New member from Peterborough, UK (1 Viewer)

battlescissors

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Hi everyone. I'm from Peterborough, UK and I've been playing some home tournaments with friends for the past few years, taking turns hosting at each other's houses. We always do £20 buy-in and 1 optional re-buy (£20) within the first few blinds.

I wanted to take a crack at hosting my own games and try to take it up a notch from what we were used to. I wanted to buy a set of chips that wouldn't break the bank but also weren't the budget blank chips we were used to playing with. So I have bought 1000 Full House Poker Club chips from premierpokerchips which I think should cover us for 10 player games including ~5 re-buys in total? My long term plan is to do some research and purchase a truly awesome tournament set.

Here's what I have (see attached for image of each chip):
T25 - 300 chips
T100 - 225 chips
T500 - 200 chips
T1000 - 150 chips
T5000 - 75 chips
T10000 - 50 chips

(1000 chips total)

I'm starting to think that the 10k chips were unnecessary.

Here are blinds we have been using (20 min):
25/50
50/100
75/150
100/200
150/300
Colour up T25 chips
200/400
300/600
500/1,000
800/1,600
Colour up T100 and T500 chips
1,000/2,000
1,500/3,000
2,000/4,000
3,000/6,000
5,000/10,000
8,000/16,000
Colour up T1000 chips
10,000/20,000
15,000/30,000

Starting stacks
T25 - 16 (400)
T100 - 16 (1,600)
T500 - 5 (2,500)
T1000 - 6 (6,000)
T5000 - 2 (10,000)
20k total

Once I've gained a bit more knowledge I'd love to buy a fancy tournament set to replace my current set. I really like the way Aurora Star tournament chips look but I can't seem to find anywhere to buy them? Same with Aria tournament chips.

I don't suppose any of my UK friends know of any UK poker stores?

I might even look into creating custom chips to fit the theme of my home bar (The Chimp's Dick) one day. I've had a look through other peoples customs and they look fantastic.

Please be kind, I'm somewhat of a novice and it's been quite the learning curve. I'd be more than happy to receive any advice! Sorry for the long post, I feel like I've discovered a really fun hobby.
 

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Welcome to PCF - new UK members always good to see.
I suggest you read this, although it may be long and a lot to take in, it will help you in the long-run.

CHIP BREAKDOWN:
You could have actually got away with way less chips than this for 10 players. i don't host tournaments often but this is close to an ideal breakdown:
100 x t25, 100 x t100, 60 x t500, 80 x t1000, 40 x t5000.
This should cover 10 players. There are other forum members who know way more about running tournaments than me but I can guarantee that 1000 chips can cover at least 2 tables, maybe even 3.
When players rebuy, give them the largest denomination chips. if the starting stack is 20,000, give them 4 x 5k chips and ask them to make change amongst players at the table. If you are antsy about a lot of rebuys occurring, just buy an extra 20 or so 1ks or 5ks.

YOUR CHIPS:
The chips you have ordered are a start. Believe me when I say we've all been there, but there is good reason for paying top dollar for poker chips. A problem with cheaper chips is that they are not made with much precision.
I attached an image below which you can look at, both of these stacks are 20 chips, but the green stack is a full chip taller. Having uneven stacks is a dealer's nightmare as it prevents you from properly counting bets, or your stack.

FUTURE CHIPPING OPTIONS:
UK chipping is a very limited space when it comes to retail opportunities - there are no stand-out websites you can go to if you wish to purchase quality chips. If you want to acquire high quality chips your chips are probably going to come from the US, however; there are UK and EU chippers out there who do have things for sale, keep an eye on the classifieds section for listings.

Most people are after Paulson or CPC chips.

Paulson no longer sell to consumers but there is a vendor who harvests hundreds of thousands of obsolete casino chips from when casinos rebrand or close and sells them. He sells them to us here: https://www.pokerchipforum.com/forums/the-chip-room.21/ . You can purchase cash chips or tournament chips depending on what is available.

CPC (classic poker chips) sell to the consumer. This is where people get high quality custom chips made. They also have stock options.

Q: Where should I begin in this hobby?

A: Get samples of chips from different vendors and sites - it's the best way to determine if you really like a chip. Photos online are deceptive, the only real way to tell if you like a chip is by handling it.


sites to visit:
https://www.apachepokerchips.com/
https://brpropoker.com/
http://www.classicpokerchips.com/

good luck and welcome aboard,

Luke B.
 

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Oh mate! I was in Bretton on Sunday, I could have dropped a load of samples off for you. It won’t be that long until I’m up that way again I expect. Welcome to the forum! @lewan has covered everything really.

The only thing he didn’t mention were cards mold chips. I got my hands on a few recently and they were much better than I anticipated. You could have a fully custom set for 30p a chip (maybe a bit more, point is they are not expensive when compared to Paulson/CPC). They aren’t as good as ceramics (BR Pro) for my money but at that price it’s hard to argue.

Enjoy

JP
 
Hey, welcome to PCF, more UK folks are great to see :)

As mentioned above, your first set may be overkill for 10 players, but that's not a bad thing necessarily as you can easily accommodate more players if your game grows.
I might even look into creating custom chips to fit the theme of my home bar (The Chimp's Dick)
This could be one of favourite names for a future poker set :LOL: :laugh:
I don't suppose any of my UK friends know of any UK poker stores?
There's not much choice in the UK for 'nice' chips. If you want Paulson's, they will be best from the classifieds section here but mostly from the USA (sometimes for Europe too). CPC for real deal custom chips, also USA. But as @JP1984 says, I've recently received my 2 sets of Cards Mold chips from China. They are cheap, and for the price I have nothing bad to say about them. They are also fully customisable which is a bonus. Drop me a message if you have any questions. I've done design work for myself and a few others on Cards Mold chip templates now :)
 
Welcome to PCF - new UK members always good to see.
I suggest you read this, although it may be long and a lot to take in, it will help you in the long-run.
Thanks, I really appreciate the help :D
CHIP BREAKDOWN:
You could have actually got away with way less chips than this for 10 players. i don't host tournaments often but this is close to an ideal breakdown:
100 x t25, 100 x t100, 60 x t500, 80 x t1000, 40 x t5000.
This should cover 10 players. There are other forum members who know way more about running tournaments than me but I can guarantee that 1000 chips can cover at least 2 tables, maybe even 3.
When players rebuy, give them the largest denomination chips. if the starting stack is 20,000, give them 4 x 5k chips and ask them to make change amongst players at the table. If you are antsy about a lot of rebuys occurring, just buy an extra 20 or so 1ks or 5ks.
I did think I went a bit overboard with the amount... At least I know it's acceptable to ask players to make change amongst themselves. Looks like I've got a bit of an excess of chips... Perhaps I can gift a few sets to my friends!!
YOUR CHIPS:
The chips you have ordered are a start. Believe me when I say we've all been there, but there is good reason for paying top dollar for poker chips. A problem with cheaper chips is that they are not made with much precision.
I attached an image below which you can look at, both of these stacks are 20 chips, but the green stack is a full chip taller. Having uneven stacks is a dealer's nightmare as it prevents you from properly counting bets, or your stack.
Yes like I said I was just looking for something that wasn't a blank set of chips from Argos which all my friends have, but didn't want to spend too much on something I didn't have much knowledge on. I think what I have now is a pretty OK starter set - but there is certainly room for improvement. I noticed that my friends chips are irregular in size but the ones I have seem to be fine when stacked up next to each other. I'll certainly keep an eye out for that though.
FUTURE CHIPPING OPTIONS:
UK chipping is a very limited space when it comes to retail opportunities - there are no stand-out websites you can go to if you wish to purchase quality chips. If you want to acquire high quality chips your chips are probably going to come from the US, however; there are UK and EU chippers out there who do have things for sale, keep an eye on the classifieds section for listings.

Most people are after Paulson or CPC chips.

Paulson no longer sell to consumers but there is a vendor who harvests hundreds of thousands of obsolete casino chips from when casinos rebrand or close and sells them. He sells them to us here: https://www.pokerchipforum.com/forums/the-chip-room.21/ . You can purchase cash chips or tournament chips depending on what is available.

CPC (classic poker chips) sell to the consumer. This is where people get high quality custom chips made. They also have stock options.

Q: Where should I begin in this hobby?

A: Get samples of chips from different vendors and sites - it's the best way to determine if you really like a chip. Photos online are deceptive, the only real way to tell if you like a chip is by handling it.


sites to visit:
https://www.apachepokerchips.com/
https://brpropoker.com/
http://www.classicpokerchips.com/

good luck and welcome aboard,

Luke B.
I'm going to have to look into what kind of chip styles I like. I think I'm leaning towards the classic style with bright vibrant colours(?)... It's hard to explain. I'll have to write down chips that I like to build a better picture. I'll take a look at these sites, thanks! Once again, thank you for your help - it's really appreciated :)
 
Oh mate! I was in Bretton on Sunday, I could have dropped a load of samples off for you. It won’t be that long until I’m up that way again I expect. Welcome to the forum! @lewan has covered everything really.

The only thing he didn’t mention were cards mold chips. I got my hands on a few recently and they were much better than I anticipated. You could have a fully custom set for 30p a chip (maybe a bit more, point is they are not expensive when compared to Paulson/CPC). They aren’t as good as ceramics (BR Pro) for my money but at that price it’s hard to argue.

Enjoy

JP
Wow what a small world. My girlfriend is from North Bretton... I'm actually about 20 minutes up the A15 in Market Deeping.

That's really kind of you to show me some samples, that might help me figure out what kind of chips I'm after.

What are card mold chips? I've just done a quick google and can't figure it out

Hi and Welcome to PCF

You should check out the following which will be helpful
https://www.pokerchipforum.com/resources/poker-set-selection-tool.90/

And as @lewan mentioned you can get away with way lesser chips required
Thanks. I've just had a flick though and this will be really helpful. I'm currently working a nightshift and am in no state to be running numbers... I'll have a proper look after some rest.

Hey, welcome to PCF, more UK folks are great to see :)

As mentioned above, your first set may be overkill for 10 players, but that's not a bad thing necessarily as you can easily accommodate more players if your game grows.

This could be one of favourite names for a future poker set :LOL: :laugh:

There's not much choice in the UK for 'nice' chips. If you want Paulson's, they will be best from the classifieds section here but mostly from the USA (sometimes for Europe too). CPC for real deal custom chips, also USA. But as @JP1984 says, I've recently received my 2 sets of Cards Mold chips from China. They are cheap, and for the price I have nothing bad to say about them. They are also fully customisable which is a bonus. Drop me a message if you have any questions. I've done design work for myself and a few others on Cards Mold chip templates now :)


Thanks for the welcome :D . My Dad and I converted the garden shed and built a home bar in my garden for my 21st Birthday in 2016, it's awesome! The name comes from a tacky (but glorious) painting I bought on eBay from a Chinese seller after finding a post about it on Reddit. It's a Chimp posing with a glass of wine... I'll have to find some pictures and make a post one day. I think a set of chips themed around it would be great. I have a logo of a cartoon chimps head in black and white so I can't see it being too difficult... I think the hardest part might be picking good colours!!

What are card mold chips? I may take you up on the offer for the help, thanks!
 
Sounds like classicpokerchips would be right up your street, but they are among the priciest
That's unfortunate haha. At least I know my imagination can have no limits. I just looked at their pricing, and it looks like if I did go with them I'd be pulling the trigger when I've had a lot of overtime one month...
 
I think the hardest part might be picking good colours!!
Oh that's the best part, working out fun colours and edge spots etc.
What are card mold chips? I may take you up on the offer for the help, thanks!
Cards Mold chips are from a Chinese Seller on Alibaba / AliXpress. Super popular around here as you can create a custom set for a low price. They are not real clay chips like Paulsons / CPC, but then they are a tenth of the price. The link below shows pictures of my cards mold sets. They are blank chips then fully printed with your designs.

https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/cards-mold-time-nakatomi-plaza-tourney-cash-sets.83808/
 
Oh that's the best part, working out fun colours and edge spots etc.

Cards Mold chips are from a Chinese Seller on Alibaba / AliXpress. Super popular around here as you can create a custom set for a low price. They are not real clay chips like Paulsons / CPC, but then they are a tenth of the price. The link below shows pictures of my cards mold sets. They are blank chips then fully printed with your designs.

https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/cards-mold-time-nakatomi-plaza-tourney-cash-sets.83808/
Wow, they look absolutely amazing - you've done a really good job with both sets. How do they feel?

Hello and welcome Poker player
Thanks :D
 
Wow, they look absolutely amazing - you've done a really good job with both sets. How do they feel?
Thanks matey. They are great chips, generally stack well, sound good etc. Obviously not the same as some Paulsons - but for 10% of the price that's to be expected :)
 
I'm particularly late to this party, and as you're still "waiting list" status I doubt you'll see this, but welcome from *a fellow Peterborian*. Never thought I'd see two of us on this site lol.
 

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