Looking to buy chips need some help (1 Viewer)

[owassoguy]

Okay so I love poker and play with 6-8 buddies once or twice a month. My crappy store bought chips are not cutting it and I want some quality chips. I don’t know much but I did some research and I want to do $10k chip tournaments where they can put in $5 or $10 or $20 it doesn’t matter starting chips are same once buyin is set. Here are the chips I plan to buy.
$25 - 200
$100 - 150
$500 - 75
$1000 - 50
$5000 - 25
Total - 500 chips

With this I will give the following for $10k game
$25 - 20
$100 - 15
$500 - 6
$1000 - 5

This will allow for 10 players and I’ll have $5k chips for chip ups or rebuys I’ll just chip up leader.

I am looking at getting Nevada Jacks because I love the look and I can get a good carrying case on amazon for $60 and spend under $300 on chips. I would say $300 is my max this is just fun with friends I just want solid chips that will last a long time. I obviously would prefer spending $200 but I don’t see that happening.

Question: how’s my setup and where can I buy the 500 chips and get them in the denominations I want? I would also like to get them in 2 weeks and the cheaper the better! I appreciate the help and feedback!

 

[Blaster]

I like , if your set allows, giving 15-20 ea of the lowest 2 denominations in the starting stack ...
I'll leave it to others to optimize your breakdown for that ..
Check out the various China Clay styles from vendors & classifieds ...

 

[RichMahogany]

Buy samples

 

[v1pe]

Samples samples samples!

This is about good breakdown for T10k stacks:
160 x T25
160 x T100
80 x T500
140 x T1000
60 x T5000 (or 50 x T5000 and 10 x T25K)

Starting stacks of 8/8/4/7 using T5000 for rebuys and color ups.

I'd suggest browsing around here a bit before pulling the trigger on anything.

 

[owassoguy]

Buy samples

Do I really need to spend $25-50 on Samples why not just pick a decent one? Unless you know of samples somewhere where you get a variety of brands for not a fortune? Just seems silly wasting money with a small budget. But I guess it’s better than buying and hating what I have.

What site do you guys buy from?

 

[AWenger]

Buy samples

^ This x2. Most of us on PCF have been there, it's better to wait a few weeks or longer to get chip samples, rather than pulling the trigger on a set, because you might be stuck with chips that you might not like. Get samples.

With this I will give the following for $10k game
$25 - 20
$100 - 15
$500 - 6
$1000 - 5

I can get a good carrying case on amazon for $60 and spend under $300 on chips. I would say $300 is my max this is just fun with friends I just want solid chips that will last a long time.

Okay so I love poker and play with 6-8 buddies once or twice a month.

If you're only ever playing with 10 or less players, a 400 chip set should easily cover all tournaments.

-For the tourney breakdown, less $25 chips will work fine, since they will only primarily be used in the first few rounds, then once the blinds go from 150-300 to 200-400, the $25 chips will be colored up anyway.
-For a breakdown in chips denominations from T25/T100/T500/T1000, many prefer a 12/12/x/x starting stack or even an 8/8/4/7 setup. That way, you only need to buy 120 $25 chips (or 150, if the chips are only sold in 25-quantity increments).
-In general, less T500 chips are needed, because it only takes 2 T500s to equal 1 chip of the next denom T1000. Versus needing 5 T100s to equal 1 T500
-In later rounds of the tournament, the T1000 chip becomes a workhorse chip, so I like having almost as many T1000 chips as T100s, more or less.

So for a T10,000 starting stack, compared to a 20/15/6/5 breakdown, the breakdowns below work well for starting stacks. Just multiply the total chips by 8 or 10, and fill-in the set with higher denoms (T500, T1000 and/or T5000 for color-ups & rebuys, or if you ever want to do a higher than a T10000 starting stack), for the total set.
16/16/4/6 (42 chips)
12/12/5/6 (35 chips)
12/12/3/7 (34 chips)
8/8/6/6 (28 chips)
8/8/4/7 (27 chips)

 

[RichMahogany]

Do I really need to spend $25-50 on Samples why not just pick a decent one? Unless you know of samples somewhere where you get a variety of brands for not a fortune? Just seems silly wasting money with a small budget. But I guess it’s better than buying and hating what I have.

What site do you guys buy from?

If less expensive options are what you’re looking for, I’d check with Apache poker chips who also happen to be a forum sponsor here. They don’t carry Nevada Jacks but they did have some ceramic options last time I checked. Granted, that was a while ago.

Yeah don’t skip buying samples. You’re better off trying different chips as you never really know what you might like until you have it in hand. You might hate the feel of the Nevada Jacks or you might not but you won’t know until you try them.

You could also post a WTB ad here for samples. Ask for inexpensive ceramics and china clays. Once you have them in hand you can start perusing the classified ads here. Some good deals to be found if you’re patient and have your money at the ready.

Edit: many members here possibly have all the different chip samples you’re looking instead of needing to get samples from different places.

 

[owassoguy]

If less expensive options are what you’re looking for, I’d check with Apache poker chips who also happen to be a forum sponsor here. They don’t carry Nevada Jacks but they did have some ceramic options last time I checked. Granted, that was a while ago.

Yeah don’t skip buying samples. You’re better off trying different chips as you never really know what you might like until you have it in hand. You might hate the feel of the Nevada Jacks or you might not but you won’t know until you try them.

You could also post a WTB ad here for samples. Ask for inexpensive ceramics and china clays. Once you have them in hand you can start perusing the classified ads here. Some good deals to be found if you’re patient and have your money at the ready.

Edit: many members here possibly have all the different chip samples you’re looking instead of needing to get samples from different places.

That’s some good information thanks! The Apache site is nice I might get samples of the following. Please feel free to add or subtract from my list. Dunes are out of stock. I might also look on classifieds. As for chip breakdown I’ll rethink my box I want an effecient 500 chips. I did think 200 $25 chips was a lot.
Samples:
Scroll
Majestic
Pharaoh
Milano

 

[BGinGA]

Two tidbits of advice:

1. Slow down.
2. Get samples.

Nothing good ever comes from making hasty first-time purchases in the chipping world.

And getting samples will make your (happy) decision much easier, and much less expensive than making an (unhappy) uninformed choice.

You can always sell the samples to the next "new guy".

 

[AWenger]

Do I really need to spend $25-50 on Samples why not just pick a decent one? Unless you know of samples somewhere where you get a variety of brands for not a fortune? Just seems silly wasting money with a small budget. But I guess it’s better than buying and hating what I have.
What site do you guys buy from?

Some websites offer full sample sets for $5 or $10 or so (plus shipping, probably). It helps to just feel and see the chips up close first, even if you only get sample chips of the one set you're considering. If you like them, buy more. But it's just good advice to see and handle the chips in person first.

I mainly buy & sell on the classifieds here, but have bought from Apache and Spinetti's before, and there are some other vendors listed on the PCF homepage, scroll down to the Marketplace - vendor section
www.abcgiftsandawards.com -- looks like they have the Nevada Jacks including a new Saloon Series I haven't seen before for $0.59 cents a chip, and it seems they sell the chips individually, so you could build your own sample set of 1 chip of different types/denoms.
www.apachepokerchips.com
www.spinettisgaming.com

 

[owassoguy]

Some websites offer full sample sets for $5 or $10 or so (plus shipping, probably). It helps to just feel and see the chips up close first, even if you only get sample chips of the one set you're considering. If you like them, buy more. But it's just good advice to see and handle the chips in person first.

I mainly buy & sell on the classifieds here, but have bought from Apache and Spinetti's before, and there are some other vendors listed on the PCF homepage, scroll down to the Marketplace - vendor section
www.abcgiftsandawards.com -- looks like they have the Nevada Jacks including a new Saloon Series I haven't seen before for $0.59 cents a chip, and it seems they sell the chips individually, so you could build your own sample set of 1 chip of different types/denoms.
www.apachepokerchips.com
www.spinettisgaming.com

Thanks for the info I will buy samples. I’ll look around to see what the best option is.

 

[RichMahogany]

That’s some good information thanks! The Apache site is nice I might get samples of the following. Please feel free to add or subtract from my list. Dunes are out of stock. I might also look on classifieds. As for chip breakdown I’ll rethink my box I want an effecient 500 chips. I did think 200 $25 chips was a lot.
Samples:
Scroll
Majestic
Pharaoh
Milano

Looks good to me for what Apache has to offer. Be warned though, not all china clay or ceramic chips feel the same so don’t be so quick to judge all ceramic or CCs based on your few samples.

FWIW, you could run a 10 player freezeout STT with as little as 300 chips

 

[churlbut18]

While waiting for your samples to arrive, spend some time reading through the prior threads, particularly in the Tournaments and Cash Games forum. Your questions regarding starting stacks and set breakdowns for your desired tournament structure have been answered hundreds of times already. Very good information contained within. And as you go through them, you’ll start to see consistencies with what the forum members deem fairly typical/standard structures, stacks, and breakdowns. Well tested too. Enjoy! It’s a wealth of information here.

 

[owassoguy]

While waiting for your samples to arrive, spend some time reading through the prior threads, particularly in the Tournaments and Cash Games forum. Your questions regarding starting stacks and set breakdowns for your desired tournament structure have been answered hundreds of times already. Very good information contained within. And as you go through them, you’ll start to see consistencies with what the forum members deem fairly typical/standard structures, stacks, and breakdowns. Well tested too. Enjoy! It’s a wealth of information here.

Sweet I will look into it

 

[BGinGA]

That’s some good information thanks! The Apache site is nice I might get samples of the following. Please feel free to add or subtract from my list. Dunes are out of stock. I might also look on classifieds. As for chip breakdown I’ll rethink my box I want an effecient 500 chips. I did think 200 $25 chips was a lot.
Samples:
Scroll
Majestic
Pharaoh
Milano

Personally, I really wouldn't recommend any of those you listed above, especially if quality chips that last a long time are part of your criteria.

For a 10-player 10K tournament set, I'd go with the following 12/12/5/6 starting stacks):

120 x T25
120 x T100
50 x T500
80 x T1000
30 x T5000
--------------------
400 chips, with plenty of extra T1000 and T5000 chips to handle color-ups, re-buys, and even larger stacks if desired.

400 chips with a $200-$300 budget puts you in the 50c to 75c per chip range -- well above the less expensive (and cheaper) budget chip market, and into the midrange segment where quality is much higher.

Mid-range ceramics or ceramic hybrids are probably your best choices in that price range. Several decent stock ceramic sets are offered by ABC on both their web site and on BRPro.com (owned by ABC), along with several stock options from Sun-Fly.

Hybrid chips are definitely wirth a look, too -- there have been several group buys, with possibly a couple more looming in the near future. I think the 43mm hybrid are the nicest non-clay chips on the market right now.

 

[allforcharity]

If your budget can stretch to $0.75 per chip, then I would recommend ceramics over china clays. And you can customize them however you want to make something uniquely yours!

 

[ThatVeritas]

Two tidbits of advice:

1. Slow down.
2. Get samples.

Nothing good ever comes from making hasty first-time purchases in the chipping world.

And getting samples will make your (happy) decision much easier, and much less expensive than making an (unhappy) uninformed choice.

You can always sell the samples to the next "new guy".

Nicely said.

 

[ThatVeritas]

Personally, I really wouldn't recommend any of those you listed above, especially if quality chips that last a long time are part of your criteria.

For a 10-player 10K tournament set, I'd go with the following 12/12/5/6 starting stacks):

120 x T25
120 x T100
50 x T500
80 x T1000
30 x T5000
--------------------
400 chips, with plenty of extra T1000 and T5000 chips to handle color-ups, re-buys, and even larger stacks if desired.

400 chips with a $200-$300 budget puts you in the 50c to 75c per chip range -- well above the less expensive (and cheaper) budget chip market, and into the midrange segment where quality is much higher.

Mid-range ceramics or ceramic hybrids are probably your best choices in that price range. Several decent stock ceramic sets are offered by ABC on both their web site and on BRPro.com (owned by ABC), along with several stock options from Sun-Fly.

Hybrid chips are definitely wirth a look, too -- there have been several group buys, with possibly a couple more looming in the near future. I think the 43mm hybrid are the nicest non-clay chips on the market right now.

I’m in the same boat as the OP looking for pretty much the exact same breakdown. So thank you, the above breakdown is very informative for me. However I’m looking for some slightly more specific ceramics. Maybe some 2004/2005 Wsop replicas, or some archetypes, or some crystal oysters. I’ve been looking through the for sale, but haven’t found much. Will I be best off posting a WTB ad? Do those get decently noticed? Thanks in advance!

 

[wgicon]

But I guess it’s better than buying and hating what I have.

You said it.

 

[Trihonda]

Personally, I really wouldn't recommend any of those you listed above, especially if quality chips that last a long time are part of your criteria.

For a 10-player 10K tournament set, I'd go with the following 12/12/5/6 starting stacks):

120 x T25
120 x T100
50 x T500
80 x T1000
30 x T5000
--------------------
400 chips, with plenty of extra T1000 and T5000 chips to handle color-ups, re-buys, and even larger stacks if desired.

400 chips with a $200-$300 budget puts you in the 50c to 75c per chip range -- well above the less expensive (and cheaper) budget chip market, and into the midrange segment where quality is much higher.

Mid-range ceramics or ceramic hybrids are probably your best choices in that price range. Several decent stock ceramic sets are offered by ABC on both their web site and on BRPro.com (owned by ABC), along with several stock options from Sun-Fly.

Hybrid chips are definitely wirth a look, too -- there have been several group buys, with possibly a couple more looming in the near future. I think the 43mm hybrid are the nicest non-clay chips on the market right now.

@owassoguy BGinGA is one of the foremost experts in chip breakdown and tourney structures. It's not uncommon to advertise a tourney as "BG Approved" to let folks know it's well designed. In other words, listen to his advice. I also would give the same advice on breakdown (BG just beat me to it). If you're ordering a set of china clays and are required to buy in 25 sleeves, I'd go with:

125 x T25
125 x T100
50 x T500
75 x T1k
25 x T5k

I'm huge fan of samples. That said, many don't listen to this advice, and I understand why... to buy samples from a company can run $10+ for each set (with shipping), and if you're ordering enough samples to get a realistic idea of available offerings, then you're spending $50-100 on samples alone. When your chip budget is $200-300 for an entire set, samples can seem like a dumb idea. I agree it'll save you money in the long run, as most who come here looking for their "one" set, often realize the rabbit hole is deep (and very easy to fall into). You'll wind up buying another set, then another.. Best to just get samples up front. That said, if you opt to just run with a nice set of Milanos or Majestics, you can't go wrong... and if you really don't like them once you get them, you can always sell them to another new member without taking a huge loss.

 

[owassoguy]

@owassoguy BGinGA is one of the foremost experts in chip breakdown and tourney structures. It's not uncommon to advertise a tourney as "BG Approved" to let folks know it's well designed. In other words, listen to his advice. I also would give the same advice on breakdown (BG just beat me to it). If you're ordering a set of china clays and are required to buy in 25 sleeves, I'd go with:

125 x T25
125 x T100
50 x T500
75 x T1k
25 x T5k

I'm huge fan of samples. That said, many don't listen to this advice, and I understand why... to buy samples from a company can run $10+ for each set (with shipping), and if you're ordering enough samples to get a realistic idea of available offerings, then you're spending $50-100 on samples alone. When your chip budget is $200-300 for an entire set, samples can seem like a dumb idea. I agree it'll save you money in the long run, as most who come here looking for their "one" set, often realize the rabbit hole is deep (and very easy to fall into). You'll wind up buying another set, then another.. Best to just get samples up front. That said, if you opt to just run with a nice set of Milanos or Majestics, you can't go wrong... and if you really don't like them once you get them, you can always sell them to another new member without taking a huge loss.

Thank you for the info! Yeah another guy on here from my area messaged me and sent 10-12 different sample sets! I also ordered some tiki kings and Nevada jacks. Not sure what I’m looking for so I’m just feeling them to see what I like best!

 

[PlaidDragon]

Do I really need to spend $25-50 on Samples why not just pick a decent one? Unless you know of samples somewhere where you get a variety of brands for not a fortune? Just seems silly wasting money with a small budget. But I guess it’s better than buying and hating what I have.

What site do you guys buy from?

www.apachepokerchips.com
www.pokerchipswholesale.com