Been an occasional lurker of PCF over the years, but what finally pushed me to create an account and post is because I just finally--after a decade-plus of owning and using a small (300 chip) set of dice chips--decided to upgrade my home game, uh, game! After perusing threads here, watching a bunch of @Hobbyphilic's videos, and considerable wishy-washiness, I finally went with "Monaco Casino" chips from Discount Poker Shop.
These chips checked all my boxes: I wanted to stay within a budget, I wanted to get the chips quickly, and I needed 25¢ denominations. At 12¢ a chip, I could get 500 for $60 before tax/shipping, and since I live in L.A., I could drive up to their Van Nuys office and pick up my order, saving me money--or rather, letting me spend more money on chips! ;-) Hobbyphilic's videos almost convinced me to go w/DPS's "Outlaw" chips, but I didn't like the readability of the denominations, I thought my home game group might have thought them a little too cartoony, and the clincher was that DPS didn't have 25¢, $1, or $5 Outlaw chips in stock. So I pulled the trigger on the Monacos and I couldn't be happier!
I know these aren't as nice as most of the chips I see on PCF, but I'm really impressed with the quality for the cost. The saying "you get what you paid for" is usually true, but a friend of mine just bought some (I assume) knock-off "Poker Knights" chips from Amazon that kinda look like the ones from Apache, but even out of the box, the Amazon ones had flashing and separation along the edge spots/marks, inconsistent colors, etc., and they likely cost more than the chips I just bought.
Anyway, I've already used my Monacos once with my home game group, and all the guys liked them too, and we're looking forward to using them again! And I'm already going down the rabbit hole, eyeing maybe a set of Monte Carlos from @Apache for a tournament set (I think the design and smooth edges just feel more tournament-y, for whatever reason), while also looking at the Majestics and Dunes (though I like the inlay progression of the @Spinettis Gaming version better)!
Someday, I'll have the budget to consider something like the Jack Cincinnati 900 chip set that @TheChipRoom is selling right... For now, just having fun reading and talking about chips!
These chips checked all my boxes: I wanted to stay within a budget, I wanted to get the chips quickly, and I needed 25¢ denominations. At 12¢ a chip, I could get 500 for $60 before tax/shipping, and since I live in L.A., I could drive up to their Van Nuys office and pick up my order, saving me money--or rather, letting me spend more money on chips! ;-) Hobbyphilic's videos almost convinced me to go w/DPS's "Outlaw" chips, but I didn't like the readability of the denominations, I thought my home game group might have thought them a little too cartoony, and the clincher was that DPS didn't have 25¢, $1, or $5 Outlaw chips in stock. So I pulled the trigger on the Monacos and I couldn't be happier!
I know these aren't as nice as most of the chips I see on PCF, but I'm really impressed with the quality for the cost. The saying "you get what you paid for" is usually true, but a friend of mine just bought some (I assume) knock-off "Poker Knights" chips from Amazon that kinda look like the ones from Apache, but even out of the box, the Amazon ones had flashing and separation along the edge spots/marks, inconsistent colors, etc., and they likely cost more than the chips I just bought.
Anyway, I've already used my Monacos once with my home game group, and all the guys liked them too, and we're looking forward to using them again! And I'm already going down the rabbit hole, eyeing maybe a set of Monte Carlos from @Apache for a tournament set (I think the design and smooth edges just feel more tournament-y, for whatever reason), while also looking at the Majestics and Dunes (though I like the inlay progression of the @Spinettis Gaming version better)!
Someday, I'll have the budget to consider something like the Jack Cincinnati 900 chip set that @TheChipRoom is selling right... For now, just having fun reading and talking about chips!