What do you think about the difference in feel of the china clay royals vs the paulsons? I am about to make a similar decision and am curious about what the other beginners think.
Hi
@OfficerLovejoy,
I'm a beginner to the chip game too, so take this for what it's worth. I'm sure there are a ton of members and posts explaining all the nuanced differences between Paulson and china clay chips. For me, there are definitely some noticeable differences, but also some striking similarities. These observations are purely based on looks and feel. I don't have a food scale or any other measuring devices to say if these observations are true or accurate to the number:
Looks/Color:
Paulson, hands down has the brightest and most variety when it comes to colors. Especially in yellow. If you're looking for the best and brightest "looking" poker chips, Paulson is the clear top choice. That being said 43mm, bright Paulson chips are more rare, and have higher demand for the best/rare denominations and colors so you get what you pay for there. Also spot patterns, in terms of aesthetics, can't be beat either here. But it's in the eye of the beholder really.
Royal colors (so far) are the brightest colored china clay chips, I've come across so far in my limited collecting of sample chips so far. The yellow is the closest yet to the Paulson bright yellow (but you'll never find anything as bright as Paulson's yellow imo). This is important to me personally, as I'm looking buy/build a Cali colored set. I don't have any mineral oil yet, so I've only washed them with soap and water, but I'm sure they will be even brighter in appearance, once I do buy some. Also, the spot patterns on these chips are great for china clays as well.
Feel/Weight:
Paulson are definitely "sharper". The edges are better formed, at a 90 degree angle, and make for a crisper feel and more aesthetically pleasing, smooth, single column, look when stacked. They are also, slightly lighter in weight.
Royals are more "rounded" and beveled on the edges, which makes for a more softer feel when shuffling, but in my opinion, makes them easier to shuffle so that could be a plus for some there. But you definitely can tell the difference between the two. I posted a picture of the similar colored chips vs the
BTP sample set I have, stacked up for comparison.
Sound-wise, the Royals are very close as well to Paulson's. This may be due to 43mm size or just that they are better quality china clays. I don't have any 39mm china clays to compare though. Unlike
CPC chips that sound nothing like Paulsons and are noticibly lighter as well (which I don't prefer).
Overall:
For me, the price of the Royals just is too good to pass up right now, at $0.52 a chip, that's $520 for a 1000 chip cash set. Just for comparison, the
BTP chips shown, for a 1000 chip cash set, with the rare $20 denomination, would cost well over $10,000, on the open market. And that's if one of the few members who own them, would ever want to put them up for sale.
I'm still a beginner and don't have tens of thousands of dollars to spend on multiple cash and tourney Paulson sets. Even if I did. I don't have a regular game to where I would be able to put those sets to good use in rotation. Also, given that 43mm Paulson cash sets don't exist, if I wanted a 43mm Paulson, Cali colored, cash set, I would need to slowly collect and relabel various Paulson 43mm chips, which could take a very long time. So this may be my best option for now, we'll see. Hope you find this helpful!