SUITS : A complete custom set of chips, button, felt, cut/seat/playing cards (3 Viewers)

MPC made those? They all look real good in the pics. I especially like the black, red backs.
Yes. And yea I like the black and red backs as well. They all turned out really nice. Waiting for the chips to arrive before actually playing these in a game.
 
Got the hardest part done last night. I was most afraid to mess something up (I'm a software guy not a hardware guy), but I actually think it turned out great!

Removed the old felt and installed the new one. I'm getting the diffusor for the LED this weekend, so I plan to add the LED early next week.

After that's done, I'll have everything in hand.... except the damn chips!

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Got the hardest part done last night. I was most afraid to mess something up (I'm a software guy not a hardware guy), but I actually think it turned out great!

Removed the old felt and installed the new one. I'm getting the diffusor for the LED this weekend, so I plan to add the LED early next week.

After that's done, I'll have everything in hand.... except the damn chips!

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It looks amazing, congratulations. I hope to see the final result with the chips. But it already looks amazing!!
 
Just a small update before the big update.

Chips should finally arrive sometime early next week. Got the notification today that they've cleared customs in LA and are already only a few miles away at a distribution center.

Without going into another long story, I'll just say that I had an absolutely terrible time dealing with Tina and associates. If there is enough interest I'll tell the whole story, but in short, the communication and quality control process is entirely lacking. There is a less than 50% chance that artwork provided will print with the colors requested, and a 0% chance that Tina's team will do anything about it if you point out that you are unhappy with the printed result. I cancelled an entire denomination because their "inlay" vendor printed it wrong and wouldn't fix it, claiming they have no control over the printer colors.

......But all-in-all I am close to having the entire project completed! Table, chips, cards, buttons, will all be photographed and shared soon...
 
Chips finally reached their final destination on Monday. Order placed December 10, order received February 27, for a total of 79 days including production and shipping.

Experience
Choosing the hybrid option proved to make the buying experience a lot worse than it could have been. Tina outsources her inlay stickers to a 3rd party, and that 3rd party creates the stickers without showing any samples. There is a setup cost of $100+ dollars to get the stickers made, and if they come back with the wrong colors (like mine did) then you have to “guess” at corrections, send in new artwork, and pay an additional setup fee (which I refused to do). When pressing Tina to get their supplier to show proofs before mass-printing I was told “we cannot control the printer” and “the supplier will not provide samples.” Essentially it seems like a dead end to try to get the vendor to provide a buying experience we are used to in the U.S.


Chips Review - Intro
The hybrid poker chips from Tina are nothing short of incredible. I expected them to look and feel a lot worse in person, but quite honestly they are my favorite chips to hold in my hand. They have a nice heft to them but don’t feel heavy like my 13g Casino Royale ABS chips. They aren’t as brittle as CPC chips. They aren’t as slick as Sunfly chips. The sound they make is a nice mid-octave “clack” that sounds pleasing and not high-pitched and cheap. @Godzilla28 mentioned that he really enjoyed the sound the chips made at our Wednesday night game. Another player mentioned that he liked the way they shuffle. If a vendor figured out how to make hybrid ceramic chips that feel like these, and added a nice mold, I’d invest and never look back at any other chip option.


Look and Feel
These chips far exceeded my expectations on looks and feel. Out of 20 people who played last night, at least 10 of them commented on how nice they look. I am personally in love with how the colors came out (except one of the chips which I will explain below). My goals were to create unique colors and for each denom to be easily discernible, and I’m really happy with how all but one of the chips came out. My wife told me they look like candy, and that is consistent with the theme I go for when I design the chips.


Spinners
There are spinners. I was hoping (based on other members experience) that because of the sticker recess that spinners would be reduced or eliminated. However, during the photoshoot I experienced 4-5 spinners total. There may be more. During gameplay I didn’t experience any spinners in my stack of chips, and none of the players commented on having any spinners.


Colors
Have I mentioned how beautiful the chips are? A couple of the denominations really stand out with super vibrant colors. Tina & co really shine with red and yellow chips. The red $5 might be one of the prettiest chips I’ve ever seen in person. The $25 chip also surprised me with how clear and deep the green base color is. The white 5¢ chip is a brighter white than I expected. The spots on the black T100 chip appear to glow in the dark! Everyone had a different favorite chip, which is great in my opinion… means many of the chip designs stand on their own!

Black, blues, and other dark colors don’t print so uniformly well. There are more visible uneven color distribution that look kinda like “scarring” on the chip. This unevenness is noticeable but not distracting in person… much more noticeable in photographs.


Rolling Edges
Super happy that I decided to create some variation in the rolling edge spots. The “randomness” looks more like a clay chip imperfection which makes the chips in a stack look more natural. I think that uniform spots on an edge look a little “too perfect,” and I am really happy with how these chips look in a stack.


Stickers
The inlay stickers seem to be applied well and won’t easily come off. They fit into the chip nicely and look and feel like they belong and not some extra sticker slapped on the chip. The colors printed on the stickers are 20x more saturated than the artwork I provided. Luckily my cash set only used white with 1 additional color per chip so it wasn’t too big of a deal that the colors were so off. However, I ditched my newly made $20 chip because the inlay sticker color was terribly wrong and Tina and co. refused to fix it! They legitimately told me “tough luck” when I asked them to have their supplier reprint them.


Durability
I have no idea how well these will hold up with regular use. My 2 fears are that 1)the colors will wear off over time and hard usage, and 2)the grip will wear off as more and more oils from hands seep into the chip causing the chips to become slippery. Hopefully neither of these happen, or they happen over a very long course of time. I am however optimistic about the chips ability to take a beating. Falling to the floor or rough handling doesn’t seem to cause these chips to break or show signs of wear.


Problems
Now that the chips are in hand, I was able to confirm that my .25¢ and $25 cash chips clash under warm lighting. When photographed I relied on daylight white balanced LED lights but while playing we were using indoor tungsten light. Players complained that the chips clashed in colors, and I totally agreed with them. That is why I originally added the $20 chip to my order, just in case this exact issue arose. The problem is that, I never got the $20 chip with the order because of the argument I got into about the inlay sticker color issues.

I’m going to need to redesign a new $20 or $25 chip and remove the current one from play. Sucks because I really like how the $25 chip turned out…. but I only ordered 105/$25 (vs 205/.25¢) so it makes sense to replace the smaller batch.

I blame the vendor. Tina and Co. claimed they could print any color (which I knew wasn’t true anyway) but when the time came they claimed that they have a hard time with shades of blue. The shade I got for the .25¢ chip is not a shade I am particularly happy with. I love the spots and the chip overall, just not the base color of the chip.


Likelihood to Recommend
At the price of less than 50¢/chip all-in, I would give this experience 5-stars for the product and 1.5-stars for the service/process. I would totally recommend this product to anyone interested in custom or tribute chips in bulk quantities. Anything less than 2,000 chips I would recommend ordering from BRpoker (or even Sunfly for that matter), but in bulk I don’t think this product offering can be beat by anyone anywhere.


Summary
In my opinion this is the best chip product on the market as a budget customs shopper. You couldn’t find a worse customer experience if you tried, so beware if you decide to travel this path. It reminds me a little of my early troubles communicated with Sunfly, so maybe Tina and co. (specifically Lyman) will learn over time how to communicate better and deliver on their promises.

I couldn’t be happier with how the tournament set turned out, and once I fix my .25¢/$25 issue I’ll be happy and settled with my cash set as well.

I hope these detailed write-ups will help someone else on the fence of making a decision. Cheers!
 
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I must've hit my head on something because when I first looked at them I swore they said SLUTS. Although that would've been one helluva contrast.

I know I'd be pleased with both those sets. The red $5 and 1000 would be my favorites, but they're all real good. Those bounty chips, etc,. the colors on those look just as good. Killer sets all the way around.
 
I must've hit my head on something because when I first looked at them I swore they said SLUTS. Although that would've been one helluva contrast.

I know I'd be pleased with both those sets. The red $5 and 1000 would be my favorites, but they're all real good. Those bounty chips, etc,. the colors on those look just as good. Killer sets all the way around.
Hahahaha. I mean, I could probably work in the sluts angle into how degenerate the poker players are at my games...

Nice! Quarter pies are so beautiful. The $5 and the T1000 are two of my favorites as well, right behind the T100.
 
Hahahaha. I mean, I could probably work in the sluts angle into how degenerate the poker players are at my games...

Nice! Quarter pies are so beautiful. The $5 and the T1000 are two of my favorites as well, right behind the T100.
Sounds like a great group you have there! Actually Sluts and Suits just seem to go together. Sounds like an adult Broadway play.

Thanks for the great run of pics. I'd have no problem buying a set from them after seeing how your sets turned out.
 
Incredible, I can imagine the feeling of satisfaction you have for achieving such a complete project, the chips look absolutely amazing.
When you do the first tournament or cash game you document them with photos. Congrats!!!
 
Held the first tournament and cash game last Wednesday.
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I got 3rd in the tournament for even money. This is a picture of the chip leaders stack a few hands before he took me out.

Played cash after the short tourney and I only got to snag a couple of photos:
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And finally, a photo of me staring at the outcome of a hand in disbelief when my 3-of-a-kind is defeated on the river to runner-runner royal flush! Good times :rolleyes:
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Awesome stuff and fantastic photography! That was fun looking through all those photos. Congrats on the cool setup!
I think I overdid the photos. I always overdo the photos. I have a problem with indecisiveness. Should've just chosen 4-6 photos, 8-10 photos, ...., 90-100 good photos to share.
 
This whole set is stunning - really nice job. I really thought through my ceramic vs CPC choice after viewing what you’ve created, even through all the pain. Would be interested to know how your custom cards hold up, think I’d like to do something similar there along with the dealer button etc.

Cheers - Kam
 
This whole set is stunning - really nice job. I really thought through my ceramic vs CPC choice after viewing what you’ve created, even through all the pain. Would be interested to know how your custom cards hold up, think I’d like to do something similar there along with the dealer button etc.

Cheers - Kam
Pain?

The cards are rock solid in terms of feel and durability. Not one hint of marked cards or worn ink which is fantastic. I would look more closely at the suits shapes (diamond, heart, club, spades) next time because the clubs and spades look eerily alike and caused some confusion at first. MPC had maybe 4-6 options of suit faces / card styles, and I thought the one I chose looked familiar but unique. I think next time I would choose a different design but the same material of cards.
 
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Pain?

The cards are rock solid in terms of feel and durability. Not one hint of marked cards or worn ink which is fantastic. I would look more closely at the suits shapes (diamond, heart, club, spades) next time because the clubs and spades look eerily alike and caused some confusion at first. MPC had maybe 4-6 options of suit faces / card styles, and I thought the one I chose looked familiar but unique. I think next time I would choose a different design but the same material of cards.
Pain for the ordering/color challenges you went through.

Good to know on the suit faces though, I wouldn’t have considered that. Think I’ll give these guys a try once I’m further along and have my theme etc.

Also - really good quality pictures & lighting of your set btw, congrats again.

Kam
 
Pain for the ordering/color challenges you went through.

Good to know on the suit faces though, I wouldn’t have considered that. Think I’ll give these guys a try once I’m further along and have my theme etc.

Also - really good quality pictures & lighting of your set btw, congrats again.

Kam
Ah, lol, yes that pain o_O

What did you decide between CPC and ceramic?
 
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Decided to continue down the ceramic path, started a thread here:

Thread 'First CPC Cash Set draft design'
https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/first-cpc-cash-set-draft-design.102904/

Although when I came across your set it made me think pretty hard about the clay cost vs benefit/color options etc. I don’t have any experience with the Tina Hybrids, however purchased some samples from BRPro. I preferred the feel of the clay to the Nevada Jacks/Tropics ceramics I got. I may end up going down ceramics for a tournie set though. Do you have any extras/some samples you would be open to selling and shipping to San Diego? If not no problem - can check the classifieds for Tina Hybrids.

Cheers,
Kam
 
Decided to continue down the ceramic path, started a thread here:

Thread 'First CPC Cash Set draft design'
https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/first-cpc-cash-set-draft-design.102904/

Although when I came across your set it made me think pretty hard about the clay cost vs benefit/color options etc. I don’t have any experience with the Tina Hybrids, however purchased some samples from BRPro. I preferred the feel of the clay to the Nevada Jacks/Tropics ceramics I got. I may end up going down ceramics for a tournie set though. Do you have any extras/some samples you would be open to selling and shipping to San Diego? If not no problem - can check the classifieds for Tina Hybrids.

Cheers,
Kam
DM me your address
 
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