Looking For Nice/Colorful Chips...Higher End

[Omicron]

My girlfriend wants to get me a nice set of chips for our anniversary. I have a set of eBay specials (500 piece, 11.5g, red/green/blue/black/white chips) that are okay. But they are cheap - feel like cheap plastic, and they sound really metallic.

The budget is about $250 for a set of chips...I've got a couple of things in mind for what I want.

I don't want a cheesy fake casino/tournament logo on the chips. I've found a lot of neat chips, but then they've got something like "Martini Club Casino" on them. No thanks.

I don't want denominations. Sometimes we play tournaments, where chips have huge values (5/25/100/500/etc, etc), sometimes we play low limit ring games where the chips have real value ($.25/$.5/$1/etc, etc). Denominations just mess that all up.

I don't want the same old boring colors...everyone has the eBay special chip set. I want something a little nicer.

These chips are beautiful:
http://www.cardroomsupply.com/10chtpoch.html

But...denominations and stupid logo. A little expensive, but it gives you an idea.

These chips look neat too - I like the colors and edge spots..

http://www.nevadajacks.net/mall/martini_club.htm

But...logo and denominations again.

A friend of mine has this set:

http://www.pokernstuff.com/index.asp...amp;ProdID=104

Which has a very nice feel/sound to it, but it's pretty much just an upgraded version of the eBay special.

Anyone have any ideas/links? I'm running out of steam on Google [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] Or, am I just out of luck in my price range? Is the decision really limited to the eBay special versus ponying up a $1 per chip for something I really want?

I've found these chips:

http://www.holdempokerchips.com/products.asp?cat=30

That I REALLY like, but dang...$500+ for the set. Yee-ouch. I'd like something like these chips (non-denominated, nice look, good quality) but maybe not quite this price range.

[spicychili]

I would suggest that you take a look at this site.

http://www.homepokertourney.com/chips_review.htm

He has reviewed most of the chips that you will find anywhere.

For the price that you are looking at I would suggest a set of nextgen chips. While the price on homepokertourney says there are .50 each you can get them for as little as .20 each at 5stardeal

I have no affiliation with any of these sites.

[SamIAm]

I agree with chili. At that budget, Nexgens sound like the way to go.

If you have opinions on graphics (pretty much the same as mine: No casino, No denominations) then you should definitely do labels. I had Jason do mine, and I was psyched with the product. This link has lots of details and links to all the label-makers.
-Sam

P.S. Welcome to the forum. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[Omicron]

Thanks for the welcome...I've been lurking for awhile, but finally decided to post.

I've looked at those NexGens...not bad looking at all. The only downside is that everyone says they sound pretty much like every other cheap 11.5g chip. Maybe I will order a sample of them and see. Thanks for the tips - I'll keep digging. The more I research, the more it seems that you really are limited to either "cheap budget chips" or "expensive nice chips".

[SamIAm]

[ QUOTE ]
The only downside is that everyone says they sound pretty much like every other cheap 11.5g chip. ... The more I research, the more it seems that you really are limited to either "cheap budget chips" or "expensive nice chips".

[/ QUOTE ]
Hmm. I don't think EITHER of those statements are true. I'm holding a dice-chip, a nexgen, and a Paulson sample, and there's a pretty large difference in sound between ALL the chips. (Nexgens are in the middle.)

I also don't think that it just goes from cheap straight to expensive. In the middle are (surprisingly enough) Nexgens. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] You should also check-out teh 13g chips. They're monsterously heavy, but lots of people like them.

[faytlnd]

I would have to agree with the last few posters and say that Nexgens are probably the way to go. I am also stuck with a set of the infamous DICE chips, as I am lacking the funds to get anything nicer. I have played with the Nexgens though, and I have to say that if I wanted to invest a little more money, they are waht I would go with. You can get a set of 1000 for a little over 200 at 5star (someone posted the link above).

This may not solve your problem of making them unique, but the easiest way to do that is get labels made. You will be sure to have a one of a kind set if you design the label yourself. THere are a bunch of people that will make them for yo on the net, and they fit very well on the nexgens because of the slightly recessed center. You can label the whole 1000 for something around 50-60 bucks...not bad if you don't mind putting on 2000 labels. I am personally going to do this with my dice set because i want something that looks better, but that is relatively inexpensive.

And as a note on the denominations, I was in the same position as you. However I think it works if you use denominations 1, 5, 25, 100, 500 for a 5 color set. Just don't put $ signs in front. This way they can work as high value tourney chips or lower ring game denoms. For the latter you just have to imagine there is a decimal point in the 100s and 500s...not too far of a stretch. I personally think it helps eliminate confusion with the denoms, especially if you are getting players that aren't regulars.

[pie taster]

If you can wait 10 weeks. For 500 chips at $250, I would seriously look at http://pokerchips.com. You can customize your colors and it will be sweet. You can call them and they will send you some samples. There is also a mockup generator here.

You may also want to look at
http://thepokerchipcompany.com/. They are a good upgrade as far as quality goes. But look kind of bland.

[Omicron]

Thanks for all the responses! I'm going to take a look into these...I appreciate it.

I'm not looking for a COMPLETELY unique chip, just something nicer than the typical composite chips.

I had looked at those chips from The Poker Chip Company - they were one of the sites that I had bookmarked to consider later...I think I will have to get a sample of the NexGen chips. I really, really like the look of the clay chips with edge spots, and those seem to be a good value if they are decent.

I appreciate all the feedback!

[hachkc]

A couple of options with prices per chip:

www.pokerchips.com (.35 - .95) - Real clay chips. You can get non-inlayed custom edge spot chips for .50/chip. Best custom chip for the buck. The only downside is the wait (measured in months).

Neophytes/Kingpins (.35- .27) - Much better feeling than 95% of the cheap chips on the market. These are basically the same chip but the Neophytes ( www.buypokerchips.com ) come with denominated stickers or non-denom stickers (ugly ones) while the Kingpins ( www.acehighsupply.com) are blank chips. I have the Neophytes and I'm happey with them.

www.thepokerchipcompany.com (.45 - .55) - Feel good, sounds good, no metal insert but looks like a lot of cheap chips. Good quality chip that can be customized.

If you wanted to add denoms, the Nevada Jacks ceramics (Dead Mans or Desert Sands) are nice.

Also, check out www.pokerchipreviews.com.

gl

[DerryABU]

I'd spend the extra and go for the "suit" chips real nice and a major step up in quality.