Tourney Need chip set (2 Viewers)

[guyfleegman]

“More chips is always good but on a budget I think 5/25/100/500 is better with 10/10/7 starting stacks. 100 of each denom is more than enough for a huge number of rebuys.”

This.
I am building a STT set as well. I chose the T5 for my set because 8 low denoms ain’t enough for my liking but 12 isn’t necessary either. I can easily make it run T1000 up to T4000 with rebuys and color ups.
10-10-7-X depending on #BB desired.
I also plan to use mine on rare occasion for a “micro stakes” set.
Nickle-Quarter-Dollar-Five
If/when I decide I need to cover 16-20 players I will double the set and add a few T2000 which will double as Twenties.

Best of luck whichever way you go,
Joe
P.S. spend a couple extra bucks now and get what you really like. You can sell them here if you don’t settle for the “cheaper chicken” and decide to upgrade.[/QUOTE]

 

[TheOctagon]

I'm sure some will disagree but, IMHO, Showdowns and their PK/MC brothers are some of the most poorly colored stock chips on the market.

Buy samples first of anything you might consider. If a sample set isn't available, buy a barrel or two of denoms you want to look at ($3.50 or less each at discountpokershop.com).

There is no substitute for seeing the chips up close and personal first before purchasing en masse.

Hey, everybody, lay off that sweet lime $2

In any case - yeah, maybe go with a higher quality chip. Nobody's suggesting mint Paulsons or anything, but you can pull 400 China clays for around that price.

 

[crussader]

Another way to reduce the needed chip count is to start with a T100 base. You could do a starting stack of:

T100 x 10
T500 x 4
T1000 x 7
T5000 x 3

Starting with blinds of 100/200, that's a 125 BB starting stack of 25,000.

For 9 players that's

T100 x 90
T500 x 36
T1000 x 63
T5000 x 27

Rounding up to sleeves of 25 chips (provides plenty of chips for spares and color ups) and adding twenty-five 25K chips for re-buys (almost 3 re-buys per person) you get the following:

T100 x 100
T500 x 50
T1000 x 75
T5000 x 50
T25000 x 25

Apache has CC Dunes in this breakdown for $126 plus shipping.

 

[Poker Zombie]

I am building a STT set as well. I chose the T5 for my set because 8 low denoms ain’t enough for my liking but 12 isn’t necessary either. I can easily make it run T1000 up to T4000 with rebuys and color ups.

This is an interesting concept. Interesting enough that I won't call you "wrong", however I usually recommend a very different approach...

The T5 is removed from the table as a 5:1 color-up, where a T25 is removed as a 4:1 color up. Therefore, you have more chips spending the majority of the tournament in the box after the color-up.

That said, I have chipsets that start at T5, T25, and T500. I cannot say which set-up is "best". Blind structures weigh heavily on how chips are used, and unlike those that want to declare a certain blind structure "the best" I find different blind structures to be the unique feature of poker that different baseball parks bring to baseball.

...but I do believe that casinos start with T25s because they are the most cost effective.

 

[guyfleegman]

I agree with many of your statements.
That said, I prefer to color up T5’s with 1 T500 chip after the big stacks buys the table out.
I do not like color ups with chips I am going to color up later. If you don’t have a full 10 hand orbit I will color up the 100 T5’s with a single T500 chip and get change back for the bank. T25’s get color up with 5-T500.
In that case, my T5 gets colored up on a 100-1 ratio and the T25 at a 20-1 ratio.
I think maybe casinos prefer T25 for the afore mentioned 8-8 low chips. People tend to “souvenir” with low chips and 8 or 16 is obviously less than 10-20.
Edit:
I misconstrued your “chips in the box” statement.” Extremely valid point.

 

[Darson]

What I like about the 5/25/100 10/10/7 starting stack is that with a rack of each chip you have exactly 3000 worth of leftover 100s after the starting stacks for 10 people which is the same amount as the total 5s and 25s in play. When removing the 5s, get the big stack(s) to buy them from other players for 25s and give them 100s to replace the 5s.

Of course, I say this but never play this at home - only when I'm taking chips somewhere and want to carry the smallest amount with me. At home I prefer lots of chips and typically play 500/1000/5000 in 20/20/14 starting stacks. MOAR chips!!!

 

[Poker Zombie]

I get the "efficiency" of having a big stack buy the chips, and I appreciate it when running 3+ table tournaments - for the 3rd table or later. 1 or 2 tabless? I can color up faster with Mrs Zombie doing "a second set of eyes" to prevent errors, than most people can as 1 person sitting and buying from others trying to go on break.

Then, I don't mind coloring up with smaller chips. Yes, if you have 100 T5s, I'll give you 1x T500. But if you only have 5x T5s, I'll give you a T25, I'm not going to hunt for other chips, play a shell game, or prevent my players from going on break. A few extra small chips are nice, and handle odd numbers for race-offs, so quite frankly, I think they're necessary to keep thing moving along.

Sure, I don't need 8 cylinders in my car engine, but it runs a shit-ton better than a 4-banger.

 

[RichMahogany]

What I like about the 5/25/100 10/10/7 starting stack is that with a rack of each chip you have exactly 3000 worth of leftover 100s after the starting stacks for 10 people which is the same amount as the total 5s and 25s in play. When removing the 5s, get the big stack(s) to buy them from other players for 25s and give them 100s to replace the 5s.

Of course, I say this but never play this at home - only when I'm taking chips somewhere and want to carry the smallest amount with me. At home I prefer lots of chips and typically play 500/1000/5000 in 20/20/14 starting stacks. MOAR chips!!!

For the reasons you gave, I would argue that starting with a T25 is more efficient.

You can run a single table with stacks of 8/8/4/7 for a total of 280 chips, which includes 10 extra T1000s to color up all the 25s and hundos. Add 20 T 5000 and you have enough to provide for 1 rebuy for each player and have an even 300 chips. You also have less 25s and 100s sitting unused after color ups(160 vs 200). Much more flexibility with this break down too

 

[Darson]

For the reasons you gave, I would argue that starting with a T25 is more efficient.

You can run a single table with stacks of 8/8/4/7 for a total of 280 chips, which includes 10 extra T1000s to color up all the 25s and hundos. Add 20 T 5000 and you have enough to provide for 1 rebuy for each player and have an even 300 chips. You also have less 25s and 100s sitting unused after color ups(160 vs 200). Much more flexibility with this break down too

No no no no no. What do I do with 80 of this and 80 of that? Incomplete racks? My OCD simply won't allow it. Nice, complete racks of 5s, 25s, 100s and 500s... my precious...

 

[RichMahogany]

No no no no no. What do I do with 80 of this and 80 of that? Incomplete racks? My OCD simply won't allow it. Nice, complete racks of 5s, 25s, 100s and 500s... my precious...

Lol I can definitely see that. You did say ‘the smallest amount’ and I always read that as ‘the most efficient, smallest amount”

And to be fair, you’d still, have 3 full racks with my breakdown

 

[WhiteMamba1646]

i hear dice chips are making a comeback...

 

[SendThatStack]

i hear dice chips are making a comeback...

The game I play at has been using dice chips for over 10 years . Were almost all in our 30s now, still using dice chips!

 

[LinkyBabe]

and while they are a step up from dice chips

I actually think these are a step down from dice chips. Yes they're denominated, but rarely do non-denominated chips cause issues unless you're playing with noobs and even then it only takes a few hands to get into the swing of things. The "Ace Casino" chips were my first chip purchase and the very reason why I get samples now. Bubbled labels, off centre labels, missing labels, spinners, slippery, slugged, different shades of color for same denom... just too many things wrong with these chips. I couldn't get rid of them fast enough and ended up giving them away as I didn't want the guilt of knowing I'd taken someone's money for these things.

 

[gadgetmcnasty]

I really love the Paulson's top hat and cane. What chips can you buy that are similar in weight and feel?

 

[RichMahogany]

I really love the Paulson's top hat and cane. What chips can you buy that are similar in weight and feel?

Grand Cardroom Paulson solids. Same mold as WTHC, tournament denoms from 25-5000 but be prepared to pay premium prices

 

[Beakertwang]

I really love the Paulson's top hat and cane. What chips can you buy that are similar in weight and feel?

For a playable set for under $200, the closest you'll get to Paulsons would be China Clays (Milanos, Dunes, Majestics, Pharaohs), though most would say they're not close to Paulsons. Otherwise, you may be able find a deal on some old ASM's on eBay or something, but you won't be able to pick your setup.

FWIW, I just picked up a Majestic set, and I like them much better than the Showdowns I had previously.