My First Cash Game Set...Milanos? Majestic's? or Pharaoh's? (1 Viewer)

This thread has been VERY helpful and informative for me. I think I might be ok with buying a set of the Royals or the Majestic blanks with my own label design and being satisfied with that set. Ultimately...I'd love to have my own custom CPC set...but for my small home game with close, tight knit friends...I'm starting to think CC with custom labels (assuming I can design a label I love) might be the route.

Thanks again for the thoughts. Please keep them coming.

Dom
 
Royal blanks with a relable would be a great option. :tup:
These are vibrant and uniquely beautiful.
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Milano or Majestic will be about the same in regards to long term wear. Royals are very similar to Majestic and should have about the same wear properties.

I used to be in the "china clay is great starter set for new chippers" camp... But if I was starting over I would either buy some cheap used or new stock ceramic chips (muertos for example) or go for a cheap mixed RHC set. Those sets are going to be nicer to play with, last longer, and retain more value if you decide to sell and upgrade.
 
v1pe said:
Milano or Majestic will be about the same in regards to long term wear. Royals are very similar to Majestic and should have about the same wear properties.

I used to be in the "china clay is great starter set for new chippers" camp... But if I was starting over I would either buy some cheap used or new stock ceramic chips (muertos for example) or go for a cheap mixed RHC set. Those sets are going to be nicer to play with, last longer, and retain more value if you decide to sell and upgrade.
Click to expand...
Simple. Use a nice set of China Clays for your monthly/weekly game to get abused. Get a set of ceramics for tournaments. Then put together a mixed set of RHC or THC Paulsons for special cash games.

Then start harvesting near mint or mint casino Paulsons for a limit set. Then start building a custom or fantasy casino cash and tourney set as your set of "nice, mint chips" for the uber special games. Thus competing your journey from n00b to Scrub Donkey in just a summer's time. Just like me.

From Amateur Chippie to Scrub Donkey, by JMC9389
 
If cost isn’t a factor, definitely look at the Royals. I’m blown away by these chips. I’m still working on the relabels & oiling and will eventually post some PrOn (away on vacation, need more time!). But they are simply spectacular.

If you’re budget conscious, get the Milano’s. I’ve had them for years. They are rock solid. No major issues. One barrel of pinks faded (which I replaced with blues) which apparently was a known issue which was fixed by the manufacturer. These are great chips for the price. I’m a big fan.

As for the Majestics, they are a step up from the Milano’s, but the incremental cost is a lot vs the comparable upgrade in quality. If you’re going to step up, I can’t see any reason why not to pay more and jump to the Royals.

Get samples and welcome to the addiction! In short, I’m a value guy so I would rate 1) Royals, 2) Milano’s 3) Majestics based purely on price vs my perceived value.

Guys these Royals. Holy #%$%!!!!
 
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JMC9389 said:
Simple. Use a nice set of China Clays for your monthly/weekly game to get abused. Get a set of ceramics for tournaments. Then put together a mixed set of RHC or THC Paulsons for special cash games.

Then start harvesting near mint or mint casino Paulsons for a limit set. Then start building a custom or fantasy casino cash and tourney set as your set of "nice, mint chips" for the uber special games. Thus competing your journey from n00b to Scrub Donkey in just a summer's time. Just like me.

From Amateur Chippie to Scrub Donkey, by JMC9389
Click to expand...

Well...that's pretty much how I started...

Dice Chips > Majestics (Tourney) > Used ASM CSQ Hotstamps (Cash, Craiglist) > Mayfair GB (Ceramic Hybrids) (Cash) > PCF Promo Clay GB (Tourney - sell Majestics) > Casino Used RHC Mixed (Cash)....with some stuff in between.

But if I was to go back in time I would have skipped the Majestics altogether. I only had them for a few months and only put them into play 2-3 times before I was ready to move on and other opportunities (group buys, awesome classified deals, etc) arose to upgrade. Id still recommend a set of china clay chips if you can get them at a great price (group buy discount, or classifieds deal)...but I can't recommend buying them new and especially relabeling them. After all of the effort of cleaning them, buying the labels, relabeling...you're 95% of the way to a custom or stock ceramic set or a used RHC set which you'll likely enjoy playing with more (and will retain more value).

Once you play with the nicer chips, you won't ever want to get out the old set of China Clays...unfortunate but true at least in my case.
 
Majestic > Milano in my opinion.

Pharaohs are great too but I'd go for the majestics because they are an original chip and not based on a Paulson design.

As others have said, oil them for the best results.
 
So after much deliberation...my first cash set shall be....the Royals with custom labels. One thing that did strike me as odd, is that the Pharaoh's got very little love. Not sure why.

Thanks again for the collective wisdom on this forum!

I'll post pics when I get the labels designed/placed on the the blanks.

Best Regards,
Dom
 
jdom1023 said:
So after much deliberation...my first cash set shall be....the Royals with custom labels. One thing that did strike me as odd, is that the Pharaoh's got very little love. Not sure why.

Thanks again for the collective wisdom on this forum!

I'll post pics when I get the labels designed/placed on the the blanks.

Best Regards,
Dom
Click to expand...

Great decision. I went with the 25k blues, whites, yellows, reds and greens. They are beautiful chips.
 
Nice, you will be happy with the royals, the pink, blue (25k), and yellow are fantastic. I think one reason the pharaoh chips got no love here is that they have been around for a long time and represent the early days of china clay which had durability problems. The newer pharaohs will hold up much better than the old ones did but perception is what it is. They are also a copycat of a fairly popular fantasy Paulson line and maybe people don't like that. I personalty like the design of the inlay but hate the size. I just don't like large inlays for the most part. I think you made the right choice, I can't see how you would be disappointed in the royals compared to the Majestics or the Milanos. Good luck :tup:
 
How hard is it to apply stickers to blank royals? Aside from the obvious snide remark about just peel and stick! seriously, is it a pain? do they not last as long as buying stock with stickers already in them? Is there a set that already have embedded inlays that aren't ridiculously priced? Thanks for any insight.
 
dinobello said:
How hard is it to apply stickers to blank royals? Aside from the obvious snide remark about just peel and stick! seriously, is it a pain? do they not last as long as buying stock with stickers already in them? Is there a set that already have embedded inlays that aren't ridiculously priced? Thanks for any insight.
Click to expand...

It is not difficult to apply stickers - it really depends on how OCD you are and if you are reasonably dexterous (and patient, if you have many hundreds or even thousands of chips to do). Sticker quality is important - a good aftermarket vinyl sticker will adhere as tightly as any original inlay after given time to cure. Laminated stickers provide extra protection at the expense of extra thickness. Almost all mass-produced chips have some sort of "original" label design to them, and being able to order blanks is more the exception than the rule (and sometimes the price between blank and originally labeled is negligible).
 
allforcharity said:
It is not difficult to apply stickers - it really depends on how OCD you are and if you are reasonably dexterous (and patient, if you have many hundreds or even thousands of chips to do). Sticker quality is important - a good aftermarket vinyl sticker will adhere as tightly as any original inlay after given time to cure. Laminated stickers provide extra protection at the expense of extra thickness. Almost all mass-produced chips have some sort of "original" label design to them, and being able to order blanks is more the exception than the rule (and sometimes the price between blank and originally labeled is negligible).
Click to expand...

So in the case of chips with inlays/stickers already applied, you just apply the sticker over the original artwork? Doesn't that impact the quality of the end product?
 
MathijsVS said:
So in the case of chips with inlays/stickers already applied, you just apply the sticker over the original artwork? Doesn't that impact the quality of the end product?
Click to expand...

Back up a moment. I was referring to placing aftermarket stickers on blank Royals CCs, which have a recess to receive them. This does also apply to any other chip that has a ready recess, whether inlay-removed or milled, or any other blank with a recess.

Some inlaid chips do have enough room in the recess to put an aftermarket sticker directly over the original inlay, but this is a trial and error type of thing. Usually the sticker must be unlaminated, because a laminated sticker may be too thick and stick past the recess, which causes spinners and problems with stacking issues, not to mention excessive wear on the stickers as well.

You must always consider the quality of the end product when applying an aftermarket sticker. This is why nobody really recommends putting a sticker directly on top of a hot stamp in excellent condition - the valleys and ridges of the stamp will be easily discernable underneath the sticker at certain angles and most lighting conditions, and generally does not look good. You can usually get away with using an unlaminated sticker directly over a worn/flat hot stamp without cosmetic sacrifices.
 
dinobello said:
How hard is it to apply stickers to blank royals? Aside from the obvious snide remark about just peel and stick! seriously, is it a pain? do they not last as long as buying stock with stickers already in them? Is there a set that already have embedded inlays that aren't ridiculously priced? Thanks for any insight.
Click to expand...

Sent you a PM ... it only partially involves stickers.
 
It’s took me a while to get the hang of placing the stickers. My first rack had a bunch that were over the lip. I had to reposition. Once you get the hang of it, it’s pretty easy.

The stickers are rock solid and will more than likely hold up forever.

Here’s the thing though. It took me fcking MONTHS to get the project done. It’s truly a labor or love. If I factored personal time into the cost, it would be off the charts.

The finished result though? Couldn’t be happier. I absolutely LOVE my custom Royals. I waited years for this set and they are perfect. Honestly they make me smile every time I go into my poker room.
 
Milanos stack a bit better.
Majestics look a bit better.
Pharoahs...not sure where to get them.

For what it's worth, I will be putting together a 750 piece, self-labelled Milanos once the cash is available.
 
I’m so nervous about trying blanks and adding stickers. I just don’t trust my unsteady hands.
 
:tup:
Jcfluhr said:
I’m so nervous about trying blanks and adding stickers. I just don’t trust my unsteady hands.
Click to expand...

Super easy and actually relaxing.
Pop on a movie and go to town.
Here's a tip, have different areas or stations for different processes. 1 for washing, 1 for drying and next day do 1 for sticking and 1 for racking.
Idk but it helped me to visualize the end
 
My large tourney set is a combination of majestically for small denoms and royals for large denoms... it is awesome for CC chips... have moved to multiple Paulson sets for cash and only use the tourney set for big club games (20-40 players). For the record, I do like the pharaoh quarters better than Milano or majestic, but going with custom labels you can pick your own colors... have fun!
 
So without trying to hijack this thread does anyone know if the Royals have the same inlay dimension as the Majestic? I only ask because I was thinking about buying the Royals for larger amounts and the Majestic for smaller but only want to print one size label.
 

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