Help with my first order (3 Viewers)

[james21789]

New to the forum, what an amazing wealth of knowledge is contained here. I tried my best to sort out my newbie questions on my own but feeling a little overwhelmed. Apologies if this has been asked a million times.

I'm looking for a set of ceramic chips for a cash game at home. It looks like Tina's group buy is my best bet; are there any other options I should consider?

At a maximum, I'll have 10 players with the average being around 6-8. $20 buy-ins with unlimited buy backs. A majority of games will be casual 5c/10c, but I'd also like the ability to raise the stakes if desired. I read this great pinned article on the matter, how should I augment this list to allow for flexibility?

100x 5c ($5)
200x 25c ($50)
150x $1 ($150)
25x $5 ($125)
25x $25 ($625)

I also planned to get some $100 chips for coloring up, but I'm wondering- should I be planning my set in 250 count increments? As in, hit 500 exactly and not exceed unless I'm ready to step up to to 750? This question is related to racks and storage.

Is 500 chips enough? In my 20's when I had a weekly game, we just made due by coloring up when needed. Nowadays, I'd prefer to color up based on a player's preference and not the limitations of the chip set.

Regarding sizes, is 43mm difficult to find storage/racks for?

Regarding costs, is math correct? Assuming I'm looking at 500 43mm web mold, would that be $0.50 x 500 = $250 + shipping? I like the Mirage and KGB chips shown on the Feb group buy thread, do those incur additional costs for labeling/anything else? I want to make sure the multicolored pattern on the sides of the chips is part of my order.

Is a card mold as mentioned here the diamond/heart/spade/club indentation on the chips? I haven't seen that shown in any photos. I'm not interested in that, just want to make sure I know what to expect.

I'd be interested in a used market for chips, but not sure how to go about that without getting completely took as I obviously I have very little idea what I'm talking about. Any advice?

Thanks for any help y'all can provide, and apologies again for the onslaught of questions.

 

[Bacon Dad]

Using only 500 chips is kind of tight. Most use 600-800.
How much “total” money are you realistically going to have on the table on one of your best nights of hosting/gambling? Then work backwards. I prefer to provide a barrel of fracs to my players so I normally have 200 of them. Then 200x$1 and 200x$5. The last rack is 4 barrels of $25 and 1 barrel of $100. For some insurance most people get an extra rack of $5s. That puts you at 800 chips with a total bank just over $5700.

 

[Colquhoun]

Many will tell you 100 of your lowest denom is enough, but it depends on your group. If playing 5c/10c and your game has lots of limpers, more than 100 is ok. If there are immediate raises to 25c or higher, those 5c chips won’t see as much play.
If you do $20 buy-ins, getting a $20 chip instead of a $25 makes more sense. I would only get $100 chips if you plan on buy-ins or bets getting that high. If not, get more of the $5 and $20/$25.
For Tina hybrid ceramics… web, Greek, star etc., there is an $80 label fee, but that can be split among others buying the same set that month.
43mm is great if you like that size. Get samples of any chips you’re considering. Justin carries 43mm racks that are great.
I think the hybrid chips (ceramics with a recess and a label) are superior to cards mold and no-mold chips, and are worth the added cost.

 

[mukky]

I'm also new to the forum and looking at buying a new set of chips. Can you help direct me to the group buy you are talking about? I see the link you posted to justincarothers group buy. Is that the same one or is "Tina's" a different one?

 

[foreverdev]

I'm also new to the forum and looking at buying a new set of chips. Can you help direct me to the group buy you are talking about? I see the link you posted to justincarothers group buy. Is that the same one or is "Tina's" a different one?

That link is for justincarothers group buy from the manufacturer known as Tina. Tina is a vendor on alibaba, which you can order from directly but it’s definitely simpler to go through Justin

 

[TheYeti]

"Color ups" really aren't a thing in cash games. Maybe towards the end of the night to make cash outs a bit faster, but otherwise unneeded.

If the highest blinds you foresee in the future are .25/.50 you can probably skip the $100 chips altogether. In my .25/.50 game I've only used a few $100s near the end of the session to ease cash outs as I mentioned, but that's it.

 

[Kid_Eastwood]

150x $1 ($150)
25x $5 ($125)
25x $25 ($625)

 

[Beakertwang]

If you think you’ll want to raise stakes in the future, you might as well plan for that, and do it all now. You’ll need more 5’s for a .25/.50 game.

5¢ x 100
25¢ x 160
$1 x 200
$5 x 200
$25 x 40

That’s a good breakdown for microstakes up to a fairly loose .25/.50, with a bank over $2000.

800 39mm chips fits great in an Apache 3800 case from Harbor Freight. Get racks from @justincarothers.

Or go for 1000 chips in a clear birdcage or Versa case, and be set forever.

5¢ x 100
25¢ x 160
$1 x 300
$5 x 300
$25 x100
$100 x 40

Bank over $8000.

 

[james21789]

Thank you all for the insightful replies. A couple follow up questions:

Am I correct that I can get racks for 43mm chips and house them in a clear birdcage?

Can someone please explain like I'm 5 what a "card mold" chip and "no mold" chip is? I thought I understood but now am not so sure.

I am also confused by this text on the group buy thread: "($0 labels fees on any mold, 200 min per person)"

I think I've landed on the mirage labels, which have $25 instead of $20 so that's why I've been listing that denomination.

 

[Colquhoun]

Thank you all for the insightful replies. A couple follow up questions:

Am I correct that I can get racks for 43mm chips and house them in a clear birdcage?

Can someone please explain like I'm 5 what a "card mold" chip and "no mold" chip is? I thought I understood but now am not so sure.

I am also confused by this text on the group buy thread: "($0 labels fees on any mold, 200 min per person)"

I think I've landed on the mirage labels, which have $25 instead of $20 so that's why I've been listing that denomination.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a clear acrylic birdcage for 43mm chips.

The cards mold chips have a mold that looks like this:

No-mold chips are completely flat across he face and have no mold whatsoever. You can print a full image all the way to the edge, but I have done a bunch of "faux molds" that look like a mold but its really just an image printed on the face that looks like it's recessed:

The "$0 label fees" means that Justin is covering the normal $80 per set label fees for that set this month. Any design will normally incur this fee, but can be split among multiple members if they order the same set that month. Lately, Justin has been covering the fee for one or more sets each month.

Regarding the Mirage chips, I designed that set and can make a $20 label if you like.

 

[Tonystark137]

Thank you all for the insightful replies. A couple follow up questions:

Am I correct that I can get racks for 43mm chips and house them in a clear birdcage?

Can someone please explain like I'm 5 what a "card mold" chip and "no mold" chip is? I thought I understood but now am not so sure.

I am also confused by this text on the group buy thread: "($0 labels fees on any mold, 200 min per person)"

I think I've landed on the mirage labels, which have $25 instead of $20 so that's why I've been listing that denomination.

As per usual recommend you get samples before spending 3-400$. Pretty sure Justin has sample barrels for sale that is a mix of the various mold.each on e does feel a bit different.

 

[allforcharity]

The Matsui covered racks and their Jystin clones fit 43mm chips and fit in a standard birdcage. Many other racks sized for 43mm chips do not.