Poker Chips - Design, Quality, Feel, etc.

[Mens Rea]

Hey guys,

I know this has probably been discussed in many, many other posts, and I've waded through many, including the Pics only thread, so forgive me if this sounds redundant.

My question is this: Taking into consideration design, feel, quality and any other factors, what would you consider to be the best poker chip out there. I'm looking for a chip that is heavy and has a classy look, no cheese. Assume cost, for the purpose of this discussion, is irrelevant (yes, I know I could just get actual casino chips from my favorite place, at cost).

Right now, I'm thinking that the 'suits' design is pretty nice, but I'm not familiar with the brand and 10g seems light, but I'm not sure. Any general suggestions on brands to avoid, etc. would be great.

Please attempt to refrain from or at least minimize advertising chips that you sell, or at least couch it in a way that doesn't come off like a bad pitch. Links or pics are appreciated.

[tomb1]

Quick post (more to follow)...

You're not too redundant, we all gotta learn some time.

Don't get hung up on weight. For all the high-quality chips, the weight is OK. Don't worry about 9 grams - 10 grams - 11.5 grams. Casino chips are around 10 grams so anything plus or minus 1-2 grams will feel just fine. So unless you're looking at cheap 3-4 gram plastic chips, don't bother with weight.

Oh, and go see John at http://www.pokerchipreviews.com/ Tell him 2+2 sent you. Read all his ecuation stuff and reviews of various chips. Well worth your time, really!

[EStreet20]

Hey dude,

I'm in the market for new chips too. I always thought I'd go for real clay when I get a nice set but I've been drooling over the suits for a while. I just ordered the samples for 12 bucks so I'm waiting for them but here's what I know now.

They're made by chipco, a very reputable brand. 10 grams is the same weight of nearly all real casino chips. The material is ceramic composite which I had never used before, and was always skeptical about, until my first Borgata trip last week. Their chips looked like chipcos and they felt great. So now I'm really into these chips and can't wait to get my samples. After that I'll decide if I'm gonna cough up the money for these or go with non-artwork edgbe spot clyas from pkerchips.com at 50 cents apiece. I've always loved the traditional look and feel of clays with edge spots but those suits are really cool looking. Either way it'll be a huge step up for my home game.
Good luck
Matt

[smoore]

"The Suits" are not only LIKE casino chips, they ARE casino chips. If you've ever played in a casino with the "flat ceramic" chips, chances are they were Chipcos.

Price not a concern? Buy a set of TH&C Paulsons or real Bud Jones' from ebay (Something over $2k for 500 right now I think). Price a little bit of a concern? Buy TenPercenters' fantasy paulsons in the group buy right now or The Suits (or the old egyptians, whatever), or design your own chipcos with homepokerchips.com. Price more of a concern than that? Get pokerchips.com blanks or nexgens with labels. Yet more concern for price (2000 tourney chips maybe)? Buy the "faux clay" chips.

[jojobinks]

or buy 900 desert sands from nevada jacks for $450 shipped. i like em better than chipco (b/c of the textured faces), and the price is hella right.

i bought 'em and they kick ass.

link to pics and a guy sellin em for even cheaper than NJ is

nevada jack's website

[Mens Rea]

Thanks for the responses so far guys.

So, the Chipcos suits are like the chips at the Borgata, for example? Personally, I like the feel of this type of chip, but I've heard people complain that they slide and can be tough to stack.

Also, I'm assuming that you cannot get the suits in denominations.

[smoore]

yeah, jojo is right... if you need/want 900 chips and like the looks of the DS (and the feel of ceramic) then you should jump on them RIGHT NOW because at < $0.50 each shipped anywhere in the US they are an awesome deal.

edit: and right, the suits were designed to be the only chipco chip without denoms on them... that's one of the things that makes them so cool and unique.

[Mens Rea]

Oh - one other thing - in reading some other threads, I've heard people dumping on "the dice chips." Are these the chips I've seen that their outer edges marked with white dice? Are these the same as the chips with the cards on them?

What is to be avoided in buying a nice set? Other than the obvious cheapies, are their any brands that represent themselves as being of higher quality than they actually are? Brands to avoid no matter what?

[jojobinks]

most chips that are without brand are garbage. chips that aren't garbage: chipco, NJ composites, NJ clays, paulson clays, matsui clay or plastics, bud jones, and other blue chip clays (questionably).

check out homepokertourney's reviews that's the best set of info about chip quality you'll find.

good luck. what i recommend; figure out if you want clay or ceramic, and then get some samples. i spent nearly $100 on samples in the last few months, and that really simplified my choices.

[tomb1]

First, get some samples.

No really, get samples!

I know it takes time and a few bucks, but it's really, really, really worth it. Chip "quality" is subjective and personal, so only you know if something looks, feels, and sounds "good" to you. You'll save both time and money by getting samples. Really!

And do your homework online. The poker chip review site mentioned above is great, as is http://www.homepokertourney.com/chips.htm (scroll down, and follow the links on the top left).

OK, so you say that money is no object, for purposes of this discussion. Well then if you want high-quality chips there are basically four kinds that are used in casinos:
- Clay (think Paulson, also ASM, Blue Chips, TR King, and others)
- Ceramic (Chipco or Nevada Jack)
- Real composite (Bud Jones and others)
- Coin inlay (Matsui, Bud Jones, others)

These are all in the one dollar range, though some are higher and some have been on sale for lower recently. But the "buck apiece" range sets these apart from less expensive chips (several price levels lower, down to 3¢-6¢ apiece).

So you really, really need to make a high-level decision about which type(s) you want to pursue further. Since there are pros and cons about each type, and no one chip is "perfect," you need to pick one or two types and then really, really look hard at the individual chips. (OK, now I've hit my "really" quota for the night, so I can quit it....)

Here's my quick rundown on each type of chip. I won't go through individual chips in each category, so once you decide what you (oops, almost said "really") want, you can get more detail.

Clay: this is the highest status, it's what is used at the majority of casinos. Clay has a unique feel, slightly porous, usually with a fine pattern etched in the clay, sort of "soft" (not really the best word, but whatever is the opposite of hard and slick), and wears nicely over time. The edges get rounded, the surface gets well worn, the clay gets a little sheen on it (and/or dirt from lots of play), and they feel good IMO. Solid clay chips come in various molds, with little dingleberry shapes pressed into the surface (like hats & canes, horseheads, crowns, suits, words, concentric circles, etc.). Clay chips have edge spots molded into them, in different colors. They sound solid, they stack well, and they feel very professional. Consumers can't buy casino chips from Paulson, but you can get retired Paulson chips from a real/fantasy casino, or the newer "home" Paulsons. The other manufacturers sell various chips to consumers, either directly or thru online retailers.

Ceramic: these chips came on the scene about 15-20 years ago, when most of the clay chips were nearly the same and very "classic" looking (read: boring). They are like a little solid ceramic hocky puck - flat on the surface (no molds) and slightly rounded edges. It's a completely different feel and sound than clay, but still professional. Lots of casinos have switched to ceramic chips. The biggest difference from classic clays is that ceramics were printed edge-to-edge with bright colors and photo-quality images. This was a real WOW factor on the market vs. clays. The finish on the face can range from silky-smooth to linen finish to a cross-hatched rougher finish (like NJ Desert Sands). The big downside to Chipco ceramics is that the WOW printing will wear down pretty quickly with heavy casino use (not nearly as bad for home use) -- then they look washed out with uneven wear, especially around the edges. They don't have edge spots molded in the chip, but can have fancy printing and colors on the edges. The "Suits" you mention are nice Chipco ceramics. In fact, as Smoore said above, you can buy casino-quality Chipcos online, and this is the only way you can get new sets of "the exact same" chips used in a casino.

Bud Jones composites: these are unique chips that are used by some casinos and not available to the public (except auctions of retired chips). There really isn't any other chip like Bud Jones available in quantities. Although Matsui decal chips and B&G composites chips are just like Bud Jones, those are even less available. BJs are made of a semi-soft (alomst rubbery, but not quite) plastic material, that sticks & stacks very well. These make a nice "clunk" sound and are very durable. To some people, once you feel them you'll always want them! BJs have a hideen metal inlay in the center for weighting, with the composite material molded around it in various designs. (BTW eStreet, those Borgatas are sweet Bud Jones chips, not Chipco ceramics. But good for you to get samples. Really!)

Coin inlay chips: these are similar to Bud Jones chips (and many are Bud Jones) -- they have a stamped coin center (actually two coins back-to-back) surrounded by plastic composite material. The real Bud Jones are semi-soft and very playable. The Matsui coin inlays have a harder plastic that is a little slicker. (You can also get medium and cheap coin inlay chips that are not too bad for the price.) The sound is a little more metallic but still substantial.

So there you have it -- four good high-quality choices. Pick what you want based on your personal preference (after you get samples, of course). That's enough for now, if you want more info or sample pictures, let me know.