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Taxi500

Taxi500

Two Pair
Joined
Sep 11, 2022
Messages
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Location
Charlotte, NC
Hi everyone,

I'm based out of Charlotte, NC and sort of run the poker 'club' amongst my friends. It's grown organically from asking friends who they might want to invite to our monthly cash game. We play primarily to get to get together, have some drinks, shoot the breeze & Play some cards.

As the ring leader of this group I decided to look into what else was out there besides dice chips. It's too early to say if this will become a new obsession but I love my first set of Desert Sands poker chips. I've now ordered samples of the classic Tiki Kings, DDLMs and Milano sets. Love the DDLMs so far and the feel of ceramics.

Question for anyone that reads this: Should I jump right into samples of 'real' poker chips or keep inching towards them? I feel like having now felt the ceramics, I want to move on from my Desert Sands already... I'm worried I'll buy these medium grade chips only to dump them a year later. Any advice is welcome.
 
Welcome, now run away :D

I'd say it all depends on your budget. As with any hobby, stay within your means. Take you time. Hobbies are marathons, not sprints. Buying many similar sets of similar quality stuff (below top shelf/high end), I wouldn't do though. That to me includes mass produced ceramics as their resale value is lower.

I would say that Tiki, DDLM are not really upgrades except for QC improvements. Maybe I'm wrong about the Desert Sands set you mean, but I know DS as ceramics. However, if you find a theme that you really like and want, nothing wrong with it.

All statements are my opinion :D
 
Last edited:
That's fair. I suppose I don't know how to get into the "Top Shelf" stuff yet... Can I buy samples of top shelf stuff? Where would one recommend I start?

I do NOT want to go ahead and buy another set, just to then look at the top shelf and go "crap - I want to sell all my low/mid tier stuff"
 
If anyone could point me to where I would start to look/acquire these samples it'd be greatly appreciated!

Thank you for the warm welcome.
 
https://www.pokerchipforum.com/thre...-for-new-chippers-see-inside-for-rules.52550/

I believe this is what he was referencing. Just to give an idea of what's considered higher tier than Desert Heat with some manufacturer examples... China Clay, Ceramics (China, Chipco, BRPro, ABC), Plastic (Gemaco, Matsui, B&G, BJ, Abatti), Clay (Paulson, BCC, TRK, Classic).

Every chipper has a 'journey' but they are not always the same. Samples are great, better (if possible) is playing with the chips (casino, other home games, etc.). Good luck and have fun.
 
Many thanks!
umbkcshah said:
https://www.pokerchipforum.com/thre...-for-new-chippers-see-inside-for-rules.52550/

I believe this is what he was referencing. Just to give an idea of what's considered higher tier than Desert Heat with some manufacturer examples... China Clay, Ceramics (China, Chipco, BRPro, ABC), Plastic (Gemaco, Matsui, B&G, BJ, Abatti), Clay (Paulson, BCC, TRK, Classic).

Every chipper has a 'journey' but they are not always the same. Samples are great, better (if possible) is playing with the chips (casino, other home games, etc.). Good luck and have fun.
Click to expand...
Many thanks
 
1675108378153.jpeg


Here is where I stand:
1st set: Desert Heat x700
2nd: SPW Customs x1.7k - Tourny & cash set (love)
3rd: Most expenseive - Abbiati 600 peice cash set.
Table was $400 which someone here helped me pick out (cheap and easy table)

On the way: 43mm Semi-custom Tikis...
Coming soon: 43mm Matsui Group buy (hopefully) once we have the minimums met.

Woohoo!
 
Oh forgot to mention I also picked up the ST1000... I've gone full boar on the poker nights.
 
Welcome.

Nothing wrong with having a good set of ceramics AND get some casino chips later.

You have a great collection going.
 
Taxi500 said:
Hi everyone,

I'm based out of Charlotte, NC and sort of run the poker 'club' amongst my friends. It's grown organically from asking friends who they might want to invite to our monthly cash game. We play primarily to get to get together, have some drinks, shoot the breeze & Play some cards.

As the ring leader of this group I decided to look into what else was out there besides dice chips. It's too early to say if this will become a new obsession but I love my first set of Desert Sands poker chips. I've now ordered samples of the classic Tiki Kings, DDLMs and Milano sets. Love the DDLMs so far and the feel of ceramics.

Question for anyone that reads this: Should I jump right into samples of 'real' poker chips or keep inching towards them? I feel like having now felt the ceramics, I want to move on from my Desert Sands already... I'm worried I'll buy these medium grade chips only to dump them a year later. Any advice is welcome.
Click to expand...

My advice, and take it with a grain of salt since I'm also new to this, is to buy the most expensive chips you can afford. I say this from experience with hobbies in general. One pattern I often see in any hobby is buying the most budget option first, then upgrading two or three times in a short amount of time.

This leads to waste and a lost opportunity to have saved up all that money to buy the best you could from the beginning. I am going through this now with poker chips, even though I KNOW this advice holds up time and time again.

I went the route of purchasing Monte Carlo chips from an online retailer. The design is great and I loved them until I had to add more. I purchased more from a different retailer and immediately noticed an improvement in quality (smoother edges/no flashing), which made me hate all the existing ones. I now have a dozen samples of chips and am going with cards mold because I like them better than China Clays, and that is about what I can afford at the moment, which is more than twice what the Monte Carlos cost me.

I thought about saving up for something better (north of $1 per chip) but I truly find the quality of the cards mold to be very good and am satisfied... for now.
 
ric878 said:
My advice, and take it with a grain of salt since I'm also new to this, is to buy the most expensive chips you can afford. I say this from experience with hobbies in general. One pattern I often see in any hobby is buying the most budget option first, then upgrading two or three times in a short amount of time.

This leads to waste and a lost opportunity to have saved up all that money to buy the best you could from the beginning. I am going through this now with poker chips, even though I KNOW this advice holds up time and time again.

I went the route of purchasing Monte Carlo chips from an online retailer. The design is great and I loved them until I had to add more. I purchased more from a different retailer and immediately noticed an improvement in quality (smoother edges/no flashing), which made me hate all the existing ones. I now have a dozen samples of chips and am going with cards mold because I like them better than China Clays, and that is about what I can afford at the moment, which is more than twice what the Monte Carlos cost me.

I thought about saving up for something better (north of $1 per chip) but I truly find the quality of the cards mold to be very good and am satisfied... for now.
Click to expand...
Fair enough. I rotate my 3 sets for each game every two weeks. Thus far, I like each of my sets for different reasons. My goal is to have each be unique in some way either by feel, weight, theme, size etc.

So my desert heats are nice because they feel different than all the others & have a tropical theme, SPW's are nostalgia kings/ceramic, abbiatti's are clearly highest production value & only Cali set.

My new tiki's will be unique because they're 43mm set (I have none) and the colors are completely different than other sets (Orange frac, black $1, Purple $5, Plaque $25).

So, I'm trying to not double up on a set that accomplishes the same thing as another set. Thus far, it's worked.
 

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