Harvesting Chips on a Road Trip (1 Viewer)

[iLovePoker]

I’m going on a road trip this June and planning to stop at 5–7 casinos along the way. My goal is to slowly build an affordable playable set, something I could use for a single table .25/.50 game. The chips on PCF are absolutely amazing, but most of them are a little out of my price range right now, so I’m hoping to try the harvesting route.

I’ve never done this before, so I have a few questions and would appreciate any tips:

Do casinos even use 25c chips anymore? If not, is it worth trying to harvest $2.50 chips and relabel them, or should I just stick with $1s.

What’s the best way to actually get the chips? I rather not lie, so my plan was to just go to the cage, ask for a rack of $1s or 25¢s (or whatever), and then find a spot to sort through them. But I know some casinos won’t do that and will send me to buy chips from the tables instead. If that’s the case, would it make more sense to try the poker room?

Is it realistic to grab 300–400 chips from one casino? Something like 200–300 $1s and 100 of another denom. I’d prefer not to mix molds or labels if I can avoid it, but I can relabel down the line if needed.

If anyone has advice or has done this before, I’d love to hear how you approached it and how things went. Appreciate the help!

 

[AlbinoDragon]

I’m going on a road trip this June and planning to stop at 5–7 casinos along the way. My goal is to slowly build an affordable playable set, something I could use for a single table .25/.50 game. The chips on PCF are absolutely amazing, but most of them are a little out of my price range right now, so I’m hoping to try the harvesting route.

I’ve never done this before, so I have a few questions and would appreciate any tips:

Do casinos even use 25c chips anymore? If not, is it worth trying to harvest $2.50 chips and relabel them, or should I just stick with $1s.

What’s the best way to actually get the chips? I rather not lie, so my plan was to just go to the cage, ask for a rack of $1s or 25¢s (or whatever), and then find a spot to sort through them. But I know some casinos won’t do that and will send me to buy chips from the tables instead. If that’s the case, would it make more sense to try the poker room?

Is it realistic to grab 300–400 chips from one casino? Something like 200–300 $1s and 100 of another denom. I’d prefer not to mix molds or labels if I can avoid it, but I can relabel down the line if needed.

If anyone has advice or has done this before, I’d love to hear how you approached it and how things went. Appreciate the help!

Generally speaking, good luck finding fractional chips in a casino anymore. If they exist, they are probably used as part of payouts for something like pai-gow which will require playing, winning and slowing collecting those specific chips until you get what you need for a set.

If there is a busy enough poker room, you might be able to get a rack of $1s or $5s on the premise that you are 'waiting for your table to be called', but not all rooms will let you do that.


There are other threads here on "how to harvest" and a search should give you a better idea of the process than this.


Some idea of where you are heading and what rooms you plan on visiting might help out with suggestions and ideas as far as ease of harvesting.

Have you looked at the chips from those places on the chip guide already? It's entirely possible where you are planning to go may have chips you have zero interest in.


Good luck!!

 

[ekricket]

Bring an extra bag. And empty chip boxes.

What is your route? There are some smaller Indian casinos that still use fracs, part of their gaming pact with the federal government

 

[moose]

Just make sure it's a strong bag.

 

[ekricket]

Just make sure it's a strong bag.

View attachment 1499080

View attachment 1499081

Hey @moose, we just spent a week on this boat! Again!

 

[smashed_potato]

Just make sure it's a strong bag.

View attachment 1499080

View attachment 1499081

Can ya just up n leave with a rack of chips? lol
That’s quite the haul if it’s from the hotel room at the time. How many sessions was that? And do they ask you “hey you left with a rack yesterday!”

 

[detroitdad]

@Boother36

 

[Bronson]

I would say, however I’ve never done it mysen; it would all depends on day, luck and personal circumstances. Someone might harvest 4 racks without any issues but you might struggle to get more than couple barrels. In worse case scenario they will tell you to cash your chips

 

[ekricket]

I’m just amazed that in the years that this forum has been active and as many chips that get pulled out of casinos that nobody has ever asked this question.

Or maybe it’s been asked quite a bit and there are threads and info that you can look up and see what the same people that are going to post here posted in those other threads.

But it’s just remarkable that no one else has ever thought to ask this. It won’t be too long before somebody thinks about asking about tournament structures.

 

[Newenne]

I like it when these discussions come up on my new posts and enjoy reading from people who are happy to chime in again, fresh. Sometimes people don't know they're intersted in a topic until someone else brings it up (again). It's fun. And then I might even go look up the old stuff too!

 

[Newenne]

A fellow chipper painstakingly harvested a rack of these on the baccarat table for himself. And I begged and begged him to sell me one of his racks.
Shame about the decimalization amirite @Gear .25c - make that make sense.

So in short it's definitely possible. I've also had multiple racks of caeser hot stamps harvested for me so where there's a will there's a way it seems.

Don't take it from me though. I ain't harvesting $hit from downunder...

 

[iLovePoker]

Some idea of where you are heading and what rooms you plan on visiting might help out with suggestions and ideas as far as ease of harvesting.

Have you looked at the chips from those places on the chip guide already? It's entirely possible where you are planning to go may have chips you have zero interest in.


Good luck!!

What is your route? There are some smaller Indian casinos that still use fracs, part of their gaming pact with the federal government

My plan is to drive from Michigan to Vegas this June for the poker chip show (https://ccgtcc.com/events/convention/registration.aspx). I didn’t include Vegas in my questions since I figure it’s generally easier to harvest chips there, thanks to all the tourists and (I assume) less scrutiny from the casinos. Then again, with the chip convention in town, they might be a little more alert than usual!

According to the interwebs these are the casinos along my route:
FireKeepers Casino Hotel – Battle Creek, MI
Four Winds Casino New Buffalo – New Buffalo, MI
Blue Chip Casino Hotel Spa – Michigan City, IN
Horseshoe Hammond Casino – Hammond, IN
Grand Victoria Casino – Elgin, IL
Par-A-Dice Hotel Casino – East Peoria, IL
Isle Casino Hotel Bettendorf – Bettendorf, IA
Prairie Meadows Casino Racetrack Hotel – Altoona, IA
WarHorse Casino Lincoln – Lincoln, NE
Grand Island Casino Resort – Grand Island, NE
Wind River Hotel & Casino – Riverton, WY
Shoshone Rose Casino & Hotel – Lander, WY

I’m assuming some of these places don’t have table games and I’ll likely skip a few along the way if the detour is too far or I’m short on time. I’m not too picky since this will be a starter set, as long as the chips are in decent shape (not bike tires and no flea bites), I’m happy. I can always relabel them later if needed.

I’m just amazed that in the years that this forum has been active and as many chips that get pulled out of casinos that nobody has ever asked this question.

Or maybe it’s been asked quite a bit and there are threads and info that you can look up and see what the same people that are going to post here posted in those other threads.

But it’s just remarkable that no one else has ever thought to ask this. It won’t be too long before somebody thinks about asking about tournament structures.

Love the sarcasm, super welcoming. I guess we should all stop posting since every topic has already been addressed in a random thread from 6 years ago.

I did search the forum and found bits and pieces, but was hoping for some updated or fresh insights. But hey, thanks for the helpful comment anyway!

A fellow chipper painstakingly harvested a rack of these on the baccarat table for himself. And I begged and begged him to sell me one of his racks.
Shame about the decimalization amirite @Gear .25c - make that make sense.
View attachment 1499128View attachment 1499129

So in short it's definitely possible. I've also had multiple racks of caeser hot stamps harvested for me so where there's a will there's a way it seems.

Don't take it from me though. I ain't harvesting $hit from downunder...

These are incredible! I'm seriously jealous, they'd be perfect for my low stakes set.

 

[upNdown]

I’d be shocked if you found a cage that will sell you a rack of .25s. But good luck!
If you’re open to relabeling, the best case scenario would be to find a casino using off-color $1s that will work as fracs for you. Maybe relabel blue $1s as fracs and use white $1s as $1s.

 

[BEANO52]

These were harvested from months at the craps table. GL !

 

[ekricket]

I did search the forum and found bits and pieces, but was hoping for some updated or fresh insights. But hey, thanks for the helpful comment anyway!

So far you have

Bring a heavy bag
Bring chip boxes
Others have done this

Not really fresh, but there is still hope.

I do harvest chips. If you would have started this thread with “hey, I’m going to harvest chips and I saw what others were doing in the harvest thread, asking the cage and such, but I don’t understand x part of it.” Then you may have gotten a better response.

If you “searched the forum” and only got bits and pieces then you are doing it wrong.

 

[iLovePoker]

So far you have

Bring a heavy bag
Bring chip boxes
Others have done this

Not really fresh, but there is still hope.

I do harvest chips. If you would have started this thread with “hey, I’m going to harvest chips and I saw what others were doing in the harvest thread, asking the cage and such, but I don’t understand x part of it.” Then you may have gotten a better response.

If you “searched the forum” and only got bits and pieces then you are doing it wrong.

Thank you for the feedback! I appreciate it.

 

[ekricket]

Thank you for the feedback! I appreciate it.

It’s better to teach people to walk than carry them everywhere.

You’ll notice the only two concrete recommendations in your thread came from me.

 

[Tonystark137]

So far you have

Bring a heavy bag
Bring chip boxes
Others have done this

Not really fresh, but there is still hope.

I do harvest chips. If you would have started this thread with “hey, I’m going to harvest chips and I saw what others were doing in the harvest thread, asking the cage and such, but I don’t understand x part of it.” Then you may have gotten a better response.

If you “searched the forum” and only got bits and pieces then you are doing it wrong.

Why so... Grumpy... Yeah the guy is asking something that's been asked before...we can all be better educators

 

[SnowConeYeti]

Yea can't tell if he's rage-baiting or not.

 

[ekricket]

Why so... Grumpy... Yeah the guy is asking something that's been asked before...we can all be better educators

It’s better to teach people to walk than carry them everywhere.

 

[ekricket]

Yea can't tell if he's rage-baiting or not.

It’s better to teach people to walk than carry them everywhere.

 

[ekricket]

So far two real suggestions from me, some good lucks, and the rest are more concerned with bashing me than giving you even the simplest of suggestions.

And I’m the bad guy.

 

[ekricket]

Why so... Grumpy... Yeah the guy is asking something that's been asked before...we can all be better educators

Yea can't tell if he's rage-baiting or not.

You guys can pm me with your concerns and not clutter up this thread. Of course bashing people in public is more fun, but if you have REAL concerns about my delivery let’s talk.

 

[SnowConeYeti]

I’m just amazed that in the years that this forum has been active and as many chips that get pulled out of casinos that nobody has ever asked this question.

Or maybe it’s been asked quite a bit and there are threads and info that you can look up and see what the same people that are going to post here posted in those other threads.

But it’s just remarkable that no one else has ever thought to ask this. It won’t be too long before somebody thinks about asking about tournament structures.

Read this regarding delivery lol

 

[ChipsLooker]

A fellow chipper painstakingly harvested a rack of these on the baccarat table for himself. And I begged and begged him to sell me one of his racks.
Shame about the decimalization amirite @Gear .25c - make that make sense.
View attachment 1499128View attachment 1499129

So in short it's definitely possible. I've also had multiple racks of caeser hot stamps harvested for me so where there's a will there's a way it seems.

Don't take it from me though. I ain't harvesting $hit from downunder...

A little bird whispered to me that these were bought as well as Rivers Casino Des Plains (Chicago) chips from a friend in the cage in the box. Not sure if that's painstaking or simply over the coals pricing or if the story is true.

 

[ekricket]

Read this regarding delivery lol

Pretty sure he got the message. Do you need some explaining of it - because you aren’t adding anything to this thread except more division. I think he had it, but lookee Lou’s like you just have to chime in with meaningless comments and derail the whole thing.

 

[BEANO52]

I'll clarify my post.

1. Go to craps table and buy in about +/- $500
2. Wager on numbers
3. Maybe win? Probably lose.
4. Pocket chips as needed (maybe a barrel a session

Repeat until you have enough chips or you can no longer afford to buy in realize it's -EV.

Good Luck !

 

[extreme517]

My plan is to drive from Michigan to Vegas this June for the poker chip show (https://ccgtcc.com/events/convention/registration.aspx). I didn’t include Vegas in my questions since I figure it’s generally easier to harvest chips there, thanks to all the tourists and (I assume) less scrutiny from the casinos. Then again, with the chip convention in town, they might be a little more alert than usual!

According to the interwebs these are the casinos along my route:
Prairie Meadows Casino Racetrack Hotel – Altoona, IA

I can tell you in regard to Prairie Meadows that the poker "room" is on the main casino floor and you can buy racks from the cage no problem. I could potentially meet you out there, depending on the date you come through.

There is plenty of seating near food/racetrack area to hang out and I guarantee cameras are not looking for/scrutinizing chip harvesters. The chips are pretty plain, but they're RHCs. The last fresh $1 chips came in around 2018/2019, so not crispy new, but they're okay and would clean up fine.

You're not gonna get $2.50 chips easily...only way would be playing tons of $5 blackjack over time. My suggestion for a frac is to find a $1 chip somewhere along the way that is different enough from another $1 chip elsewhere that you prefer and label over the top. For example, get racks of a white $1 chip you like and then find a blue $1 chip somewhere and over-label a rack of them as quarters.

 

[Taghkanic]

I rather not lie, so my plan was to just go to the cage, ask for a rack of $1s or 25¢s (or whatever), and then find a spot to sort through them.

I don’t harvest per se, but I have never had a cage question my request for a specific breakdown of chips.

A fair number of casino players are either superstitious or just habit-bound/OCD. So people making off requests for specific breakdowns should not be a problem.

If necessary you could try several different cages to get to the numbers you want.

P.S. The few casinos I play in more regularly do not even offer the option of buying chips from the dealer. They make you go to the cage. (Sometimes you can buy chips from other players if they have some in their backpack.)

 

[Boother36]

From my nation wide RV travels and stopping at a ton of casinos, here are a few of my tips as condensed as I can make them (most are not new or revolutionary):

• A casino with a poker room gives you your best shot.
• The craps table is the next best shot at high volume at minimal time invested.
• Fracs are not as available as us chippers would hope.
• Check the Chip Guide to make sure the casino its worth the stop.
• 99% of the time if you ask at the main cage you will get the answer "we don't sell chips at the cage, you have to get them at the tables".
• Have a wife tag along with a big purse that is mostly empty (we call it her "mule hauling" purse) if case you get luck with a big score.
• For me, honesty with the dealer(s) works best....telling them you love their chips and want to "borrow" them and use them in your home game...sometimes, they will give you ideas on how to get more....or help you sort out the good chips!!
• Don't feel bad asking for chips....the worse they can say is no.
• Most of all, be nice/polite/friendly to the dealers and cage folks (tips help too). Alter all, you are asking a favor from them!!

Good luck with your hunt and please leave some chips at the Indiana and Illinois casinos....I'm headed that way myself next month!!