Hello, new member here with a few questions! (1 Viewer)

elemeno

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I've been reading the forum a bit and there's an overwhelming amount of information that will likely take me a while to digest. I've been using chips without denominations but want to upgrade the set. Prior to registration, I thought a $100 budget would be plenty but it seems I was being too optimistic.

My questions:

1) My goal for my chipset is to be able to play a variety of stakes up to $1/$2 NLHE, so I think I'll just get a $1/$2 set and divide the "face value" for smaller games. Is there anything I should be careful about before going down this route? Does 200x $1, 200x $5, 100x $25, 50x $100 sound right?

2) I see some $1 denominated chips selling for more than $1. At this price, wouldn't I be saving money by just buying $1s from a casino?

3) What are the best "bang for your buck" chips out there?
 
1) $8900 is probably a big enough bank for a $1/2 game, Probably. But most people prefer to have more $5 chips on the table for those stakes - 200 of them equals about 20 per person which is probably the bare minimum for that game. I’d recommend a minimum of 300-400 $5 chips for $1/2 and many or most people here would prefer to play with 600 or more, but we’re chip junkies.
As far as dividing for face value, I don’t get it. Why to you want to upgrade to chips with denominations on them and then immediately ignore those denominations? Yes, people do it. But wouldn’t it be easier and more comfortable to just add a rack of quarters, and then you can play .25/.50? I don’t know how low you plan to go. I guess 10 cent 20 cent would work fine with the dividing thing, but I dunno, if you’re going to upgrade your game, why not just buy a few more racks and do it right?

2) yes

3) shrug. There are lots of ways to answer this. Personally I keep rationalizing “a little more” again and again until I’m up to the good stuff. So I’ll let somebody else handle this one.
 
1) $8900 is probably a big enough bank for a $1/2 game, Probably. But most people prefer to have more $5 chips on the table for those stakes - 200 of them equals about 20 per person which is probably the bare minimum for that game. I’d recommend a minimum of 300-400 $5 chips for $1/2 and many or most people here would prefer to play with 600 or more, but we’re chip junkies.
As far as dividing for face value, I don’t get it. Why to you want to upgrade to chips with denominations on them and then immediately ignore those denominations? Yes, people do it. But wouldn’t it be easier and more comfortable to just add a rack of quarters, and then you can play .25/.50? I don’t know how low you plan to go. I guess 10 cent 20 cent would work fine with the dividing thing, but I dunno, if you’re going to upgrade your game, why not just buy a few more racks and do it right?

2) yes

3) shrug. There are lots of ways to answer this. Personally I keep rationalizing “a little more” again and again until I’m up to the good stuff. So I’ll let somebody else handle this one.
Why do you need so many $5s?

Dividing face value is mainly to save money for me, no other reason. Not sure there's more to get?
 
2) Yes but....
A) If you want a matching set and need to buy 5s then now you're looking at an average of $3 per chip for live casino chips. (If you get equal numbers). And of you want $25s?! Now your set is super expensive. If you don't care if your set matches then harvest some casino 1s and get retired casino 5s and 25s etc.

B) The harvesters do a good job of getting very good quality chips. If you harvest yourself you either need to hit a new casino or get ALOT of chips and cherry pick. Harvesters save you that work.
 
Don't forget you can harvest chips and re-label as well... Takes a bit more effort and time but also can keep costs down (especially when re-labeling lower denom chips to higher value).
 
Hello and welcome! I would echo those statements from above. If you are interested in casino chips, I recommend checking out the chip room. Otherwise ceramics are a little more budget friendly, but a long way from $100. Welcome to the rabbit hole!
 
I think the Cards Mold chips, relative to everything else, seem to offer good value or "bang for your buck."

The idea of customs appeals to me too.
 
1) Too optimistic? Maybe slightly. You mentioned staying at about $100. Assuming your current non-dem chips are of the plastic lower end material almost anything would be an upgrade right? Especially, if they have denoms on them, well maybe. Anywho, I’m thinking Poker Knights or Showdown Club poker chips. At .20 per chip you are looking at $100 for 500 chips. Obviously shipping will add another x amount depending on your location. But these chips are available in .25/.50/1/2/5/10/25/100, etc. Monte Carlo and Casino Royale come to mind too @ same price point. The graphics alone of any of these chips would likely be an upgrade from what you have now. The weight will be on the heavier end (13.5 grams). Nonetheless, you are staying somewhat in your budget if you go this route.

2) I agree and would follow lane_robert_s comment on this one.

3) Best bang for you buck IMHO are the Pharoah’s, Dunes, Majestic and Bank poker chips. They are china clays which will come with a VOC/plasticy smell that with oiling and time only slightly go away. The upside are the look and feel which are second to only the upper class chips like Paulsons and Classic Poker Chips. The weight is on par with real casino chips at 9.5-10 grams. They sound and stack great too. They even stand on edge. Again this is just my opinion based on the sets and samples I own and have played with.

4) Welcome to the rabbit hole!!!
 
1) Too optimistic? Maybe slightly. You mentioned staying at about $100. Assuming your current non-dem chips are of the plastic lower end material almost anything would be an upgrade right? Especially, if they have denoms on them, well maybe. Anywho, I’m thinking Poker Knights or Showdown Club poker chips. At .20 per chip you are looking at $100 for 500 chips. Obviously shipping will add another x amount depending on your location. But these chips are available in .25/.50/1/2/5/10/25/100, etc. Monte Carlo and Casino Royale come to mind too @ same price point. The graphics alone of any of these chips would likely be an upgrade from what you have now. The weight will be on the heavier end (13.5 grams). Nonetheless, you are staying somewhat in your budget if you go this route.

2) I agree and would follow lane_robert_s comment on this one.

3) Best bang for you buck IMHO are the Pharoah’s, Dunes, Majestic and Bank poker chips. They are china clays which will come with a VOC/plasticy smell that with oiling and time only slightly go away. The upside are the look and feel which are second to only the upper class chips like Paulsons and Classic Poker Chips. The weight is on par with real casino chips at 9.5-10 grams. They sound and stack great too. They even stand on edge. Again this is just my opinion based on the sets and samples I own and have played with.

4) Welcome to the rabbit hole!!!
Thanks! Even the China Clays are above budget, but it looks like that will need to be expanded if I want nicer chips.

Is there a consensus between what's better between the Cards Mold and China Clay? I like the customizability of the Cards Mold but don't really know what to put on the poker chip. I could also go with one of the more popular designs too.
 
I think the Cards Mold chips, relative to everything else, seem to offer good value or "bang for your buck."

The idea of customs appeals to me too.
There are some postings on this site regarding their long term viability. I am with ya, I own 3 sets of Cards Mold, and there is value, but I’ve only felted one of them on 2 occasions.

Apparently, though, they get slippery AF after 6-7 uses. I’m only re-iterating what I read from a post by a solid reputable member who TRULY felts ALOT of chips.

Just wanted to throw it out there. I don’t want to spread misinformation or slam Tina’s products, but I read these things. I haven’t actually used my own enough to back all this up, but I can see it happening for some reason.

In comparison, I’ve felted my stock set of CPCs for like 12-15 games and they still feel new. Amazing durability and feel, if you haven’t checked them out.
 
I thought a $100 budget would be plenty but it seems I was being too optimistic.
$100+ will only net you the lowest quality of chips which it will still fulfill the same basic duty of $10,000 chip set.

A couple of example as below

https://www.discountpokershop.com/135g-500pc-monaco-casino-clay-poker-chips-set-p-599.html

https://www.discountpokershop.com/135g-500pc-lucky-horseshoe-clay-poker-chips-set-p-604.html

but if you are looking for the best quality of chip in Clay & Casino Grade Casino chip, you are in the right place but depending on used, mint or extremely rare chip, you can looking at set from $600 to $1,500 to $5,000++ price range

I had build a number of chips set at below $1/chip each which is consider budgeted end over here so that might be a good starting point to aim for if you want to start somewhere and not with a bundle of excess cash

1) My goal for my chipset is to be able to play a variety of stakes up to $1/$2 NLHE, so I think I'll just get a $1/$2 set and divide the "face value" for smaller games. Is there anything I should be careful about before going down this route? Does 200x $1, 200x $5, 100x $25, 50x $100 sound right?
I will do either of the option below
For smaller game
$1 x 200
$5 x 200
$25 x 100
$100 x 40++

For bigger game
$1 x 100
$5 x 200
$25 x 200
$100 x 100

2) I see some $1 denominated chips selling for more than $1. At this price, wouldn't I be saving money by just buying $1s from a casino?
Yes but there also in different condition (used vs extreme good vs mint condition) - Most of the chip in live casino are USED condition unless they are harvested when the casino is just recently opened

There is also different type of mold as Housemold which is very much more common among newer casino now

3) What are the best "bang for your buck" chips out there?
Tina Card molds for Budgeted

Casino Grade Plastic for Medium budget

Casino Grade Clay for No limit budget
 
Welcome and agreed more $5 chips would help. I ordered a set with 200 $1’s, 400 $5’s, 80 $25’s and 20 $100.

We usually play 6-7 handed and buy ins ranging from $200-$300
 

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