• PCF is an eBay Partner. If you make a purchase through one of our links, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support!

First Cash Set Recommendations (broke) (3 Viewers)

RansomWest

RansomWest

Sitting Out
Joined
Feb 9, 2026
Messages
23
Reaction score
29
Rewards
0
Location
Lincoln, Nebraska
Hello! My buddies and I play a bi-weekly micro stakes cash game $.05/$.1 with $20 buy-in. Usually have 6-8 players w/ an average of 6-10 rebuys of $20. Given the stakes, I expect to get dollar denoms and just call them cents. It seems like that is easier than getting primarily cent denoms.

I'm finally looking to upgrade from my dice chips set from Walmart. I am, unfortunately, a broke college student, so I am primarily looking at slugs.

Currently, I am planning to get some barrels from Discount Poker Shop. I like both the outlaw and monte carlo designs, and I can get 500 for ~$95 shipped. I've looked into the slug market quite a bit, but before I pull the trigger, I want to make sure I'm not missing anything.

Does anyone have any other recommendations at the (very) budget price point? TIA!
 
Welcome! At that price point (<25c a chip) you're going to be hard pressed to find anything better new. The group buys in the broken arrow card room forum are good for budget chips with tons of available designs, but there's a bit of a wait and chips range from about 35~50c ea.

Best bet imo would be to keep a close eye on the for sale section, or post a wanted ad. For example, i dont know if this fits your needs exactly, but its close to your budget range:
https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/asm-hot-stamp-set-price-drop.138791/
 
springbox said:
Welcome! At that price point (<25c a chip) you're going to be hard pressed to find anything better new. The group buys in the broken arrow card room forum are good for budget chips with tons of available designs, but there's a bit of a wait and chips range from about 35~50c ea.

Best bet imo would be to keep a close eye on the for sale section, or post a wanted ad. For example, i dont know if this fits your needs exactly, but its close to your budget range:
https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/asm-hot-stamp-set-price-drop.138791/
Click to expand...
Down for used as well! Beggars can't be choosers of course.
 
JeepologyOffroad said:
Faux clay solids get my vote or some used Majestics maybe
Click to expand...
I love this idea, because I don’t think faux clay solids are discussed enough anymore. Still the best bang-for-your-buck option out there in my opinion.

However if you want to “upgrade from dice chips”, your players may be confused by more dice chips since those also have dice on the mold.
 
Yeah faux clays are the shit. Wish we knew the manufacturer. Imagine spotted versions with a better mold.
 
btbmason said:
I love this idea, because I don’t think faux clay solids are discussed enough anymore. Still the best bang-for-your-buck option out there in my opinion.

However if you want to “upgrade from dice chips”, your players may be confused by more dice chips since those also have dice on the mold
Click to expand...

I don't think I've seen a ton of discussion on faux clays. Do you have a good link or recommendation?
 
RansomWest said:
I don't think I've seen a ton of discussion on faux clays. Do you have a good link or recommendation?
Click to expand...

Cliffs: Plastic injection-molded chip which weighs 8-9g each, with a “softer” sound and feel that closely resembles clay despite being plastic (compared to most other plastic chips, I don’t think there’s a real comparison to clay chips.)

I’m actually not sure if any stores still stock them new, but there were tons of them out there on the secondary market.

Originally they were 3-10c a chip, people did some crazy things with them such as dying them, laser designs, etc.

This is a very old thread with some of the info:

https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/the-second-official-faux-clay-nation-thread.7684/

But if you like what you see, you could probably toss a Wanted ad in the classifieds and bring out some old sets.

I have a set somewhere I can drag out to take some photos at some point, but they’re basically a play set for my kids now.
 
Outlaws are generally the best sluggos on the market, but they denoms are hard to see so a lot of players will ask you what is what. Monte Carlos are probably the most made chip in the world. Buy them from The Poker Store since he makes sure to lightly sand the edges and remove plastic flashing.

IF you can move up just a little on budget, the Olympics from The Poker Store are excellent. Their quality is in line with Majestics and are like 30% cheaper. They are currently 500 for $160 compared to Majestics at $240. Its an extra $60 but the jump in quality over sluggos is worth it if you can swing it.
 
I just posted this in another thread, but I've got two of these sets available so figured I'd share it here too:

Since you play .05/.10 or something similar I have a set that would work. It's called Laurel Crown and it's a ceramic set.

Here's a link to what it looks like: https://mrcpoker.com/collections/la...t4bFGUr_Qw_ULbjaO66clZPUl1r4JkmgkwiomKgM9oF1O

I'd do:

200x $5 (used as nickels)
1000x $25 (used as quarters)
200x $100 (used as dollars)
50x $1k (used as $10s)

For $385 shipped CONUS.

I realize that's more chips than you were asking for and at a higher price, but I'm willing to cut this down if you're interested. Lemme know! :)
 
If anything it is good to buy samples from different places, including sample Tina hybrids from on here. That’s what I will be doing soon
 
NotRealNameNoSir said:
Because we're a bunch of scrub donkeys paying thousands for toys. They all do the same thing as the stupid plastic from Target but we choose to pay 10x that because we're idiots. Just run.
Click to expand...
I have a tendency of going overboard on all my hobbies haha. HOWEVER, I am hoping to not do that with starting this one as I don't know how much others will want to keep playing this.
 
NotRealNameNoSir said:
Buy the Monte Carlos and forget you found this place. This is a stupid place. I had your budget and it was beaten out of me.
Click to expand...
I agree with everything @NotRealNameNoSir said and give you the advice to run. I already find myself in a spot where I will be spending a lot of money on poker chips and have already spend way too much time on this forum... but I just love it
 
NotRealNameNoSir said:
Because we're a bunch of scrub donkeys paying thousands for toys. They all do the same thing as the stupid plastic from Target but we choose to pay 10x that because we're idiots. Just run.
Click to expand...
Perfect :D You've described most of my decisions regarding hobbies. But on the other hand, if we acted sensibly, this forum would never exist lol.
 
Vote 1: Buy that asm set people keep linking.

Vote 2: Buy the Monte Carlos somewhere you can get an appropriate breakdown. I see thepokerstore has bundles where you can build your own set. Get 5c chips, 25c and $1. Maybe a few $5s.
Having the correct denominations will be an upgrade from what you have now and you won’t be wasting your budget buying a bunch of denoms you won’t ever use. At your stakes I think 300 or 400 would be plenty.

Side note: Use any extra budget (or have your regulars throw in 5 or 10 bucks) to get a rollout felt and some decent cards. That will also provide a huge improvement to the game.

Good luck!
 
Hi! I am also very new and just learning about all of this. I bought my first set about a year back of 1000 monte Carlos at thepokerstore.com. It was a very good purchase as I love the chips and I definitely recommend checking that site out as someone who's in the same boat as you!
 
NotRealNameNoSir said:
Buy the Monte Carlos and forget you found this place. This is a stupid place. I had your budget and it was beaten out of me.
Click to expand...
Donald Duck Disney GIF
 

Create an account or login to comment

You must be a member in order to leave a comment

Create account

Create an account and join our community. It's easy!

Register

Log in

Already have an account? Log in here.

Similar threads

milarodriguez
cash game set
Replies
12
Views
912
QueenDeuce
QueenDeuce
C
First Time Buyer Questions
Replies
10
Views
568
ExileExistence
ExileExistence
Sap
Recommendations for Fracs, First cash set
2
Replies
36
Views
3K
David251999
David251999
A
  • Locked
Wanted Cash Set // 2 Racks of orange Tina Tangier quarters
Replies
2
Views
316
alaereae
A
P
Advice for a newbie
Replies
8
Views
410
merkong
merkong
Back
Top Bottom