Which Claysmith chips you prefer? (2 Viewers)

[AnteAndy]

I'm looking to finally upgrade my chipset. Bought samples, really like the Majestics, but they're too expensive for budget for now (plus looking around and some people say it's better to not to get China Clays since they're more prone to breaking than slugged chips). However, I really was interested in some of the Claysmith chip lines, even with they're slight increase weight compared to Majestics and Milanos. Those would be great to own, but don't think it'd be a good investment since my group plays roughly once a month or two, and prefer a smaller bugdet upgrade until my group grows more; plus they don't care or see the upgrade from dice chips.

Anyways, I'm curious on everyone's take on the Claysmith chips and which ones everyone prefers, since I've seen mostly positive reception to them for budget chips, and cannot make an ultimate decision on them. I really like the Spade and Arrow chips, namely the Showdowns with their uniform label, and they're colors. They are a bit more dull in photos, but still like them enough. Prefer over the Poker Knights where the numbered labels are colored like its respect respective chips, but some are harder to see than others, like the 100s & 500s. The material is softer than expect like others mentioned too.

I thought I would like the Mints and Rock & Rolls, but they actually felt heavier than the Showdowns and have a much harder material I didn't like when shuffling.

Which ones do you guys prefer if you handled or seen them?

 

[BGinGA]

You pretty much summed up my view -- softer material and better mold on the original (non-Claysmith) Showdown/Monaco Club/Poker Knights lines.

Spots are arguably better on the the other two Claysmith offerings, but not worth the downsides.

 

[ekricket]

The showdowns are a darker palette for sure, I ended up splitting my set and giving it to the other two houses we play poker weekly at. I kept a set of the bluff canyon, the colors there are much brighter and pop more.

There’s several distributors here for clay smith or brybelly chips at a slight discount, I can order them for you if you need someone to.

 

[PlaidDragon]

Plus, of the bluff/desert/gold lines, the bluff canyon label is my favorite.

 

[72o]

In that budget, I highly recommend the Monaco Casino chips. This version is great and doesn’t have the typical flashing issues around the edges that most have in this price range (that one extra sharp edge).

https://www.discountpokershop.com/2...QLairKVjupgFpj7Go3kW6FuFyS42txagaAhaxEALw_wcB

 

[AnteAndy]

The showdowns are a darker palette for sure, I ended up splitting my set and giving it to the other two houses we play poker weekly at. I kept a set of the bluff canyon, the colors there are much brighter and pop more.

There’s several distributors here for clay smith or brybelly chips at a slight discount, I can order them for you if you need someone to.

That's the one slight con I have with them. Other than that I do like the color selections and edge spots, and its mold.

I would appreciate it. Was going to order sometime on the Poker Store's site, but I'd appreciate it with your info.

In that budget, I highly recommend the Monaco Casino chips. This version is great and doesn’t have the typical flashing issues around the edges that most have in this price range (that one extra sharp edge).

https://www.discountpokershop.com/2...QLairKVjupgFpj7Go3kW6FuFyS42txagaAhaxEALw_wcB

View attachment 313773

Actually looked at these before. Wasn't too improved with the label or the edge spots, but like the colors. Show them to my group and didn't like then much. Only the ones I listed above.

Plus the Showdown and Mint sampled I had did have flashing, but rubbing them again jeans or some type of speed cloth like material makes it grind them down and become smooth (especially the Showdowns). It made of a heck of a difference in feel and shuffling.

 

[Phyffe]

I own a set of Milanos and a set of Gold Rushes.

I wanted the Majestics but couldn't find any readily available.

The Milanos are more playable because they mimic casino chip weight better. Plus the denominations are far more legible, which is a big thing for our older players.

 

[AnteAndy]

I own a set of Milanos and a set of Gold Rushes.

I wanted the Majestics but couldn't find any readily available.

The Milanos are more playable because they mimic casino chip weight better. Plus the denominations are far more legible, which is a big thing for our older players.

One of the new people in our poker group for cash games is a local PCF'er and he has a set, so we would use his from time to time. Plus it wasn't as impressed with them than originally thought and the price per chip is over my budget.

 

[1A25R]

casino chip weight

 

[1A25R]

I prefer the Showdown over the Poker Knights by a tinny bit.

 

[Phyffe]

9.5 grams as opposed to 13.5

 

[mummel]

How many chips you buying? If it’s not 1000s, then the Milano’s are a huge upgrade to the plastics and won’t cost that much more.

I’ve had zero problems with mine. They’ve held up perfectly.

As for Bluffs vs poker nights. Bluffs are surprisingly attractive chips. Great colors. I like them a lot. But they have a large % of spinners and are subject to flashing. I haven’t seen the Poker Knights in person but the forum recommends them over the Bluffs (the colors just seem dull AF on the Bluffs IMO).

My recommendation is get the Milanos.

 

[AnteAndy]

How many chips you buying? If it’s not 1000s, then the Milano’s are a huge upgrade to the plastics and won’t cost that much more.

I’ve had zero problems with mine. They’ve held up perfectly.

As for Bluffs vs poker nights. Bluffs are surprisingly attractive chips. Great colors. I like them a lot. But they have a large % of spinners and are subject to flashing. I haven’t seen the Poker Knights in person but the forum recommends them over the bluffs (the colors just seem dull AF IMO).

My recommendation is get the Milanos.

Between 400-900. Thinking of just a tourney set or a hybrid where the .25-$25 I'd use for cash, and the $100-$5000 I'll use just for tournaments.

As stated earlier, one of our new guys who frequent here plays with us and we use his Milanos from time to time, and while I do like them, they weren't exactly what I thought they would be to justify the price that much out of my budget.

My group (and to a degree, myself) doesn't notice or care so much for newer/better chips, but def wanted an upgrade and stop doing the denominations I had to do to get people from another poker group to join who does strange things with denominations and league structures, especially like playing "3-Pair" hand rankings.

I prefer the Showdown over the Poker Knights by a tinny bit.

Right now that's what most people are leaning towards for my guys.

 

[1A25R]

9.5 grams as opposed to 13.5

and so ...... What's a casino chip weight?
Think twice

 

[arch3r]

I'm looking to finally upgrade my chipset. Bought samples, really like the Majestics, but they're too expensive for budget for now (plus looking around and some people say it's better to not to get China Clays since they're more prone to breaking than slugged chips). However, I really was interested in some of the Claysmith chip lines, even with they're slight increase weight compared to Majestics and Milanos. Those would be great to own, but don't think it'd be a good investment since my group plays roughly once a month or two, and prefer a smaller bugdet upgrade until my group grows more; plus they don't care or see the upgrade from dice chips.

Anyways, I'm curious on everyone's take on the Claysmith chips and which ones everyone prefers, since I've seen mostly positive reception to them for budget chips, and cannot make an ultimate decision on them. I really like the Spade and Arrow chips, namely the Showdowns with their uniform label, and they're colors. They are a bit more dull in photos, but still like them enough. Prefer over the Poker Knights where the numbered labels are colored like its respect respective chips, but some are harder to see than others, like the 100s & 500s. The material is softer than expect like others mentioned too.

I thought I would like the Mints and Rock & Rolls, but they actually felt heavier than the Showdowns and have a much harder material I didn't like when shuffling.

Which ones do you guys prefer if you handled or seen them?

I liked the Showdowns et al for the initial feel and the stock label, but the chip colors were just drab for my tastes. The 12-stripes were way brighter in color but I did not like the any of the stock labels/themes. I'm more drawn to the brighter chip colors than the labels so the 12 stripes were leading in my decision. But then came the weight and feel issues. I know what you are saying about the feel of the 12 stripes, but after shuffling a barrel for a bit, any issues I had with feel, weight and shuffle-ability were put to rest.

So after much back and forth, I ultimately went with unlabeled 12-stripes and planned on having custom labels made. Figured if it's good enough for the card rooms in texas, it was good enough for me.




But that never happened ( I acquired some mint Paulsons before I ordered the labels and well the rest is history ) and now I still have 1100 unlabeled 12 stripe chips collecting dust and looking for a new home.

Edit:

But if you are even considering china clays, then the Majestics



or the soon to be released Royals



would be the way to go in my opinion. Probably 2.5-3x the cost of Claysmiths, but far superior.

 

[1A25R]

yep 12-stripes are good for Texas card rooms and Canadian mob

 

[AnteAndy]

I liked the Showdowns et al for the initial feel and the stock label, but the chip colors were just drab for my tastes. The 12-stripes were way brighter in color but I did not like the any of the stock labels/themes. I'm more drawn to the brighter chip colors than the labels so the 12 stripes were leading in my decision. But then came the weight and feel issues. I know what you are saying about the feel of the 12 stripes, but after shuffling a barrel for a bit, any issues I had with feel, weight and shuffle-ability were put to rest.

So after much back and forth, I ultimately went with unlabeled 12-stripes and planned on having custom labels made. Figured if it's good enough for the card rooms in texas, it was good enough for me.

View attachment 313925 View attachment 313932


But that never happened ( I acquired some mint Paulsons before I ordered the labels and well the rest is history ) and now I still have 1100 unlabeled 12 stripe chips collecting dust and looking for a new home.

Edit:

But if you are even considering china clays, then the Majestics

View attachment 313935

or the soon to be released Royals

View attachment 313936

would be the way to go in my opinion. Probably 2.5-3x the cost of Claysmiths, but far superior.

I do love the Majestics when I got samples of them, and Royals especially w/ the 25c blue chips.

But it's just too much to justify the price, plus it's hard to keep a consistent group of players to come play to justify the price. Plus I hear from a few people how in terms of a long term investment CC may not be the way to go since they're more prone to breaking easier than plastics. My buddies don't mind dice chips at all and plastics will last forever. And doubt my wife would ever be happy spending hundreds on chips for something I never get to play for more than once a month on average with micro stake tournaments and very low stake cash games.

Maybe once I get well established into my career and have much disposable income at my hands to then try to.

 

[Legend5555]

I'm ordering samples of both Desert Heat and Showdown to figure this exact thing out. I'm not a fan of getting slugged chips, but seeing as I'm just getting my game off the ground again after a 10 year hiatus, I'm going to start cheap. My buddy that assisted with running that game had Paulson Pharaohs. But alas, no longer.

 

[AnteAndy]

Would anyone know if the Bluff Canyon type chips are just as hard feeling as the Showdown type chips. So far the responses from my guys have been leaning to the Showdown chips, which I'm liking over the others with it's material feel and mold (yeah the colors are a bit mute but I do like how they're designed, and maybe will look better under direct light under a table). Some of them do like those Bluff Canyon chips with it's vibrant colors, but didn't have a sample of them as the Mint and Showdowns. They thought the Mints were bright but weren't a fan of how hard and clacky they felt, and their edgespots seem to 80's, when the Majestics we felt did the colors much better.

 

[BGinGA]

Would anyone know if the Bluff Canyon type chips are just as hard feeling as the Showdown type chips.

Bluff Canyons are harder.

 

[heydonno]

i'm on a budget too and have been looking into those same chips. i think i'm planning on mixing the sets to try and create a bit of edge progression while still keeping the colors unique and contrasting.

My current planning (changing daily or hourly):

poker-chip-stacks-prog-v3.jpg

• heydonno
• Jul 24, 2019

 

[ekricket]

My group (and to a degree, myself) doesn't notice or care so much for newer/better chips, but def wanted an upgrade and stop doing the denominations I had to do to get people from another poker group to join who does strange things with denominations and league structures, especially like playing "3-Pair" hand rankings.

Are you guys playing Cups?

 

[BGinGA]

i'm planning on mixing the sets to try and create a bit of edge progression

Given the differences in material, feel, and weight -- three drastically different chip types -- I think that would be a huge mistake.....

You can mix Spade & Sword molds, or the various Stitch mold lines, or a variety of different NexGen-type plastics, but mixing them all together would be awful imo.

 

[2jzMk3]

i'm on a budget too and have been looking into those same chips. i think i'm planning on mixing the sets to try and create a bit of edge progression while still keeping the colors unique and contrasting.

My current planning (changing daily or hourly):

poker-chip-stacks-prog-v3.jpg

• heydonno
• Jul 24, 2019

I’d recommend against having Nexgens mixed with slugged chips as they will be noticeably lighter.

 

[AnteAndy]

Are you guys playing Cups?

Not my group. Some other group I used to play with. I've grown tired of they strange ways of poker playing and organizing. I wanted to throw one just so I can have a group of people wanting to play real and serious poker. And people I can actually shoot the sh*t with than walk on egg shells with that group. Long story.

Given the differences in material, feel, and weight -- three drastically different chip types -- I think that would be a huge mistake.....

You can mix Spade & Sword molds, or the various Stitch mold lines, or a variety of different NexGen-type plastics, but mixing them all together would be awful imo.

@heydonno Listen to @BGinGA. Better to combine the same molds with different labels than have completely different molds that have different feel and look to one another. Better to have a more unison look to your set.

 

[Legend5555]

What are other options that are similar to NexGens? (Non-slugged)

 

[BGinGA]

What are other options that are similar to NexGens? (Non-slugged)

NexGen Pro Classic (also blanks)
Dunes Commemorative
Desert Palms
Pioneer Club
Joker Casino
US Army
US Air Force
US Navy

All are 9g injection-molded plastic with an adhesive label and no metal slug, using identical (or near-identical) materials. Each chip line has it's own distinctive mold markings and label artwork, but most share common chip colors and spot pattern/colors.

The Outlaw Casino and horseshoe mold chips are also very similar.

 

[Potsie1]

In that budget, I highly recommend the Monaco Casino chips. This version is great and doesn’t have the typical flashing issues around the edges that most have in this price range (that one extra sharp edge).

https://www.discountpokershop.com/2...QLairKVjupgFpj7Go3kW6FuFyS42txagaAhaxEALw_wcB

View attachment 313773

These chips are great for the price. At $.12 a chip you can get custom labels from @Gear and only be into these for $.32 per chip.

Chips below are Monaco Casino with custom labels designed by @Quicksilver-75 . This is by far the nicest "inexpensive" set I own. Finally placed my order using the link above to complete the set and use the extra labels that I had.

 

[heydonno]

@heydonno Listen to @BGinGA. Better to combine the same molds with different labels than have completely different molds that have different feel and look to one another. Better to have a more unison look to your set.

i appreciate the advice everyone and i hear you. i think my issue is i didn't love any of the chipsets in this price range from top to bottom so i was trying to piecemeal what i liked best into one set. perhaps i do need to step back and check out the forest. my first goal (after budget) is a clean design and maybe a consistent label is the best way to achieve that.

What are other options that are similar to NexGens? (Non-slugged)

in this price range for non-slugged i've also found Roman Times and 2 Stripe Twist

The Outlaw Casino and horseshoe mold chips are also very similar.

anyone have any comments about the Lucky Horseshoe mold chip? people have described for example the Mint as a "harder" plastic and the Poker Knight as a "softer" plastic. is this like either of those? i watched a video review of the horseshoes but he seemed to dislike the plain label so much he didn't even bother describing the rest of the chip...

 

[AnteAndy]

Right now, looks like the majority of players like the Sword and Spade type chips, with their decent colors, edgespots, and nice soft feel compared to the others. And they even agree with me that the harder plastic chips just feel heavier than the S&P's.