What are people's opinions on 5c chips? (1 Viewer)

[batterytime]

I've been designing a custom set of chips and been waffling back and forth on the 5 cent denomination since it feels pretty bad to be making a chip that costs many many times over the face value of the chip. Has anybody else had this same problem before, and what did you end up doing? I'm torn between biting the bullet and just making one vs substituting cheap dice chips from the old set I got from target as nickels instead...

 

[NotRealNameNoSir]

I would hate putting dice chips into a custom set. I love my nickels. Every game is different but they're necessary to run beginner levels. Instead of playing .25/.25, we can play .05/.10 100 BBs deep at just $10. Would some find these stakes ridiculous? Absolutely, I do too sometimes, but I love teaching new people.

If you're planning on running .10/.20 I would say don't bother, just use quarters are run .25/.25, but the tiny stakes are fun. Depending on the type of chip, maybe just grab a solid or a starburst to use as the tiny frac?

 

[AfterTheFact]

@Ben8257

 

[upNdown]

If 5 cent chips play a part in your game, by all means go for it. Once they’re on the table, who cares what they cost? The quarters I use in my cash set cost me $7-8 apiece - shrug?
FWIW, I also bought a rack of undenominated chips to use for nickels, should the need ever arise for ante chips, and those cost me around a buck apiece. This is not a practical hobby.

 

[Labrat]

it feels pretty bad to be making a chip that costs many many times over the face value of the chip.

Never understood this view. What does the cost of the chip have to do with what's printed on it when it comes to custom chips?

I love playing micro stakes with family. Worth every penny...er...nickel....er....it's worth it. Somebody had penny chips made for their Taj Mahal chips and they look absolutely awesome.

Edit: It was @harrysallout :

 

[GreekRedEye]

I spent $3.50 a chip for my nickels, plus probably another 10c per chip in materials to over label. But I love them! My favorite in the set. Someone wiser than me in this forum advised me to spend more money on the first two denoms (your blind and workhorse chips) to get chips you really like, since you will play with them the most. Save money on the higher value chips since they hit the felt less often.

 

[Budha]

I have 5c chips for the set I use for family games. They work well in that setting.

Ultimately, it is a tough call to invest in them as you could realistically move beyond 5c stakes pretty quickly, even in a friendly game as the game matures.


Maybe get an NCV (no cash value) chip you can use as a fractional for whatever your stakes call for..

 

[CallingStation614]

I just had a set made with 5c and even 1c chips. Why? I have one very casual group of friends that just like to play for socializing, playing 1c/2c or 2c/5c for fun. We have a monthly game with the family that runs the same stakes. Poker is just the pretext to some spend some time together

And I don’t mind at all that those were more expensive than the face value. They make the good time spent with friends and family just a bit nicer…

 

[bigblind]

hhr club cleopatra

I love my nickel chip

 

[Huskerchipper]

Solution = NCV

 

[Colquhoun]

Never understood this view. What does the cost of the chip have to do with what's printed on it when it comes to custom chips?

Agreed!
It’s like asking, “Is it ok to buy an expensive luxury car, even though all my trips are to the market?”
The answer is, hell yes!

Life is short. Regardless of the stakes, buy the chips you love to use.

My HSI nickels are leaded THC goodness.

 

[davesilver88]

I support 5¢ chips

 

[Sway]

Have them, use them, would buy more

 

[Machine]

They don't make 5c chips for casinos, but I want to be able to host friends and family games, sure the cost was 300 times face value, but who's counting?

 

[Natskule]

I've been designing a custom set of chips and been waffling back and forth on the 5 cent denomination since it feels pretty bad to be making a chip that costs many many times over the face value of the chip. Has anybody else had this same problem before, and what did you end up doing? I'm torn between biting the bullet and just making one vs substituting cheap dice chips from the old set I got from target as nickels instead...

Don't worry about. Are your $100 chips 20 times more expensive than your $5s? Cost of the chip is immaterial to the value that it is used for. No way would I mix in some dice chips with a custom set to save a bit of money.

 

[GreekRedEye]

I've been designing a custom set of chips and been waffling back and forth on the 5 cent denomination since it feels pretty bad to be making a chip that costs many many times over the face value of the chip. Has anybody else had this same problem before, and what did you end up doing? I'm torn between biting the bullet and just making one vs substituting cheap dice chips from the old set I got from target as nickels instead...

Despite initially piling on the bandwagon of MOAR chips. And despite loving my nickels. Here is some more balanced advice...

If you are getting custom clay chips by CPC or buying expensive Paulsons...
Then you should only proceed with nickels if you know for certain you will regularly use them. If you are not sure or maybe you'll just occasionally use them, then the suggestion others made of a non-denominated chip is more prudent. If you later decide you absolutely love nickels, you could add on. And solids are cheaper than spotted. So, if you will only break out the nickels once in a long while, solids are a cheaper way to go.

If you are making custom Tina ceramics...
I'd get the nickels now. Cost is not that much for an extra rack. And adding on later will not be that easy.

If you are making custom BR Pros...
You can easily order a rack of nickels later. There will be a slight premium due to lower order quantity then, but not enough to be a deal breaker.

 

[allforcharity]

I used to have nickels, but then I thought long about it and decided I'd never really play stakes that low. I wouldn't take it seriously and that would promote lazy and bad play.

 

[wickedwonka121]

My peeps can't handle micro stakes. They just see the money so 5 dollar bets will happen regardless of the BB. Its getting harder to use fracs of any kind.

 

[raynmanas]

This is not a practical hobby.

truer words have never been spoken.

 

[Sprouty]

I plan to win my son's allowance back one nickel at a time.

 

[batterytime]

Alright alright you've all convinced me, it's not that bad to go spend $80 on a rack of 5c chips.

Guess I'll have to go and design one now

There's a lot of friends for whom poker is very very casual and so 5/10c or 10/25c is what we're playing a lot of the time with them.

 

[batterytime]

If you are making custom BR Pros...
You can easily order a rack of nickels later. There will be a slight premium due to lower order quantity then, but not enough to be a deal breaker.

It'd be about double the cost to order a single rack of nickels later than now because we're doing a large group buy for over 6000 chips, which gets the cheapest unit cost with them.

 

[OKYJJ]

I add the chorus of Yes Nickels and also recommend my favorite:

The China Clay Pharaoh’s Club nickel sold by Apache. It’s just a really well-designed chip appropriate for its humble denomination. I’ve even thought I might keep them for use with a future true clay cash set if I ever get one. (Could that heresy be forgiven?)

I use them in a spread limit set with relabeled gray Milanos as dimes, and relabeled blue Pharaohs as 50c, and Majestics dollars.

Yeah I know that’s too many denominations but I don’t care. At least I skip the quarters. (I have some but I don’t use them now that I have the 50c.)

There is something very fun, casual and relaxing about people betting a dime or 15c into nickel antes. “Old Man Poker” at its finest. But I like spread limits of $2 now where it used to be 50x back in college. There’s a little room to play.

Or if the antes are 10c, the spread limit can be $4 to get some more serious money moving around. Or if you ante quarters could make the spread limit $10. like spread limit for casual play.

Anyway, back to nickels: they are really fun for the old game called “3-5-7.” Where you each put a nickel in front of you every time you are dealt cards. And the pot slowly goes up that way and people have to match it sometimes. My small stakes game has moved on to dime antes for most things, but I still like the nickels for that, so the pot-matching aspect doesn’t grow too fast.

 

[MeridianFC]

You are in the wrong place if you are asking anyone in this crew about a reasonable financial decision when it comes to chips.

 

[Quicksilver-75]

Meh. Just do it. Once you're in a game that uses a nickel, you'll be pissed you didn't just do it. It's not worth waiting for another run. Just order a rack, even if it's just a solid you could hotstamp down the road. Playing with chips and change isn't a good feeling.
I use nickels for a micro craps game with quarters. I can't imagine going back to having change tossed around.

 

[allforcharity]

It's one of those economic ironies that when customizing clay chips, fracs like nickels and quarters end up being the most expensive parts of the cash set to acquire.

 

[BGinGA]

If spending more than face value to make nickel chips is morally wrong, then I'm definitely going to hell for using IHC chips that cost $20+ each as zero-value tournament high denoms.

Follow me, it's really not that hot and the games are juicy....

 

[EverGreenGSO]

I would hate putting dice chips into a custom set. I love my nickels. Every game is different but they're necessary to run beginner levels. Instead of playing .25/.25, we can play .05/.10 100 BBs deep at just $10. Would some find these stakes ridiculous? Absolutely, I do too sometimes, but I love teaching new people.

If you're planning on running .10/.20 I would say don't bother, just use quarters are run .25/.25, but the tiny stakes are fun. Depending on the type of chip, maybe just grab a solid or a starburst to use as the tiny frac?


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5 cent 10 cent blinds are perfect for true fun poker. You can raise plenty and play for real without losing your house

We have been playing 5/10cent blinds for ten years and pots regularly reach $30-40 lolol

We did recently say forget the Nickles. 10/10cent is the same and saves a chip

 

[Quad Johnson]

I have a nickel in my set but we're about to drop it for 25c/25c just to make that game easier.

Still totally keeping the rack I have for when we have a mixed game night to teach folks the other poker games. 5c/10c is perfect for that application.

 

[chipinla]