Hey complete poker chip newbie here (1 Viewer)

[COCONUTSTRAWZ]

Hey all, I have been looking for a Poker chip set for a couple weeks now so my friends and I can set up some home games.
While searching I eventually found this forum and thought I'd sign up. I am hoping not to spend more than $150 for a set but I'm not very knowledgeable about chips so I haven't made any decisions yet. Hoping to get a set within next 2 weeks

 

[Dodger]

Welcome! A lot of great info here on chip sets for a range of tastes and budgets. Good luck in your search and let us know what you pick up.

Standard PCF advice/disclaimer - “Get samples.”

 

[WedgeRock]

Tournaments or cash games? Stakes? How many players? How many total buyins?

@sheikh617 is practically giving these away: https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/cheap-stuff-but-better-than-dice-chips.44846/#post-833955

 

[Phish1321]

Hello and welcome. Definitely get samples before you make any decisions. Unfortunately I don’t have any but often members here will give samples to new members. Or check out apachepokerchips.com., you can find some there. If buying here you’ll want to give more info. Cash or tourney, how many players do you typically have?

 

[COCONUTSTRAWZ]

Tournaments or cash games? Stakes? How many players? How many total buyins?

Cash or tourney, how many players do you typically have?

Thanks for the welcome.
I'm not sure exactly how many people will join but I'd guess 10. Cash games. Low stakes.

 

[WedgeRock]

So what is your expected buyin amount? How many people go busto and buy back in (i.e. how many rebuys will you need)?

"Low stakes" means something different to everyone. If I know what it means to you, I can suggest a breakdown to fit your stakes... Then you just gotta find the right chips.

I think a good rule of thumb is at least 100 big blinds. So if everyone wants to buy in for $20, you're looking at playing 5c/10c stakes, or maybe 10c/20c. If people are looking to buyin for $50, you can play 25c/50c stakes.

 

[COCONUTSTRAWZ]

So what is your expected buyin amount? How many people go busto and buy back in (i.e. how many rebuys will you need)?

"Low stakes" means something different to everyone. If I know what it means to you, I can suggest a breakdown to fit your stakes... Then you just gotta find the right chips.

I think a good rule of thumb is at least 100 big blinds. So if everyone wants to buy in for $20, you're looking at playing 5c/10c stakes, or maybe 10c/20c. If people are looking to buyin for $50, you can play 25c/50c stakes.

I think our buy ins will range from $5 to $25. I don't think many of us would want to higher than that

 

[WedgeRock]

IF you're going as low as $5, then you're definitely looking at a 5c/10c game.

$5 starting stacks would be:

20 x 5c
16 x 25c

(for $20 buyins, add 15x$1)

Just to make sure you don't run out of chips, lets assume all $20 buyins. For 10 players, you'd need:

5c: 10 x 20 = 200
25c: 10 x 16 = 160 (I'd round up to 200 because this is probably your work horse chip)
$1: 10 x 15 = 150

When people rebuy, just give them 1 to 4 $5 chips, depending on the amount that they rebuy. You'll have enough small chips on the table that they can make change. I like to have 3 rebuys pre player, so for 10 players, 30 rebuys total. at $20, that's another 120 $5 chips. You should be fine to go a little fewer chips here.

So
200 x 5c
200 x 25c
140 x $1
60 x $5

That's a total bank of $500 and should get you through most microstakes games. Its going to be a little tight at a full table of 10 with all $20 buyins.

There aren't a whole lot of options for 5c chips, but they are out there. I'd suggest a mass produced set so you can increase your larger chips if your game grows (either in terms of players or in terms of buyins).

 

[Suited Connector]

Welcome to the forum! Good luck on your search.

 

[Beakertwang]

Welcome to PCF!

My group plays 5¢/10¢, with some discussion of moving up once in a while to 25¢/25¢.

I’ve found that a rack of nickels is plenty, as most bets besides limping are made with quarters. Most buy in for $10I give each of the first five players a barrel of nickels ($1), a barrel of quarters ($5), then four $1’s to bring up their total buyin. Subsequent players get a barrel of quarters and five $1’s, and make change at the table.

I like the idea of future-proofing your game with some $5’s, and maybe a barrel of $25’s in case things get really crazy.

One thing about your budget of $150: this pretty much puts you in the Claysmith cheap plastics range (Poker Knights, Mint, Bluff Canyon, etc.). They don’t get a lot of love here, but they look ok, and most non-chippers will be impressed. However, none of those sets have nickel or dime chips, so you either need to relabel something @ 20-30¢/chip, or get creative. Perhaps get a rack of orange super diamonds to use as the nickel?

You could also find some used ceramics or china clays for that price. Pharaohs and Majestics both have stock nickels, and are a nice step up from the slugged plastics mentioned above.

Good luck with your hunt!

 

[WedgeRock]

^^^ good advice, as I've never played in a mirostakes game, so I was trying to translate what I thought would work.

I figured with 2 x 5c BB bets, you'd want more than 15 nickels per person. But if the bets tend to be made in quarters, rather than nickels, @Beakertwang's suggestion makes sense.

I absolutely agree on handing out the nickels early and letting late comers make change. We do that with quarters in our game, depending on the host.

Its a fine balance. You don't want tons of chips that never get used, but you do want to go so thin on chips that change is constantly being made.

 

[sheikh617]

Welcome to the forum! If you'd want more pics of the stuff I posted happy to send. I'd also be happy to sell you the cheaper set I have listed for only the cost of shipping. We'll call it a new chipper special and my good deed for the day!

Edit: You could probably just take a sharpie to the denominations lol.

 

[BSteck]

However, none of those sets have nickel or dime chips, so you either need to relabel something @ 20-30¢/chip, or get creative.

My first ‘nice’ set were Claysmith Mints played for nickel stakes. We just used the dollars as cents. $5 chip = nickel, $25 chip = quarter, etc. Worked no prob. (At least until I got a barrel of Paulson Starbursts just to sample )

 

[Beakertwang]

My first ‘nice’ set were Claysmith Mints played for nickel stakes. We just used the dollars as cents. $5 chip = nickel, $25 chip = quarter, etc. Worked no prob. (At least until I got a barrel of Paulson Starbursts just to sample )

View attachment 317594

This is a good idea. I’ve done it myself with Showdowns, but I moved on quickly, as I hated the colors on those when I saw them in person (get samples).

 

[Darthhoodie]

I would consider bumping your budget up to $200 from 150, it puts you in the china clay market (Majestics $.39 each). These will be a noticeable upgrade from plastic slug chips and the Majestic line of chips comes with a stock nickle. You can get 500 majestic chips for $195 plus shipping. Having said that, you should get samples because what you like and are willing to use may not be the same as others so getting samples is like buying cheep insurance against buying chips you don't like. Good luck with your search.

 

[Lemonzest]

Welcome. Budget of $150 you say? Be prepared for people to suggest sets in the 2k range. IMO if that is your price range just buy dice chips and enjoy playing poker with your friends. Or you could take the much more time consuming and expensive route and go down the poker chip rabbit hole. It is up to you

 

[Dodger]

There’s a lot to take in here in the world of poker chips. I found this post particular helpful when I found PCF:

Welcome. There’s definitely a progression in desirability of chips, and of course it’s very subjective

You have your plastic ABS chips (including the dreaded dice chip) most of these are 13-14g and include a metal slug for weight. Cost is anywhere from .02-.15/chip. Some plastic chips are ..ok.. but most move away fro. These fairly quickly in the chipping career.

You have China clay chips (clay-ish chips produced in China that try to mimic better chips). These include Milano’s, Majestics, Pharaohs, CHampionship Poker Series, and more). These typically weigh around 9g. Cost is around $.25-40/chip. Many find these acceptable to play with, and I even still use a large CC Milano set as a traveling tourney set.

Then you have ceramic chips; like GOCC or ABC, and these will run you roughly about $40-80/chip, depending on customization.

Some folks even like Bud Jones, which are essentially high end plastic chips. They fall in here for me. Pricey sometimes. Meh

Then you have actual clay chips, such as Paulson, TRK, BCC, among others. You will spend around $1-4 depending on mold, appearance, condition, desirability, and whether these are in playable quantities. Casino vs fantasy chips is also a factor. Paulson stopped making fantasy home market chips, so this has driven up the prices of Paulsons.

Then there’s one company in the custom chip game. Classic Poker Chips. They used to be ASM (in case you hear them refered to by that). These range in price from $1-4 depending on colors, inlays, molds, and mostly spot patterns. For collection purposes, These typically fall into the desirability behind other clay chips (as they often lose their value as soon as you receive them). Like a new car. Who will pay you more for your set, when they can pay retail and get a new set of their own liking from CPC. If CPC goes out of business, whoa look out. But, for playability, many members actually enjoy and look forward to playing with nice custom sets.

Lastly, attend a meetup near you. There are many around the country. You can see what I’m talking about by clicking the link to the MTTD (below in my signature), these meetups are an amazing time. These are more like Poker themed parties, than hard core poker games. Lots of fun, and you’ll get an opportunity to handle and play with a ton of great high end chips.

Again, welcome.

Original thread here: https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/hello-fellow-chipers.28375/

 

[Beakertwang]

Also, I’ve heard of people playing a divided-by-ten game. $20 gets you $200 in chips, and you play 1/2, which is actually 10¢/20¢.

 

[sheikh617]

Also, I’ve heard of people playing a divided-by-ten game. $20 gets you $200 in chips, and you play 1/2, which is actually 10¢/20¢.

I did this with newer players to start. We did a 2/1 ratio because once you multiply by 10 you might as well just be playing a tourney lol. $20 cash got you $40 in chips and at the end of the night you'd cash out for half your overall chip value.

 

[shorticus]

Welcome!

If your buy-ins are that low, might I suggest doing running low buy-in tourneys. There are a lot of people with way more knowledge about a tournament poker than I have.

Good luck in your search, and I wish you and your wallet well in your journey through PCF!

 

[FordPickup92]

Welcome to PCF!!

 

[allforcharity]

Hello and welcome!

 

[Just1Better]

Hello and welcome, looks like you are getting plenty of good advice so good luck on your purchase!

 

[COCONUTSTRAWZ]

My first ‘nice’ set were Claysmith Mints played for nickel stakes. We just used the dollars as cents. $5 chip = nickel, $25 chip = quarter, etc. Worked no prob. (At least until I got a barrel of Paulson Starbursts just to sample )

View attachment 317594

Lol looking through the forums, Paulsons just sound amazing but out of my price range at the moment. Maybe in the future I will try to accumulate some.

Welcome. Budget of $150 you say? Be prepared for people to suggest sets in the 2k range. IMO if that is your price range just buy dice chips and enjoy playing poker with your friends. Or you could take the much more time consuming and expensive route and go down the poker chip rabbit hole. It is up to you

So, I am actually going to get some chips from @sheikh617. Been on these forums for less than 24 hours and I am already making purchases. I will probably end up down the rabbit hole but for now, I just want my first set of poker chips and enjoy playing with my friends consistently.

Welcome!

If your buy-ins are that low, might I suggest doing running low buy-in tourneys. There are a lot of people with way more knowledge about a tournament poker than I have.

Good luck in your search, and I wish you and your wallet well in your journey through PCF!

I have never really done tournaments besides some online play. We have talked about it though and will definitely consider it. Maybe we will switch it up every now and then. Going to have to read how people set up cash games and tournaments honestly, I have never done either lol

 

[sheikh617]

I'll be throwing in some goodies with the chips too! Dealer button, cut card, some spare brand new decks. Happy to welcome a new member!

 

[Beakertwang]

^^^ good advice, as I've never played in a mirostakes game, so I was trying to translate what I thought would work.

I figured with 2 x 5c BB bets, you'd want more than 15 nickels per person. But if the bets tend to be made in quarters, rather than nickels, @Beakertwang's suggestion makes sense.

I absolutely agree on handing out the nickels early and letting late comers make change. We do that with quarters in our game, depending on the host.

Its a fine balance. You don't want tons of chips that never get used, but you do want to go so thin on chips that change is constantly being made.

Our game used to be really limpy, opens to .20 were common, but the players have sort of caught up to me. Opens are now usually .50, and bets on the flop and later rarely use a nickel. Other micro games may need more nickels.