Faux Clays, China Clays, or 9g Super Diamonds?... (1 Viewer)

[iHeartBeaver]

Hi everyone,

I was an active member over at chiptalk way back in 2008-2009ish and am finding my way back into the chip scene. I want to put together a good sized cash set that will take me all the way from .05/.10 to 1/2 games and I'm having trouble figuring out what to buy. I think some of these chips might be difficult or impossible to find but I'd like some information before I spend too much time hunting.

The biggest thing for me with the chips to have a clay chip feel and stack high i.e. aesthetics don't matter a ton to me and I want to build my set as cheap as possible. Couple questions to start...

1. Can faux clays even be found anymore and how do they stack up feel wise to china clays?

2. Are 9g super diamonds far inferior to china clays? The 8.5g and 8g ones suck right?

3. What's the best china clay out right now?

4. What's the deal with dunes china clays? Are the ones from Apache not china clays?

5. Beyond these choices any recommendations for my needs?

Thank you and I'm glad to be back!

 

[BGinGA]

Welcome back!

1. No. Almost impossible to find.
2. Yes. Only decent super diamonds are the old clay Paulson versions, which are out of your price range.
3. Very subjective. Get samples to see which you like best.
4. Dunes chips come in four flavors: original Paulsons, original china clay, plastic, and newest version china clay. All china clay chips have round labels and varying edge spot patterns; plastics have faux-shaped labels and identical spot pattern on all chips.
5. Depends on your budget. Generally speaking, you are looking at 15c-25c for plastics, 30c-50c for china clays, and 55c-95c for ceramics or ceramic hybrids (a great mid-range chip choice). New clay chips start around $1+ and have almost no upper limit. Very used chips sometimes sell between 60c and 80c.

A lot will depend on specific traits you desire -- solids, spotted, labeled, hot-stamped, plain blanks, etc.

Take a look at the stock poker chips thread in the Resources section.

 

[iHeartBeaver]

Thanks for the reply... It seems like china clays are probably my best bet. Are these super diamonds not the good ones though? I thought the 9g ones were good. https://www.pokerchipmania.com/clay-poker-chips/super-diamond-poker-chips/

Thoughts on the newest version china clay of dunes?

 

[BGinGA]

Imo, there is no such thing as a "good" chip that costs 6c each; they are all just the cheapest plastic available. I'm also not a fan of chips that do not have denominations.

Get samples. Absolutely the best advice you will ever receive regarding any chip purchase.

 

[iHeartBeaver]

lol that's fair and logical. I guess I'm just trying to get a useable set without breaking the bank. I think I'll try putting up a classifieds post for the faux clays and and search for some china clays.

Thanks again

 

[MattyMatt]

lol that's fair and logical. I guess I'm just trying to get a useable set without breaking the bank. I think I'll try putting up a classifieds post for the faux clays and and search for some china clays.

Thanks again

Hey, I think a recent thread I participated in can give you some useful things to consider. Note that I'm NOT saying to buy these chips, and that I'm NOT saying NOT to buy these chips, but some interesting things are noted. The chips are 12c a piece btw:

https://www.pokerchipforum.com/thre...oman-chips-in-person.14287/page-2#post-513737

It's also worth reading what comes before that post, because it shows - in my opinion - that some people have different standards for different chips depending on their preferences, rather than being entirely objective about it. My conclusion was:

I'm not sure what chip will be a "better" chip at around 12 cents without tradeoffs. From what I've seen when searching I'm either stuck with the same weight roughly but at three times the price, or at the same or lower price nicer design & QC but heavier weight which I don't want. It's all a matter of tradeoffs.

And just a couple of notes because it came up recently:

1. I got samples for that set (Roman Times) and the 25 chips I got were all clearly better than some of the chips I eventually got in my final larger purchase (as you can see in the images). In other words it's good to get samples, but it seems that when there are QC issues you can end up with a good batch for samples and one or more bad batches in your final purchase... and on that note:

2. People will for good reason criticize chips such as the Roman Times because they have poorer QC than some other chips. On the other hand people tend to recommend for example the Milanos, which I think feel great and look great, yet someone recently posted images of how both color and the height of stacked chips were clearly different. So even with "better" chips three times more expensive you get duds apparently.

 

[iHeartBeaver]

Hey, I think a recent thread I participated in can give you some useful things to consider. Note that I'm NOT saying to buy these chips, and that I'm NOT saying NOT to buy these chips, but some interesting things are noted. The chips are 12c a piece btw:

https://www.pokerchipforum.com/thre...oman-chips-in-person.14287/page-2#post-513737

It's also worth reading what comes before that post, because it shows - in my opinion - that some people have different standards for different chips depending on their preferences, rather than being entirely objective about it. My conclusion was:



And just a couple of notes because it came up recently:

1. I got samples for that set (Roman Times) and the 25 chips I got were all clearly better than some of the chips I eventually got in my final larger purchase (as you can see in the images). In other words it's good to get samples, but it seems that when there are QC issues you can end up with a good batch for samples and one or more bad batches in your final purchase... and on that note:

2. People will for good reason criticize chips such as the Roman Times because they have poorer QC than some other chips. On the other hand people tend to recommend for example the Milanos, which I think feel great and look great, yet someone recently posted images of how both color and the height of stacked chips were clearly different. So even with "better" chips three times more expensive you get duds apparently.

Thanks I'll take a look!

 

[RagsPoker]

I've got a bunch of faux clays available if you decide to go that route. You can PM me if interested.

 

[Jeff]

I own a bunch of faux clays and they feel nice! Heavy and a tad softer compared to other plastic chips.

 

[Frogzilla]

Thoughts on the newest version china clay of dunes?

I have a bunch of the newest dunes.

Pros:
-quality is good (one off center label out of 1600 chips)
-spot progression is great
-colors are very sharp once you oil them
-stack and sound great
-apache very quick and easy to order from


Cons:
-smelly/dusty when mint- you NEED to clean and oil them
-edges are beveled a bit
-25$ dune with the 818 pattern has some mftg issues...grey bleeds a lot into the green on good number of chips
-labels have a silvery tint

 

[iHeartBeaver]

I have a bunch of the newest dunes.

Pros:
-quality is good (one off center label out of 1600 chips)
-spot progression is great
-colors are very sharp once you oil them
-stack and sound great
-apache very quick and easy to order from


Cons:
-smelly/dusty when mint- you NEED to clean and oil them
-edges are beveled a bit
-25$ dune with the 818 pattern has some mftg issues...grey bleeds a lot into the green on good number of chips
-labels have a silvery tint

Awesome, thanks for the info. Youre not selling them right?

 

[iHeartBeaver]

Ho

I own a bunch of faux clays and they feel nice! Heavy and a tad softer compared to other plastic chips.

Would you rather have the faux clays or china clays?

 

[Frogzilla]

Awesome, thanks for the info. Youre not selling them right?

No. Apache is though

 

[PlaidDragon]

Couple questions to start..

3. What's the best china clay out right now?

4. What's the deal with dunes china clays? Are the ones from Apache not china clays?

5. Beyond these choices any recommendations for my needs?

Answering the ones I can:

3: Depends on what you like. As was already said, you can (and should) order samples of anything you're considering. www.apachepokerchips.com offers samples of all 4 of the major (easily available) China Clay (CC) chips.

My own personal preference for CCs:

1) Milano - The inlays (stickers) have big, easy to read denoms. My favorite thing about them though are the double trapezoid edge spots. 32¢ a chip on apache.
2) Dunes - Very cool edge spot progression and some interesting non-standard colors (white 500) and the option of a 20 or 25. 39¢ on apache.
3) Majestic - It's hard for me to put these 3rd behind the dunes given the black inlay really goes well with the vibrantly colored chips. 42¢ a chip.
4) Pharaohs - Not my favorite chip but that's just me. I just don't like the egyptian theme. Still, they are a good quality and will serve as an excellent set for any who choose these. Also 42¢ a chip.

There may be more economical sites out there to get some of these but I've had dealings with apache before and they are awesome.

4: Apache may have or have had some of the Paulson Dunes or Pharaohs at some point. These obviously aren't CC's. The ones at the price points I list above are all CC's.

5: After you get samples you'll be able to make a more educated decision. What kind of games the chips will be for (cash, microstakes, limit, tourneys, etc.) will be the determining factor of what you need, so this is something you'll need to decide on.

 

[kkbait]

Are the Dunes that Spinetti's has the same as Apache?

 

[Jambine]

Welcome, and get samples

 

[BGinGA]

What's the best china clay out right now?

My own personal preference for CCs:

1) Milano - The inlays (stickers) have big, easy to read denoms. My favorite thing about them though are the double trapezoid edge spots. 32¢ a chip on apache.
2) Dunes - Very cool edge spot progression and some interesting non-standard colors (white 500) and the option of a 20 or 25. 39¢ on apache.
3) Majestic - It's hard for me to put these 3rd behind the dunes given the black inlay really goes well with the vibrantly colored chips. 42¢ a chip.
4) Pharaohs - Not my favorite chip but that's just me. I just don't like the egyptian theme. Still, they are a good quality and will serve as an excellent set for any who choose these. Also 42¢ a chip.

As a perfect example of how chips appeal to different people in different ways, here are my preferences among those same four chips:

• Pharaoh's Club - great unique mold, with coordinated labels and varying edge spot patterns. Chip material is more clay-like than more recently-produced chips
• Dunes - another great mold with varying edge spots, beveled edge is a negative imo.
• Majestic - great colors and label design, decent mold - good choice for tourney chips
• Milano - the bottom-feeder of china clays; not much I like about these at all. Mold design characteristics makes them more slippery, labels are meh at best, and don't care for the spot pattern or chip colors.

All china clay chips are in the budget chip market, and all suffer from quality issues of some type (uneven thickness, uneven diameter, inconsistent colors, material inconsistency resulting in chipping or crumbling after time, etc.). Some are worse than others, and the problems can vary significantly from one production run to another. They are sold from, the factory for less than 10c -- if you expecting perfection or high quality in your poker chips, look elsewhere. If you can embrace the inherent problems and the low price, they provide value as a low-budget option.

Get samples and decide for yourself. What anyone thinks or likes (besides you) is pretty irrelevant.

 

[PlaidDragon]

As a perfect example of how chips appeal to different people in different ways, here are my preferences among those same four chips:

• Pharaoh's Club - great unique mold, with coordinated labels and varying edge spot patterns. Chip material is more clay-like than more recently-produced chips
• Dunes - another great mold with varying edge spots, beveled edge is a negative imo.
• Majestic - great colors and label design, decent mold - good choice for tourney chips
• Milano - the bottom-feeder of china clays; not much I like about these at all. Mold design characteristics makes them more slippery, labels are meh at best, and don't care for the spot pattern or chip colors.

WORST LIST EVAR....

Just kidding.

BG's most profound statement IMHO is this:"

Get samples and decide for yourself. What anyone thinks or likes (besides you) is pretty irrelevant.

What will matter most to you is your own preference.

 

[Kid_Eastwood]

There is also a nice option at the moment:
https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/my-dunes-commemorative-set.36964/#post-719701

Sure they won't have a "clay" feel but they're great chips for the money.

China Clay can be a bargain but why would make me relunctant in buying them is the numerous issues (crumbling, flaking, ...) a lot of people run into after few years of - even light - use.

Try to get some samples of each maybe.