New member and craps player from Austin TX (1 Viewer)

[newtmitch]

Hey everyone! Found my way over here a week or two ago and started lurking/reading, decided to join up and premium-up to support the site (and get rid of the nag-o-tron banner, which no matter what I disabled kept finding its way back). Already found huge value in the community with the reading I've done. Ordered several sample sets, still reading and learning, figuring out my next move.

I'm focused more on craps than anything else and working to get ahead of the time when I can have people over to my house again and host a craps game like I did for friends probably 10 years ago. But I hate my dice metal chips and the metallic "pling" they make when you play them or my cheap non-denominational plastic chips that I found somewhere a long while ago. I love the sound of casino chips on felt, it makes the game so much more fun and makes it more "serious" for me. I've been teaching my 13 year old to play and deal, so I've even gotten a bit of action ("20 outside, PRESS") in with our entry-level felt on a folding table and our dice chips. And now I have a second dealer to help support a 6-person game, once I figure out how to accommodate one (smaller house with no room for a dedicated gaming space, want a half layout that's somewhat portable, and don't want my wife to kill me).

Picked up a variety of samples from Apache and BR Pro Poker (unfortunately didn't get the Majestics) - currently really like the Pharaoh and Milano sets but haven't priced them out quite yet. I'm bracing myself for a pretty hefty investment to fund a craps game, so I'm still rolling through some options. I have samples of what appear to be china clays, ceramics, and metal-slugged ABS (?), I can post a picture in a bit if desired. Would love input and opinions, but I'm also still rolling through the posts on forums and reading what I can to get a sense of options. Thinking I might limp into the investment with a barrel or two of 5's, maybe add a barrel of 25's, so I can try some craps with the most heavily-used denoms and see how it goes.

Any opinions on the Pharaohs, Milanos, Majestics for craps? I also got a sample of the Golden Dragon ceramic, which is nice, but the tone on the chip is a bit higher than I honestly like, and I'm not a huge fan of the brightness of the chip - so I'd look at them as more of a sample of ceramic chips themselves vs. the design. Very nice chips, so I might price those out as well to see how they go.

 

[allforcharity]

Hello and welcome!

Don't rush into anything. Take your time and get sample, both of more mass produced chips as well as higher end chips. A craps setup is pretty big, so you'd want to make sure you spend on something that you will like and use for a very long time.

There are lots of other people here who have set up home craps. I'm sure they can lend you some advice, especially if you provide your chip needs broken down by denomination.

 

[Jackstraw]

Welcome to PCF! As noted above, take your time and ask questions. The amount of experience here is staggering. There are many super-helpful members here glad to share their wisdom.

 

[Sambukan]

Welcome! I still have learn to play craps before my next trip to vegas.. Seems like a lot of fun

 

[newtmitch]

Hello and welcome!

Don't rush into anything. Take your time and get sample, both of more mass produced chips as well as higher end chips. A craps setup is pretty big, so you'd want to make sure you spend on something that you will like and use for a very long time.

There are lots of other people here who have set up home craps. I'm sure they can lend you some advice, especially if you provide your chip needs broken down by denomination.

Thanks, and good point on higher end chip samples. I haven't done that yet I don't think, although I'm not sure what "higher end" means yet other than some of the unique and used Paulson sets. I got the Dunes, Milano, Royal, Pharaoh, and Monte Carlo samples from Apache and the Golden Dragon (ceramic) sample from BR Pro Poker. I'm assuming you'd consider those all mass produced, or are you thinking of something else specifically? I know there are some "better than dice chips" sets on Amazon that still aren't great and are very affordable, I wasn't planning on even messing with those for craps.

Although I don't have a specific budget, I'm not really wanting to drop $1000 on a set of chips for craps, but I also know I need to plan out my first build before I see what I can fit in there. I've started down that path already, I'm planning on putting up a post asking for advice once I get there.

Welcome to PCF! As noted above, take your time and ask questions. The amount of experience here is staggering. There are many super-helpful members here glad to share their wisdom.

Thanks, and I've seen that already - really looking forward to my first real step in this journey.

 

[FordPickup92]

Welcome! Definitely feel out your samples for awhile, and have your son try them out! I would also look into CPC which will be a bit more expensive but gives you a customizable option. Otherwise sounds like you've made a great start!
FWIW china clays and slugged plastics will be considerably heavier than a real clay chip, so I would recommend trying a sample out of real clays at some point as well. Hope you are able to get your spacing issue worked out to accommodate your needs!

 

[Meddler2]

Thanks, and good point on higher end chip samples. I haven't done that yet I don't think, although I'm not sure what "higher end" means yet other than some of the unique and used Paulson sets. I got the Dunes, Milano, Royal, Pharaoh, and Monte Carlo samples from Apache and the Golden Dragon (ceramic) sample from BR Pro Poker. I'm assuming you'd consider those all mass produced, or are you thinking of something else specifically? I know there are some "better than dice chips" sets on Amazon that still aren't great and are very affordable, I wasn't planning on even messing with those for craps.

Although I don't have a specific budget, I'm not really wanting to drop $1000 on a set of chips for craps, but I also know I need to plan out my first build before I see what I can fit in there. I've started down that path already, I'm planning on putting up a post asking for advice once I get there.


Thanks, and I've seen that already - really looking forward to my first real step in this journey.

Welcome to PCF and the great city of ATX! Fellow resident since '82 and hope you'll enjoy the city as much as I have over the years.

If I could do it all over again, I'd save time and money by purchasing large set(s) of used casino chips from one of The Chip Room sales or other members OR order custom clays from Classic Poker Chips. Solids/non denominated i.e. blanks wouldn't be extraordinarily expensive. If you stick with standard vegas colors for example, the colors speak for themselves i.e. white = $1, red = $5 etc. $1.04 looks to be the least expensive per chip. While that may seem pricey, you'd be getting a handcrafted american made clay poker chip.

The reason I suggest to just dive in and get a quality clay set is because you'll go through many china clays and sooner or later you'll experience the sickness of playing with either a Paulson, CPC, or Blue Chip Set (BCC) and wish you had.

Good luck whatever direction you go!

 

[allforcharity]

Thanks, and good point on higher end chip samples. I haven't done that yet I don't think, although I'm not sure what "higher end" means yet other than some of the unique and used Paulson sets. I got the Dunes, Milano, Royal, Pharaoh, and Monte Carlo samples from Apache and the Golden Dragon (ceramic) sample from BR Pro Poker. I'm assuming you'd consider those all mass produced, or are you thinking of something else specifically? I know there are some "better than dice chips" sets on Amazon that still aren't great and are very affordable, I wasn't planning on even messing with those for craps.

By "higher end", I'm referring to chips that generally would cost about $1 or more to acquire, whether used or new. Customizable options would include ceramics and ceramic hybrids from BR Pro and Sun-Fly, clays from CPC, and premium plastic chips from Abbiati and Matsui. Historical options would include ex-casino chips and fantasy/home-use manufactured chips like clays from Paulson, BCC, and TRK, and premium plastic chips from Bud Jones and B&G, to highlight a few. Even "high end" chips can be sometimes gotten at truly bargain prices, so it pays to look out for them.

 

[newtmitch]

Welcome to PCF and the great city of ATX! Fellow resident since '82 and hope you'll enjoy the city as much as I have over the years.

Thanks - although my post might have confused a bit - I've been in Austin since '98 so definitely not as long as you have, but I consider myself relatively native. Although with the snow out there today, it doesn't really look like Austin to me...

If I could do it all over again, I'd save time and money by purchasing large set(s) of used casino chips from one of The Chip Room sales or other members OR order custom clays from Classic Poker Chips. Solids/non denominated i.e. blanks wouldn't be extraordinarily expensive. If you stick with standard vegas colors for example, the colors speak for themselves i.e. white = $1, red = $5 etc. $1.04 looks to be the least expensive per chip. While that may seem pricey, you'd be getting a handcrafted american made clay poker chip.

Thanks for the thought there. Given the number of chips I'll likely need, that's likely going to be a healthy investment for sure, but I definitely take your point. There have been times in my life that I regret not investing more heavily in the beginning and regretting the steps along the way, for sure.

The reason I suggest to just dive in and get a quality clay set is because you'll go through many china clays and sooner or later you'll experience the sickness of playing with either a Paulson, CPC, or Blue Chip Set (BCC) and wish you had.

Good luck whatever direction you go!

Thanks, definitely appreciate the input!

 

[newtmitch]

By "higher end", I'm referring to chips that generally would cost about $1 or more to acquire, whether used or new. Customizable options would include ceramics and ceramic hybrids from BR Pro and Sun-Fly, clays from CPC, and premium plastic chips from Abbiati and Matsui. Historical options would include ex-casino chips and fantasy/home-use manufactured chips like clays from Paulson, BCC, and TRK, and premium plastic chips from Bud Jones and B&G, to highlight a few. Even "high end" chips can be sometimes gotten at truly bargain prices, so it pays to look out for them.

Got it, thanks for clarifying. Yes, I've been assuming my price point between 0.40 - 0.80 based on some of the prices I've been running across, so $1/chip wasn't what I was considering, but I will. CPC === ClassicPokerChips.com right? I'm still building my plan on how best to support up to six players on a table, so figuring out the details of how many chips I'll need to support a $200 / $300 / $500 game, for example. Spreadsheets and testing, for sure.

 

[inca911]

Greetings! We are equal opportunity enablers.

 

[newtmitch]

Greetings! We are equal opportunity enablers.

Love it! Are those the Aurora's? I keep hearing about those but don't know anything about them. Any info on where I should check on those as an option for a craps setup?

 

[SuckoutKing]

A craps player from Austin. Nice! Thats what originally got me into collecting chips. I dealt craps from 1999- 2004. Loved it, loved playing with Paulson chips All day. If you want a serious set of chips for Craps I suggest you get the best Paulson! The man that can make your dream set come true a solid price is Jim with The Chiproom. He's one of our best site sponsors. He has sales every once in awhile where he resells casino chips from all over. For craps get yourself some 1s, 5s, 25s , 100s to start. 400-500 chip set should be plenty. You should be able to find some good used Paulsons if you look around. But, like many have said get yourself chip samples before you start buying sets. Good luck! And post pictures along the way.

 

[newtmitch]

A craps player from Austin. Nice! Thats what originally got me into collecting chips. I dealt craps from 1999- 2004. Loved it, loved playing with Paulson chips All day. If you want a serious set of chips for Craps I suggest you get the best Paulson! The man that can make your dream set come true a solid price is Jim with The Chiproom. He's one of our best site sponsors. He has sales every once in awhile where he resells casino chips from all over. For craps get yourself some 1s, 5s, 25s , 100s to start. 400-500 chip set should be plenty. You should be able to find some good used Paulsons if you look around. But, like many have said get yourself chip samples before you start buying sets. Good luck! And post pictures along the way.

Thanks much! I'll start looking at the classifieds and planning that. I already have ~6 sample sets from a couple weeks ago (Pharaoh, Dunes, Milano, Royal, Monte Carlo, Golden Dragon), have 5 more on the way (Majestics, Raddison Matsuis, Intercontinental Bud Jones, CPC CSQ, CPC Scrolls). I'll start the inventory process now that they're getting hard to keep track of and perhaps post a write-up on the sample journey and getting into craps with good chips. I see some great posts here, but definitely far fewer than poker posts. I'll help fix that any way I can.

I've dealt craps for my friends years ago with dice chips and cheap plastic non-labeled chips that "fit the bill" but I'd love to step up and really enjoy the feel of the chips flying around, stacking, and clicking when you pay someone out for that hard-earned 2:1 payout on the pass line.

I've been teaching my kids to play (11 and 13 years old) and even just running a single $200 buy in game takes a fair number of chips with things swinging wildly and not having to color up and make change all the time.

 

[softchewy]

Love it! Are those the Aurora's? I keep hearing about those but don't know anything about them. Any info on where I should check on those as an option for a craps setup?

welcome
I'd skip the Aurora Star chips as a set option as they will be way too expensive. ($5s go for around face value)
Maybe tell us your favorite chips (sound/look/feel wise) from the casinos you have played at?
We might be able to recommend comparables based on that.

 

[newtmitch]

thanks @softchewy - I figured that was likely the case, but thought I'd ask anyway.

Honestly I haven't played craps in a casino in so long at this point that I couldn't even suggest anything specific there. Last went three years ago with friends who aren't heavy craps players and ended up doing bubble craps for most of the time just to keep the social aspect of the game focused properly. I have pent up energy at this point and likely just need to go after COVID lets up and get some time in. Kids are old enough to have more fun now (although not gamble) but I still enjoy finding a friend to go with as the wife isn't really into craps - so "challenges".

That said, I like the more solid "thunk" of chips rather than the click - with the samples I have in front of me right now (I have 5 more on the way hopefully this week?), the Pharaohs are okay, but the darker/lower sound of the royals while being shuffled a bit are better (although I don't like the oversize nor the metal slug). Look-wise I tend to prefer the "indented" label area (whatever that's called) of the clay-style chips rather than the printed ceramics (which the sample I have had a higher-pitched click sound as well). I like more vibrant colors without being too bright (I've heard majestics are good there - I have a sample set coming in), and I prefer a white $1 over a blue $1, but I'll honestly deal with either, really. A lot more open in likely almost all other areas. Not sure that helps or not...

 

[Meddler2]

thanks @softchewy - I figured that was likely the case, but thought I'd ask anyway.

Honestly I haven't played craps in a casino in so long at this point that I couldn't even suggest anything specific there. Last went three years ago with friends who aren't heavy craps players and ended up doing bubble craps for most of the time just to keep the social aspect of the game focused properly. I have pent up energy at this point and likely just need to go after COVID lets up and get some time in. Kids are old enough to have more fun now (although not gamble) but I still enjoy finding a friend to go with as the wife isn't really into craps - so "challenges".

That said, I like the more solid "thunk" of chips rather than the click - with the samples I have in front of me right now (I have 5 more on the way hopefully this week?), the Pharaohs are okay, but the darker/lower sound of the royals while being shuffled a bit are better (although I don't like the oversize nor the metal slug). Look-wise I tend to prefer the "indented" label area (whatever that's called) of the clay-style chips rather than the printed ceramics (which the sample I have had a higher-pitched click sound as well). I like more vibrant colors without being too bright (I've heard majestics are good there - I have a sample set coming in), and I prefer a white $1 over a blue $1, but I'll honestly deal with either, really. A lot more open in likely almost all other areas. Not sure that helps or not...

I could be mistaken but I don't believe the Royals are slugged:
https://www.apachepokerchips.com/product/royal-poker-chips/

 

[newtmitch]

I swore I read somewhere that they were. Might be wrong, though - been consuming a lot of information lately. Also they're oversized, so not super excited about that anyway. Thanks for the redirect, though. I'll keep that in mind.

 

[softchewy]

thanks @softchewy - I figured that was likely the case, but thought I'd ask anyway.

Honestly I haven't played craps in a casino in so long at this point that I couldn't even suggest anything specific there. Last went three years ago with friends who aren't heavy craps players and ended up doing bubble craps for most of the time just to keep the social aspect of the game focused properly. I have pent up energy at this point and likely just need to go after COVID lets up and get some time in. Kids are old enough to have more fun now (although not gamble) but I still enjoy finding a friend to go with as the wife isn't really into craps - so "challenges".

That said, I like the more solid "thunk" of chips rather than the click - with the samples I have in front of me right now (I have 5 more on the way hopefully this week?), the Pharaohs are okay, but the darker/lower sound of the royals while being shuffled a bit are better (although I don't like the oversize nor the metal slug). Look-wise I tend to prefer the "indented" label area (whatever that's called) of the clay-style chips rather than the printed ceramics (which the sample I have had a higher-pitched click sound as well). I like more vibrant colors without being too bright (I've heard majestics are good there - I have a sample set coming in), and I prefer a white $1 over a blue $1, but I'll honestly deal with either, really. A lot more open in likely almost all other areas. Not sure that helps or not...

If you aren't set on new/mint chips, you might try getting samples of used Paulsons. That may be the sound you are looking for.
Prices will range, but some can be found under $1 a piece.
If budget wasn't much of a concern, I would also suggest heavy TRK chips for sound, but that will get you into a more expensive price range.
"indented" label are = recess
Ceramics are nice, but defintely a brighter sound.
CPC chips will be expensive if you are looking for custom. They also have a brighter sound than most Paulson or TRK clay chips.
What set breakdown were you thinking (how many of each denomination)?

 

[MyLastChip]

“I’ll take....If split”

https://www.pokerchipforum.com/thre...chip-cash-tourney-set-labelled-milanos.71451/

 

[toothpic]

Welcome, fellow Austinite! I wish I could talk about craps but all I know how to do in that game is lose money! This generally happens after many drinks during Vegas, Lake Charles or New Orleans trips.