Mid-level chip rec (1 Viewer)

[HomeGameHomie]

Hey everyone! I'm completely new to the chip game. Me and my group are getting ready to start a home game. I've only ever used dice chips or casino chips at the Hard Rock in Tampa. I'd like to have a nice mid-tier level chip to get started. I don't want to make a huge time/money investment before I make sure our game sticks.

Any recommendations for chips at this level?

Thanks guys and excited to be a part of this community!

 

[springbox]

You'll probably need to provide some more details about your playgroup and expectations.

Basic questions:
1. What's the budget?
2. What stakes do you play? Will they change?
3. How many players?
4. How much cash do you expect to end up on the table?
5. Do you want the smallest/most efficient breakdown, or do you prefer to have a lot of chips out?

I'm not sure what your conception of 'mid-tier' is, but I wouldn't recommend starting there unless you're going to end there. If your plan is to upgrade to a nicer set once you have a regular game going, and a better idea of your needs, I'd start with something on the cheap end and then upgrade to something much nicer. Or start cheap and forget about upgrading!

'Cheap' in this context is in the 20 cents per chip to 50 cents per chip range. 'Mid' tier is probably around a dollar or so per chip or less. Beyond that, the sky is the limit as far as how much you can spend on chips.

Just as a point of reference, cheap chips would be something like the Monte Carlos or Casino Royales here.

 

[Thomacetti]

Hey everyone! I'm completely new to the chip game. Me and my group are getting ready to start a home game. I've only ever used dice chips or casino chips at the Hard Rock in Tampa. I'd like to have a nice mid-tier level chip to get started. I don't want to make a huge time/money investment before I make sure our game sticks.

Any recommendations for chips at this level?

Thanks guys and excited to be a part of this community!

Check out the upcoming TCR (The Chip Room) sale here

Prices don't get any beter for real clay casino chips...
If you are looking for cheaper, china clay or ceramic/hybrids are the next best thing

 

[Jimulacrum]

Check out the upcoming TCR (The Chip Room) sale here

Prices don't get any beter for real clay casino chips...
If you are looking for cheaper, china clay or ceramic/hybrids are the next best thing

I second this recommendation. You can get a nice set of Paulsons or ceramics at that sale for a good price.

 

[ekricket]

You could go buy them at face value at the Tampa hard rock, if your game doesn’t go then just turn them back in. Net cost is $0.

 

[abby99]

You could go buy them at face value at the Tampa hard rock, if your game doesn’t go then just turn them back in. Net cost is $0.

Back when I was a newbie, I "rented" a nice set of Paulsons from Horseshoe East Chicago. It's almost risk free as long as you watch out for a possible chip redemption. The chips I picked up in 2008 are still live.

 

[DeeVee8]

Hey everyone! I'm completely new to the chip game. Me and my group are getting ready to start a home game. I've only ever used dice chips or casino chips at the Hard Rock in Tampa. I'd like to have a nice mid-tier level chip to get started. I don't want to make a huge time/money investment before I make sure our game sticks.

Any recommendations for chips at this level?

Thanks guys and excited to be a part of this community!

Cash or tournament?

 

[BPTDirector]

Ok. Now that you’ve caught your breath take your time to answer the above questions and as you can see there are plenty of people here willing to help you spend your cash anyway you want. Welcome!!

 

[HomeGameHomie]

Cash or tournament?

Cash

 

[Tonysquander]

Welcome to PCF!

 

[HomeGameHomie]

You'll probably need to provide some more details about your playgroup and expectations.

Basic questions:
1. What's the budget?
2. What stakes do you play? Will they change?
3. How many players?
4. How much cash do you expect to end up on the table?
5. Do you want the smallest/most efficient breakdown, or do you prefer to have a lot of chips out?

I'm not sure what your conception of 'mid-tier' is, but I wouldn't recommend starting there unless you're going to end there. If your plan is to upgrade to a nicer set once you have a regular game going, and a better idea of your needs, I'd start with something on the cheap end and then upgrade to something much nicer. Or start cheap and forget about upgrading!

'Cheap' in this context is in the 20 cents per chip to 50 cents per chip range. 'Mid' tier is probably around a dollar or so per chip or less. Beyond that, the sky is the limit as far as how much you can spend on chips.

Just as a point of reference, cheap chips would be something like the Monte Carlos or Casino Royales here.

1. A couple hundred bucks...?
2. IDK yet. Probably $50 buy in cash game.
3. No more than 10
4. $1500 max
5. Efficient

Thanks!

 

[springbox]

1. A couple hundred bucks...?
2. IDK yet. Probably $50 buy in cash game.
3. No more than 10
4. $1500 max
5. Efficient

Thanks!

$50 buy in sounds like .25/.50 cent blinds. An idea for a 500 chip set could be

100 x .25c
200 x $1
150 x $5
50 x $25
=$2225 in total bank.

First 5 players get
20 x .25c =$5
20 x $1 = $20
5 x $5 = $25

Next 5 players get
20 x $1 = $20
6 x $5 = $30

Past this, re-buys are all in $5s then in $25s once those run out. To maximize per chip efficiency you could cut down on the 25c and $1 and add some more $5.

500 chips on a $250 budget is 50c a chip. Options in that range are plastic chips with metal slug inserts (google monte carlo poker chips for an example), you can get 500 of those for ~$120. A little pricier are 'china clay' poker chips, like the Apache Majestics. Alternatively you can get what are commonly called 'Tina' chips here on the forum, which are plastic and range from 34 to 50c a chip. The easiest way to buy those is through a vendor group buy but you'll be waiting until February most likely with this option. It's confusing, but plastic chips without metal inserts are often also called 'ceramics' despite not being ceramic.

You can also checkout the classified section of the forum. Your budget leaves out real clay chips which are most of what's sold on the forum, but used china clay and Tina ceramics can be found at pretty low prices when they do show up.

 

[Machine]

1) you’ll need to go home and rethink your life.
2) how many rebuys per person
3) if 10 then you’re playing the wrong game
4) this would only happen with 2 rebuys per person, does this line up with #2?
5) great what stakes or blind structure do you plan to have?

I would suggest.25 / .50 but technically you can trim a few chips if you run .50/1.

Here is the minimum that I use
.25 x 60
1 x 180
5 x 300
20 x 40
100 x 10

 

[HomeGameHomie]

1) you’ll need to go home and rethink your life.
2) how many rebuys per person
3) if 10 then you’re playing the wrong game
4) this would only happen with 2 rebuys per person, does this line up with #2?
5) great what stakes or blind structure do you plan to have?

I would suggest.25 / .50 but technically you can trim a few chips if you run .50/1.

Here is the minimum that I use
.25 x 60
1 x 180
5 x 300
20 x 40
100 x 10

1. Haha! I'm happy to up the budget for some good chips, but again, not wanting to go bonkers just yet.

 

[springbox]

1. Haha! I'm happy to up the budget for some good chips, but again, not wanting to go bonkers just yet.

In that case, I'd definitely recommend starting with something like the Monte Carlo or Casino Royale slugged chips from Apache or any other vendor you can find. Thepokerstore has quite a few varieties of budget as well. Your price will only be a little over $100 , and you can get a feel for how you like the breakdown you choose to start with. The main problem with slugged chips is they have very low resale value, but lower budget chips bought new tend to have poor resale across the board.

Hopefully you never look back after that haha. If you do you'll have a better idea of exactly what set you need, and can look at nicer plastics or some real clay chips.

 

[tabletalker7]

1. Haha! I'm happy to up the budget for some good chips, but again, not wanting to go bonkers just yet.

Semi Custom from @BR Pro Poker is a wonderful mid tier option. I love mine

IMG_20200228_115314.jpg

• tabletalker7
• Apr 30, 2020

quick breakdown

IMG_20200228_115231.jpg

• tabletalker7
• Apr 30, 2020

Micro Stakes

They can be easily had for under $1 a chip, their quality control is second to none, and it gives your home game that little something extra that people remember so they come back and play again

 

[DeeVee8]

Cash

Then I'd agree that the Chip Room's sale is an awesome deal. Paulsons for a buck. You'd just need to find some 1's, as the sale only has $5's and $25's.

 

[DeeVee8]

Then I'd agree that the Chip Room's sale is an awesome deal. Paulsons for a buck. You'd just need to find some 1's, as the sale only has $5's and $25's. If that's too pricey, I'd go with china clays from Apache. I've owned Dunes, Pharaohs. Pharaohs are my personal favorite.

 

[doublebooyah85]

@deskjob101 has a FANTASTIC home set for sale right now. And priced right.

 

[jamesjkim]

Used Tachi cash set from @TheChipRoom sounds like a good option at a good price point for you too.

 

[chippitydoodah]

Thread 'Apache Majestics 900 pcs' https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/apache-majestics-900-pcs.112563/