Newbie's first mixed Paulson cash set: undistinguished yet beloved. (2 Viewers)

pipdenny

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My goal was to build a mixed paulson cash set on a tight budget, and here it is.
I plan to overlabel the black WSOP cinci's and the green Harrah's Cherokees with 5c and 25c denominations respectively. There are more chips not pictured (more "nickels" and $1's) that i plan to keep until I am absolutely sure of my needs for my group of playing buddies.

Yes, I have 36mm black WSOP chips as nickels, and yes I did indeed mix conditions and didn't pay too much attention to synergy of edge spots and colors. I mainly set out to build a set with a strict budget of around $1/chip and I have achieved this goal. All said and done, I spent an average of about $1.02 per chip including shipping and I am a happy man.

These chips may not be particularly revered or collectible, and I know this set may not get much respect or admiration from seasoned chippers, but that was not my goal.

Did I get too excited and not exercise enough patience to slowly build maybe a nicer, more cohesive set? Sure. Did I over-buy? Maybe. Are my insecurities showing strongly with this post? yup. Will I look back on this set one day with mild shame or regret? Perhaps. One thing is for certain: Here I have a set that is light-years better than the dice chips that I am used to, and right now I am in love with these chips and can't wait to show them off to my crew!

Let me know your honest opinions.

Special thanks to @Moxie Mike @TheB00T @redwine @Apache


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(NL $25's currently not at my location - will be selling 2-3 barrels as I will only need 2-3 myself)
 

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One thing is for certain: Here I have a set that is light-years better than the dice chips that I am used to, and right now I am in love with these chips and can't wait to show them off to my crew!

Ultimately, that is what truly matters. You love them, and I'm willing to bet your regular poker crew will appreciate your dedication to enhance the game experience from dice chips.

Well done, especially given your budget.
 
TL;DR - you won’t impress us and you won’t impress them, but if you love the chips, that’s the point.

You know, I’ve been building a mixed set where the average price is around four bucks a chip, and most people with taste would probably consider it as disastrous as yours. The money doesn’t matter as long as we’re comfortable with it. The feedback doesn’t matter as long as we love them.
But brace yourself for this - your friends probably won’t give many effs. They’ll probably be confused because the chips have different colors than what they’re used to with the dice chips, they’ll probably smile and nod politely when you tell them they’re real clays from real casinos, and they’ll probably ask you more than once how much each chip is worth (despite the fact that it’s printed on the inlays.) Screw them, they’re idiots.
Have fun with your chips!
 
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You built this up quickly, good work.
I'm not a fan of the smaller chip size, but that's just my OCD. The green, white & red chips have a nice progression IMO. Look forward to seeing your next set :tup:
 
I think you did a great job for being on a strict budget. I’d probably pick a different $25 so you don’t double up the Native Lights.

Which chips don’t match condition-wise? If it’s only the Horseshoes, you could always upgrade those to the uncirculated $5s later.
 
Thanks all! My experience on this forum thus far has been nothing but amazing. I've been learning so much and I can honestly say I am hooked. Thank you for all the help, patience, unending knowledge, and fun!

Why not take your time, get yourself custom labels made, and then do a full inlay replacement?

This will increase my costs for this set beyond my budget at this moment. This is definitely something on my mind for the future!
I do want to label-over at least the WSOP 36mm with un-laminated Gear labels. The Harrah's 25 already have a "25" right on the chip so I think I may even be able to get away with calling these quarters for now.

I think you did a great job for being on a strict budget. I’d probably pick a different $25 so you don’t double up the Native Lights.

Which chips don’t match condition-wise? If it’s only the Horseshoes, you could always upgrade those to the uncirculated $5s later.

I went with the NL 25's because the green was dark enough to differentiate from the quarters, although lighter colored 25's would have edge spots to differentiate themselves anyway. Also I will probably very very rarely get any of these into play. I just wanted some for the set.

Here are better pictures of the conditions of the chips:

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these are mint/new although they arrived with some flea bites and some minor warping. I think the trip from nevada to socal during one of the hottest weeks of the summer so far is to blame?


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These look to be in really great shape, just some flea bites. I wonder if these would be in good enough condition for a label-over?

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These are definitely in the worst shape of the set. Barrels stack about a half chip or so shorter than the mint chips. I have no complaints though.

I don't have more pics of the WSOP 36mm at the moment, but they seem to be near mint.
Native Lights $25's are mint.
 
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All that matters is that you enjoy them and that you learned some new things about chipping to help you with your next set (which you should already be building because why the F not).
 
Congrats! I think you did a fine job and you'll have great fun playing poker with that set. The condition is amazing for that price range. The colors look good together, too.

I am working on a low-budget set as well. I think more people should share their low-budget, personally-assembled sets. It's one thing to snap-buy a used set of Horseshoes in the $1 per chip range, but it's more fulfilling (IMHO - and more work!) to piece a similarly priced set together. It's also important to demonstrate to members that a slight bump in a custom China Clay or ceramics budget could yield a Paulson set.

Preview of my $1 average cost per chip budget set below. All RHC, some casino worn and some sharp-edged. (The $1's will be mixed white w/any edge spots. The $25 Grand Victoria's will become .25¢ chips.)

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Preview of my $1 average cost per chip budget set below. All RHC, some casino worn and some sharp-edged. (The $1's will be mixed white w/any edge spots.)
I'm eagerly awaiting delivery my pieced together RHC cash set. I think I'm up at around $1.50 avg per chip, but that's mainly as I pulled the trigger on some awesome St Fracs and I've tried to keep the set super sharp. I'll have label costs to add for nickels and quarters, but can't wait.
I'm also using mixed casino $1's just for something a little different. Here's the current line up.

@Blacksox1 - Nice set of Native Lights, don't suppose you have any surplus whites? 10-20?

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Congrats! I think you did a fine job and you'll have great fun playing poker with that set. The condition is amazing for that price range. The colors look good together, too.

I am working on a low-budget set as well. I think more people should share their low-budget, personally-assembled sets. It's one thing to snap-buy a used set of Horseshoes in the $1 per chip range, but it's more fulfilling (IMHO - and more work!) to piece a similarly priced set together. It's also important to demonstrate to members that a slight bump in a custom China Clay or ceramics budget could yield a Paulson set.

Preview of my $1 average cost per chip budget set below. All RHC, some casino worn and some sharp-edged. (The $1's will be mixed white w/any edge spots. The $25 Grand Victoria's will become .25¢ chips.)

View attachment 504075

View attachment 504078
I'm eagerly awaiting delivery my pieced together RHC cash set. I think I'm up at around $1.50 avg per chip, but that's mainly as I pulled the trigger on some awesome St Fracs and I've tried to keep the set super sharp. I'll have label costs to add for nickels and quarters, but can't wait.
I'm also using mixed casino $1's just for something a little different. Here's the current line up.

@Blacksox1 - Nice set of Native Lights, don't suppose you have any surplus whites? 10-20?

View attachment 504085

These looks awesome! I like the idea of mixing the whites with various edge spots, and that Jack $20 looks amazing!

I don't think I'll ever have the need for a $100, but maybe to "complete" my set I can look for a barrel of some funky color that I can over-label since I have the black nickels.

P.S. I have a bunch of extra Native Lights $1's and secondary $25's that I plan to sell once I determine how many I will actually be needing :tup:
 
I think the undersized nickels will be fantastic. I love the color progression of your three main currencies - black, then green, then white.

I think if you do finally get custom labels you'll be in love with this set.
 
My goal was to build a mixed paulson cash set on a tight budget, and here it is.
I plan to overlabel the black WSOP cinci's and the green Harrah's Cherokees with 5c and 25c denominations respectively. There are more chips not pictured (more "nickels" and $1's) that i plan to keep until I am absolutely sure of my needs for my group of playing buddies.

Yes, I have 36mm black WSOP chips as nickels, and yes I did indeed mix conditions and didn't pay too much attention to synergy of edge spots and colors. I mainly set out to build a set with a strict budget of around $1/chip and I have achieved this goal. All said and done, I spent an average of about $1.02 per chip including shipping and I am a happy man.

These chips may not be particularly revered or collectible, and I know this set may not get much respect or admiration from seasoned chippers, but that was not my goal.

Did I get too excited and not exercise enough patience to slowly build maybe a nicer, more cohesive set? Sure. Did I over-buy? Maybe. Are my insecurities showing strongly with this post? yup. Will I look back on this set one day with mild shame or regret? Perhaps. One thing is for certain: Here I have a set that is light-years better than the dice chips that I am used to, and right now I am in love with these chips and can't wait to show them off to my crew!

Let me know your honest opinions.

Special thanks to @Moxie Mike @TheB00T @redwine @Apache


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View attachment 503868 (NL $25's currently not at my location - will be selling 2-3 barrels as I will only need 2-3 myself)
Awesome job and a stellar set! Love the 36mm black nickel! The only chip I would reconsider is the NL $25 because of the repeated green.

Part of the fun of this hobby is the continual (and continual and continual) tweaking that goes into building a great set. Enjoy the process!
 
Awesome job and a stellar set! Love the 36mm black nickel! The only chip I would reconsider is the NL $25 because of the repeated green.

+1 on both awesome job (!) and the $25. I would consider a yellow 20/25 or maybe a purple or possibly a blue.
 
+1 on both awesome job (!) and the $25. I would consider a yellow 20/25 or maybe a purple or possibly a blue.

I really like the idea of a yellow or purple $20!
Does anyone have any suggestions for a nice RHC chip for this purpose? Since i will only need a few barrels, I feel like I can splurge a bit more :)
 
The problem with purple is they will often be 500s and thus more expensive. Here’s a suggestion:

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Edit: by the way, I borrowed this photo from someone here, I’ll obv take it down if owner so wishes.
 
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