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New Member - A Little Lost (30 Viewers)

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petersona95

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Hi everyone, I'm a new member from Chicago looking to get my first set of poker chips. I'm a little lost on this forum and I'm having a hard time finding guides for buyers. I have a budget of around .80c per chip (and worst case scenario I'd be willing to go up to $1 a chip). If anyone has some links or suggestions I am all ears! I ordered a sampler of ceramics from BR Pro Poker and was hoping to also try out some clay chips.
 
Welcome to the PCF. The possibilities are many and I know you’ll wind up being able to do something within your range. Share what type of set you’re looking to build etc and thoughts will begin to flow you way.

Have fun and good luck.
 
Welcome! It’s overwhelming at first but with time it makes sense!
I’d suggest heading over to the classifieds and get some samples of various types and then buy your set.
 
Welcome. Read around, take your time, get samples. That's a decent budget for a first nicer set. BRPro is a good option. Clay can be had for that but probably a lower end, solid, or heavily used set. Enjoy looking - that's half the fun!
 
Welcome!

Are you looking for a tourney or a cash set? Need to cover one table or more?

A lot of people come here thinking they need either too many or too few chips (typically looking at the pre set 500/1000 chip cases), which might affect your per chip budget.

A single table tournament set needs only 400 chips and the cash equivalent about 600-700. Breakdowns are important of course, there are tons of threads dealing with this. Should be easily found using the search function.
 
Welcome to PCF! As others have said, cruise the classifieds and definitely get samples. Broken Arrow’s monthly ceramic group buys are a great option, customizable and under your budget. Good luck!
 
Eriks said:
Welcome!

Are you looking for a tourney or a cash set? Need to cover one table or more?

A lot of people come here thinking they need either too many or too few chips (typically looking at the pre set 500/1000 chip cases), which might affect your per chip budget.

A single table tournament set needs only 400 chips and the cash equivalent about 600-700. Breakdowns are important of course, there are tons of threads dealing with this. Should be easily found using the search function.
Click to expand...
Would need a cash set. We tend to play 10/20c $50 max or 25/50c $100 max depending on the group! We have about 6-8 players each time. 500 sounded right when I was originally looking but I'll see if that's really needed.
 
Welcome to PCF.

BR Pro chips are excellent quality. Definitely shop around and get samples. Waiting is tough, but jumping too soon may lead to some regret down the road.
 
Welcome! Going from lost/overwhelmed to buried in more chips/sets than you know what to do with happens rather fast around here. Glad you set an initial budget for yourself. Enjoy the journey. Upgrades around the corner...
 
You might be able to pick up some Paulson THC starburst solids in good condition for $1/chip. IMHO the best quality possible given your budget. If you want customization, probably gonna have to go with Tinas, which are not “clays” but I think are pretty damn nice considering.
 
Welcome fellow Chicagoan! For your set ups, I’d recommend ceramics from BRProPoker.com or Tina chips would be best to start off.

Tina’s are purchased here
https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/chips-web-jester-greek-sun-tangiers-april-2026.141424/

If you want to upgrade to clays, your best chance at an affordable clay set would probably be the Black Friday sale that The Chip Room does. You can find some other clay sets on the marketplace around that price but the chips may be heavily used.
 
petersona95 said:
Would need a cash set. We tend to play 10/20c $50 max or 25/50c $100 max depending on the group! We have about 6-8 players each time. 500 sounded right when I was originally looking but I'll see if that's really needed.
Click to expand...
If you play 10c/20c, I highly recommend considering 25c/25c instead. I essentially plays the same, but without the need for 5c or 10c chips.
That can make your chip budget go further, or maybe give you the opportunity to afford the next tier of chips.
Good luck!
 
petersona95 said:
Would need a cash set. We tend to play 10/20c $50 max or 25/50c $100 max depending on the group! We have about 6-8 players each time. 500 sounded right when I was originally looking but I'll see if that's really needed.
Click to expand...
Definitely do 25c/25c on the small nights like @Colquhoun suggests. Then you can go with:

100 x 25c
200 x $1
200 x $5
80 x $20/25
20 x $100

Breakdown’s a bit conservative, but would work perfectly fine. Some would want additional fracs (perhaps enough to start everyone on a full barrel) and some would advocate for double or more the amount of $5s (which is ridiculous imo).
 
FatStack said:
Welcome! Going from lost/overwhelmed to buried in more chips/sets than you know what to do with happens rather fast around here. Glad you set an initial budget for yourself. Enjoy the journey. Upgrades around the corner...
Click to expand...
Happy to be buried! And appreciate everyones suggestions, gives me a lot to go off of.
 

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