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More Chips or Better Chips? (2 Viewers)

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emunster18

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First off, I hope everyone is having a great holiday season and are looking forward to 2025. I joined this forum about 9 months ago when I bought my first decent set of chips. The only other ones I owned were dice chips from college 20 years ago.

My first decent set going down this path were Nevada Jack ceramics. I ended up making a single table cash set and a 2TT T25 set using some 25 & 100 Skulls and Saloons for 500, 1,000, & 5,000.

Further into my journey, I purchased a couple racks of IOC $1s to start a higher end cash set. Now that I have those chips, I am wondering if it's worth having that much tied up in one set.

I've recently been looking at some Tina's and am drawn to the appeal of being able to have multiple sets for far less than what an IOC cash set would cost.

Has anyone else battled with this internal struggle? I love the look of the IOCs, but it's going to be a slog to fill up the set and quite costly. And my players won't appreciate the high end chips near as much as I do... thanks in advance for your thoughts!
 
IMG_6457.png


What do you think my answer is…
 
Better, then more better, then more betterer, then more betterest. Then Moar! Then Moar Best. Like Pokémon, gotta catchem all!
 
My advice is buy what YOU want and F everyone else. If Tinas make you happy then go buy Tinas.

I personally believe in quality over quantity but that's just me. I served my fair share of time with Dice & Advanced Dice chips. For the rest of my days I will felt the nicest chips I own because that's what makes ME happy.
 
In my journey, I think I grew (am growing) organically.

I started with the same as a lot of people - Dice Chips. I then moved on to WSOP knockoffs then I moved to cheap China stuff- Desert Bluffs from Claysmith.

Along the way I got some eBay finds like the Aces & Eights from Franklin Mint and used casino set by Bud Jones. I got a Casino Royale set from CartaMundi and a knockoff set from friends in China.

I bought a couple of sets from defunct casinos here in my home country and got 2 ceramic sets (Laurels & EPT repros).

And then I got a little more serious.

I got a set of Paulson (PGI) Elites via Apache Poker Chips just before the pandemic hit (luckily for me as I think these were the last consumer chips that they made).

Then I got a few more sets - A set of ceramic 43mm Slowplays and a 43mm Royal Card Room set from Apache.

My last set was a set of Panda KGBs from Justin.

As you can see I have been spared from the temptation of buying used Paulson sets primarily because I need to be able to customize my denominations (as we play using our local currency). Used sets dont have much flexibility in those terms.

So I guess you can say that quality grows as you progress. My next aspirational set will probably be a CPC, because of my desire to get a quality set, although if I see a nice design from Justin or APC or Sunfly (some of those inlay designs are sweet), I will definitely go for it.

Its a little boring to play with just one set of chips.

Gah, pardon my rambling but this is the only place where people get it =)
 
emunster18 said:
First off, I hope everyone is having a great holiday season and are looking forward to 2025. I joined this forum about 9 months ago when I bought my first decent set of chips. The only other ones I owned were dice chips from college 20 years ago.

My first decent set going down this path were Nevada Jack ceramics. I ended up making a single table cash set and a 2TT T25 set using some 25 & 100 Skulls and Saloons for 500, 1,000, & 5,000.

Further into my journey, I purchased a couple racks of IOC $1s to start a higher end cash set. Now that I have those chips, I am wondering if it's worth having that much tied up in one set.

I've recently been looking at some Tina's and am drawn to the appeal of being able to have multiple sets for far less than what an IOC cash set would cost.

Has anyone else battled with this internal struggle? I love the look of the IOCs, but it's going to be a slog to fill up the set and quite costly. And my players won't appreciate the high end chips near as much as I do... thanks in advance for your thoughts!
Click to expand...
Yes.

For me, the deciding factor is how much I host.

When I lived in my old neighborhood, I hosted a cash game every Friday and a tournament game once per month. I LOVED playing with a different set every week, and that was enough to overcome the "guilt" of owning multiple sets.

Now, I host once or twice a month, with one of those being a league tournament where we use a specific set of chips. I now find that playing with higher quality sets is more gratifying since I don't get enough opportunity to pull out as many of my cash sets as I used to.

Either way....buckle up and enjoy your chipping adventure!
 
Phyffe said:
In my journey, I think I grew (am growing) organically.

I started with the same as a lot of people - Dice Chips. I then moved on to WSOP knockoffs then I moved to cheap China stuff- Desert Bluffs from Claysmith.

Along the way I got some eBay finds like the Aces & Eights from Franklin Mint and used casino set by Bud Jones. I got a Casino Royale set from CartaMundi and a knockoff set from friends in China.

I bought a couple of sets from defunct casinos here in my home country and got 2 ceramic sets (Laurels & EPT repros).

And then I got a little more serious.

I got a set of Paulson (PGI) Elites via Apache Poker Chips just before the pandemic hit (luckily for me as I think these were the last consumer chips that they made).

Then I got a few more sets - A set of ceramic 43mm Slowplays and a 43mm Royal Card Room set from Apache.

My last set was a set of Panda KGBs from Justin.

As you can see I have been spared from the temptation of buying used Paulson sets primarily because I need to be able to customize my denominations (as we play using our local currency). Used sets dont have much flexibility in those terms.

So I guess you can say that quality grows as you progress. My next aspirational set will probably be a CPC, because of my desire to get a quality set, although if I see a nice design from Justin or APC or Sunfly (some of those inlay designs are sweet), I will definitely go for it.

Its a little boring to play with just one set of chips.

Gah, pardon my rambling but this is the only place where people get it =)
Click to expand...

Thanks for telling your story! I am realizing that the answer here is likely both, but I am still early in this journey and I need to be patient. Maybe I pick up a Tina set while building out my IOC set over time.
 
Better can be highly subjective. But as it relates to poker chips, if a certain type is used in a casino, I would consider that better.

I started here going with less than better (china clays) and had immediate buyers remorse. I since moved on to get Paulsons and premium plastics/ceramics (Bud Jones, Matsui, Chipco), and would never turn back.

The feel of a chip is important to me and the china clays didn’t do it for me. Like @TheRealTeddyKGB said, do what makes you happy regardless what others might think. Comparison is the thief of joy.
 
jamesjkim said:
Better can be highly subjective. But as it relates to poker chips, if a certain type is used in a casino, I would consider that better.

I started here going with less than better (china clays) and had immediate buyers remorse. I since moved on to get Paulsons and premium plastics/ceramics (Bud Jones, Matsui, Chipco), and would never turn back.

The feel of a chip is important to me and the china clays didn’t do it for me. Like @TheRealTeddyKGB said, do what makes you happy regardless what others might think. Comparison is the thief of joy.
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I ordered a bunch of samples before landing on the NJ ceramics I pulled the trigger there. Now ordering some Tina samples to see if I like the feel of them. If I like them, I am likely to buy a T100 2TT set, as I really like some of the stock designs that Justin's group buy has.

These are what I'm thinking. If I understand correctly, I could get 800 for about $500.
 

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I would lean moar if the set you go with has solid resale value. Play with larger sets, enjoy splashy pots and big chip stacks, save up for your dream set(s), and sell your other sets when the time comes.
 
More just isn't for me. I'd much rather have a single high quality set than lots of good sets. But that's after years of owning so many different sets, that I really know exactly what I like.
 
I’d prefer one high quality set over many lower quality sets. At the end of the day you can only really use one at a time.
 
Phoe9x said:
I’d prefer one high quality set over many lower quality sets. At the end of the day you can only really use one at a time.
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Yes, but I like the idea of rotating through them. I have a monthly game, rotating cash vs. Tourney, and stakes up and down. This keeps things fresh with my group, and has been successful for the 9 months or so that I have been hosting.
 
If given the choices are

(i) 5 sets of Tina @ $400 each or

(ii) 1 set of excellent condition Paulson @ $2k

Most people will choose (ii) every time but there will always be someone else who choose (i) over (ii)

But den if the choices are

(i) 1 set of excellent condition Paulson @ $2k

(ii) 1 set of B&G plastic set, 1 set of Used Good Condition Paulson & 1 set of Tina total @ $2k

You going to have more people having tougher time choosing

Ultimately, it depends what you like more.

Also, its better to own a few high quality sets that sell easily in the aftermarket if you decided you want to have lesser sets instead in the future rather than a lot of lower quality sets that does the opposite
 
I am currently just using the cheap plastic sets off of Amazon until my games gain a little more consistency. After that I would like to invest into a high quality set over having more chips. I find more enjoyment playing small stacks of really nice chips over playing large stacks of subpar quality.
 
Better as long as the sets suit your needs. Don't skimp on nicer chips if they leave you light. I had some plastic/ceramic sets but have migrated to all clays (although I still have too many...)
 
Ceramics in my opinion shine for sets that want to break convention in some way (very vibrant colors, new molds, unique edgespots or chip faces).

The lower price point also allows "less serious" design choices. Kind of like sunglasses: If I'm buying a nice pair I'm probably getting black, but if I'm spending $10 for a pair, fuck it I'll rock SpongeBob today.
 

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