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Noob questions! (1 Viewer)

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Jam

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Hi guys,

I found this forum when I did an initial search for getting some homemade chips made for a friend of mine's birthday. There is a TON of information on this forum, and so many options with literally every decision making process. Would love a bit of advice from those of you with more experience.

I wanted to make a full set for a single table cash game he runs that would include $1/$5/$25/$100. Would I need a full 1000 chipset or do you think 500 chips is enough? Also I wanted to go high-end as this will be a gift, but from what i've read, the process can take 6 months. My friend's birthday is in October, do you think that gives me enough time to get something high-end?

Apologies for the basic questions, if anyone could point me in the direction of some artists on here too that would be awesome.

Thanks everyone
 
You likely can't get full high end customs (CPC) done by October. You can, however, go high end with a Paulson fantasy and/or casino set. There are lots of options for mint Paulsons out there.

A single table cash set won't require 1000 chips. But, based on the denoms you listed, I assume you are playing $1/$2 and further, I assume a $200 max buyin (100xBB).

If I am correct, starting stacks can be 20x$1 + 36x$5, which for ten players, requires 200x$1 and 360x$5 (round that up to an even 400 chips for four clean racks). Assuming 3 rebuys per player, you'll need another $6000 (you can adjust this rebuy amount up or down, as you know the tendencies of the players better than I do), but you can accomplish this with a rack of $25s ($2500) and a rack of $100s ($10,000). The first two rebuys can be 20x$5+4x$5. After that, rebuys will be 8x$25 (and the players can make change at the table) until it makes sense to introduce $100's to the table.

Based on this numbers, you're looking for

200x$1
400x$5
100x$25
100x$100

This 800-chip set will give you a total bank of $14,700. That should be more than enough for any $1/$2 game. In fact, you might be able to get by with 80x$25 and 20x$100 for a 700-chip set with a bank of $6,200. You know the game better than I do. It can be done with even fewer chips (like starting stacks of 10x$1, 18x$5 and 4x$25) which might be better if your table is small, or if your players aren't accomplished at handling chips.

Good luck!
 
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While possible, once design is final, @Gear can turn around a print job in ~ 3 business days and it takes ~ 10 business days to ship. Add a week to remove and relabel.

That gives about 3-4 months to find the perfect chip and commission a design. Unless he already has something in mind, I don't think that's enough time starting from scratch.
 
Jam said:
Hi guys,

I found this forum when I did an initial search for getting some homemade chips made for a friend of mine's birthday. There is a TON of information on this forum, and so many options with literally every decision making process. Would love a bit of advice from those of you with more experience.

I wanted to make a full set for a single table cash game he runs that would include $1/$5/$25/$100. Would I need a full 1000 chipset or do you think 500 chips is enough? Also I wanted to go high-end as this will be a gift, but from what i've read, the process can take 6 months. My friend's birthday is in October, do you think that gives me enough time to get something high-end?

Apologies for the basic questions, if anyone could point me in the direction of some artists on here too that would be awesome.

Thanks everyone
Click to expand...

what is your budget?
 
Most home cash sets can be easily done with 500-600 chips. You need to define the following:

How many players at a time
What your blinds are
What's the total amount of cash on table at the end of the night

Since you are interested in a "high end" set, you should probably sign up to receive the high end sample set that's available for forum members. It's in a sticky thread at the top of this subforum. If you've got the money to spend, you can fairly easily get what you need in the next few months, maybe even right away if you're lucky.
 
Thankyou everyone for all the incredibly helpful advice!

realistically I was hoping to spend under $1000 all-in (including any help with artwork) but I realise now that might be difficult.

The chipset is for my buddy Joe Stapleton who I’m sure some Of you guys are familiar with from his TV poker work (if you know him please don’t Direct him to this thread!). He hosts a friendly 1/2 game periodically called High Stapes Poker and I feel like that name is too good to miss out on a custom set! It’s never more than 1 table, although can often play quite deep (isn’t a surprise to have a couple of people hit 4/500bbs during the night)

Going to do some research on the high-end sample set now. The ceramics on BRpro look cool and would simplify the job in that I would just need a good artist, but I get the impression around here that ceramics aren’t the most loved?

thanks again all
 
They look great! Did you have help with the design? Or does semi-custom mean they were just able to include a word of choice somewhere on a default design? Did you pick the colours too?
 
Jam said:
Thankyou everyone for all the incredibly helpful advice!

realistically I was hoping to spend under $1000 all-in (including any help with artwork) but I realise now that might be difficult.

The chipset is for my buddy Joe Stapleton who I’m sure some Of you guys are familiar with from his TV poker work (if you know him please don’t Direct him to this thread!). He hosts a friendly 1/2 game periodically called High Stapes Poker and I feel like that name is too good to miss out on a custom set! It’s never more than 1 table, although can often play quite deep (isn’t a surprise to have a couple of people hit 4/500bbs during the night)

Going to do some research on the high-end sample set now. The ceramics on BRpro look cool and would simplify the job in that I would just need a good artist, but I get the impression around here that ceramics aren’t the most loved?

thanks again all
Click to expand...

You can quite easily get a good cash set for under $1000. Let's just say for the sake of argument that you need about 600 chips. That tops you out at about $1.60 per chip average, give and take, which is not a bad budget at all.

Used casino clays, high end plastics, and fully custom ceramics are all within your grasp. If you want total custom, then I would recommend either fully face printed ceramics from @ABC Gifts and Awards or hybrid ceramics from @SUN-FLY Poker Chips .

Seems like you need chips for a 1/2 game that can reach, what $6000-$8000 on the table on the biggest night?
 
Jam said:
They look great! Did you have help with the design? Or does semi-custom mean they were just able to include a word of choice somewhere on a default design? Did you pick the colours too?
Click to expand...
Semi-custom is just altering a stock design. In my case it was the stock Valentino design. I had them change the words printed, the denominations, and the colors used. The design itself is the stock Valentino design
 
I 'm afraid the OP is looking for the very best, which is traditional American casino "clay".
If he wants it to be customised (or custom-relabelled), I 'm afraid he 'll have to probably wait for his friend's next year birthday.

He could post of course a "wanted" ad for a secondary market Paulson set, only to have his ass badly sodomized, if he wants a "turn-key" mint set "here and now" (way above his perceived budget).
 
Coyote said:
I 'm afraid the OP is looking for the very best, which is traditional American casino "clay".
If he wants it to be customised (or custom-relabelled), I 'm afraid he 'll have to probably wait for his friend's next year birthday.

He could post of course a "wanted" ad for a secondary market Paulson set, only to have his ass badly sodomized, if he wants a "turn-key" mint set "here and now" (way above his perceived budget).
Click to expand...
We know that - but considering the budget and the time constraints ceramics might be the best way to go here.
 
tabletalker7 said:
We know that - but considering the budget and the time constraints ceramics might be the best way to go here.
Click to expand...
Ceramics are very decent and very durable (probably the most sensible choice among all), but not the "whoaaa" factor the OP seems to be looking for.
He should get samples and judge for himself ASAP.
 
Coyote said:
Ceramics are very decent and very durable (probably the most sensible choice among all), but not the "whoaaa" factor the OP seems to be looking for.
He should get samples and judge for himself ASAP.
Click to expand...
OP this guy is right - get samples ASAP! The clock is ticking man
 
Jam said:
Thankyou everyone for all the incredibly helpful advice!

realistically I was hoping to spend under $1000 all-in (including any help with artwork) but I realise now that might be difficult.

The chipset is for my buddy Joe Stapleton who I’m sure some Of you guys are familiar with from his TV poker work (if you know him please don’t Direct him to this thread!). He hosts a friendly 1/2 game periodically called High Stapes Poker and I feel like that name is too good to miss out on a custom set! It’s never more than 1 table, although can often play quite deep (isn’t a surprise to have a couple of people hit 4/500bbs during the night)

Going to do some research on the high-end sample set now. The ceramics on BRpro look cool and would simplify the job in that I would just need a good artist, but I get the impression around here that ceramics aren’t the most loved?

thanks again all
Click to expand...

based on your budget and timeline, i would say a semi-custom set from @BR Pro Poker is your best bet (https://brpropoker.com/collections/standard-design-ceramic-poker-chips), and this could certainly be done for under $1000; you could have a similar set to what @tabletalker7 posted above with "High Stapes Poker" text and they will be great. or pull in one of our resident artists (i can personally highly recommend @timinater but they are all reportedly awesome to work with) for a few more bucks and get crazy. but you can definitely make this work.
 
To the OP: The most honest way to put this to Joe (if he 's really a very-very close friend of yours) is "look, I want to offer you an 1K gift, but it's not enough money-wise, so if you really love the idea of getting this gift, put another 1K and make this happen soon" :D
 
As a gift from a friend, to be played with by a group of friends, I think this set should have artwork that includes a caricature of Stapleton along with the "High Stapes" wording. I believe the man is self-effacing enough to appreciate the humour - I mean, it's not like there aren't caricatures of him floating around already.
 
Coyote said:
To the OP: The most honest way to put this to Joe (if he 's really a very-very close friend of yours) is "look, I want to offer you an 1K gift, but it's not enough money-wise, so if you really love the idea of getting this gift, put another 1K and make this happen soon" :D
Click to expand...

i disagree with this; you have a good plan and you've come to the right place. in my opinion, stick with the surprise. keep it personal, but don't go too crazy, and he will be thrilled with what you are able to get him. unless he's also secretly a PCF member, in which case you should not be picking out chips for him.
 
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Truth is, to make it really grand, (i.e. personally customized) he 'll have to wait for next year.
 

mtl mile end said:
As a gift from a friend, to be played with by a group of friends, I think this set should have artwork that includes a caricature of Stapleton along with the "High Stapes" wording. I believe the man is self-effacing enough to appreciate the humour - I mean, it's not like there aren't caricatures of him floating around already.
Click to expand...
This is exactly what I was thinking! If there are any artists on here that are familiar with Joe or his work I would love to chat!

Thanks everyone for all the input. Unfortunately if I can get this done in time it will be a surprise so there's no way of getting him involved in samples or whatnot.

Hope everyone is having a fun 4th!

raynmanas said:
based on your budget and timeline, i would say a semi-custom set from @BR Pro Poker is your best bet (https://brpropoker.com/collections/standard-design-ceramic-poker-chips), and this could certainly be done for under $1000; you could have a similar set to what @tabletalker7 posted above with "High Stapes Poker" text and they will be great. or pull in one of our resident artists (i can personally highly recommend @timinater but they are all reportedly awesome to work with) for a few more bucks and get crazy. but you can definitely make this work.
Click to expand...


So this is what i'm leaning towards at the moment.

The value in this gift is the thought behind the design and not necessarily in the core value of the chips
 
These are some custom ceramics I had made from BRProPoker. I went with 43mm chips myself. You can easily get 800-1000 custom chips and spend between 600-850. You can also have a dealer buttons designed to really make it cool. Any designer on the forum can get you set up with a cool design in under a month and BR Pro only takes a couple weeks for production. All in all, if you have any design elements in mind, you can achieve this in a month if you are fast and designers are available, worst case 6 weeks to 8 weeks if you have a design in mind and designers have a small back log.

DSC_0504.JPG
 
Jam said:
realistically I was hoping to spend under $1000 all-in (including any help with artwork)
Click to expand...
That is certainly feasible for a 600-chip set (sufficient for most cash games) within your desired time frame, if going with custom ceramics or custom 43mm ceramic hybrids. Both are very nice chips that your friend would be proud to own.
 

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