Paulson first set buying advice (1 Viewer)

[beefsack]

Hi all!

I've been browsing these forums for a while and am getting more and more keen to start putting together a really nice set, particularly keen to start collecting some Paulson chips to use as a cash set.

Trouble is, even lurking for months, I'm yet to pick up a feel for what would be a good set to get started with and am looking for some advice.

My focus is less on the actual design and more on just getting a good value set. My own priorities look like:

* Decent "value" (not looking for the cheapest chips, but on the cheaper end of the spectrum, and happy to make sacrifices to get there)
* Chips that are relatively very available, I won't be looking for anything particularly collectible

Nice to haves:

* Easy to get chips where condition better than "well used"

Non-goals for me are:

* Perfectly sharp edges
* Amazing design, I'm happy to settle for a pretty bland design

I realise heaps of the above is completely subjective, which is part of the reason I'm seeking advice. I'm also keen to hear advice from people who think I should avoid Paulson and look at something different (I already have a cash set of Majestics from Apache, and have been looking at doing a custom set from CPC too.)

Cheers!
Michael

 

[upNdown]

It sounds like the Horseshoe Cincinnati chips are a solid option for you - The $1's and $5's are 69 cents each. I don't know where you'd find a better deal than that.
https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/february-12th-multi-casino-sale.17972/

 

[Dr Newnham]

Hey mate, I would go with paulson all the way. CPC cost more in a lot of cases especially being in Australia. Paulson retain good value and most sets are able to obtain in decent quantity.

 

[beefsack]

It sounds like the Horseshoe Cincinnati chips are a solid option for you

That looks like a great option!

Do you have any advice for a chip breakdown for a cash set for 400 chips? I'm currently looking to get a mix of $1, $5, $25 and $100.

Hey mate, I would go with paulson all the way. CPC cost more in a lot of cases especially being in Australia.

This is something I've noticed, though I do love the sample sets I got, really sweet chips.

 

[Perthmike]

I'd recommend buying a couple of used paulson chips before you go for a whole set, although I'm aware that the level of use will make a big difference.

I bought a bunch of PCA primaries a number of years back, that ranged from heavily used to near new in some cases and I absolutely hated them.
Not saying you will feel the same, but I'd be careful before buying a whole set.

Plus, from Australia we pay a big premium given the poor performance of the AUD. Keep trawling the classifieds I reckon until the perfect pre-owned set comes up.

I wouldn't rule out BCC or CPC, just get some samples and play about with them for a bit to see how they feel.

 

[Rhodeman77]

The Horse Shoe casinos are the most common and affordable options right now. But there are many other options you might not have thought about.

Are you okay with a mixed casino set? It gives the widest range of chips to choose from. You can choose what mold you want, colors, edge spots etc.

You can also find chips to label.

 

[Chris Flynn]

Chip breakdown for your set is really a function of your preferred game structure. I am going to assume you play 1/2 nlhe. What buyin do you prefer? 100x big blind would suggest a $200 buy in. How many players and add ons allowed or max buy in?

FWIW, I went with the Horseshoe Cincy chips and am very happy (once I cleaned them up). I started with:

250 x 1
150 x 5
80 x 25
20 x 100

Got feedback from other PCF members that more 5s - most used chip - needed

 

[ChipTalker]

Agreed on more 5's

I run a weekly 1/2 game where people buyin from 200 to 300 and use

100 × 1
300 × 5
80 x 25
20 x 100

I have more chips than this but usually limit the whites and reds to the above in order to get green and a few blacks out on the table.

 

[Chris Flynn]

Agreed on more 5's

I run a weekly 1/2 game where people buyin from 200 to 300 and use

100 × 1
300 × 5
80 x 25
20 x 100

I have more chips than this but usually limit the whites and reds to the above in order to get green and a few blacks out on the table.

Right, I ended up adding on to get more 5s

 

[justsomedude]

I agree with @upNdown and think he's put you on the right path with the Paulson Horseshoe chips. They are a great chip at a great price!

Continuing with that theme, I'd recommend Paulson over CPC as the better "value" option, any day of the week and twice on Sundays. Don't get me wrong, CPCs are great chips, but from a value and "investment" standpoint, there isn't much there for long term return. And really, CPCs serve as a personal/custom splurge item.

Think of it as comparing a Harley Fat Boy to some blinged custom chopper bike with insane rake, flame paint job, and chromed out parts. The Fat Boy can be resold on the open market at any given time. The custom bike, on the other hand, will take some time to locate the right buyer, who has the same tastes as the original owner/designer, even though it had a much higher up front cost. Even then, the owner will likely take a loss on the sale just to move the item.

So, if value and investment aspects are your goal, follow these three simple rules:
1. Go with Paulson*
2. Go with Paulson*
3. Go with Paulson*

* Note: Paulson prices can fluctuate wildly based on market trends, availability, and demand. Right now we are in a pricing "peak" as demand is incredibly high, and supply is incredibly low. The risk, of course, is that Paulson returns to making chips for home buyers/private collectors, and completely decimates the existing home market.

 

[WedgeRock]

I started with:

250 x 1
150 x 5
80 x 25
20 x 100

My OCD does not approve of your split barrel approach.

 

[Rhodeman77]

I agree with @upNdown and think he's put you on the right path with the Paulson Horseshoe chips. They are a great chip at a great price!

Continuing with that theme, I'd recommend Paulson over CPC as the better "value" option, any day of the week and twice on Sundays. Don't get me wrong, CPCs are great chips, but from a value and "investment" standpoint, there isn't much there for long term return. And really, CPCs serve as a personal/custom splurge item.

Think of it as comparing a Harley Fat Boy to some blinged custom chopper bike with insane rake, flame paint job, and chromed out parts. The Fat Boy can be resold on the open market at any given time. The custom bike, on the other hand, will take some time to locate the right buyer, who has the same tastes as the original owner/designer, even though it had a much higher up front cost. Even then, the owner will likely take a loss on the sale just to move the item.

So, if value and investment aspects are your goal, follow these three simple rules:
1. Go with Paulson*
2. Go with Paulson*
3. Go with Paulson*

* Note: Paulson prices can fluctuate wildly based on market trends, availability, and demand. Right now we are in a pricing "peak" as demand is incredibly high, and supply is incredibly low. The risk, of course, is that Paulson returns to making chips for home buyers/private collectors, and completely decimates the existing home market.

Exactly this! Or there is another recession and a casino closes or rebrands every few months like we had 10 years ago and the Chiproom has more chips than he knows what to do with!

 

[BGinGA]

and supply is incredibly low.

Not sure this is accurate, given the huge number of Horseshoe Casino chips that recently flooded the market. This time last year? Absolutely. But the Cleveland and Cincinnati releases were like throwing bloody chum into a hot-tub packed full of starving sharks.

 

[Mental Nomad]

I have more chips than this but usually limit the whites and reds to the above in order to get green and a few blacks out on the table.

I think this is an under-appreciated point, but I find myself doing it a lot - limiting the workhorse chips so that we can get value or even bank chips on the table.

While I like piles of chips, having piles of fracs in, say, a 25c/50c game isn't actually much fun. A full stack of 20 quarters is only $5.

And having a ton of whites, while they add up, isn't that convenient to play or that great to to win.. it's always the $5 checks that make the big difference.

The table feels best when I no more than 20 quarters per player, and not much more than 20 $1s per player... and in my 25c/50c games, I have plenty of $5s that I'd never need to reach for a $20. But what happens?

I've never gotten as many as 20 $5s per player on the table. Getting some $20s on the table always feels right (I reserve them for second or third rebuys). Everyone loves them, they play well, they become targets to covet... we always want the extra color on the table.

Even in my 25c big blind game last week, we got $100 in yellow twenties on the table! It was totally unnecessary... that game will probably never run deep enough to suck in all my red chips, but we'll always want some $20s on the table if we can support it.

I'm sure if I had a regular $1/$2 game, we'd feel the same way about the hundos, even though a casino $1/$2 game doesn't use hundos... or even many $25s. Here's me after some good luck at the Trop:

In a home game, I'd rather have two hundos, ten $25s, and the four stacks of red chips. So many cool chips, why not have them on the table?!?

In casinos, there are risks to hundos at a $1/$2 table - people don't always make the big chips visible, so people misread stacks and get into arguments ("all-in..." "I call..." shows... "wait, I didn't know you had another $200 behind those other chips!!!"). Newbs may end up breaking the hundos often, slowing the game... or refusing to break their special hundo, crapping up their play. And people trying to rat-hole chips will usually do so with hundos; hundos seem to inspire rat-holing at casino $1/$2 tables.

But none of those are problems for me, at home, with my regs.

As a result, I've pared down my Boardwalks and sold off a fair number of chips. (The money is going into Iron Banks and other accessories.) I no longer feel like I want or need more than 225 of any denom in a cash set for a home 10-person game, because I'd much rather get the value above into play than get more of that chip. And if I ever have two tables in play, I can happily break out another set - it's totally not a problem.

Sorry if it's a derail - just thinking out loud.

 

[justsomedude]

But the Cleveland and Cincinnati releases were like throwing bloody chum into a hot-tub packed full of starving sharks.

Hahaha fair point. So maybe the more accurate assessment is: there are more active collectors than ever before and demand is at insanely high out-of-this-world levels!

 

[Rhodeman77]

I think this is an under-appreciated point, but I find myself doing it a lot - limiting the workhorse chips so that we can get value or even bank chips on the table.

While I like piles of chips, having piles of fracs in, say, a 25c/50c game isn't actually much fun. A full stack of 20 quarters is only $5.

And having a ton of whites, while they add up, isn't that convenient to play or that great to to win.. it's always the $5 checks that make the big difference.

The table feels best when I no more than 20 quarters per player, and not much more than 20 $1s per player... and in my 25c/50c games, I have plenty of $5s that I'd never need to reach for a $20. But what happens?

I've never gotten as many as 20 $5s per player on the table. Getting some $20s on the table always feels right (I reserve them for second or third rebuys). Everyone loves them, they play well, they become targets to covet... we always want the extra color on the table.

Even in my 25c big blind game last week, we got $100 in yellow twenties on the table! It was totally unnecessary... that game will probably never run deep enough to suck in all my red chips, but we'll always want some $20s on the table if we can support it.

I'm sure if I had a regular $1/$2 game, we'd feel the same way about the hundos, even though a casino $1/$2 game doesn't use hundos... or even many $25s. Here's me after some good luck at the Trop:
View attachment 98193

In a home game, I'd rather have two hundos, ten $25s, and the four stacks of red chips. So many cool chips, why not have them on the table?!?

In casinos, there are risks to hundos at a $1/$2 table - people don't always make the big chips visible, so people misread stacks and get into arguments ("all-in..." "I call..." shows... "wait, I didn't know you had another $200 behind those other chips!!!"). Newbs may end up breaking the hundos often, slowing the game... or refusing to break their special hundo, crapping up their play. And people trying to rat-hole chips will usually do so with hundos; hundos seem to inspire rat-holing at casino $1/$2 tables.

But none of those are problems for me, at home, with my regs.

As a result, I've pared down my Boardwalks and sold off a fair number of chips. (The money is going into Iron Banks and other accessories.) I no longer feel like I want or need more than 225 of any denom in a cash set for a home 10-person game, because I'd much rather get the value above into play than get more of that chip. And if I ever have two tables in play, I can happily break out another set - it's totally not a problem.

Sorry if it's a derail - just thinking out loud.

While all of that is accurate. It is just so much more fun to pull in a huge pile of chips like this when you win a multi way all in than 3 barrels of chips.

 

[Chris Flynn]

My OCD does not approve of your split barrel approach.

Ha! Mine either as it turned out - after several add ons to the original set I ended up with:

300 X 1
500 x 5
200 x 25
100 x 100

 

[WedgeRock]

Ha! Mine either as it turned out - after several add ons to the original set I ended up with:

300 X 1
500 x 5
200 x 25
100 x 100

Sooooo much better.

 

[upNdown]

I think this is an under-appreciated point, but I find myself doing it a lot - limiting the workhorse chips so that we can get value or even bank chips on the table.

While I like piles of chips, having piles of fracs in, say, a 25c/50c game isn't actually much fun. A full stack of 20 quarters is only $5.

And having a ton of whites, while they add up, isn't that convenient to play or that great to to win.. it's always the $5 checks that make the big difference.

The table feels best when I no more than 20 quarters per player, and not much more than 20 $1s per player... and in my 25c/50c games, I have plenty of $5s that I'd never need to reach for a $20. But what happens?

I've never gotten as many as 20 $5s per player on the table. Getting some $20s on the table always feels right (I reserve them for second or third rebuys). Everyone loves them, they play well, they become targets to covet... we always want the extra color on the table.

Even in my 25c big blind game last week, we got $100 in yellow twenties on the table! It was totally unnecessary... that game will probably never run deep enough to suck in all my red chips, but we'll always want some $20s on the table if we can support it.

I'm sure if I had a regular $1/$2 game, we'd feel the same way about the hundos, even though a casino $1/$2 game doesn't use hundos... or even many $25s. Here's me after some good luck at the Trop:
View attachment 98193

In a home game, I'd rather have two hundos, ten $25s, and the four stacks of red chips. So many cool chips, why not have them on the table?!?

In casinos, there are risks to hundos at a $1/$2 table - people don't always make the big chips visible, so people misread stacks and get into arguments ("all-in..." "I call..." shows... "wait, I didn't know you had another $200 behind those other chips!!!"). Newbs may end up breaking the hundos often, slowing the game... or refusing to break their special hundo, crapping up their play. And people trying to rat-hole chips will usually do so with hundos; hundos seem to inspire rat-holing at casino $1/$2 tables.

But none of those are problems for me, at home, with my regs.

As a result, I've pared down my Boardwalks and sold off a fair number of chips. (The money is going into Iron Banks and other accessories.) I no longer feel like I want or need more than 225 of any denom in a cash set for a home 10-person game, because I'd much rather get the value above into play than get more of that chip. And if I ever have two tables in play, I can happily break out another set - it's totally not a problem.

Sorry if it's a derail - just thinking out loud.

100% with all of that

 

[beefsack]

The Horse Shoe casinos are the most common and affordable options right now.

And this is the way I've ended up going! I've ordered 200 chips to start, and they look very used, but I feel like it should be a good entry point and I can go from there.

Chip breakdown for your set is really a function of your preferred game structure.

Actually, my requirements for chip breakdown would differ from most of the forum; we use them for board gaming (particularly heavy economic games like Splotters.) The chips come out for poker nights but they only happen every few months, whereas board gaming nights happen at least once a week at mine.

My chip breakdown ended up being pretty even on $1s and $5s, with a smaller amount of $25s and just a handful of $100s.

Continuing with that theme, I'd recommend Paulson over CPC as the better "value" option, any day of the week and twice on Sundays. Don't get me wrong, CPCs are great chips, but from a value and "investment" standpoint, there isn't much there for long term return. And really, CPCs serve as a personal/custom splurge item.

Yeah I'm starting to lean that way; I actually already have a custom design for a CPC purchase that will happen one day, but it may be a very long way away.

Thanks for all the input, it's been hugely valuable!