Monte Carlo chip quality/alternatives (1 Viewer)

[OneBeerLeft]

I'm thinking about buying the Monte Carlo chip set from Apache poker chips as an upgrade to the dice chips I have now, but I saw a video from Hobbyphilic saying that the sticker labels on the chips are easily scratched off. That video was kinda old, but I can't imagine the chips have changed much since then. Has anyone else had this happen, or had any other problems with the Monte Carlo chips?

Aside from that, I'm still open to other options, so does anyone recommend any alternatives in the same price range? (Around $0.20-$0.30 per chip)

Thanks!

 

[allforcharity]

If you can save up to 0.45-0.50 per chip then you can afford a fully custom ceramic hybrid on a newly available Web or Greek Key mold, all-in shipped to the USA.

Just saw that Apache Poker Chips is blowing out some used Majestic Star chips. Right around your budget.

 

[OneBeerLeft]

If you can save up to 0.45-0.50 per chip then you can afford a fully custom ceramic hybrid on a newly available Web or Greek Key mold, all-in shipped to the USA.

Thanks for the reply! I'll definitely check that out, although as of right now I'm moreso looking for a bang for your buck chip as this is for a casual home game, nothing too serious. I definitely like the idea of having a nicer chip like the Majestic from Apache, but again it's a little pricey for my use case

 

[RedDirtBo]

You can get textured no mold ceramic chips from the Broken Arrow monthly group buy for .34 cents each. While not as nice as the previously mentions hybrid ceramic chips, they are better than most of what you would find on Amazon. One advantage is they don't have labels, the design is "printed" directly to the blank chip. The downside is the current group buy just ended, and the new one hasn't start up yet, so you would be looking at about a 3 month wait. Here is a link to the available designs, if its something you want to consider. https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/cards-mold-textured-no-mold-pre-designed-sets.115855/

Apache does sell a sample set of the Monte Carlo's if you want to try them yourself, or you can buy a roll of 25 in one of the denominations you were going to get anyway. https://www.apachepokerchips.com/product/monte-carlo-sample-chips/

Also, if you don't like to spend money, forget about this place after you buy a set of chips, LOL. I came here a little over a year ago, like you, looking for something to upgrade to from dice chips. I've easily spent over $2k on chips since then, and people here will tell you those are rookie numbers! There are people here that have spent more than that in the last week, on a sale of retired casino chips The Chip Room was selling.

 

[Fishman]

Thanks for the reply! I'll definitely check that out, although as of right now I'm moreso looking for a bang for your buck chip as this is for a casual home game, nothing too serious. I definitely like the idea of having a nicer chip like the Majestic from Apache, but again it's a little pricey for my use case

The majesties are on sale for the same price as the Monte right now. See the thread on the vendor page on this forum.

If you have time, stick around and cruise the classifieds. There are nice sets within that price range often listed.

 

[OneBeerLeft]

You can get textured no mold ceramic chips from the Broken Arrow monthly group buy for .34 cents each. While not as nice as the previously mentions hybrid ceramic chips, they are better than most of what you would find on Amazon. One advantage is they don't have labels, the design is "printed" directly to the blank chip. The downside is the current group buy just ended, and the new one hasn't start up yet, so you would be looking at about a 3 month wait. Here is a link to the available designs, if its something you want to consider. https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/cards-mold-textured-no-mold-pre-designed-sets.115855/

Apache does sell a sample set of the Monte Carlo's if you want to try them yourself, or you can buy a roll of 25 in one of the denominations you were going to get anyway. https://www.apachepokerchips.com/product/monte-carlo-sample-chips/

Also, if you don't like to spend money, forget about this place after you buy a set of chips, LOL. I came here a little over a year ago, like you, looking for something to upgrade to from dice chips. I've easily spent over $2k on chips since then, and people here will tell you those are rookie numbers! There are people here that have spent more than that in the last week, on a sale of retired casino chips The Chip Room was selling.

I did find a few in that group buy that I liked, so I might end up waiting for that to come around. Still gonna look around, maybe order a sample set like you said and see how easy it is to damage. And you seem to be right about getting our asap to save money, I've seen a lot of posts similar to what you're saying haha

 

[OneBeerLeft]

The majesties are on sale for the same price as the Monte right now. See the thread on the vendor page on this forum.

If you have time, stick around and cruise the classifieds. There are nice sets within that price range often listed.

I just checked that out and it seems to be a different version of the Majesties, not a huge fan of the inlay on the ones currently on sale. Thanks for pointing that out though, I'll check around more and see if there's some for sale

 

[springbox]

I did find a few in that group buy that I liked, so I might end up waiting for that to come around. Still gonna look around, maybe order a sample set like you said and see how easy it is to damage. And you seem to be right about getting our asap to save money, I've seen a lot of posts similar to what you're saying haha

Generally speaking, most chips are very durable and will only break in exceptional standards (stored improperly, treated violently, cleaned with strong chemicals, etc.) I don't have much personal experience with them, but the only exception I know of would be China Clay chips which can apparently become quite brittle. Plastics especially are very hard to accidentally damage, I can't think of any way other than intentionally trying to snap them or leaving them somewhere incredibly hot. Regular home use shouldn't cause any appreciable wear compared to casinos where chips are in play near constantly.

 

[OneBeerLeft]

Generally speaking, most chips are very durable and will only break in exceptional standards (stored improperly, treated violently, cleaned with strong chemicals, etc.) I don't have much personal experience with them, but the only exception I know of would be China Clay chips which can apparently become quite brittle. Plastics especially are very hard to accidentally damage, I can't think of any way other than intentionally trying to snap them or leaving them somewhere incredibly hot. Regular home use shouldn't cause any appreciable wear compared to casinos where chips are in play near constantly.

I should have specified, I wasn't talking about the chips themselves being easy to damage, but the inlays. I saw a hobbyphilic video where he was saying the inlays were like a paper material, and showed some examples of the holographic circle being scratched. It was an old video so I'm not sure if this is still true, but I ordered some samples and I'll see how easily they scratch. I didn't know that about the China clays though, I'll keep that in mind

 

[springbox]

I should have specified, I wasn't talking about the chips themselves being easy to damage, but the inlays. I saw a hobbyphilic video where he was saying the inlays were like a paper material, and showed some examples of the holographic circle being scratched. It was an old video so I'm not sure if this is still true, but I ordered some samples and I'll see how easily they scratch. I didn't know that about the China clays though, I'll keep that in mind

Ah, I can say with the Monte Carlos the holographic material on the edge of the inlay definitely does rub off. When I bought a 600 chip set of them (new, in plastic wrap) I even received some that were already slightly worn. With the exception of that holographic material inlays will generally only wear appreciably if they're shuffled on unusually abrasive surfaces or if the recess is too shallow causing the inlays to experience more contact. Laminated inlays are obviously more durable but I assume cheaper chips are typically unlaminated.

 

[LeLe]

If u just looking for a chips set mainly as a tool and want to spend as little as possible, Monte Carlo will be fine for your game.

You asking in a forum where most people view chips set as collectibles/ hobbies so you going to get answers that is better in quantity at a higher cost and not chips that is so call “bang for your money”

As the same advice i give to people asking, if poker chips mean nothing to you, just go for the cheapest chips with denominations you can find.

 

[OneBeerLeft]

Ah, I can say with the Monte Carlos the holographic material on the edge of the inlay definitely does rub off. When I bought a 600 chip set of them (new, in plastic wrap) I even received some that were already slightly worn. With the exception of that holographic material inlays will generally only wear appreciably if they're shuffled on unusually abrasive surfaces or if the recess is too shallow causing the inlays to experience more contact. Laminated inlays are obviously more durable but I assume cheaper chips are typically unlaminated.

Gotcha, I think it'll be best for me to just wait for the samples and test them myself then. I appreciate the help!

If u just looking for a chips set mainly as a tool and want to spend as little as possible, Monte Carlo will be fine for your game.

You asking in a forum where most people view chips set as collectibles/ hobbies so you going to get answers that is better in quantity at a higher cost and not chips that is so call “bang for your money”

As the same advice i give to people asking, if poker chips mean nothing to you, just go for the cheapest chips with denominations you can find.

That seems to be the general advice I see on this website. If the inlay on the Monte Carlos doesn't wear ridiculously easily, then this chip will be fine for my home game.

 

[Antrooper]

From what I heard, the new ceramics web molds are really nice, which Apache sell them as Monaco chips, but you should at least order some samples to try out before you are sure you want them.

 

[OnTheRiver]

def would go the custom route, love my aria and wsop tributes.

 

[MichaelBubly]

Depends if you view bang for buck as total upfront value vs quality or overall cost of ownership / quality. (Aka, if after regular use, will your set decrease in value or not)

Plenty of good sets that you could purchase and then resell 5 years later for likely the same price or even inflation adjusted price. Especially live casino sets or budget Paulsons. But the Monaco's will decrease significantly in 5 years of use to basically nothing.

Even something like Royals or Web Molds will probably fair okay in value retention. Not as good as Paulson sets, but better than the cheap crap.

 

[booyacuh]

Got my set of montes recently and only used them twice with full tables but seem great for the money and my crew loves them compared to dice. I tried to rub off the holographic on a few and couldn’t get it off so I’m still happy with them until I can save up for some nicer chips. Shopped around and got them for less than $.14 per before shipping

 

[Booshme]

I'm thinking about buying the Monte Carlo chip set from Apache poker chips as an upgrade to the dice chips I have now, but I saw a video from Hobbyphilic saying that the sticker labels on the chips are easily scratched off. That video was kinda old, but I can't imagine the chips have changed much since then. Has anyone else had this happen, or had any other problems with the Monte Carlo chips?

Aside from that, I'm still open to other options, so does anyone recommend any alternatives in the same price range? (Around $0.20-$0.30 per chip)

Thanks!

I’ve got a complete set if you’re interested, they’ve worked fine for me, no issues and for your average player they’re very impressive. I have milanos for my big games and I want to buy a custom set for my small stakes games