How do you build chip sets? (1 Viewer)

[Taxi500]

I've been lurking more and more in the recent weeks and especially on the classifieds. I have noticed a lot of people will buy single barrels of a certain chip but not the whole set.

Do you guys typically play with sets that are a mix of different chip styles/brands? Or would you be collecting a certain casino chip in different denominations over time? I can't tell how people get started with the higher quality chips whether it is buying your favorite 1,5,10 etc chip from different sets to create your own or slowly piecing the same chip's different denominations together over time.

It seems a bit overwhelming which pushes me towards an expensive yet simple solution of getting a custom CPC set made.

 

[BearMetal]

I think the answer is "yes".

It all depends on the person and what their current goal is. Some people have sets that they just want to add on to (or even replace more worn chips with better condition ones). Many people here, including myself, have mixed sets where each chip denomination is from a different casino. When first starting out, this is a lot easier to budget since you can buy a rack-at-a-time and spread the cost across several weeks/months.

My first rack of Paulson's was a $100 rack of $25 chips, and I built the set from there.

CPC sets are a labor of love; it's not something to rush and not something to skimp on either. Which is usually why full custom CPC sets are not the first stop for new members. If you have the budget, the vision, and the background in good chip design, and the time, then sure; but very few new members do.

 

[RichMahogany]

People might buy barrels or singles to complete a rack or a set they’ve been working on.

Or sometimes that’s all they can buy at the time while still working on expanding a set.

Sometimes you have to buy a whole set just the get the one rack you want/need. It really depemds on you.

Mixed sets are nice, so are single property sets. Figure out what you like and want and keep a keen eye out for those chips

 

[upNdown]

It seems a bit overwhelming

It is. Because there's no "Vintage Casino Chips Playable set" store. (Well, there's Spinettis, but they're not even quite that, at least not any more.) So if you want something, you have to buy it wherever you can - a rack here, a barrel there, a handful of singles from eBay. And yeah it's even harder when you don't know what you want, what's available, who might have it, or what it should cost. So you can jump into the hobby with both feet and start learning, or you can buy a CPC set (which probably actually is not more expensive solution) - either is fine. The question is, do you need a new hobby?

 

[DRG]

Slowly .... so I can afford to build a set over time.

 

[MeridianFC]

Be aware if you want a single matching set it may take a long, long time to put it together.

Also some denomination are harder to come by than others (depending on set).

 

[LeLe]

To me, getting main body of a set and adding on later depending on what I needed or getting a chip set depend on theme are way way way easier than designing a CPC Set

Getting a turnkey ready set is also ideal but ususally they come at a slight premium as well

It take a lot of time and consideration which I still not comfortable pulling the trigger as I felt I might regret down the route because I didn’t research or explore enough and rush the decision to make a CPC Set

 

[jpietrella]

RUN

 

[Taxi500]

I think the answer is "yes".

It all depends on the person and what their current goal is. Some people have sets that they just want to add on to (or even replace more worn chips with better condition ones). Many people here, including myself, have mixed sets where each chip denomination is from a different casino. When first starting out, this is a lot easier to budget since you can buy a rack-at-a-time and spread the cost across several weeks/months.

My first rack of Paulson's was a $100 rack of $25 chips, and I built the set from there.

CPC sets are a labor of love; it's not something to rush and not something to skimp on either. Which is usually why full custom CPC sets are not the first stop for new members. If you have the budget, the vision, and the background in good chip design, and the time, then sure; but very few new members do.

Even I don't have enough hubris to think that I could design a chip set now that I'd love in a year... I am apprehensive to do so anytime soon.

People might buy barrels or singles to complete a rack or a set they’ve been working on.

Or sometimes that’s all they can buy at the time while still working on expanding a set.

Sometimes you have to buy a whole set just the get the one rack you want/need. It really depemds on you.

Mixed sets are nice, so are single property sets. Figure out what you like and want and keep a keen eye out for those chips

I'm glad to know this now. I wasn't sure if this would be tacky. Does it not feel strange to play with a bunch of different chips at the same time though? I suppose when i think about it as long as they're a uniform size it wouldn't bother me.

Where would one find a 'glossary' of sets to look at to start narrowing down what I'm looking for? Does this even exist? Or just eye classifieds to find what one likes.

 

[Taxi500]

To me, getting main body of a set and adding on later depending on what I needed or getting a chip set depend on theme are way way way easier than designing a CPC Set

Getting a turnkey ready set is also ideal but ususally they come at a slight premium as well

It take a lot of time and consideration which I still not comfortable pulling the trigger as I felt I might regret down the route because I didn’t research or explore enough and rush the decision to make a CPC Set

Noted! Thank you for the reply

 

[jpietrella]

Where would one find a 'glossary' of sets to look at to start narrowing down what I'm looking for? Does this even exist? Or just eye classifieds to find what one likes.

https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/the-official-unofficial-mixed-set-pr0n-thread-of-pcf.11227/

Good luck.

 

[Darson]

What's more expensive?
- Buying several chip sets that you may not like or don't reach the perfection you're looking for so you keep buying more and more.
- Buying what you want from the get go.

 

[jpietrella]

What's more expensive?
- Buying several chip sets that you may not like or don't reach the perfection you're looking for so you keep buying more and more.

There's more to this bullet though. Is it probably more expensive in a vacuum? Yes.
Can you likely sell back everything you bought and then don't end up using for the same price? Probably.

This is how I started out before I was sure which sets I actually wanted to build. In my experience, I was able to recoup all my original costs on the chips I didn't end up wanting to keep.

 

[DRG]

What's more expensive?
- Buying several chip sets that you may not like or don't reach the perfection you're looking for so you keep buying more and more.
- Buying what you want from the get go.

If you already know exactly what you want (and will not change your views), then probably the Option #2 is less expensive. Unfortunately, I have seen folks purchase what they thought they wanted ... later to realize it was not.

Option #1 is probably more expensive but allows you to acquire different chips over time and get a chance to handle them. This is not a bad approach as long as you can recover your equity if you choose to get rid of the ones you don't like later.

 

[Taxi500]

There's more to this bullet though. Is it probably more expensive in a vacuum? Yes.
Can you likely sell back everything you bought and then don't end up using for the same price? Probably.

This is how I started out before I was sure which sets I actually wanted to build. In my experience, I was able to recoup all my original costs on the chips I didn't end up wanting to keep.

That's reassuring to hear. Although I'm tempted to get the DDLMs set for my Tournament set then start my dive into the 'deep end' with a cash game set for my more frequent cash game.

There's more to this bullet though. Is it probably more expensive in a vacuum? Yes.
Can you likely sell back everything you bought and then don't end up using for the same price? Probably.

This is how I started out before I was sure which sets I actually wanted to build. In my experience, I was able to recoup all my original costs on the chips I didn't end up wanting to keep.

If you already know exactly what you want (and will not change your views), then probably the Option #2 is less expensive. Unfortunately, I have seen folks purchase what they thought they wanted ... later to realize it was not.

Option #1 is probably more expensive but allows you to acquire different chips over time and get a chance to handle them. This is not a bad approach as long as you can recover your equity if you choose to get rid of the ones you don't like later.

I'm exactly this way... I think making a 'combo' set would make the most sense because I could trade out the denominations I don't like for something else.

 

[Darson]

There's more to this bullet though. Is it probably more expensive in a vacuum? Yes.
Can you likely sell back everything you bought and then don't end up using for the same price? Probably.

This is how I started out before I was sure which sets I actually wanted to build. In my experience, I was able to recoup all my original costs on the chips I didn't end up wanting to keep.

I disagree. If your first forays are Paulsons and TRKs in today's market, I'm not sure you'd get your money back. Sure if you bought 2 years ago it's a different story.

But newbies first forays are typically plastics and ceramics - I doubt they are getting anything close to their money back.

And just to prove my point, @Taxi500 is looking at a set of DDLMs which are in stock items and not appreciating assets.

 

[Jeff]

Being able to build a set means the chips have to be available over time. Sometimes hard to come by now if you're not doing CPCs.

One Paulson set I have was purchases over 17 years. Purchased anywhere from 600 chips to a handful at any one time. 3,500 chips now. Truly a labor of love over quite some time. There can be an issue around waiting for them to come up.

My CPC cash set was initially in 2012, was originally ASM Maine, then ASM Las Vegas, and the CPC has seen at least 8 commemorative or add-ons past that over the 10 years... about 3,300 chips total. The only issue is some color differences when you make the same chip at different times.

 

[jpietrella]

I disagree. If your first forays are Paulsons and TRKs in today's market, I'm not sure you'd get your money back. Sure if you bought 2 years ago it's a different story.

But newbies first forays are typically plastics and ceramics - I doubt they are getting anything close to their money back.

And just to prove my point, @Taxi500 is looking at a set of DDLMs which are in stock items and not appreciating assets.

Sure, then I guess it depends. FWIW OP said "casino chips" and didn't mention DDLMs until later.
I'd say the market on getting your money back on Paulsons or TRK is definitely slimmer than 2 years ago, but speaking from direct experience in the last 2 months with Paulsons I can tell my original comment stands.

 

[ekricket]

you have to hang around. Sometimes you get lucky and a set or most of a set appears and you grab it. The main thing is dedication.

This is a hobby for a lot of us, which means we devote a lot of time and intend to devote a lot of time in the future to this. You have to hunt most times.

 

[allforcharity]

Everybody ends up with custom sets eventually, so it's not wrong to start there if you really know what you want. The question is, do you?

 

[Taxi500]

Everybody ends up with custom sets eventually, so it's not wrong to start there if you really know what you want. The question is, do you?

No.... To be clear I have very little idea what I am doing but I know I NEED a tourny set within 6 months and I'm not sure I want to start dabbling in the casino chips to build a set with that time constraint (Poker tourney at my bachelor party).

Hence my interest in in-stock chips such as the DDLMs.

 

[Darson]

Sure, then I guess it depends. FWIW OP said "casino chips" and didn't mention DDLMs until later.
I'd say the market on getting your money back on Paulsons or TRK is definitely slimmer than 2 years ago, but speaking from direct experience in the last 2 months with Paulsons I can tell my original comment stands.

And speaking from my direct experience buying Paulsons over the last few months, I can see many of them not selling for the price I paid and other remaining unsold. It depends is the right answer. Chip prices have almost always just gone up but I think we may have hit a peak - whether or not it's temporary remains to be seen.

No.... To be clear I have very little idea what I am doing but I know I NEED a tourny set within 6 months and I'm not sure I want to start dabbling in the casino chips to build a set with that time constraint (Poker tourney at my bachelor party).

Hence my interest in in-stock chips such as the DDLMs.

DDLMs are great chips - I have a set myself. I too needed a set relatively quickly so I bought a set of Outlaw plastics - while they were very cheap, I basically gave them away once I upgraded as there is a minimal second hand market.

 

[Johnblue]

with paulsons cashsets, I usually start a new set with the workhorse chip, i want at least 300 or 400 of whatever the main chip of the game is going to be. either 1s or 5s.

So if i am going to start a new "set" its going to be like that, with a purchase of 3-400 of the workhorse chip. at that point, you can at least play poker with the chips. after that it kinda figures itself out... you get a lower denom and a higher denom. can be matching casino, or mixed, it really doesnt matter.

hell i just bought 400 Gold colored THCs because hey, its hella easy to build a set when you have the workhorse chip.

 

[Johnblue]

No.... To be clear I have very little idea what I am doing but I know I NEED a tourny set within 6 months and I'm not sure I want to start dabbling in the casino chips to build a set with that time constraint (Poker tourney at my bachelor party).

Hence my interest in in-stock chips such as the DDLMs.

a tourney set often sells together,

theres tons of options, i would probably consider your budget first,

what size and budget do you have? DDLMs are a good start, but there are some clay solids that are a step up and relatively abundant if you want some real clay.

 

[allforcharity]

No.... To be clear I have very little idea what I am doing but I know I NEED a tourny set within 6 months and I'm not sure I want to start dabbling in the casino chips to build a set with that time constraint (Poker tourney at my bachelor party).

Hence my interest in in-stock chips such as the DDLMs.

Custom CPCs are out of the question in that timeline. Custom or stock BR Pro probably are. You probably need 400 chips or less per table at your bachelor party, so don't overspend.

 

[DirtyTIVA]

I recommend the SMW chips one of the vendors here sells. They’re fun, accessible, and appeal to non chippers. Even better if you can score one of the matching toppers also sold there. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Taxi500]

a tourney set often sells together,

theres tons of options, i would probably consider your budget first,

what size and budget do you have? DDLMs are a good start, but there are some clay solids that are a step up and relatively abundant if you want some real clay.

Money is usually not a huge issue but this year I bought a ring, home and have the wedding & honeymoon coming up. I think I could spend $750-1.5k without upsetting the Mrs. Next year is a different story - easily 2-3.5k.

 

[Taxi500]

with paulsons cashsets, I usually start a new set with the workhorse chip, i want at least 300 or 400 of whatever the main chip of the game is going to be. either 1s or 5s.

So if i am going to start a new "set" its going to be like that, with a purchase of 3-400 of the workhorse chip. at that point, you can at least play poker with the chips. after that it kinda figures itself out... you get a lower denom and a higher denom. can be matching casino, or mixed, it really doesnt matter.

hell i just bought 400 Gold colored THCs because hey, its hella easy to build a set when you have the workhorse chip.

This is great advice too btw. Thank you for the tip!

 

[Taxi500]

View attachment 990468

I recommend the SMW chips one of the vendors here sells. They’re fun, accessible, and appeal to non chippers. Even better if you can score one of the matching toppers also sold there. Just my 2 cents.

Seen these and they look great. Any other BRPoker custom sets you've seen? Any community page for them?

 

[BGinGA]

OP's question is multiple choice where all answers can/will be correct:

A. buy individual chips
B. buy barrels
C. buy racks
D. buy existing sets
E. buy exactly what you want from the manufacturer
F. all of the above, and everything in-between

I've built multiple sets using all of those methods. Substitute "trade" for "buy" for even more options.