Second attempt at a first custom set - Feedback requested (1 Viewer)

CSW

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Hi, everyone. A couple of months ago, I asked for feedback on my first crack at a custom tournament set and got some very helpful suggestions. Based on that feedback, I scrapped the set and started over. Below is my second effort (I still need to get help on a label, so I’ve just omitted that for now). As many of you suggested, I went back and looked at a lot of the sets on here (and looked around a bit on Chip Guide as well). I’ve realized that I usually like relatively brighter colors and relatively thin edge spot patterns that allow the main chip color to shine. My favorite set that I’ve seen so far is the Barrel House. I also like the Club D and Horseshoe Pesta 1895.

I’d eagerly welcome any thoughts you have on the set (in case it isn’t clear without labels, these are T25/T100/T500/T1000/T5000/T25000/Bounty). I found that it was challenging to create a set that featured bright colors, avoided the split-spot issues associated with mixing DG and non-DG colors, and still felt cohesive.

I also have a couple of specific questions:
  1. I have seen people mention that they were able to tweak their designs for some period of time after placing the order. What is the best way for me to understand what can/cannot be tweaked after ordering (and for how long it can be tweaked)? My home game is starting to take off, and I’d really love to get an order in and hopefully receive a set early-ish next year, so I’d like to start understanding the mechanics of the order process as I get feedback on the design.
  2. I’ve also seen the suggestion to get shuffle stacks of each mold that I am considering to get a better idea of how they look/feel/sound. Where should I look to get shuffle stacks? I think I’ve narrowed my options down to Circle Square, A-mold, LCrown, and Horsehead. (I also like the Elephant & Crown and Scroll Mold, but I understand that people typically like the look/feel/sound of the molds with two concentric rings better).
Thanks very much in advance for everyone’s time and expertise.
Chris

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I believe you can order shuffle stacks from CPC online. But I’d throw a Wanted ad up in the classifieds first.

I really like how you thought about it and identified what you like. Now, you can easily say, “thanks, but I’m good” to any suggestions from the peanut gallery because this set is for you.

You do have a color sample, right? First glance, I like a lot of the color combos. Tough to do 7 chips without repeating color.
 
Reach out to David at sales@classicpokerchips.com for specific answers to q1. But in general, you can make changes in the time between placing your order and when they start preparing the clay for the next production run. He can also help with samples etc.

I'd try the above mentioned WTB ad first, lots of folks here are happy to help
 
What color will your inlay be?

I think the main criticism most will have on here is the use of yellows and oranges on the T500/T1000/T5000 in a row.

I really like your T100 and T500.

Others here will have a better understanding of the CPC process, but as of July when I checked Amold which is always running is a minimum of 4 months out. Some of the other molds that just ran may not run again until 2023.
 
Denominated or not? Just trying to figure which chips would be in play at the same time.

My only thought on changing design is you should probably not go into the process planning to change. Do all your work up front. Sure a minor tweak here or there should be ok. The cost of your set will come into play because different spot patterns have different costs and I'm sure CPC don't want to recalculate the cost (and clay needs) of an L3 changing to an L10 or them needing 300 chips worth of Blue becoming 100 chips worth of DG Green.
 
I can take a more critical look later, but off the bat, having DG Tiger and Mandarin Red in the same lineup and only two denoms away from each other could pose an issue. The inserts may alleviate a lot of that since they're so different, but it's worth double-checking with a color sample handy.
 
My advice always is to do lots of mockups, and go back the earliest versions after a few months. I sometimes look at a mockup I thought I liked after 3 months, and wonder what I was thinking. Not saying there's anything wrong with your design, but your tastes become refined. This is a huge investment, make sure you get it right.

If you do decide to go with the A mold, you could use a 44mm chip for you bounty, and maybe the 25,000.

Also, to you need a T25000 chip? Unless you're running 3 or 4 tables, you likely don't need a T25000 in a T25 set. Of course, MOAR CHIPES is always better, and it would allow flexibility to do a "high roller" game.
 
My advice always is to do lots of mockups, and go back the earliest versions after a few months. I sometimes look at a mockup I thought I liked after 3 months, and wonder what I was thinking. Not saying there's anything wrong with your design, but your tastes become refined. This is a huge investment, make sure you get it right.

If you do decide to go with the A mold, you could use a 44mm chip for you bounty, and maybe the 25,000.

Also, to you need a T25000 chip? Unless you're running 3 or 4 tables, you likely don't need a T25000 in a T25 set. Of course, MOAR CHIPES is always better, and it would allow flexibility to do a "high roller" game.
Good advice here.

I would say if you think you will ever do multi table then go ahead an get the 25K chip now, as you know CPC turnaround is not quick, so bird in the hand and all of that (plus MOAR CHIPES).
 
Nice lineup, I really like both the spots and colors on all the main chips (25-5k). My only suggestion would be to make the spots on the T25 anything but black or white. All your other chips are really colorful, given the T25 spot has a simple pattern (ie minimal opportunity to add color), using the black spot here makes the chip look a little monotone compared to the rest of the lineup. It doesn't look bad at all (I love black and DG green together), to me it just looks "off" compared to the rest of the set. Purple, blurple or lavender spots would get my vote.

You have a very slight potential for dirty stacks with mixing a 500 in a stack of 5ks given they both have blue and yellow, but should be OK given the denoms. If you get to the point where you have stacks of 5ks, the 500s will likely be off the table.

My 2¢ worth
 
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I believe you can order shuffle stacks from CPC online. But I’d throw a Wanted ad up in the classifieds first.

I really like how you thought about it and identified what you like. Now, you can easily say, “thanks, but I’m good” to any suggestions from the peanut gallery because this set is for you.

You do have a color sample, right? First glance, I like a lot of the color combos. Tough to do 7 chips without repeating color.
Thanks, Warma! I do have a color sample, which was super helpful. Some of the combos I had originally looked a lot brighter on the screen than when I got them in my hands (in particular, I had trouble creating a pink/purple that was bright, but didn’t repeat color too much, so that is how I ended up with the blue T500).

What color will your inlay be?

I think the main criticism most will have on here is the use of yellows and oranges on the T500/T1000/T5000 in a row.

I really like your T100 and T500.

Others here will have a better understanding of the CPC process, but as of July when I checked Amold which is always running is a minimum of 4 months out. Some of the other molds that just ran may not run again until 2023.
On the inlay, I’m hoping to create something where the background color will be matched/coordinated with each chip. Otherwise, probably relatively neutral colored (black/gray/white), so that it doesn’t clash with the large variety of bright colors. Will definitely will lean on designer for help on that.

Thanks for the kind words on the T100 and T500. The T100 is my favorite.

Denominated or not? Just trying to figure which chips would be in play at the same time.

My only thought on changing design is you should probably not go into the process planning to change. Do all your work up front. Sure a minor tweak here or there should be ok. The cost of your set will come into play because different spot patterns have different costs and I'm sure CPC don't want to recalculate the cost (and clay needs) of an L3 changing to an L10 or them needing 300 chips worth of Blue becoming 100 chips worth of DG Green.
Yes, they will be denominated. T25 (green), T100 (charcoal), T500 (blue), T1000 (yellow), T5000 (orange), and T25000 (grey). The red chip, if I include it, will be a bounty chip.

And thanks for the tips on the order process. I’m so eager to get my chips, so champing at the bit to get in the production queue. :) But what you say makes a lot of sense. I’ll keep working on my patience …
 
I can take a more critical look later, but off the bat, having DG Tiger and Mandarin Red in the same lineup and only two denoms away from each other could pose an issue. The inserts may alleviate a lot of that since they're so different, but it's worth double-checking with a color sample handy.
Thanks, Rieguy! The Mandarin Red will be a bounty chip, so hopefully won’t cause any confusion with the T5000 DG Tiger (players will start with one of each, but maybe I make sure that the bounty inlay is particularly unique to mitigate any remaining confusion).

My advice always is to do lots of mockups, and go back the earliest versions after a few months. I sometimes look at a mockup I thought I liked after 3 months, and wonder what I was thinking. Not saying there's anything wrong with your design, but your tastes become refined. This is a huge investment, make sure you get it right.

If you do decide to go with the A mold, you could use a 44mm chip for you bounty, and maybe the 25,000.

Also, to you need a T25000 chip? Unless you're running 3 or 4 tables, you likely don't need a T25000 in a T25 set. Of course, MOAR CHIPES is always better, and it would allow flexibility to do a "high roller" game.
Thanks, Beakertwang. I appreciate the tip. I look back at that first design and wonder what I was thinking. Haha!

And I put together the first iteration of this new set about 6 weeks ago, and still changed it a bunch when I looked at it again this week before posting it here. Hopefully, I’ll refine it even a bit more (with the help of y’all’s input).

As for the T25000, you are right that I definitely don’t need it (we will probably have 20-25 players at most, unless the game keeps growing). I’ll probably only end up with 1 or 2 in play at the very end of the game. I just really like the chip. And like the flexibility of having what I need if my game does end up growing (trying to avoid the complication of placing small add-on orders, which I understand can be tough).

But especially in light of some of the other comments on here, maybe I just go with 5 denoms, scrapping either the yellow or the orange and replacing it with the grey. That would cut down on a lot of the yellow/orange/blue repetition.

Nice lineup, I really like both the spots and colors on all the main chips (25-5k). My only suggestion would be to make the spots on the T25 anything but black or white. All your other chips are really colorful, given the T25 spot has a simple pattern (ie minimal opportunity to add color), using the black spot here makes the chip look a little monotone compared to the rest of the lineup. It doesn't look bad at all (I love black and DG green together), to me it just looks "off" compared to the rest of the set. Purple, blurple or lavender spots would get my vote.

You have a very slight potential for dirty stacks with mixing a 500 in a stack of 5ks given they both have blue and yellow, but should be OK given the denoms. If you get to the point where you have stacks of 5ks, the 500s will likely be off the table.

My 2¢ worth
Fantastic tip on the T25. Thanks very much, Irish. I liked the DG Green/black combination so much that I never really looked closely at changing that one as I was tweaking the rest. I need to take a look under the light where my tables will be, but on first glance, I really like the lavender idea.
 
@CSW - Some people post asking for feedback, but all they really want is validation. You are off to a really good start on this project just by asking and engaging positively with the people that took the time to take a look. I can tell that you will have success with your project. GL
 
So, I’ve been working to synthesize the feedback so far along with my own vision for the set, and I’ve come up with three new versions. I’d love to know (1) which one y’all think is better/more cohesive and (2) whether I’ve introduced any new issues that I’m not seeing (especially with the second and third version).

The first version below simply makes the T25 edge spot lavender instead of black; I like how that brightened up the set and made it a bit more cohesive. Thanks again for the tip.

The second and third versions make that same change to the T25, but also try to address the potential dirty-stack issue with having so much yellow across the T500/T1000/T5000 progression—and, in particular, having the T500 and T5000 both be a combination of blues-yellows-oranges. I agree with several of you that the possibility of dirty stacks is relatively low given how different the two chips are holistically, that they will be denominated, and that there should not typically be lots of both chips in play at the same time. But I want to take seriously the feedback from those with more chip experience.

So, I did come up with two new options for the T5000. And with either one of those options, I wasn’t super happy with how it paired with the (again, largely unnecessary, but cool-to-have) grey T25000 (since there would then be two repeating colors between the T5000 and T25000). So, I made a new version of that chip as well.

Let me know which set you like best: (A) the original lineup with the modified T25, (B) the DG Peach T5000, or (C) the DG Pink T5000. Also happy to hear any other ideas. Thanks, all!

Option A:
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Option B:
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Option C:
C9D94C3F-30F8-4E01-B0F1-79367CCD2BC4.png
 
I still like option A the best, but I really like where the 25k is going in the other mockups. I'd just try to swap out the yellow since you're trying to reduce it in these upper denoms. Lots of different directions you could go with the swap out - blurple, bright white, red, Also forgot to mention this last time, but I'd highly recommend changing the background color on your mockups to light grey or grey. That default pea soup green background in the chip designer makes it really tough to get a good feeling for the colors, especially with very colorful mockups like what you've got here.

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I also forgot to add my standard "customs" waiver. Take all this advice with a grain of salt. Remember this is YOUR custom set, it's your money. Heed the advice on things like dirty stacks and such, but at the end of the day, make sure you get what YOU want. It may sound silly, but sometimes folks forget that in trying to appease the masses :)
 
I still think that option A is the best. Looking at the three chips that contain yellow and comparing them with the sample set I have, the base colors are different enough that an opponent looking across the table would not be confused.
 
I'm looking at the bounty chip. With so much color in the set would you consider replacing the gray spot with yellow or something? Everything else is so colorful. I know it's a bounty and different can be good but just a thought.
 
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Thanks again, everyone, for taking the time and for the kind words. This community really is great.

I had a hard time putting together a yellow chip and blue chip that were bright enough to match the rest of the set without repeating colors a lot more (like DG Peacock, DG Green, and DG Pink), so I appreciate the positive feedback on the T500 and T1000.

@Irish, thanks for the great thoughts on the T25k. I’ve incorporated one iteration of your suggestion, and I really like it. (And I appreciate the disclaimer; will definitely make sure this is a set that I will love.)

On the Bounty chip, my wife of all people had a similar thought as @stefalopod. She really liked one of the alternate color combos that I had tried for the T5k, and suggested that I repurpose it for the Bounty. Here is the most recent lineup (with the better background; thanks @Irish for that tip as well), which I think is getting pretty close.

I just sent some thoughts to my brother-in-law to take a first crack at the inlay design. Hopefully, my next post will be sometime in the next couple of weeks with some inlays, so I can start truly visualizing the final set.

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Hello again, everyone. Checking back in with an update on my design. I’m working to get the order in before the January 1 price increases, so probably will place the order today or tomorrow.

I’ve made three changes to the set after taking my color samples out again today. First, I put it on the CSQ mold. Second, I changed the main color of the T5000 from DG Tiger to DG Peach; the DG Tiger just looks overwhelmingly bright under my lighting on my table. Third, I changed the middle stripe on the T25000 from Blurple to Charcoal; the Blurple just seemed to clash a bit with the other colors in real life (at least under my lighting). This last one has been tricky. I’ve tried a few different ideas; Bright White is the other one that looked pretty good, but I also considered Purple and Retro Lavender. I think this Charcoal works, but interested in everyone’s thoughts.

5307B69B-EFF5-4769-A29D-1727C66130A4.png


We have also been working on the inlay. Here are some images of the current iteration; I will be tweaking the font to find one I like.

E0DF83AB-45D1-42CF-9FE8-4057811A9774.jpeg


Finally, @BGinGA may have convinced me (on another thread about my quantities) to add a Rebuy chip to the set (because why not? :)). I’ve put together a couple of preliminary mockups. CPC has said that I can add this small set of Rebuy chips after the main order, so I have a bit of time for feedback. Let me know what y’all think!

38A668D8-DDF7-44B8-BD2D-77608B7C85E8.png
 
Personally, I'd go with Dayglo Tiger tri-moon spots on the Rebuy chips, since that spot pattern (and color) is most likely to stand out visually in a stack from the other denom chip patterns and colors. A simple 312 pattern would accomplish the same thing: maybe even more so. But I definitely would not re-use dayglo peach (conflicting with the T5000 chip). Might even change the light blue base to grey or plain white, just to set it apart further.

On the T25k chip, try alternating the orders of those three spot colors -- also take a look at the charcoal-dgpink-lavender and dgpink-lavender-charcoal variations before making a decision.
 
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Hello again, everyone. Checking back in with an update on my design. I’m working to get the order in before the January 1 price increases, so probably will place the order today or tomorrow.

I’ve made three changes to the set after taking my color samples out again today. First, I put it on the CSQ mold. Second, I changed the main color of the T5000 from DG Tiger to DG Peach; the DG Tiger just looks overwhelmingly bright under my lighting on my table. Third, I changed the middle stripe on the T25000 from Blurple to Charcoal; the Blurple just seemed to clash a bit with the other colors in real life (at least under my lighting). This last one has been tricky. I’ve tried a few different ideas; Bright White is the other one that looked pretty good, but I also considered Purple and Retro Lavender. I think this Charcoal works, but interested in everyone’s thoughts.

We have also been working on the inlay. Here are some images of the current iteration; I will be tweaking the font to find one I like.

Finally, @BGinGA may have convinced me (on another thread about my quantities) to add a Rebuy chip to the set (because why not? :)). I’ve put together a couple of preliminary mockups. CPC has said that I can add this small set of Rebuy chips after the main order, so I have a bit of time for feedback. Let me know what y’all think!
I think you mock up look good. By this point if your ordering by Jan 1 you have probably spent a considerable amount of time playing around with colors and spot patterns. You know what you like and don't like.

Your inlay really looks really nice. The color matching and a different "pinnacle/peak" really play well into the design. I think you will have a very nice set.
 
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Nice work! It’s your set so however it turns out there is no right or wrong.
Just my two cents. I like the pink chip better than the purple. I would consider using the pink as the 25k. The black and purple chip are very similar, in that they both have dark base colors with blue/pink spots. You Might be coloring the 100’s up by the time the 25ks are in play so it might not matter but just my opinion. What sort of starting stacks, rebuys, add ons are you planning for?
I was always a big fan of T25 tournaments set ups w 10k starting stacks but as the years pass I feel more structures are doing 25k start stacks and leaning towards T100 as the lowest denomination. Unless you are having lots of rebuys and add ons it’s hard to have T25’s and T25,000 get in play.

Love the inlay. Can’t wait to see the finished product.
Good luck!
 
Hi, everyone! Getting very close to final here. Thanks for all of the input and kind words. I’m really excited about the set.

@GetUrShineBox, I agree with you that I like the pink chip better than the purple. And that is actually why I am keeping it as the bounty. We always play bounty tournaments, so that chip will always be on the table. But we play 10k- or 15k-stack games and often don’t end up getting the T25k chips on the table. I’m getting a barrel of those just for fun and to future-proof my games a bit. And the community has helped me get that chip to a much better design than it was earlier, so I’m happy to get some of those.

This set will be used primarily for T25 tournaments; usually with 10-20 players with starting stacks of between 10k and 20k. With the help of @BGinGA and others, I’ve designed quantities to work well with a 12/12/5/6/x setup for up to 25 players, expandable to 30-ish players with a 8/8/4/7/x stack.

My brother and I have gotten close to what I think is the final design of the inlays (see below). The pink chip will double as a bounty chip and all-in chip, so you’ll see two sides of that one. I’ve got two options for a rebuy chip in here, both with a grey base and a 612 spot pattern, so that is why there are two different versions of that, one of them is the color scheme that @BGinGA suggested above (but with a different spot pattern). I’m having a hard time coming up with a rebuy chip that I really like, so I may end up just dropping that idea; designing 8 cohesive chips that I‘m excited about has been very hard.

I’m pretty happy with the set, but willing to listen to all thoughts on tweaks that might improve things; I’ve already placed the order for everything except the rebuy chip, so I’m mostly limited to feedback on the inlay, the rebuy chip, and small changes on the other chips that CPC would allow me to make post-order.

Thanks again, everyone!

Original_Original.png
 
On the T25k chip, try alternating the orders of those three spot colors -- also take a look at the charcoal-dgpink-lavender and dgpink-lavender-charcoal variations before making a decision.
Thanks, BG. I went back and tried all three options. Having the dark charcoal in the middle with the two brighter colors on the outside felt a bit more balanced to me. Really appreciate the tip though.
 
Alright, after some color correction and a change to the rebuy chip design, I think I've got some final artwork for this set. Thanks again for all of your ideas and feedback.

I'm a little nervous about how well the color matching will turn out once it is on a real-life chip and not just a computer image; the artwork for the 500 chip in particular looks like it could be a bit off. But after talking with David at CPC, it sounds like the best we can do is sample the colors from the chip design tool and then go a little lighter. So, that is what we have done. If anyone on here has any other tips for making sure that artwork colors match well with the real-life chips (for example, any specific Pantone or other color settings that you know match well), I am all ears. Otherwise, I think I'll go ahead and send these into David and let the waiting process begin in earnest!

Final Chip Proof (1 side).png


Bounty Chip Proof (2 sides).png
 
It’s far enough away it shouldn’t detract.
 
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