New Member - advice needed (1 Viewer)

olaggie

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Hello, all! I found this forum as I was searching for a set of chips to purchase as a gift for my nephew. And holy cow, I did not know there was a whole community devoted to poker chips nor was I ready for the world of options I'm now seeing. I'm a casual player; just friendly games with friends and family. My nephew plays both cash and tournament style with his friends (mainly cash, though). I'm a bit overwhelmed. If anyone has recommendations on a sub-$200 set, it would be greatly appreciated. I'm opened to used, as well.
 
Welcome! I think to help you out more, we’ll need some more information. Are you planning on this being a set that your nephew puts into play, or more a commemorative set that represents the bond you share?

If the first one, it’ll help to know the stakes he plays (micro, 1/2, 2/5, 5/10, etc) and how many players he normally gets. If this is what you’re going for, your best bet is looking in the classifieds for a sub $200 set. This might prove difficult, as $200 is essentially Honda Civic pricing in a Ferrari dealership, but you may be able to find something on a budget.

If the second one, you have many more options. If the intent is not to felt the chips, I’d suggest a sample set of something he would like. Again, the classifies are your best bet for this. I recommend posting a want ad, and just see what your options are.

Hope this helps!
 
Some additional info would help, like, what stakes are they playing? How many usually play. A small cash set of Tina chips could be purchased for about they price. Stepping up on quality to ceramics will cost twice that +. There a new beginners thread that had some good links explaining a lot of that kind of stuff. @Machine has a link in his signature, I believe he was the one that put it together, very informative. Then, try the search bar for sure if questions you will likely have, or works pretty well. Beyond that, post some of the questions and watch the feedback come in.

Welcome!
 
Welcome!
The link in my sig should help with a starting place.

tl;dr - I don't think you're going to find much with that tight of a budget. What stakes does your nephew play?
 
For the price you can get a great set of Tina's for less than $200. Check out the group buy. You can make your own break down and choose your style. They are solid chips for the money. But 9mce you breach into casino clays you'll be looking at spending anywhere from $1.25 to $7 a chip. Like any hobby, it is what you make of it. Good luck!

Find the February 2023 thread in the group buy forum. :)
 
Thanks, all. I reached out to him for more information. I'm not necessarily looking for a commemorative set, just something nicer than the $50 Walmart sets. I see a few around $115 online (discount poker shop) but am not sure of the quality. There's a little wiggle room in the budget but not too much.

I saw the group buy and was interested but wasn't sure what additional fees I would incur. I know it mentions a shipping fee but I have no clue as to a ballpark shipping cost. Sounds like this may be my best bet.
 
He says it's usually just 6-10 people. I was thinking like 600 chips. I am going to get more info on the group buy and will likely go that route. Appreciate all of the responses and advice!
 
He says it's usually just 6-10 people. I was thinking like 600 chips. I am going to get more info on the group buy and will likely go that route. Appreciate all of the responses and advice!
A 10 person tournament set can easily be done with 400-450 chips. With the right breakdown, you could do 2 tables with 600 chips.
That said, your money will buy better chips if you’re buying less of them.
 
What breakdown are you thinking for 450 chips?

Also, I'm falling in love with a Tiki Kings set of 1200 someone is selling on here and I'm trying to justify the cost - "I can split it between the two of us." Ugh. This site is dangerous.
Actually, there's a way to do a single table T25 tourney with only 300 chips:
https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/pcf-promo-tourney-set-meetup-giveaway.26946/post-500581

@BGinGA is the resident tourney-breakdown advisor (among a small group of others).
I would use the search for good T25 or T100-based tournament breakdown. There's lots of good recommendations.

And hold on to thy wallet. :ROFL: :ROFLMAO:
 
What breakdown are you thinking for 450 chips?

Also, I'm falling in love with a Tiki Kings set of 1200 someone is selling on here and I'm trying to justify the cost - "I can split it between the two of us." Ugh. This site is dangerous.
No there's no danger here... :ROFL: :ROFLMAO:

Are you talking tournament set now? I just completed a base T5 tournament chip. Base T5 mean 5 is the lowest chip. My set has the following:

T5 x 100 chips
T25 x 100 chips
T100 x 80 chips
T500 x 40 chips.

320 chips, enough for a 10 person Freezeout (no rebuy) tournament. You could even get away with trimming off 10 T100s and 10 T500s, but then it gets more awkward to color up.

Edit: I'm not a very good accountant. Fixed my math error above. Tournament set is only 320 chips, not 420...

Starting stacks for 2000 chips are
T5 x 10 = 50
T25 x 10 = 250
T100 x 7 = 700
T500 x 2 = 1000

And if you want rebuys, you will need more chips. 2000 chips more for each rebuy you want. You can use less of the lower chips for rebuys and the player can make change at the table. So T25 x 8, T100 x 8 and T500 x 2 for each rebuy. Or just go with T100 x 5 and T500 x 3 for even less chips.

For a cash set you usually want 100/200/200 where the first 100 is you lowest blind chips then 200 lower workhorse and 200 higher workhorse chips. Example would be if you pay 25c/50c blinds you want 100 25c chips, 200 $1 chips and 200 $5 chips. You will then probably want a few barrels of $20 or $25 chips. A barrel is 20 chips. Without the large chips, the 500 chip set will have enough to put about $1200 in play. One barrel of $25s will give you another $500.

You can use the same formula for a $1/$2 or a $1/$3 game. 100 $1s, 200 $5s and $200 $25s. I would personally prefer more $1s and $5s in this game, but the 500 chips will work and you'll have over $6000 to put in play. Add in one or two barrels of $100 chips to increase the size of the bank.
 
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I should probably explain why I did a base T5 set, because they are not nearly as popular as base T25 or base T100. I have another large tournament that was built for T25 and covers up to 30 players plus rebuys. It has almost 2000 chips, but they are inexpensive ceramic cards mold chips. But for my T5 set, I wanted real compressed clay chips from Paulson in mint to near mint condition. And once you get to $100 and up Paulson chips, they start getting really expensive. Paulson $5s and $25s can be found for under $2 a chip, but my $100s were $3.50 and my $500s were $4. If I ever add $1000s to this set, they will probably be $8-$12 a piece.

But for the less expensive ceramic, slugged or china clay chips, every denomination usually costs the same, so you can start with any amount and it doesn't affect the cost of the set.
 
No there's no danger here... :ROFL: :ROFLMAO:

Are you talking tournament set now? I just completed a base T5 tournament chip. Base T5 mean 5 is the lowest chip. My set has the following:

T5 x 100 chips
T25 x 100 chips
T100 x 80 chips
T500 x 40 chips.

420 chips, enough for a 10 person Freezeout (no rebuy) tournament. You could even get away with trimming off 10 T100s and 10 T500s, but then it gets more awkward to color up.

Starting stacks for 2000 chips are
T5 x 10 = 50
T25 x 10 = 250
T100 x 7 = 700
T500 x 2 = 1000

And if you want rebuys, you will need more chips. 2000 chips more for each rebuy you want. You can use less of the lower chips for rebuys and the player can make change at the table. So T25 x 8, T100 x 8 and T500 x 2 for each rebuy. Or just go with T100 x 5 and T500 x 3 for even less chips.

For a cash set you usually want 100/200/200 where the first 100 is you lowest blind chips then 200 lower workhorse and 200 higher workhorse chips. Example would be if you pay 25c/50c blinds you want 100 25c chips, 200 $1 chips and 200 $5 chips. You will then probably want a few barrels of $20 or $25 chips. A barrel is 20 chips. Without the large chips, the 500 chip set will have enough to put about $1200 in play. One barrel of $25s will give you another $500.

You can use the same formula for a $1/$2 or a $1/$3 game. 100 $1s, 200 $5s and $200 $25s. I would personally prefer more $1s and $5s in this game, but the 500 chips will work and you'll have over $6000 to put in play. Add in one or two barrels of $100 chips to increase the size of the bank.
If that boy is playing cash games, he BETTER be looking at .25 and .50 chips and leaving those dollars to folks with jobs!
 
Thanks. I saw those, too, but wasn't sure if the denominations and chip count would work. There aren't $ signs, so I think he could use for both tourney or cash game. I was concerned about only 50 5s, though.
 
If that boy is playing cash games, he BETTER be looking at .25 and .50 chips and leaving those dollars to folks with jobs!
I got you. You didn't state his age, and I have nephews in their 50's! :eek: :eek:

Most of my cash sets actually have nickel chips too. I enjoy playing 5c/10c or 10c/20c blinds with family and inexperienced friends. Usually $15-$30 buy ins. Apply the same rules. 100/200/200 - nickel/quarter/dollar. Add a couple barrels of $5s and he's good to go for micro stakes.
 
I see how that's important information here. We're talking about a 19-year-old college kid. This will be for his 20th birthday. Sorry for any confusion.
 
Overall. you can't wrong with Tina's chips. @justincarothers runs a group buy nearly every month and there are many, many designs to choose from. Chips are going to be roughly $0.40/each and they are worlds apart from Walmart, etc chips. So $200 is tight, but you could get either a cash or tourney set for close to that and then move up/add-on the other set later (graduation gift?). I just bought by son (20 year old in college) a set for the same reasons. Just to get him and his buddies away from dice chips.

PS - Justin is great with the group buys. Shipping from him to you will be minimal.....think flat rate USPS box.

Good luck and welcome to the madness.

-Paul
 
If that boy is playing cash games, he BETTER be looking at .25 and .50 chips and leaving those dollars to folks with jobs!
I have a .25 / .5 PLO game, we have often have bets of 40 USD and I think the max bet we've seen was 175 235 USD (this last game w/ 3 way action)

for college 'young' ppl might want to play .5 / .10 (its what I played) - should look for a rack of NCV or .05 chips
 
Cash game breakdown depends on the range of stakes he plays. To cover 5c/5c up to 10c/25c, you can get away with 500 chips. 100x 5c, 200x 25c, 100x $1, 100x $5. Distribute all the frcs first then top off the stacks with $1s and $5s. Rebuys in $1s and $5s, will have to make change. 10c/25c stakes gets a little close with value chips, if he plays that high regularly you should get some more $5s.

Tournament, 300 chips for 10 people --
T100 x 100
T500 x 40
T1,000 x 100
T5,000 x 60
Starting stack 10xT100, 4xT500, 7xT1,000, 2xT5,000 = T20,000 = 100 big blinds when starting at 100/200. Blind structures can be generated here or you ask a tournament director on here. There's some extra T1,000s you can use to exchange all the T100s an T500s once blinds reach levels where the smaller chips are no longer needed. You have one re-buy for each player, or you can give them out at the beginning to start deep-stacked.
 
Thanks for catching that. I had just yesterday received a new rack of $5 chips I bought to replace some different ones. All 4 racks (short 40 of the $100s) were stacked together, so I had 400 on my mind instead of 300...
 
These are not for the purist, but for the money, they are my favorite. Monte Carlo plastics.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003Q9ADY...lja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ&th=1
Do they not make a frac for that set? It's definitely one of the better cheap sluggos. OP could put together a decent sized tournament set for under $100, then Look to help his nephew buy something nicer for his cash set.

@olaggie I'm assuming you have read the advice here to not get the same set of chips to use for both cash and tournament play. That is strongly discouraged.
 
I didn't see fracs (look at me learning new lingo) of the Monte Carlo. I did, however, see fracs for the Outlaw set.

And I do recall reading somewhere on here not to use the same set. I'll have to read up on why it's such a huge no-no. I've got some time before his birthday so I'm not in a rush. I'm hoping something great pops up in the classifieds. Next choice would be a group buy. If neither works out, I'll likely just start off with a cheap set from Discount Poker.
 

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