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New Members start here! (4 Viewers)

allforcharity said:
Matsui, Bud Jones, Abbiati, and Bourgogne et Grasset are considered the very high end of plastics (excluding jetons and plaques).

Vintage clay would be ASM and various other manufacturers and distributors active from the 1920s through 1950s.
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Gotcha. Haven’t heard of most of these. I’ll have to do some diggin for more info . Thanks.
 
Thank you for the information, just curious, what's the best way to get samples?

In terms of custom designs, the only way would be requesting from the chip maker right?
 
I went with BR PRO, and I had custom art work, then also needed design help, they are not always the same. Then I worked with them on samples, most have sample packs ready for purchase of pre made chips they offer. You can also post in Classifieds want ads.
 
Thank you for this article. Especially the glossary is helpful. Is there one for the many casino abbreviations?
 
It's hard to find free time and I think those of us that have access over look some of the less popular terms. If you find some holes feel free to post them in this thread and we'll look into updating it, explaining it here.
 
This is really helpful indeed. I am challenged by your "generally considered vanity" comment - am currently working on a whole vanity set :)
 
OKYJJ said:
This is really helpful indeed. I am challenged by your "generally considered vanity" comment - am currently working on a whole vanity set :)
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So there are people that setup for a 2 10 50 set, it can work, but adding in 2 / 10 / 50 into a standard set slows the game down and is inefficient
 
Machine said:
So there are people that setup for a 2 10 50 set, it can work, but adding in 2 / 10 / 50 into a standard set slows the game down and is inefficient
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Right I understand and agree. I have a micro stakes set that has dimes as well as nickels and quarters, but that is for nostalgia basically. And then some people always want to get rid of the nickels, but more properly we would get rid of the dimes.

I am getting custom labeled 50c, 2, and 10 chips, but they are to have on a separate table from 25c, 1, 5, 20. Or sometimes I might use 2 denoms in a row, then one higher, like 5, 10, 100 or 1, 2, 20.

Lurking here I have seen that some hardcore limit players like to have a whole rack or even more per player of the base chip and then not have a higher one till 10x or 20x. I am thinking more in terms of having 40 of the base chip and 20 of the 4x or 5x above, or 40 of the small bet chip and 40 of a 2x big bet chip above it. And smaller numbers of chips for no-limit with more higher denoms. And the variety of chips I have is meant to be ready for anything, any stakes or game people might want to play, rather than use all the chips at once.

I like poker chips too much to have just one or two denoms in play; I prefer 3 or 4, but I understand why we don’t want to go overboard.
 
OKYJJ said:
Right I understand and agree. I have a micro stakes set that has dimes as well as nickels and quarters, but that is for nostalgia basically. And then some people always want to get rid of the nickels, but more properly we would get rid of the dimes.

I am getting custom labeled 50c, 2, and 10 chips, but they are to have on a separate table from 25c, 1, 5, 20. Or sometimes I might use 2 denoms in a row, then one higher, like 5, 10, 100 or 1, 2, 20.

Lurking here I have seen that some hardcore limit players like to have a whole rack or even more per player of the base chip and then not have a higher one till 10x or 20x. I am thinking more in terms of having 40 of the base chip and 20 of the 4x or 5x above, or 40 of the small bet chip and 40 of a 2x big bet chip above it. And smaller numbers of chips for no-limit with more higher denoms. And the variety of chips I have is meant to be ready for anything, any stakes or game people might want to play, rather than use all the chips at once.

I like poker chips too much to have just one or two denoms in play; I prefer 3 or 4, but I understand why we don’t want to go overboard.
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Welcome to the forums, I would suggest the search tool will be your best friend.

Workhorse chips in a .25 / .50 is split between 1 and 5 depending on when you look at the game, early its going to be a 1 later in the game its going to be the 1 and 5.

You are dead on taking out the 10 for efficiency but the 5 will likely come out over time as the players would typically want to take the stakes higher, so different reasons for chips to come out of the game. In limit a typical set would have the bet limit and then a chip that is x25 x100 the limit bet chip.

For starting stacks I prefer to use the smallest bind value and really limit the amount on the table, people can make change. I find I prefer to be very stingy about it, starting with only 40ish fracs and not putting in more than 60.
 
An unpopular opinion, but: if you want lots of odd denoms, by all means go ahead! The standard breakdowns are more efficient in terms of money and total chip count, and using odd denoms can introduce minor logistical annoyances when placing bets and counting pots. But if you just think it's fun to have 'em on the table, ain't nobody gonna stand in your way.
 
Thanks for this information - one thing I think would be great here is some newbie info on chip storage. I'm looking for something better than the cases sold on all the poker websites but I'm not sure where to start - I glanced through the poker chip storage section as well as tried searching, but I couldn't find any great resources.
 
subztance said:
Thanks for this information - one thing I think would be great here is some newbie info on chip storage. I'm looking for something better than the cases sold on all the poker websites but I'm not sure where to start - I glanced through the poker chip storage section as well as tried searching, but I couldn't find any great resources.
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Thanks for the suggestion! Post Updated!
 
subztance said:
Nice this is just what I was looking for! I assume you manually cut the foam to fit what you need?
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That is an Apache 4800 holding 1200 chips. The chips are in racks.

The foam in the case is "pick and pluck". You remove what you need to, then use PlastiDip to seal up the remains. Works great.
 
Machine said:
Is something missing that would be helpful? Please let us know by adding to the post!

Help me with syntax on any / all of it, for perspicuity :sneaky:
perspicuity - an overly wordy word synonymous with 'clarity'

New members, WELCOME! and a hardy hello to you!

This is meant as a quick FAQ, all of these topics are discussed in depths you can't image, please use the search tool to dig deeper. You can think of this as a guided tour, careful dipping your toe in, its deep and it may go further than you can handle!


First things first, GET SAMPLES prior to making any purchases!
GET SAMPLES - GET SAMPLES - GET SAMPLES
As a community we try to recycle the samples they hold the value, from auctions, for sale, and even wanted posts. We really mean it, get samples! You'll hear it so much you'll think it's a sport chant - ROLLTIDE!

Index - In this post we'll discuss:
The types of chips and how they are made
General Cost per chip
Chip break downs (cash and tournament)
Nonstandard denominations
Standard Chip Colors
Demons Denoms vs Non denoms
Cards
Chip Storage
Lingo
Shipping
Meetups
Group Buys
Random Questions
Bonus


Don't overlook the Resource area, it has things like the design tools (links below as well), color references, card info you never thought about!
Speaking of things you never thought about, but absolutely need to run a poker game, it's here

'Search' tutorial will go here

Types of chips:

I see so many different chips online, what is the difference, can I hot stamp dice chips?
Nope!

CrazyEddie other than being crazy (and awesome), has a three part post to get you started One, two, three (also the answer to that old Owl's question)
He also has posts about Bone and Ivory chips.


A brief highlight of 'molds'. There are quite a few, although some are significantly more popular than others, they ALL have a very intriguing and rich history. The mold refers to the outer edge of the chip and the recesses created during the chip making process. The nostalgia even makes it into ceramics as members want to honor the history!

Different molds have different feels, and sounds, you'll be surprised at level of passion and heated debates contained here in.

View attachment 854921
Photo Credit: @Eloe2000 Please check out the full images of these CSQ molds

View attachment 854927
A ceramic chip with a faux scrown honoring TRK! (and a Maples legacy) label design by our members (@timinater)

We even have members celebrating dice chips molds :wtf:

This is a great resource for molds and spot patterns - courtesy of our own @Jeff

General cost per chip:

Low end plastics 0.05-0.15
Mid end plastic 0.35-0.45
Stock ceramic 0.50-0.75
Custom ceramic 0.30-1.00
Vintage clay 0.25-0.50+
High end plastic 0.75-2.50+
Stock/fantasy clay 2.00-4.00+
Casino clay 2.00-8.00 and up up up
Custom clay 3.00+ depending on complexity
(Thanks @allforcharity )

Chip break downs:

It is typically a security issue to run cash games and tournament games off of the same set. It could cost you significant money, or players.
I want to stress this point and discuss it further, but I'm trying not to overwhelm the post, Can someone find me a good post to link here please?

To adequately define what your chip break down should be, you ought to know how many people you want to be able to provide a bank for; how much bank you should have depends on how many people will be playing and the stakes of which you plan to play with.

You ought NOT say I want XXX chips what break down should I use? You can, are welcome to and members will try to assist.

I really like this chip break down thread by Quad Johnson
for tl;dr I think most would host a .25/.50 game, so here it is

The intricacies of tournament design can be overwhelming, the dream of a huge chip stacks at the table seems amazing until you look at the duration times. How do you balance a reasonable about of time, with buy-ins and a starting stack that doesn't feel like a turbo or a luck machine simulation? I don't know! :eek:

First, I'd like to introduce the guy that might seem a little scary, he can be a little blunt and seem grumpy, he's just been awake for a little too long.

View attachment 854896

BGinGA is very diligent and has contributed so much to the community, dare I say endless information for the quality our member's tournaments.

Here are a few (one, two) threads to get you started
The tl;dr to cover 10-person minimum chip count. I would prefer higher chip count, but the focus for this post is efficiency.

Beyond threads and discussion, we have chip break down tools.

Odd Denominations (2,10,50)

Non standard denominations would include $2, $10, $50
These denoms slow the game down and are typically considered vanity and should not be in small / starter sets.
* disclaimer this is a controversial statement, and I've been called names for posting this myopic view
** it was out of passion for you to have the best information and experience
*** the above is true, but all in jest
**** some members host games with .50 / 2 / 10, we've got some odd balls!

The Story of the big bad wolf; Little pig, little pig let me in!
(a short story of how one evening went sour)
Odd denominations can cause confusion, contention and be inefficient? All in one post? No WAY!

Standard Colors

While custom chips can be of any (base) color the two primary standards are Vegas and California.

Denom​
Vegas​
Cali​
1​
white​
blue​
5​
red​
yellow​
20​
yellow (orange)​
black​
25​
green​
purple​
100​
black​
white​
500​
purple​
grey (brown)​
1000​
orange (yellow)​
orange​

Quintessential Cali Set
Crown Plaza theme designed and commissioned by our members, offered in a group buy open to all members featuring casino quality plastics and that signature black 20 denom! - hubba hubba
photo by @RainmanTrail

While anyone can see the appeal of solid chip colors, you probably knew that edge marks/spots make it easier to see the quantity of chips in stacks.
These edge marks have designations, here are a few of my favorites..
'bear claw' photo by @PocketAces '8v' photo by @chicubs1988

Denoms vs Non Denoms (its preference)

It is highly suggested to use denominations for sets, especially your first set, however non denomination chips can be useful in certain circumstances. One such situation would be for fracs (fractions of a dollar (or unit)). The case maybe you start with a .25 / .50 game, and later things change; with a non denom chip in use as a .25 chip you can now designate it as a .50 chip when the game grows / changes.

While denoms typically use currency as a unit type, we have members using other units! please don't judge us!

Cards
Poker or Bridge - Typically if you use a card shuffler Poker, if you hand shuffle Bridge. Holdem is Jumbo, 4+ cards some prefer standard. There are a ton of threads you can search for recommendations and in resources there is a card database with lots of info! Most people don't like 4 color pips on the table, only on the screen.

Chip Storage
We have dedicated sub forums for Poker Chip Racks, Cases and Storage. Solutions vary depending on your needs.

Members that travel for local games or across country to meetups typically use a more mobile solution, check out our @Ben8257's 'Luggage'

20210826_184107-jpg.820038

Another fan fav, okay MY favorite long term solution is @darthEez's Chip Vault (we do have member storing them in an actual safes hidden in basements too!)



Design Services
Looking for help on designing custom chips? Check the Mock up and Design subforum, or maybe commission a design from a current member.
Just want to play around with chips and colors? CPC Design tool or Paulson's tool or Matsui tool

Lingo:
What is scrown vs CSQ, and why is TRK's insert better than any IHC? Finding it hard to read? we've got a Glossary (actually 3, Chips, Forum, and Poker!)
I caught a fish and it was this :7c::2d: big! Do you even emoji bro?

Shipping advise:
As you become more seasoned you may look for help on shipping! we got that!

Meetups:
Want to meet up with people getting drunk and throwing axes? How about local celbs featured on streaming casino games? Middle of nowhere lodges, with giant lakes, or frozen oasis that take snowmobiles to get to in actual Alaska?! YOU CAN! right here!

Group buys:
We try to take advantage of buying in bulk to lower costs for everyone, join us in some amazing chip or plaque purchases. We even have private group buys (referred to as NAGB), while not open to the public or all members they do end up bettering our experience and our overall chip agenda to get beautiful sets onto the table!

Random questions:
We seem to love random or not so random questions. How many shuffles does it take to randomize a spaded deck? @RainmanTrail has written a paper on it!

There are two magic numbers 7 and 12, read the post / paper for a more in-depth understanding

Learned behavior from other forums would prevent me from 'necroing' old threads, basically commenting on a post that is a year or two old, if you see something and want to add to it, we enjoy that here. Get involved, its a blast, our off topic threads will have you posting pictures of beer, whiskey, guns, and even your lawn! Here is my latest contribution to the Most Recent Purchase thread

Its been a long post, thinking of food? Getting hungry, what are you thinking about for dinner? :cool

Here's to you and flopping the nuts (unless you're playing PLO),
Cheers!
- DeusEx
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That chip vault is stunning
 
Where would be the appropriate place to put pr0n of things that are not, technically, poker chips - but that you use as poker chips? I have a ton of metal counters in a science fiction theme that I used as poker chips for a long time before I fell down this rabbit hole, they're pretty interesting and I wanted to throw a thread for such a thing up somewhere.
 

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