Rule of thumb for $$ to spend on poker chips? (5 Viewers)

[Servo]

There was a discussion about this a while back. I think the consensus from an IP standpoint is it's OK if it's strictly for personal use. Keep in mind they're manufactured in China. They're all made to order.

***The obligatory 'I'm not a lawyer and this is not legal advice' disclaimer applies.***

I believe that’s quite far from consensus.

 

[Servo]

Regarding the watch, it's just a rule of thumb and for me, it sounds about right. I think the more you earn, the more leeway you get. Someone who earns a million a year can easily spend $50k on a watch and still save/invest/live well. But someone who earns $100k with student debt and aspirations to buy a home may not want to spend $5k on a luxury.

Both of those examples are 5%, btw.

Although, that seems to fit most of the advice around here— if you pledge to cap your budget at 1% but suck at math, the sky’s the limit!

 

[elemeno]

Both of those examples are 5%, btw.

Although, that seems to fit most of the advice around here— if you pledge to cap your budget at 1% but suck at math, the sky’s the limit!

I knew a pedant would try to be a wise cracker. The point was that the $100k income person should perhaps stick with the $1k watch (or Seiko/Citizen) despite being able to afford the $5k one.

Dude... I've been doing this for longer than some of these guys have been alive, and you're not alone being bewidered at the prices these days. To answer your question, there is no rule of thumb. Spend what you are comfortable with. That 1% rule is for reasonable people, the people on this site are on a boat that left that harbor years ago. I'm sure that some are spending north of 10% and I wouldn't be surprised to hear that some are up near 20% on chips and eating Ramen.

Do NOT think of chips as an investment. It is much more of a gamble than investment. In the end if you break even, you are doing well.

I definitely will not think of chips as an investment. They're actually an opportunity cost.

 

[Eriks]

Don’t EVER tell your wife what you spend….and don’t forget to buy her stuff to distract her.

 

[Marius L]

Have to respectfully disagree with those that say that buying the top end chips isn't an investment. The nice BCC, TRK, and Paulson sets are meant to be enjoyed and played, but if one ever decides to move on from them, they'll easily get their money back and then some if desired.

I have a feeling this might be/have been changing for a lot of people who bought in the last year.

For those buying these chips years ago, it's obviously been like this, but that's no guarantee that it will keep increasing into eternity.

To the OP, my advice would be to try to be patient and buy what are actually good deals. Try not to overpay for the instant fix. That gives you more leeway if you wanna sell later, and makes it way more likely to get your money back.

 

[natumes]

Hard to say what a rule of thumb would be. Mine has changed at least 10 times. Best advice I would say, start low and see how far into the hobby you really want to go. I think you're really only at risk of losing money on a set when you get above the $5/chip price point (limited buyers for high end transactions) and maybe the $1 or less (less desirable/saturated market), but it depends. You can get a great set at many different price points, and while we enthusiastically discuss merits of different chips, at the end of the day you can play poker with all of them equally effective.

 

[LowerBama1714]

My journey was more like this, to the best of my memory...

Oh cool, a forum dedicated to poker chips. I'd like some different chips for my home game, let me sign up!

These Majestic china clays look cool, nice colors and denominations on the chips, awesome!

The edges of the Majestics are too rounded, I want something with more of a squared off edge like the chips at the casino. What are those chips? Paulsons? How do I get my hands on those? Look up the Chip Exchange and see he has old casino chips, wow! Let me get some!

Wow! Real clay chips! But geez, these are dirty! Let me read a thread on how to clean gunked up chips. Ok, these are pretty clean, but they're a bit rounded off and don't really have square edges. *reads around about where to find new clay chips* Oh wow! Key West CPC chips are a bit costly, but if they're new clay chips, where can I go wrong?

Ok, these Key West chips are nice, but oh, CPC makes custom chips? I want my own! I really do miss the bright colors of the Majestics but I want something different. Oh, they make oversized 44mm chips! Sweet!

*Next, discovers plastic playing cards and all of the different varieties and manufacturers, going down another rabbit hole*

Oh wow! These Jack Detroit chips are really nice, and they're new and never played from a casino that never opened! Let me sell my old beaten down Paulsons and spend the next 6 months acquiring the set I want rack by rack at secondary market prices!

Ok, COVID pandemic hit and I'm still going to work. I have a bit more money to play with! I need my own actual poker table! Done!

These dealer buttons are awesome! I need over 200 of them. Gotta collect them all!

I really like the oversized bright color CPC set I got, but I also host tournaments, plus I want chips with my custom edge spots on them. Alright, let's do it! But geez, this is expensive. Guess I have to let go of the Key West chips....

I've been reading about BCC clay chips now, let me check those out....oh, what's that? A set in which only 10 were made all time appears on eBay when I happen to sign in? Mine! Oh crap....these chips feel great....I need more BCC chips.

What are these leaded THC molded Paulsons I've read about? Gotta check 'em out. Oh wow! I love these CDI's....need a cash and a tournament set because I host both...

Protege's? There we go! But the MGK mold looks really nice! Oh well, down another rabbit hole, and another search....

ESPT Paulsons? Oh....my.....god. Need a set and this is my biggest purchase yet....I really like these bright colors....

Oh boy, these CPC customs came out great! I have another awesome idea for a custom set! Gotta get a cash and tournament set of these too and work on a cash set of these first customs.....oh....hotstamps! I don't have those! Let me make a custom hotstamp set! I have a newfound appreciation for everyone's custom sets. I would love a sample set of all of them!

WAIT! I don't have a limit set! Gotta make sure the next CPC set can accommodate a limit game! Sweet, got 8 racks, enough for a single table dealer's choice cash night. But what if we play more than a 2/4 limit game? I'm going to need at least 8 more racks....

Wow! These RPC chips sure look nice, but boy, are they expensive! Maybe if I pick 2 or 3 of the ones I like most I can make a set out of them if I remove the inlays...

Oh! Custom dice! Yes please!

Ok, things are pretty calm! I have yet a third idea for a fully custom CPC set, let me work on this and.....OH MY GOD! TIGERS! Best cash set I've ever seen! These chips shit all over my RPC relabel project, but I removed inlays of all 600 chips for that set by hand and got the inlay artwork done. I still don't have the labels yet, better see that one through...

So yeah, that's where I'm at. I like a little bit of everything. Ceramics, non leaded Paulsons, leaded Paulsons, custom CPC chips on different molds with different themes, BCC chips on different molds, these are the best feeling of anything! I really like bright colors though! I do have sets with "standard" white $1, red $25, green $25, etc chips, but the brighter the better. The design choices in my CPC custom sets reflect this. And I collect dealer buttons, sample sets, cut cards, and plastic playing card set ups.

My name is Joe, and I'm a chipaholic that's sick in the head.

Hi Joe…I’m like you. Except all that happened in an elaborate hallucination for me…

 

[nezara]

I put my poker winnings back into my home game. That's my budget for chips, table, etc

 

[surfik]

Just remember that chips are need to be played and most of the people you be playing with will not be sufficiently impresed with a level of effort and money you put toward compliting your "dream" set.
If you buy expensive set you might be hesitant to share them with Philistines...

 

[BPTDirector]

Hard to put a rule on this when so many have easily left reason in the dust when diving headlong in to this rabbit hole. Best advice is do what feels right to you. Good Luck, most have not had it and spend spend spend.

 

[LowerBama1714]

Just remember that chips are need to be played and most of the people you be playing with will not be sufficiently impresed with a level of effort and money you put toward compliting your "dream" set.
If you buy expensive set you might be hesitant to share them with Philistines...

I live for affirmation….if I don’t get it, then you don’t get invited back.

 

[OneGearManySpeeds]

Welcome. No one is laughing... you can spend as much or as little as you want on chips. There's no 'rule of thumb'.

If you stick around, you'll see that the typical evolution of a chipper goes something like this:

Discovers PCF.
Sets a budget.
Finds something suitable within that budget.
Makes a purchase.
Keeps browsing PCF (this is where people really get in trouble).
Buys more chips as a project.
Realizes spouse does not monitor the PayPal account or get notifications about transactions.
Sells chips to buy chips.
Sells chips to buy more chips.
Gets used to odd nomenclature like 'murder' and 'watermelons'.
Discovers 'cards mold'.
Keeps hearing about this mysterious woman named 'Tina'.
Uses the PCF search function to research 'Tina'.
Runs out of room to store poker chips.
Realizes they have many unfinished 'projects'.
Sells abandoned 'project' chips to buy more chips.
Realizes they don't have a 'limit' set.
Immediately rationally concludes that almost no one needs a 'limit' set.
Starts assembling a 'limit' set.
Asks around to find out if anyone like to play limit.
Discovers that there's a PCF vendor that sells custom table layouts.
Discovers that there's a PCF vendor that sells custom dice.
Immediately rationally concludes they have no need or use for dice at all, let alone custom ones.
Buys custom dice.
Starts feeling 'complete'.
Then meets @Ben8257 & @Windwalker and realizes they need to up their game.
Sells everything to buy 'Boat chips'.
Sells 'Boat chips' to buy 'Tiger chips'.
Finally feels up to speed as a rank and file member of PCF.

Did I miss anything?

Wait... I'm at "use odd nomenclature like 'murder' and 'watermelons'" but skipped "sets a budget"... did I miss something here?

 

[LinkyBabe]

Wait, you guys are setting budgets for your chip purchases?

View attachment 1067822

Pfft... budgets are for quitters.

 

[elemeno]

You found the one exception, overpriced NAGB chips. I never would have bought any of those.

What about these?

https://www.pokerchipforum.com/search/1451602/?q=below+my+cost&o=relevance

 

[DMack]

 

[BonScot]

I'm new and honestly bewildered at the prices of some of these poker chips. They sure look nice, but it's a bit hard for me to swallow $5 PER CHIP!

I'm trying to come up with a rule of thumb for what an acceptable amount to spend on poker chips are. As an example, I've read that one shouldn't spend more than 1% of annual salary on a watch, an item that is quite comparable to poker chips. They're both not a necessity but also nice to have. Another barometer for how to set a budget is % of net worth.

What percentages do you think are reasonable to use for annual salary or net worth? Are there other rules of thumb that this community likes to use?

Welcome to wallet drainers anonymous!!

Just spend what you can afford. It’s like buying a car or a guitar or anything. You can get old banged up ones for much cheapness that’ll do the job just fine or you can go blow a small fortune on super fancy diamond encrusted ones. Essentially chips are just a way of keeping score it’s just a matter of how fancy you want them to be.



Disclaimer: I have spent thousands on this stupid hobby. Do as I say not as I do.

 

[dinosaur]

Yeahhhh. Not an investment. You got $$$ burning a hole in your pocket? Pick out something that fits that amount. Maybe you’ll change your mind later and try to sell, maybe not. You don’t got $$$ to burn? Just browse like the rest of us and dream.

Ps. This has to be one of the most niche-est markets. I wouldn’t depend on resale-ability so much, given the tiny fraction of the population that we represent.

 

[wickedwonka121]

I hit just over 3% for my chip purchase for last year. I'll be set for a while. It was a lot but was a project in the making for almost 20 years. If I expand my collection this year I won't be as much. For my next purchase I'm interested in some cards molds. I have a sample set in the mail to help with that decision.

Btw, I paid an average of about $2.50 peice, all real clay.

 

[JustinInMN]

I will just say this. If you host regularly. You should spend at least half of what you figure your average amount in play to be just from a security standpoint. If you can afford to host a game that gets $1000 or more into the room on the norm, spend at least $500 on a set. Quality, consistent, and secure chips make for better banking.

There is nothing that makes me cringe faster when people talk about hosting 1-2 or 1-3 NLHE with stock chips. They are just asking to get screwed.

 

[bigdonkey]

Spend 2 months years of your income on chips per year month.

Ummm... FYP.

 

[ovo]

don't spend more than you can afford to spend

 

[elemeno]

I will just say this. If you host regularly. You should spend at least half of what you figure your average amount in play to be just from a security standpoint. If you can afford to host a game that gets $1000 or more into the room on the norm, spend at least $500 on a set. Quality, consistent, and secure chips make for better banking.

There is nothing that makes me cringe faster when people talk about hosting 1-2 or 1-3 NLHE with stock chips. They are just asking to get screwed.

This is interesting and something I haven't thought about. I play with trusted friends. All of them had ample time to buy the same cheap set and cheat the bank, but it hasn't happened so I doubt it will.

 

[dinosaur]

Or. You can spend your life savings and get a bunch of internet points. I mean, I’m not here to judge.

 

[buffalojim]

I think Leafs fans would settle for the team winning a single playoff round at this point...

The Leafs can suck it. That is all.

 

[softchewy]

Welcome!
don't buy any chips
You're Welcome!

 

[dinosaur]

Welcome!
don't buy any chips
You're Welcome!

Where were you in September? I needed this sage advice back then. Now it is too late.

 

[upNdown]

Or. You can spend your life savings and get a bunch of internet points. I mean, I’m not here to judge.

I have thoughts on this.
I bet a real percentage (maybe a large percentage) of the sets PCFers own are done for internet points. I mean who the hell really needs a 4,000 chip set? I know there’s a few PCFers who will host multiple table events like that, but probably far fewer than actual giant set owners.
And I say this through experience - I’ve definitely bought to either impress or get approval from the community, in the past. And sure, sometimes you tell yourself you’re doing it to “future proof” your set. It’s probably a fine and blurry line between future proofing and going for internet points. It took a few years, but I think I’m mostly over it.
My main set now has 60 x my favorite chip - the Dunes baccarat $20. And I’m fine with that not being a full rack. I don’t have that PCF “OCD.” Yes, the masses want to see full racks, but I rarely get more than a few in play (and that’s even before I’ve exhausted all my $5s.) So why spend and hoard for chips I’ll most likely never ever need?
Anyway, that’s just my perspective and I’m admittedly not a collector or a speculator. You do you, but try to do it for yourself and not to impress us.

 

[softchewy]

Where were you in September?

I was here... buying chips..

Now it is too late.

yes, yes it is..

 

[DMack]

I have thoughts on this.
I bet a real percentage (maybe a large percentage) of the sets PCFers own are done for internet points. I mean who the hell really needs a 4,000 chip set? I know there’s a few PCFers who will host multiple table events like that, but probably far fewer than actual giant set owners.
And I say this through experience - I’ve definitely bought to either impress or get approval from the community, in the past. And sure, sometimes you tell yourself you’re doing it to “future proof” your set. It’s probably a fine and blurry line between future proofing and going for internet points. It took a few years, but I think I’m mostly over it.
My main set now has 60 x my favorite chip - the Dunes baccarat $20. And I’m fine with that not being a full rack. I don’t have that PCF “OCD.” Yes, the masses want to see full racks, but I rarely get more than a few in play (and that’s even before I’ve exhausted all my $5s.) So why spend and hoard for chips I’ll most likely never ever need?
Anyway, that’s just my perspective and I’m admittedly not a collector or a speculator. You do you, but try to do it for yourself and not to impress us.

I’ve never understood the massive sets. Like you, I believe it is much more for the Internet points as opposed to “I MIGHT need this many in the next couple decades.” How many of those massive sets are still mint or unplayed? I feel bad for those that would like the chips to actually use, but won’t get a set because someone breaks out the ruler while showing them off.

 

[dinosaur]

I’ve never understood the massive sets. Like you, I believe it is much more for the Internet points as opposed to “I MIGHT need this many in the next couple decades.” How many of those massive sets are still mint or unplayed? I feel bad for those that would like the chips to actually use, but won’t get a set because someone breaks out the ruler while showing them off.

I think the massive sets just accumulate over time. It’s been less than a year for me and I have wayyyy more than I’ll ever need. But I still browse heavy and get tempted to pick up some “better” chips. Cause, it’s my money and I want it now. Iono. Either way, best of luck to us all.