Hello all, new here! Need some feedback... (1 Viewer)

RF2010

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I used to play a ton of poker/hold 'em, etc in high school & college (Ohio State). In my early thirties now and looking to in get back into it. My group of buddies have expressed interest in playing also so I wanted to invest in a nice set of chips to host games. Been doing a bit of research and fell in love with the CPC Hot stamp but wanted some input from you guys:
  • Are they as good as people make them out to be?
  • Are there any other comparable brands/styles that I should consider?
  • Would 500 chips work for 6-10 person tournament style? Maybe factor in a couple Buy-backs, too.
  • Whats an ideal denomination split? I was thinking:
    • 200 – $25
    • 150 – $100
    • 100 – $500
    • 50 – $1000
(I just really like these 4 colors the best so that why I was leaning toward them)

Btw, Im single, no kids, with disposable income so I don’t feel too guilty about dropping ~$600+

Any other tips and advice welcome! Thanks in advance for your time.

-RF
 
Welcome to the forum.
CPC manufactures quality chips, no doubt there.
There are plenty of people around here who will calibrate your breakdown.
It's positive that you have some cash to sink into this endeavor comfortably.
But this place has a way of dragging you outside of your financial comfort zone.
 
Welcome!

CPC makes fantastic chips. I recommend them wholeheartedly. They are currently the only company who currently make compressed clay chips for the home market. Other clay chips you'll find around here are:
  • Paulson. Many prefer the feel, and the color palette is objectively better. There are home-market chips, including "fantasy" casinos, chips from closed casinos, and Not-A-Group-Buy (NAGB) chips. Prices typically range from about $1/chip to $4, but their are outliers. It can be an obsessions building the perfect set.
  • TRK (TR King) is now out of business. Fantastic chips, but plan on these being hard to find, and costly.
  • BCC (Blue Chip Company), also out of business. Great colors, some great designs available, and they mostly are less than $2/chip. They had some issues with quality control, mostly in the area of misshapen inlays.
There are also really nice ceramic and plastic chips made by @ABC Gifts and Awards/ @BR Pro Poker, @SUN-FLY Poker Chips, Matsui. You can get these fully custom for about $1/chip, except for the Matsuis.

You can run a 10 player tourney with as few as 300 chips: 80/80/40/80/20 (starting stacks 8/8/4/7), but I prefer 120/120/50/70/40 (starting stacks 12/12/5/6). The second breakdown allows for deeper stacks, or even up to 15 players at 8/8/4/7. There are tons of great threads about running tourneys here, so take some time and read through them.

At any rate, get samples, ask lots of questions, and enjoy the hunt!
 
Hello and welcome!

Before going any further, get samples. There is a high end sample set just waiting for someone to sign up for, find the thread at the top of the Poker Chip General section.
 
Get samples.

While CPC is undoubtedly the best chip producer for home games, many people cannot tell the difference between real clay and China clay. Sure, you may be able to afford the best, but do you need/want to?
 
Welcome! CPCs are great, but occasionally the hot stamps will wear away sooner rather than later due to slight warping, causing the center of the chip to rub more frequently on the felt. I would explore all of your options, even the lesser expensive ones, before committing to something right away! Definitely: get samples! @Ben8257 can do a solid break down on the fly, maybe shoot over a PM for some more info!
Best wishes for your adventure!
 
Welcome @RF2010! As you will find there are many options for chips, styles, textures, inlays vs. Hot stamps, sizes... there are also many tourney breakdowns. There are a number of factors that play into to it... many tourney directors here run 8(25)/8(100)/6(500)/6(1000) for their 10k tourneys. In my opinion it always makes me feel short stacked off the break, also by the third hand players are already having to make change and it never stops! Obviously buying more chips with additional low denoms will help rectify this... but to many it's good enough!! I prefer 12/!2/7/5 starting stacks, it runs very smooth and keep a lot of chips in play.

Also much consideration goes into your blind structure... basically many including myself don't like 100% increases between the levels example 25/50 straight to 50/100 is a 100% increase and is considered a steep Increase, but also can't lag so bad that the tournament last for days!! I am old school and write things out on paper so I drew this one up for you just as a starting point or something to consider, this is a single table 10 player breakdown with double rebuys per player. I would expect this to finish around level 14 - 16 depending on how aggressive the table is.

Also you will see I suggest 584 so basically 600 chip set. That number can be adjusted in any direction using higher denom chips and smaller starting stacks!
20200616_115719.jpg

Feel free to ask any questions. Some say I put wasted chips in play, that you don't need that many low denom chips. I say find what works for you! This structure runs very very smooth!! Best of luck on your chipping journey.

As far as CPC hot stamps. I absolutely love hot stamps but their stamps aren't very deep and during occasional cleaning I have noticed it is not difficult to accidentally rub the stamp off... something to think about!

Fellow Chipper Ben
 
Welcome @RF2010! As you will find there are many options for chips, styles, textures, inlays vs. Hot stamps, sizes... there are also many tourney breakdowns. There are a number of factors that play into to it... many tourney directors here run 8(25)/8(100)/6(500)/6(1000) for their 10k tourneys. In my opinion it always makes me feel short stacked off the break, also by the third hand players are already having to make change and it never stops! Obviously buying more chips with additional low denoms will help rectify this... but to many it's good enough!! I prefer 12/!2/7/5 starting stacks, it runs very smooth and keep a lot of chips in play.

Also much consideration goes into your blind structure... basically many including myself don't like 100% increases between the levels example 25/50 straight to 50/100 is a 100% increase and is considered a steep Increase, but also can't lag so bad that the tournament last for days!! I am old school and write things out on paper so I drew this one up for you just as a starting point or something to consider, this is a single table 10 player breakdown with double rebuys per player. I would expect this to finish around level 14 - 16 depending on how aggressive the table is.

Also you will see I suggest 584 so basically 600 chip set. That number can be adjusted in any direction using higher denom chips and smaller starting stacks!
View attachment 476390
Feel free to ask any questions. Some say I put wasted chips in play, that you don't need that many low denom chips. I say find what works for you! This structure runs very very smooth!! Best of luck on your chipping journey.

As far as CPC hot stamps. I absolutely love hot stamps but their stamps aren't very deep and during occasional cleaning I have noticed it is not difficult to accidentally rub the stamp off... something to think about!

Fellow Chipper Ben
Welcome @RF2010! As you will find there are many options for chips, styles, textures, inlays vs. Hot stamps, sizes... there are also many tourney breakdowns. There are a number of factors that play into to it... many tourney directors here run 8(25)/8(100)/6(500)/6(1000) for their 10k tourneys. In my opinion it always makes me feel short stacked off the break, also by the third hand players are already having to make change and it never stops! Obviously buying more chips with additional low denoms will help rectify this... but to many it's good enough!! I prefer 12/!2/7/5 starting stacks, it runs very smooth and keep a lot of chips in play.

Also much consideration goes into your blind structure... basically many including myself don't like 100% increases between the levels example 25/50 straight to 50/100 is a 100% increase and is considered a steep Increase, but also can't lag so bad that the tournament last for days!! I am old school and write things out on paper so I drew this one up for you just as a starting point or something to consider, this is a single table 10 player breakdown with double rebuys per player. I would expect this to finish around level 14 - 16 depending on how aggressive the table is.

Also you will see I suggest 584 so basically 600 chip set. That number can be adjusted in any direction using higher denom chips and smaller starting stacks!
View attachment 476390
Feel free to ask any questions. Some say I put wasted chips in play, that you don't need that many low denom chips. I say find what works for you! This structure runs very very smooth!! Best of luck on your chipping journey.

As far as CPC hot stamps. I absolutely love hot stamps but their stamps aren't very deep and during occasional cleaning I have noticed it is not difficult to accidentally rub the stamp off... something to think about!

Fellow Chipper Ben
Wow! Thank you so much this is great...I'm blown away by the kind people on here!...Don't be surprised to get more questions from me in the near future!
 
Along the line that Ben mentions, your chip requirements need to sync with your blind structure. Pay attention to how many chips are needed to fold the binds in any level. You rarely need a lot of T500s, because with a 500/1000 level or 1500/3000, each player only needs one T500 per orbit to fold. Therefore, 4-6 per player 500s are all you need (unless you skip the T1000 chip and go directly to a T2000 chip - but that's another thread). In Ben's photo above, level 4 needs 5x T25 chips just to fold the blinds. If you only had 8 to start, you can see how you would be making change constantly.

You will also notice the nomenclature. We tend to use "T" to describe tournament chips, and "$" to describe cash game chips. Can you buy tournament chips that have a little "$" on them? Sure, but you may notice casinos never do - they're not really money, they're points in a game. Therefore, those "in the know" treat them as such. That said, it's not entirely uncommon to see old (no longer live) casino chips used to build a tournament set here. It's a fun way to get a chip that once was valued at $25,000 into a set for well less than $25,000
 
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Ben, you need a new printer. That one looks kinda shot -- the numbers have gone all thin and wobbly, and some of them aren't even printing any more ("110 x 500 = 55,00"). And the printer seems to be ignoring the right margin altogether.

Also, I'm pretty sure you can afford better paper than that cheap 20th century stuff with those red marks and holes all over the place.

Fellow tippler Larry
 
Hello, welcome and you have to love this forum. You signed up early this morning and by the afternoon you had a ton of great advice. This is truly a great place for people who love poker and poker chips like me and, from the sounds of it, you too!!!!
 
Definitely get samples. Everyone has their own personal preference. Welcome!
 

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