[aj1118]

I am looking to buy my first chip set. I would like to spend $150-$300. First question: can you get a nice set for that money? Second question: If so, what recommendations would anyone have? I do not particularly like sets with a specific casino sticker on them and i am looking to get away from the metal insert sound. Sorry this is such a wide-open question, but i dont have enough experience to hone it in much better. thanks.

[Jonah 99]

Yes $300 can get you good chips, it will be a question of how many.

What kind of game are you hosting?
Cash game?
Tournaments?

how many players?

Do you want denominations on the chips?
Do you want clay or ceramic?

[djexacto]

If NJ still has their sale on, the 500 Desert Sands would probably fit the bill

[aj1118]

Thanks for the help. I am looking for chips for tournament style games where we all buy in with 20 bucks or so. There are always 5-8 of us. I would like to buy a set of 500 chips. I have seen some i like with denominations (usually 5, 25, 100, and 500), but i am totally confused as to how this would work well, given that our blinds would start at 5 and 10. Wont we run out of 5's really soon if the next denomination up is 25? i would like denominations if they work out fine mathmatically. (Im just not gifted enough to do the arithmetic well.) I absolutely love clay chips - the soft feel of them and the muted clicking sound - but i suppose they may be out of my price range. Generally, that is what im looking for though.
Thanks again.

[jdunford]

Originally Posted by aj1118

I am looking to buy my first chip set. I would like to spend $150-$300. First question: can you get a nice set for that money? Second question: If so, what recommendations would anyone have? I do not particularly like sets with a specific casino sticker on them and i am looking to get away from the metal insert sound. Sorry this is such a wide-open question, but i dont have enough experience to hone it in much better. thanks.

I'd recommend these:

http://www.holdempokerchips.com/products.asp?cat=53

No sticker / inlay. No metal inserts. Authentic compression-molded clay (like a real casino). Reasonably secure (chips on this mold only available from this one retailer). And they come in a wide assortment of colours.

Or you can get them hot-stamped for a few cents more per chip (for improved looks and/or security):

http://www.holdempokerchips.com/products.asp?cat=62

*EDIT* Oh, and "welcome to ChipTalk"! You've definitely come to the right place if you're interested in a set of quality chips. Just don't expect to walk away with just one set... If you do, you're a better man (?) than me!

[Scoutens]

You can get 500 ceramics for $300 to $500. If you can't do the artwork yourself for customs, it would cost a bit more on top of that.

The general recommendation that I've found is that the lowest two denominations should constitute 2/3 of your chips. So something along these lines:

200 - $5 200 - $5 150 - $5
200 - $25 150 - $25 200 - $25
50 - $100 or 100 - $100 or 100 - $100
50 - $500 50 - $500 50 - $500

Basically, you need to take a look at your blind structure and decide what is best for your game.

Good Luck with whatever style you choose!

[Pinkie1212]

500 seems like a good number for a first set. homepokertourney.com is a great resource and has links to most suppliers as well as reviews on most chips available

[mike33]

...and another one gets sucked into the chiptalk vortex. You're here + you posted + you're buying chips = your wallet is toast...forever!!!

Welcome to the site and good luck

[Trav]

There are some really nice Paulson chip sets (500 qty) that have been selling lately on e-bay for between $250-$350. I think "Freddie's" and possibly still "Chip's" are the lines that "The Chip Store" is selling right now. IMHO, Paulsons as a first set is pretty damn good!!!

[WolfPack]

you can get 500 custom ceramics from palm imports for around $325 or so. you could also get 500 of there wallson china made "clay" (no metal inserts) chips with a label for less than that.

if you don't really care for customs you can get 500 desert sands or skulls (nice ceramics) for $180 from nevada jacks.net

you can search CT and find out about any of these options.

you could also get 500 hotstamped solid clays (stock denom) from bluechip for $250