New ceramic custom set help (1 Viewer)

[StoneDonkey]

So I am trying to help a friend "Jimmy" make a custom set and could use help from those with those experienced. I have a bunch of very simple questions, a couple more complex ones. I have some pictures to help give context. Game?

He has run a $15/$30 limit HOE game for decades and has really ratty discussing chips. He does not view chips the way we do and has resisted my attempts to convince him to build a custom set from CPC or even retired casino chips as inexpensive as used Paulson's at ~$1/chip.

Basics Requirements (R):

R1: He wants only red $5 and green $25 chips. 300 red chips, 200 green.
R2: His budget is $200 all in (net 40¢/chip).
R3: "J" on each chip (possibly optional)
R4: denominations (possibly optional)
R5: He thinks (as been told) he wants 13.5g chips. Eeew. I have tried to convince him that real (Paulson) casino chips that he plays with in Vegas and Foxwoods are most likely 9-11 grams. He said 11 grams is ok. I hope I can talk him down to 10 unless there are better options than "Tina's Cards Mold" (TCM).
He has said he like the colors on my green Aztar MI secondaries
as well as the colors of these which I assume are Matsui. I do t know where he got this picture or chips but I think he will hate using Matsui because of slippery plastic feel and poor stacking. I am in contact with the Matsui USA sales rep just to see what they would cost.



Many of my questions will assume a new custom set but I welcome references to existing chips if they meet the color/denomination/price criteria.

I have come up with a couple preliminary designs based on his stated preferences using the fantasy Paulson chip design tool.




Questions:
Q1: Are there other relevant options besides Tina/Alibaba?
Q2: is there a different feel to the plain/no mold chip and the cards mold chips?
Q3: Is there any weighting option for the Tina/Alibaba chips?
Q4: Can Tina make the necessary adaptation from these Paulson mockups to something that Alibaba can produce?
Q5: what kind of file does she need for a printed inlay design?
Q6: Can I use PowerPoint to create my artwork which will likely be merely the letter J in red and a denomination of 5 or 25 in black (or vice versa) and export that image to a file format the manufacturer can use?

 

[svickn]

I am by no means an expert, but from what I'm aware of Tina / Alibaba does sound like the best bet for the price point you're looking for.
I also think in most cases you'll need adobe illustrator files representing your design. Other formats, if even accepted, likely risk resulting in a lower resolution and lower quality outcome.

 

[allforcharity]

Tell him to keep playing with dice. Some people will never ever learn. Or else engineer a security breach every week.

 

[TX_Golf_N_Poker]

So I am trying to help a friend "Jimmy" make a custom set and could use help from those with those experienced. I have a bunch of very simple questions, a couple more complex ones. I have some pictures to help give context. Game?

He has run a $15/$30 limit HOE game for decades and has really ratty discussing chips. He does not view chips the way we do and has resisted my attempts to convince him to build a custom set from CPC or even retired casino chips as inexpensive as used Paulson's at ~$1/chip.

Basics Requirements (R):

R1: He wants only red $5 and green $25 chips. 300 red chips, 200 green.
R2: His budget is $200 all in (net 40¢/chip).
R3: "J" on each chip (possibly optional)
R4: denominations (possibly optional)
R5: He thinks (as been told) he wants 13.5g chips. Eeew. I have tried to convince him that real (Paulson) casino chips that he plays with in Vegas and Foxwoods are most likely 9-11 grams. He said 11 grams is ok. I hope I can talk him down to 10 unless there are better options than "Tina's Cards Mold" (TCM).
He has said he like the colors on my green Aztar MI secondaries View attachment 1024237
as well as the colors of these which I assume are Matsui. I do t know where he got this picture or chips but I think he will hate using Matsui because of slippery plastic feel and poor stacking. I am in contact with the Matsui USA sales rep just to see what they would cost.

View attachment 1024236

Many of my questions will assume a new custom set but I welcome references to existing chips if they meet the color/denomination/price criteria.

I have come up with a couple preliminary designs based on his stated preferences using the fantasy Paulson chip design tool.

View attachment 1024329View attachment 1024334
View attachment 1024328View attachment 1024342

Questions:
Q1: Are there other relevant options besides Tina/Alibaba?
Q2: is there a different feel to the plain/no mold chip and the cards mold chips?
Q3: Is there any weighting option for the Tina/Alibaba chips?
Q4: Can Tina make the necessary adaptation from these Paulson mockups to something that Alibaba can produce?
Q5: what kind of file does she need for a printed inlay design?
Q6: Can I use PowerPoint to create my artwork which will likely be merely the letter J in red and a denomination of 5 or 25 in black (or vice versa) and export that image to a file format the manufacturer can use?

If he wants chips that weigh 11 grams, would he be adverse to 43mm Cards mold? This is a stack of ten.

And if he wants custom, I suspect that @Johnny5 could pretty easily modify the artwork on Aria's to say "Jimmy's" and swap the "A" for a "J." Here is the cash $5 and the tournament T25, which he could add a dollar sign to.

Or he could just go full on custom and do something that looks like your mockups. The problem is, even thogh these are the cheapest custom chips on the market, his $200 budget is gonna have to come up a little bit. If he's firm on that, we're all wasting our time. Mostly you. But I think he could do custom cards mold for around $300 including design fees and shipping.

Regarding Matsui's being slippery, it's my understanding from two recent GBs, one for Horseshoe tributes, and one that's open right now for Sands tributes, that their latest material and mold is much less slippery than before. But you realize you are now talking 5 times the original $200 budget. These are $2 each chips.

Here's the current Sands tournament set, which uses traditional Vegas colors and would work fine for a cash game. The cash set uses Cali colors.

I'm happy to provide more info on any of this if you are interested. Just ask any questions you have. Especially if you want to go the modified Aria's route, as I have worked with John quite a bit on that set.

 

[NotRealNameNoSir]

Is that Jimmy TwoTimes TwoTimes? Let him know to fuggedaboudis security risk, business as usual, and lemme know when the games run.

 

[StoneDonkey]

If he wants chips that weigh 11 grams, would he be adverse to 43mm Cards mold? This is a stack of ten.

View attachment 1024561

And if he wants custom, I suspect that @Johnny5 could pretty easily modify the artwork on Aria's to say "Jimmy's" and swap the "A" for a "J." Here is the cash $5 and the tournament T25, which he could add a dollar sign to.

View attachment 1024564

Or he could just go full on custom and do something that looks like your mockups. The problem is, even thogh these are the cheapest custom chips on the market, his $200 budget is gonna have to come up a little bit. If he's firm on that, we're all wasting our time. Mostly you. But I think he could do custom cards mold for around $300 including design fees and shipping.

Regarding Matsui's being slippery, it's my understanding from two recent GBs, one for Horseshoe tributes, and one that's open right now for Sands tributes, that their latest material and mold is much less slippery than before. But you realize you are now talking 5 times the original $200 budget. These are $2 each chips.

Here's the current Sands tournament set, which uses traditional Vegas colors and would work fine for a cash game. The cash set uses Cali colors.

View attachment 1024568

I'm happy to provide more info on any of this if you are interested. Just ask any questions you have. Especially if you want to go the modified Aria's route, as I have worked with John quite a bit on that set.

That was super thoughtful help. Thanks

 

[quintooo]

He wants only red $5 and green $25 chips. 300 red chips, 200 green.

is it just me or am I the only one who thinks 300 5's is not enough for a 15/30 limit game?

 

[StoneDonkey]

7 handed

 

[StoneDonkey]

7 handed

But if it were me I would be less dependent on green chips than he is

 

[TX_Golf_N_Poker]

is it just me or am I the only one who thinks 300 5's is not enough for a 15/30 limit game?

I don't play limit games so I didn't really think about it. Now I'm thinking about it. And I think you are right,

 

[TX_Golf_N_Poker]

But if it were me I would be less dependent on green chips than he is

I know for no limit games you typically want to start with at least 100 big blinds. I imagine for limit you can start with less. So what is a typical buy-in for this game? 50 BBs or $1500? Wouldn't you want at least 100 $5s per player. And isn't the value chip usually more than 5x the workhorse chip? This guy has got a weird game. He's only got a $7500 bank. Unless he's doing a $1000 buy-in with no rebuys. But why would you want to do that???

 

[StoneDonkey]

Lol. Buy in is $400. 13 big bets . (26 big blinds for flop games). Money goes around in circles. There are rebuys of course. He has run this game long enough that while I dispair for his material, color, and budget choices, I am willing to trust him in quantities.

It puts $6500 in the bank for 7 players (stud limits) . I have not seen it but cash can be used to buy chips a.ong players I suppose. Since it's not big bet it's ok if cash comes of table I guess though I have not seen that happen

 

[TX_Golf_N_Poker]

@StoneDonkey - FYI. Have you seen the Chip Room sale that was just posted? Since originally your friend said he was interested in heavy, plastic chips, he might like the Gemaco chips being offered in Jim's sale. And the price is right too, with all chips under $1 each. The new secondary $5s and $25s are both under 50 cents.

https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/black-friday-sale.97257/

 

[StoneDonkey]

Thanks ! I did happen to see that and have texted him. It sounds like these are less slippery and stacking disasters than Matsui but I don't think plastic is the way he should go. I think if I am not just going to give up it will be some Tina/Alibaba custom chips if I can get up to speed on the ordering process.

I really appreciate you looking out for me! And never hesitate. I am still a bit overwhelmed navigating around here and have serious FOMO!

 

[Eriks]

Lol. Buy in is $400. 13 big bets . (26 big blinds for flop games). Money goes around in circles. There are rebuys of course. He has run this game long enough that while I dispair for his material, color, and budget choices, I am willing to trust him in quantities.

It puts $6500 in the bank for 7 players (stud limits) . I have not seen it but cash can be used to buy chips a.ong players I suppose. Since it's not big bet it's ok if cash comes of table I guess though I have not seen that happen

Typically, limit games will be played with a single work horse denom ($5s in this case) and then a big denom for value storing ($100 seems fitting in this case).

In his shoes, I would get:

$5 x 900
$100 x 100

 

[StoneDonkey]

Typically, limit games will be played with a single work horse denom ($5s in this case) and then a big denom for value storing ($100 seems fitting in this case).

In his shoes, I would get:

$5 x 900
$100 x 100

That's would *I* would do too. And I would pay for compression clay molded chips. But he is different.

 

[TX_Golf_N_Poker]

Typically, limit games will be played with a single work horse denom ($5s in this case) and then a big denom for value storing ($100 seems fitting in this case).

In his shoes, I would get:

$5 x 900
$100 x 100

Yeah, his friend clearly doesn't understand limit game betting, but there is no telling some people that there is a better way...

 

[StoneDonkey]

Yeah, his friend clearly doesn't understand limit game betting, but there is no telling some people that there is a better way...

Well he has been running this game weekly for 20 years but he is used to using green chips in ever hand. Some how he missed the piles of chip gene.