Seeking Feedback: Retro Sahara Replica Cash Set (4 Viewers)

[Toochaloom]

Hi everyone,

I’m seeking feedback on some retro Sahara replicas for my weekly .25/.50 cash game.

They seem pretty straightforward to recreate, though I’m considering two things:

1. I love the look of the no edge spot .25 and 1 chips on paper, but wondering if that could be odd during live play potentially? Usually the $25 chips either don’t get into play, but when they do, it’s at the end of the night when it’s 3-4 handed - so most of the time, it would be 2/3 of the commonly used chips having no edge spots.

2. I’ve done a bit of research and color analysis to get hex colors close to the actual Hotel Sahara chips via Claude. The soft proofing numbers are also all under 1.5 which seems good. One consideration I’m working through is how the .25 and 1 colors with no edge spots could maybe start to blur when all mixed in a pot in my low-light poker room (think basement speakeasy style with amber lighting, not bright casino lighting) especially if they end up being closer in person than they appear on the screen.

Appreciate any insights and tips! I’ve seen a lot of pretty incredible designs on the forum, so I’m hoping to learn a bit before committing to a full set.

Inlay credit: @chipinla

Helpful links:
Chipmatic Designs
ChipGuide: Sahara

Thank you!

 

[GamingWithChips]

If it helps reassure you there are sets out there that people have made exclusively of solid chips. So as long as the colours are really distinguishable (which yours are) there shouldn’t be any issues.

I’ve also designed a set where the 25c and $1 are basically solids (no edge spots) and then the $5 and $20 chips have edge spots to make them stand out more or feel more special because they are worth more.

 

[Toochaloom]

That’s great to hear - had the same thought about the 5s and 25s feeling special. Thank you

 

[acezag]

Regarding your first question, it helps to know if you're more a lover of historical accuracy and fidelity, or modern-inspired chip design.

I'm about 75%/25% in favor of design, especially because that's what my poker crew likes too. So on a similar project, I'm including a lot of the original frac's font elements and base color as a homage, but updating with spots and a flashier hot stamp - something that I want to look at for the next 20 years. I personally hate it when for half of a poker night, the only clay chips on the table are the plainest ones in the set.

The historical accuracy folks don't mind at all - playing with the 'originals' (and knowing they brought them back to life) is what they find fun.

No right answer obviously, just what's going to make you happy for years to come.

 

[RadicusScout]

The historical accuracy folks don't mind at all - playing with the 'originals' (and knowing they brought them back to life) is what they find fun.

I agree. FWIW, I appreciate you bringing this design back to life. This is a classy set. If you do make these please include the 100 and 500 as well. Those are rad chips.

 

[CardRally]

I think the chips look great in your mockup. I wouldn’t change a thing
Do add the 100 and 500 because of Rad, and with respect to Moar.

 

[Snapplefacts]

I think the chips look great in your mockup. I wouldn’t change a thing
Do add the 100 and 500 because of Rad, and with respect to Moar.

In a way, depriving PCF of future chip pr0n by not adding the 100 and 500 is like a crime

 

[Toochaloom]

Thanks everyone, appreciate the feedback and comments.

Nice idea on the $100 chip - looks great with the set

 

[oneeyedjack]

Nice chips and use of AI here. It seems like you are choosing your favorite chips to replicate out of different Sahara Las Vegas editions. I like that $.25 chip and $100 chip too. What chip would you choose for the $500?

 

[Toochaloom]

Thanks! Probably this one (just mocked it up quickly)

 

[Santa123]

Thanks! Probably this one (just mocked it up quickly)

Mockup looks great and I like the mold you chose.

There is at least one tina tribute out there. Take a look to get a better idea how colors look like.

https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/sahara-tribute-tina-capdash.138633/

I did a tribute with ASM Clay Chips. Will post pics later.

 

[Santa123]

 

[AfterTheFact]

My labels on the .25 and .50 made back in 2020.

 

[Santa123]

My labels on the .25 and .50 made back in 2020.

View attachment 1682930

 

[extreme517]

I love Sahara chips and fully support your endeavor! I have a few hundred H-mold Sahara Tahoe chips and a few other singles at this point. I probably won't get to a practical playable set, but it's fun picking some up here and there.

 

[Toochaloom]

View attachment 1682926

View attachment 1682927

View attachment 1682928

I love the use of the black for the .25 cent here. It’s always such a shame in a .25/.50 game that the black 100s rarely get in play - great to have it always in there for the frac. These chips are awesome

 

[Toochaloom]

My labels on the .25 and .50 made back in 2020.

View attachment 1682930

The combo of tribute Sahara logos looks sick here. Those 25s

 

[Toochaloom]

I love Sahara chips and fully support your endeavor! I have a few hundred H-mold Sahara Tahoe chips and a few other singles at this point. I probably won't get to a practical playable set, but it's fun picking some up here and there.

View attachment 1683121

Thank you - nice collection there. Hard to come by these, great Nevada collectors items!

@extreme517 since you have the .50 and the $1 there in person, question for you - would you adjust the shade of the purple in my designs at all based on how it looks in real life? It seems like the real one may be a tad darker, but hard to tell with the glare it catches in photos.

 

[extreme517]

Thank you - nice collection there. Hard to come by these, great Nevada collectors items!

@extreme517 since you have the .50 and the $1 there in person, question for you - would you adjust the shade of the purple in my designs at all based on how it looks in real life? It seems like the real one may be a tad darker, but hard to tell with the glare it catches in photos.

Yeah, you could go just a touch darker or more saturated. But, your mockup looks pretty good.

 

[Toochaloom]

This could be the one! Maybe some minor $5 edge spot skew adjustments. Thanks everyone for the feedback, many improvements from this thread

 

[Santa123]

This could be the one! Maybe some minor $5 edge spot skew adjustments. Thanks everyone for the feedback, many improvements from this thread

Maybe you should at least try edge spots on the Frac and the 1-series. I find it suboptimal that the base color of the 1-series and the edge spot of the 25-series look so similar, even if that matches the original.

 

[Toochaloom]

Yeah I went back and forth on that one. The color cohesion is nice, though it could muddy pots a bit. The actual $25 from ChipGuide has edge spots that are very slightly different than the $1 base color, so I just aligned them since if it is too close, it would look more like a mistake, especially since the edge spots on the $100 actually seemed to use the red/green chip colors.

I'll experiment a bit with your suggestion

 

[CardRally]

In the days of limited colors there was often the same color on elements of different chips within a set. I don’t see any problem with it. Nobody will try to bet one dollar and accidentally throw in a green spotted $25.