marshboi
Sitting Out
Hi all!
I recently bought sample sets from Apache Poker Chips and wanted to post a review and pictures. The purpose of this post is to help those who are new to poker chips decide on their first set.
A little about me: I have recently gotten into poker because it is a great way to get my friends together, have some beer, and catch up on life. I have been on the market to find my first set of poker chips. I want to have a set that I enjoy looking at and playing with and looking at.
TLDR: order samples of your favorite chips and then carry them around for a few days. The ones you pick up the most are the chips you should purchase. If you don’t want to buy sample sets, then I hope this post helps! Also, know your denomination breakdown before buying.
My deciding factors (yours may be different):
1. Design – The more unique that each chip is within the set, the better. I love when each denomination has a unique design (think Nile Club, Pharaoh’s, Tiki King, and Dia de los Muertos DDLM). I didn’t even order a sample set that didn’t have progressive edge designs (think Majestics - the color patterns on the edges don’t vary from chip to chip).
2. Feel – Texture, weight, and sound were all important variables for me. This is something you can only understand if you handle them. Ceramics are smooth while clay chips are rougher and more textured.
3. Denominations – I want to play small stakes or micro stakes cash games (think $10 buy in) and would prefer if the denominations directly correlate to how much money I actually buy in with. For example, I would prefer a chip breakdown of 5c/25c/$1/$5 instead of $5/$25/$100… To me, this makes the game more “real” when you bet a chip. If you are playing tournament poker, this might not be a factor. Let’s say you want to play with $5/$25/$100/$500 but you like the $1000 chip more than the $100. You could theoretically substitute the $1000 for the $100, but players might get confused. Regardless, I am too OCD to do this.
4. Color spectrum of the denominations that you want – when you buy a chip set, you are only going to purchase 4 or 5 denominations (at least to start out with). Because of this, it is important to choose a set based on the the denominations that you want to play with. For example, you might like the colors and edge patterns in set A more, but set B might have the colors/edge patterns in your preferred denominations. If you want to play 5c/25c/$1/$5, you might never use the $25+ chips.
Here is a good thread to help: https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/looking-for-guidance-on-my-micro-stakes-chip-breakdown.57181/
Another chip breakdown resource:
^^ this is really important to figure out BEFORE buying.
So I decided to order Royals (cc), Nile Clubs (ceramic), Dunes (cc), and Pharaoh’s (cc) (pictured below).
Now for the review:
Royals – I loved the bright neon colors- they “pop”. They looked the most like actual casino chips, and they have progressive edge designs I liked how the inlay doesn’t swallow up all the color of the chip like the Dunes and Pharaoh’s. These are oversized 43mm chips and feel amazing. The edges are nice and square. The quality is perfect on these! These are definitely the best quality and feel out of all of the chips.
Nile Clubs – I almost bought this set without ordering samples. I LOVE the fun characters on each one – each chip is unique (big plus for me). These are “ceramic chips” which is basically a hard plastic. They are very smooth and have the same weight as all of the other 39mm chips. They don’t have progressive edge designs, but they make up for that with their fun colors. Unfortunately, some of the chips have blurry, fuzzy, or faded graphics (like when your printer goes out of ink and your camera couldn’t focus). The edge spots don’t match up well (pictured below) but that’s not too big of a deal for me. The edges are nice an square.
Dunes – These chips are fantastic quality. Similar to the Royals, they feel really good and the colors are very precise (edge spots match up on both sides). Their overall color scheme is a bit more pastel-like. Their colors aren’t “poppy” like the royals. I like the Dunes logo and that it doesn’t leave a lot of white space. I do wish the label was a little smaller so that you can see more of the actual chip color. The edges have small an symmetric bezels, making them appear skinnier.
Pharaoh’s – Similar to the Nile Clubs, these chips have unique Egyptian symbols on each one (super cool). Similar to the Dunes, their label takes up a lot of the chips color. This set has developing side patterns and some awesome colors. The edges are bezeled like the Dunes. I would prefer square edges but I can look past that. AND, drum roll please…. This set includes the 5 cent chip (hallelujah).
After considering all of these things, I will most likely order a Pharaoh’s set of 5c/25c/$1/$5. In the end, the Pharaoh’s offer unique Egyptian characters on each denomination, and they offer the 5c chip (which I happen to really like). One down side is that I will have two white chips out on the table (1c and $1), but I don’t think this will be too big of a problem since the 1c is creamy white and has dark edge spots. I am hoping to find some Pharaoh’s in the classifieds for a small-stakes cash set for around 4-8 people for $10 max buy-in in the following breakdown (suggestions welcome):
125 x 5c
200 x 25c
100 x $1
5 x $5
The Royals are awesome y’all. I can’t say enough good things about them. These chips are TOP NOTCH and if you like them, then you should pull the trigger. I haven’t handled Paulsons, but I would imagine that these chips are as close as you can get! I decided not to buy these now, but will re-consider in the future. These would be great for tournaments. In the end, I just liked the Pharaoh’s more, and I couldn’t find a denomination breakdown that I liked. If I ever get rich from smoking my friends in poker, I would order some custom labels.
Say what you will about ceramics but I really liked the Nile Clubs. I might even get a set of these one day, considering their designs are so fun. To me, they feel really nice. Their one flaw is the fuzzy printing of the chips and some of the ink was dull.
The Dunes are also great chips. I personally just like the pharaoh designs more, but if you like these, you can’t go wrong. I think they look the most like an actual casino. If you are trying to emulate a casino in your garage at poker night, these could be for you!
In the end, I would recommend all of these chips. You really can’t go wrong! Apache Poker Chips have great service and they ship fast- I highly recommend.
Comments welcomed!
Marsh
I recently bought sample sets from Apache Poker Chips and wanted to post a review and pictures. The purpose of this post is to help those who are new to poker chips decide on their first set.
A little about me: I have recently gotten into poker because it is a great way to get my friends together, have some beer, and catch up on life. I have been on the market to find my first set of poker chips. I want to have a set that I enjoy looking at and playing with and looking at.
TLDR: order samples of your favorite chips and then carry them around for a few days. The ones you pick up the most are the chips you should purchase. If you don’t want to buy sample sets, then I hope this post helps! Also, know your denomination breakdown before buying.
My deciding factors (yours may be different):
1. Design – The more unique that each chip is within the set, the better. I love when each denomination has a unique design (think Nile Club, Pharaoh’s, Tiki King, and Dia de los Muertos DDLM). I didn’t even order a sample set that didn’t have progressive edge designs (think Majestics - the color patterns on the edges don’t vary from chip to chip).
2. Feel – Texture, weight, and sound were all important variables for me. This is something you can only understand if you handle them. Ceramics are smooth while clay chips are rougher and more textured.
3. Denominations – I want to play small stakes or micro stakes cash games (think $10 buy in) and would prefer if the denominations directly correlate to how much money I actually buy in with. For example, I would prefer a chip breakdown of 5c/25c/$1/$5 instead of $5/$25/$100… To me, this makes the game more “real” when you bet a chip. If you are playing tournament poker, this might not be a factor. Let’s say you want to play with $5/$25/$100/$500 but you like the $1000 chip more than the $100. You could theoretically substitute the $1000 for the $100, but players might get confused. Regardless, I am too OCD to do this.
4. Color spectrum of the denominations that you want – when you buy a chip set, you are only going to purchase 4 or 5 denominations (at least to start out with). Because of this, it is important to choose a set based on the the denominations that you want to play with. For example, you might like the colors and edge patterns in set A more, but set B might have the colors/edge patterns in your preferred denominations. If you want to play 5c/25c/$1/$5, you might never use the $25+ chips.
Here is a good thread to help: https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/looking-for-guidance-on-my-micro-stakes-chip-breakdown.57181/
Another chip breakdown resource:
So I decided to order Royals (cc), Nile Clubs (ceramic), Dunes (cc), and Pharaoh’s (cc) (pictured below).
Now for the review:
Royals – I loved the bright neon colors- they “pop”. They looked the most like actual casino chips, and they have progressive edge designs I liked how the inlay doesn’t swallow up all the color of the chip like the Dunes and Pharaoh’s. These are oversized 43mm chips and feel amazing. The edges are nice and square. The quality is perfect on these! These are definitely the best quality and feel out of all of the chips.
Nile Clubs – I almost bought this set without ordering samples. I LOVE the fun characters on each one – each chip is unique (big plus for me). These are “ceramic chips” which is basically a hard plastic. They are very smooth and have the same weight as all of the other 39mm chips. They don’t have progressive edge designs, but they make up for that with their fun colors. Unfortunately, some of the chips have blurry, fuzzy, or faded graphics (like when your printer goes out of ink and your camera couldn’t focus). The edge spots don’t match up well (pictured below) but that’s not too big of a deal for me. The edges are nice an square.
Dunes – These chips are fantastic quality. Similar to the Royals, they feel really good and the colors are very precise (edge spots match up on both sides). Their overall color scheme is a bit more pastel-like. Their colors aren’t “poppy” like the royals. I like the Dunes logo and that it doesn’t leave a lot of white space. I do wish the label was a little smaller so that you can see more of the actual chip color. The edges have small an symmetric bezels, making them appear skinnier.
Pharaoh’s – Similar to the Nile Clubs, these chips have unique Egyptian symbols on each one (super cool). Similar to the Dunes, their label takes up a lot of the chips color. This set has developing side patterns and some awesome colors. The edges are bezeled like the Dunes. I would prefer square edges but I can look past that. AND, drum roll please…. This set includes the 5 cent chip (hallelujah).
After considering all of these things, I will most likely order a Pharaoh’s set of 5c/25c/$1/$5. In the end, the Pharaoh’s offer unique Egyptian characters on each denomination, and they offer the 5c chip (which I happen to really like). One down side is that I will have two white chips out on the table (1c and $1), but I don’t think this will be too big of a problem since the 1c is creamy white and has dark edge spots. I am hoping to find some Pharaoh’s in the classifieds for a small-stakes cash set for around 4-8 people for $10 max buy-in in the following breakdown (suggestions welcome):
125 x 5c
200 x 25c
100 x $1
5 x $5
The Royals are awesome y’all. I can’t say enough good things about them. These chips are TOP NOTCH and if you like them, then you should pull the trigger. I haven’t handled Paulsons, but I would imagine that these chips are as close as you can get! I decided not to buy these now, but will re-consider in the future. These would be great for tournaments. In the end, I just liked the Pharaoh’s more, and I couldn’t find a denomination breakdown that I liked. If I ever get rich from smoking my friends in poker, I would order some custom labels.
Say what you will about ceramics but I really liked the Nile Clubs. I might even get a set of these one day, considering their designs are so fun. To me, they feel really nice. Their one flaw is the fuzzy printing of the chips and some of the ink was dull.
The Dunes are also great chips. I personally just like the pharaoh designs more, but if you like these, you can’t go wrong. I think they look the most like an actual casino. If you are trying to emulate a casino in your garage at poker night, these could be for you!
In the end, I would recommend all of these chips. You really can’t go wrong! Apache Poker Chips have great service and they ship fast- I highly recommend.
Comments welcomed!
Marsh
