What should a new chipper buy (4 Viewers)

[Francisho]

Hi PCF,

I recently developed my interest in chips, although I've been playing poker for years.
I was always told that Paulson chips are great, but do you guys think a new chipper like me, who have only owned "Dice chip" before, should buy a set of Paulson?

 

[Psypher1000]

do you guys think a new chipper like me, who have only owned "Dice chip" before, should buy a set of Paulson?

Do you want/like nice chips? Can you afford them? If so, then yes. There's not many chip-lovers who regret owning Paulsons. Maybe they wish they didn't buy a particular set, but in general Paulsons are very well received by chippers.

 

[Rhodeman77]

If you can afford them, in a word, YES!!!

 

[Blaster]

Yes.

 

[gopherblue]

Samples.

 

[Robb]

Hello and welcome Francisco.

The best answer to your question is you should buy samples. Seems a few other beat me to it.
If you know what you like or can afford there's no limits to what's hiding in chip vaults around here.
Welcome to the addiction.

 

[Rhodeman77]

Most new chippers don't want to spend that much money for Paulson chips so they get something a little better than dice chips. Then they don't like those very much and get China Clay or ceramics. And after a while they realize they still aren't the real deal. Then they finally break down and get Paulsons.

But in the meantime they have spent a lot of money on all those other lesser quality chips that never are worth what they paid for them. So they end up spending even more money than if they bought Paulsons right from the start.

 

[Francisho]

Thank you guys for your advice.

Another question: which series of Paulson chips do you guys think are the most appropriate first set?

 

[inca911]

Paulson is one way to go, or ceramics, hybrids, TRKs, etc. I recommend first upgrading your cards to something good (look up user @desjgn on here for some very nice options). After that, find a PCF chipper in your area and ask if you can play in his game one night. You may get to try many good chips that way....

 

[Rhodeman77]

Thank you guys for your advice.

Another question: which series of Paulson chips do you guys think are the most appropriate first set?

Samples!
Your budget will matter too. Are you looking for a cash game set or tournament set?

Do you want solids or spots, inlays or hot stamps? There are so many options.

Do you want an actual casino set or one of the fantasy lines?

 

[Francisho]

Paulson is one way to go, or ceramics, hybrids, TRKs, etc. I recommend first upgrading your cards to something good (look up user @desjgn on here for some very nice options). After that, find a PCF chipper in your area and ask if you can play in his game one night. You may get to try many good chips that way....

Great advice!

 

[Francisho]

Samples!
Your budget will matter too. Are you looking for a cash game set or tournament set?

Do you want solids or spots, inlays or hot stamps? There are so many options.

Do you want an actual casino set or one of the fantasy lines?

You're right. I'm buying for cash game at my home. I'd say my budget is $500 to $800.

btw, may I know what does it mean by fantasy line?

 

[Rhodeman77]

You're right. I'm buying for cash game at my home. I'd say my budget is $500 to $800.

btw, may I know what does it mean by fantasy line?

Paulson used to make chips for the home market. They were never used in a casino.
We refer to them as fantasy chips as compared to Paulson chips that were made for actual casino use.

They no longer offer the home lines of chips so you would need to find them here or eBay.

With a budget of $500 to $800 you would be looking at used casino chips like the Cleveland Horseshoe sets.

 

[Kyle]

Since you asked, I would go with China Clays first and then maybe upgrade to Paulsons over time. This will require a lot of cash and a lot of patience. I say this because you can go through years before finding and finishing that specific set you are looking for.

As for cards, well I like and fully recommend @desjgn J design cards. We have a kick starter going on for the jumbo index cards. Pledge today and you won't be disappointed.

Check out the J Desjgn Jumbo Index Bridge size cards. We have a kickstarter link going on for them. Awesome cards.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1404114000/desjgn-100-plastic-playing-cards-classic-baroque

 

[Francisho]

Paulson used to make chips for the home market. They were never used in a casino.
We refer to the as fantasy chips as compared to Paulson chips that were made for actual casino use.

They no longer offer the home lines of chips so you would need to find them here or eBay.

With a budget of $500 to $800 you would be looking at used casino chips like the Cleveland Horseshoe sets.

Got it, thank you!

\\

 

[Mental Nomad]

I was always told that Paulson chips are great, but do you guys think a new chipper like me, who have only owned "Dice chip" before, should buy a set of Paulson?

The first thing to learn, if you're really a new chipper, is that sets are never "one and done."

You can expect to acquire and release sets over time - you learn what you prefer, you learn what else is out there, your chip budget grows, your chip budget shrinks...

The good news is that there is an active market in them. Shop for price (don't overpay trying to build a set out of singles) and you'll probably find that selling a set you've bought is revenue-neutral. This means you can't go that wrong with your first set... if you don't like it or needs change, you sell it.

One thing I'd add... there can be large sales and group buys, and then it can be months or years before another such opportunity comes along. If you are financially able, it's a good idea to get them while the getting's good. I'm talking about things like a newly closed casino's chips becoming available via The Chip Room, or a big Group Buy running for a production run of new items, etc. Keep an eye out, and if you have free cash, lean towards getting some.

Even if the end product isn't exactly what you wanted or need any more, you can often resell it for what you paid or more, so nobody complains. (I didn't need 20 Matsui hundo plaques, bought for $17 each. Months later, I sold them for $18 each... the posting was open for less than 30 minutes before they were sold.)

You don't hear people regretting having gotten in on these buys... but you often hear people regretting not having done so.

There's an element of risking getting into a group buy, of course - sometimes the product comes out different or inferior to what's expected - but that's rare.

 

[Francisho]

The first thing to learn, if you're really a new chipper, is that sets are never "one and done."

You can expect to acquire and release sets over time - you learn what you prefer, you learn what else is out there, your chip budget grows, your chip budget shrinks...

The good news is that there is an active market in them. Shop for price (don't overpay trying to build a set out of singles) and you'll probably find that selling a set you've bought is revenue-neutral. This means you can't go that wrong with your first set... if you don't like it or needs change, you sell it.

One thing I'd add... there can be large sales and group buys, and then it can be months or years before another such opportunity comes along. If you are financially able, it's a good idea to get them while the getting's good. I'm talking about things like a newly closed casino's chips becoming available via The Chip Room, or a big Group Buy running for a production run of new items, etc. Keep an eye out, and if you have free cash, lean towards getting some.

Even if the end product isn't exactly what you wanted or need any more, you can often resell it for what you paid or more, so nobody complains. (I didn't need 20 Matsui hundo plaques, bought for $17 each. Months later, I sold them for $18 each... the posting was open for less than 30 minutes before they were sold.)

You don't hear people regretting having gotten in on these buys... but you often hear people regretting not having done so.

There's an element of risking getting into a group buy, of course - sometimes the product comes out different or inferior to what's expected - but that's rare.

Thank you very much! Your advice really changed my mindset

 

[duffman]

Welcome to the forum! If you have the cash you cant go wrong with a set of Paulson's. If I were in your shoes I would go with the Horseshoe Cinci's that are still available from Todd @The Chip Exchange . https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/horseshoe-cincinnati.16761/ You could build a decent cash set in your price range. If you like ceramic chips I would also consider getting in on the current Boardwalk group buy. Beautiful chips! https://www.pokerchipforum.com/thre...-ii-the-order-thread.19689/page-9#post-369663. Good luck!

 

[Chris Flynn]

Welcome to the forum! If you have the cash you cant go wrong with a set of Paulson's. If I were in your shoes I would go with the Horseshoe Cinci's that are still available from Todd @The Chip Exchange . https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/horseshoe-cincinnati.16761/ You could build a decent cash set in your price range. If you like ceramic chips I would also consider getting in on the current Boardwalk group buy. Beautiful chips! https://www.pokerchipforum.com/thre...-ii-the-order-thread.19689/page-9#post-369663. Good luck!

Like Duffman said, I joined a little over a year ago and my best purchases by far have been Horseshoe Cincinnati chips and the very cool 43mm Boardwalk group buy chips. Can't say enough good things about these sets. Of course, you are about to enter into a fascinating, wonderful and potentially expensive world-enjoy and welcome!

 

[Francisho]

Welcome to the forum! If you have the cash you cant go wrong with a set of Paulson's. If I were in your shoes I would go with the Horseshoe Cinci's that are still available from Todd @The Chip Exchange . https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/horseshoe-cincinnati.16761/ You could build a decent cash set in your price range. If you like ceramic chips I would also consider getting in on the current Boardwalk group buy. Beautiful chips! https://www.pokerchipforum.com/thre...-ii-the-order-thread.19689/page-9#post-369663. Good luck!

wow! But the PayPal links are not working. Is the deal still on?

 

[duffman]

wow! But the PayPal links are not working. Is the deal still on?

I was under the impression they were still available. I could be wrong. I would contact Todd @The Chip Exchange to see if he still has them available. Just be warned, your headed down a rabbit hole!

 

[Francisho]

I was under the impression they were still available. I could be wrong. I would contact Todd @The Chip Exchange to see if he still has them available. Just be warned, your headed down a rabbit hole!

Haha

 

[duffman]

Try this link... https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/february-12th-multi-casino-sale.17972/

 

[codeman00]

I'll chime in here since I'm only a couple of months into this...

My journey began by needing some Bounty chips for our tournament. (We have always used dice chips and had never really considered upgrading). I had grown tired of everyone always asking...How much is this worth? How much is that one worth? Etc.

Anyway, I started seeing all of these awesome chips out there. I had no idea that all of these choices were available. The more I looked, the more I wanted something different than dice chips. I ordered some samples sets from Apache Poker Chips of what I thought I would want for a tournament set and cash set. After showing the samples to my wife, she pointed to the most expensive China clays citing the other ones looked "cheap and fake". So I now have a huge 1200+ collection of Majestics. I would check out their site and prices as an option.

Getting the fever, I started to get the disease too wanting casino chips for better cash games in the future. So I started assembling a casino used Paulson set. Just to let you know that it will be expensive and most likely come with complications....especially if you need a frac (fractional chip) like $0.25 or $0.50. You can rarely find these in casino chips and generally have to find 200+ of another chip and then buy labels at $0.30 per chip (plus the chip cost) to finish your set. Yes, these chips will hold their value but honestly, my group played with the Majestic chips for the first time the other day and as long as they have durability, I'm hooked on them. The chips ar $0.39 each, they feel and real, and they have all denominations available instead of having to find other chips and special labels. There are other China Clays like Dunes, Milanos, etc out there that might work for you.

As someone noted, you will buy China Clays first and then upgrade later which will cost you more in the long run. I'm not sure that's the case with me. I guess time will tell, but the China Clays are less costly, feel similar, and are much easier/cheaper to get than Paulsons. I'm hooked on them.

Like everyone said above...buy sample sets of everything you might want and maybe of a few than are above you budget. Make your choice from there.

 

[The Chip Exchange]

The links should still be available, I will doublecheck to make sure everything is working properly

 

[H|Q]

Welcome.

What kind of game stakes do you play? Are they limit or no limit games?

 

[upNdown]

Sample are important. But you can't just get a handful of Paulsons from one set and make a decision about Paulsons. The chips vary greatly based on the mold that was used to make the chip and the inlay size. They can have a really different look and/or feel (and sound) based on those differences. Some of them I absolutely love, some of them I dislike.
So yeah, there's a lot to absorb.
Read a lot here and ask questions.

 

[Francisho]

Welcome.

What kind of game stakes do you play? Are they limit or no limit games?

They are no-limit cash game, with about $100 minimum buy-in

 

[BiGGyT]

The HS Cincy from Chip Exchange (link above) are some of the most affordable Paulson chips you could get that are in pretty decent condition, unless you need a lot of high denomination chips, then gets pricey.

If you are a fan of Bud Jones "Coin in Center" (CIC) chips, I would recommend checking with Jim (Vendor - The Chip Vault) for the Condado Plaza chips. They are in excellent condition and if you PM him, he probably would cut a deal with you. I believe the best pricing I saw him offer was about $1/chip, and the $500 and $1000 are oversized 43mm chips.
He has some others, here is his website link
https://thechipvault.com/



Good luck with your search, but if you are going to spend $.40/chip spend a little more and get the HS Cincy for your cash game. Condado for your tournament set.

 

[Francisho]

The HS Cincy from Chip Exchange (link above) are some of the most affordable Paulson chips you could get that are in pretty decent condition, unless you need a lot of high denomination chips, then gets pricey.

If you are a fan of Bud Jones "Coin in Center" (CIC) chips, I would recommend checking with Jim (Vendor - The Chip Vault) for the Condado Plaza chips. They are in excellent condition and if you PM him, he probably would cut a deal with you. I believe the best pricing I saw him offer was about $1/chip, and the $500 and $1000 are oversized 43mm chips.
He has some others, here is his website link
https://thechipvault.com/



Good luck with your search, but if you are going to spend $.40/chip spend a little more and get the HS Cincy for your cash game. Condado for your tournament set.

Thank you very much for your advice!