absurd amount of tax due to weight, or overall for the shipping? Just not very knowledgeable in getting things here from the States, so thought this would be the place to find out! Will have to do some looking around

Thanks for the reply!

Cheers Curtis

What I was suggesting was if you know someone just over the border who could receive them for you. Aren't you pretty close to Detroit? If so, then just go visit them, and bring them home. Or maybe someone here on PCF in the Detroit area would do it for you? I'd do it in a heartbeat, but I'm closer to the border of Mexico than Canada.

 

[sm1leycanadian]

What I was suggesting was if you know someone just over the border who could receive them for you. Aren't you pretty close to Detroit? If so, then just go visit them, and bring them home. Or maybe someone here on PCF in the Detroit area would do it for you? I'd do it in a heartbeat, but I'm closer to the border of Mexico than Canada.

The issue would be that I just don't have the time through the summer to make a trip across the border, so I would need to figure out getting them shipped to me from whoever I get them sent to State side. I am gonna do some looking around here but if there is anything regarding that you or somebody can mention here that would be awesome.

As someone who seriously considered getting Milanos 3 years ago, and have quite a few samples, and then bought several thousand Tina cards mold chips - it's my personal opinion that custom cards mold ceramics blow Milanos out of the water. And once to go to the time, trouble and expense of relabeling, I think the cards mold come out less expensive too. Or maybe not if you are buying the Milanos from a Canadian vendor. Your call there, but the bigggest thing I hate about Milanos is the rounded edges so that they won't stand up on edge. Might not matter at all to you, but it did to me. I also don't care for how muted the colors are on Milanos.

Some great input the idea of the cards mold buy is tempting but the shipping issue is whats making me look other places. As for the time I have no issue putting some music on and just sitting down for a good while to redo the inlays gives me some busy work if I get bored haha, I have two questions to follow up.

The first being, if I was to look at getting blanks from Apache, and then labels would that be much more expensive than doing a set through a card mold buy? Or if I had to get labeled chips from Apache, are the inlays as easy to remove as say Miloano's?

The second being, if there is a big difference in price would the quality of apache chips be worth the little bit more for the small set I'm starting with? I've seen videos of some of their chips and they look very nice, but I know some people here will have first hand experience.
I know that I will get samples before to be sure I am happy with what I'm doing but, enjoy getting different opinions.


Appreciate the response!

Curtis

 

[TX_Golf_N_Poker]

The issue would be that I just don't have the time through the summer to make a trip across the border, so I would need to figure out getting them shipped to me from whoever I get them sent to State side. I am gonna do some looking around here but if there is anything regarding that you or somebody can mention here that would be awesome.

I hear ya. I shipped a couple of medium flat rate boxes to Canada, and my recollection is that they were around $60 each. A MFRB will hold up to about 800 chips, so one should be plenty for the size set you are looking for.

Some great input the idea of the cards mold buy is tempting but the shipping issue is whats making me look other places. As for the time I have no issue putting some music on and just sitting down for a good while to redo the inlays gives me some busy work if I get bored haha, I have two questions to follow up.

The first being, if I was to look at getting blanks from Apache, and then labels would that be much more expensive than doing a set through a card mold buy? Or if I had to get labeled chips from Apache, are the inlays as easy to remove as say Miloano's?

That's going to depend entirely on where you get your labels. I did some DIY labels using 1 inch Avery labels a couple years ago. I bought a large number of labels because I was planning to relabel over 2000 chips, and I was printing them myself on a color laser printer. I think my total cost was around 3-5 cents a label, or 6-10 cents a chip. That's not counting if I would have needed to replace my cartridges, which I probably would have. The other issue with that is that a lot of chips won't take a one inch label. Some require a 7/8th inch label, others need 3/4ths or 1 1/16th and Avery doesn't sell those sizes in the waterproof labels that I used. Let me know if you want more details on DIY and I can find an old thread and share the link.

OTOH, most people here buy professionally printed and precisely cut labels that are far great quality than what you can DIY. You can search for "GEAR" labels, and there are a couple of other vendors. But these babies are almost as expensive as the china clay chips you are looking to buy. They will run you about 25-40 cents per chip, depending on which style of label you want. The cheapest ones are not laminated and are pretty thin.

In between is another option called Sticker Mule. Again, search for that and you'll find some threads. You can get a pretty nice quality laminated label for about 20-25 cents a chip. Not as nice as Gear, but plenty nice enough for china clays or even moderately priced clay chip relabels.

The second being, if there is a big difference in price would the quality of apache chips be worth the little bit more for the small set I'm starting with? I've seen videos of some of their chips and they look very nice, but I know some people here will have first hand experience.
I know that I will get samples before to be sure I am happy with what I'm doing but, enjoy getting different opinions.


Appreciate the response!

Curtis

Not sure which Apache chips you are referring to. Last time I was there (it's been a while) they were selling quite a few different CC chips at various price points. They sold Royals (one of the better CC chips - oversized at 43mm) Majestics and also Milanos, the same chip sold by the Canadian vendor. I think they may have sold some of the cheaper slugged chips as well. Quality is subjective, but in my opinion they are all pretty close, and I personally like cards mold chips better. Others here will disagree with me on that.

The key point I would make on china clays is that almost nobody who is a long time regular member of this forum would put a lot of time, effort and money into building a forever custom set with china clays. I did it when I was brand new here and on a tight budget. But after spending a lot of time on this forum, I graduated to wanting real clay casino and custom relabeled clay chips. Or custom CPCs. I wish I could go back in time and tell myself to save all the money I spent on china clays and just focus on cards mold first, and then saving up for the inevitable clay chips I ended up buying a year or so later.

 

[BGinGA]

they sure know what they’re trying to convey by describing them as clay. They’re certainly not compression molded. That’s just lying.

Agree, but it may not be intentional lying regarding their compression molded claims. Could be just due to ignorance.

Just because somebody sells poker chips does not make them a poker chip expert, or even moderately knowledgeable..... it just makes them a poker chip salesperson.

 

[Eriks]

Agree, but it may not be intentional lying regarding their compression molded claims. Could be just due to ignorance.

Just because somebody sells poker chips does not make them a poker chip expert, or even moderately knowledgeable..... it just makes them a poker chip salesperson.

”Clay and 11,5 g official casino weight” kinda bullshit, I’m sure is ignorance but this seems too specific.

 

[JayRocker420]

As a Canadian, if you do decide to go with China Clays, these are a great choice from a Canadian vendor that I've had nothing but good experiences with:

https://www.straightpokersupplies.com/crazy-horse-10g-clay-poker-chips-500-chips-w-alum-case.html

They are labeled as "Crazy Horse", but they are just relabeled "Milano" China clay chips. I recently made 2 sets from these chips, and couldn't be happier with them. No concerns with flashing or anything like that. Shipping was very fast. Here's links to my 2 projects:

https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/looney-tunes-milano-relabel-100-diy.105795/

https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/you-guys-decide.102594/

It was very easy to peel the old labels off, but it was time consuming. If you look through the threads, you'll see I was able to DIY my labels for very cheap. I'm entirely satisfied with my results. If you do end up buying from that site, pick up some of these while you're there:

https://www.straightpokersupplies.c...oker-wide-jumbo-index-single-deck-orange.html

They are dirt cheap, and they are the best cards I've ever used (I'm really picky about card quality). Better than the Copag and KEM sets I've had that cost 4x as much. They have several colours to choose from.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask here or PM me.

I have a big set of milano/crazy horse chips now and I'm gonna move forward with my custom labels this year (adding 5 cents too for my kids haha)!

Living in BC and having GEAR so close is a no brainer. I'm just finishing up design ideas and trying to decide what style to use..... Glossy, matte, etc.....

This place rules for threads like these!