[Wylecoyo]

Manufacturer:Blue Chip
Retailer(s): Holdem Poker Chips
Average Price:

* 1-99 chips: $1.19 per chip
* 100-199 chips: $1.17 per chip
* 200-299 chips: $1.15 per chip
* 300-499 chips: $1.13 per chip
* 500-999 chips: $1.09
* 1,000 or greater chips: $1.01 per chip

Material: Compression Molded Clay

Member Review by: Wylecoyo

The Samurai Palace line of chips were designed by Chiptalk member Elijah Muse (circlencircle), manufactured by the Blue Chip Company, and are available exclusively from Holdem Poker Chips. Major selling points which distinguish them from other lines of fantasy chips include: a unique variance of edge-spots (inserts), excellent color selection and layout, separate linen textured inlay designs for the obverse and reverse chip faces, a custom mold, and a heavier overall weight (“Las Vegas” weight, approximately 9.5-10 grams) as compared to the more common Blue Chip designs (“California” weight, approximately 8-9 grams).

As I expressed in my Blue Chip High Roller review, the Samurai Palace chips are not fully customized Paulsons (the universal gold standard against which all chips are compared), but they are probably not what you may have come to expect from Blue Chip clays either. In the past, most ChipTalker's (myself included) have derided Blue Chip chips as being of lesser quality and lower value due to their lighter weight (as compared to other casino quality chips) and their apparent tendency toward having misshapen and/or misaligned inlays. However, these perceptions seem to be changing as the newest lines of chips to emerge from the Blue Chip factory are of a much higher quality and have a much better inlay consistency than previous offerings. The one overriding positive feature of the Blue Chip Company is their willingness to offer a wide range of customization options, including inlays, edge-spots, colors, and even the occasional new mold.



PROS
-Unique and great looking overall design
-Weight, sound, and feel
-Best variance of edge-spots (inserts) you will find anywhere
-Much better quality than older Blue Chips

CONS
-Samurai motif may not fit your personality
-I don't have a full playable set

Price

Pricing varies by quantity, as follows: 1-99 chips: $1.19 per chip; 100-199 chips: $1.17 per chip; 200-299 chips: $1.15 per chip; 300-499 chips: $1.13 per chip; 500-999 chips: $1.09; 1,000 or greater chips: $1.01 per chip.

Feel

These chips have a nice overall feel to them, as should be expected of compression molded clay chips. Individual chips weigh in at around 9.5 grams each, which is heavier than the vast majority of Blue Chip made chips you will find. The linen inlay is specifically worth mentioning as it enhances the elegant feel of the chip and is less common than the smooth inlay featured on most other chips. In addition to the nice texture on the inlay, the inlay itself is mounted in such a way as to present an almost seamless chip face as opposed to the slightly, or in some cases not so slightly, recessed inlays found on the Blue Chip Desert Palms or the Trademark and Pharaoh Paulsons.

Stacking

Samurai Palace chips stack very well – even better than other Blue Chip lines I own, which I suppose is attributable to their higher weight. Although I only have twenty-four sample chips, I cannot imagine how stacks of at least twice this number (forty to fifty chips) would not be just as stable as the limited number I tested. Although spinners are possible among compression-molded chips, I did not find any in my sample set and would expect you would find very few, if any, in a large playable set..

The even-surfaced linen textured inlay featured on these chips is a welcome feature which doubtlessly aids in stacking and handling these chips as it provides enhanced friction across a greater surface area. The 7/8th of an inch inlay size also provides a nice amount of clay to clay contact between chips which also enhances their stackability.

Sound

I continue to encounter difficulty describing the sound qualities of chips, but suffice to say these Samurai Palace chips have a nice overall sound to them. If you have heard a quality compression molded clay chip before than you know what I am talking about and if you have not, they you owe it to yourself to experience it first hand.

Looks

The visual quality of the Samurai Palace line is outstanding, featuring a nice progression of colors and edge-spots (inserts) among denominations. As opposed to the vast majority of chip designs you will encounter, Samurai Palace chips were created with different, yet complimentary, obverse and reverse inlays. The first inlay is features a gray scale Samurai Warrior on a white background while the second inlay includes the subdued Japanese character for Samurai on a black background. The overall design quality and execution on these chips are top notch across the board and it is easy to imagine them being used in a real casino.

While Samurai Palace chips offer much better inlay consistency and quality than older Blue Chip lines, you can still find some minor inlay problems if you really look. Casual observers probably will not notice anything wrong with them, but if you know what to look for you will find a few minor inlay problems present in this line of chips: inlays which are marginally off-center, inlays which have become slightly misshapen or distorted during the manufacturing process, and/or minor indications of a “white ring” around the edges of the black inlays. To be perfectly honest and fair, all clay chips, regardless of who manufactures them, will have these same inlay problems to some degree, but, for whatever reason, they tend to be either more pronounced or more noticeable in chips made by the Blue Chip Company. As previously stated, the inlays on more recently produced Blue Chip clay chips are much better as compared to their older counterparts, but if you are seeking perfection on a chip to chip basis you may become frustrated with these.

Security/Originality

Samurai Palace chips are produced by Blue Chip and are an exclusive line carried only by Holdem Poker Chips. Given their price, it is conceivable one of your players might be able to buy some and sneak them into your game, but the real danger of this occurring is no more or less likely to occur than with any other chip designed for retail sales and home use. The T-Mold featured on the Samurai Palace chips are also available as solid color blanks (no edge-spots or inlays) from Holdem Poker chips.

Durability

Blue Chip seems to use a slightly different blend of materials to produce their clay lines and the result is a somewhat harder chip. While this gives them a harder feel which some people don’t care for, I like it and it continues to grow on me the more I handle them. One big benefit of having a harder chip is that they will take abuse better without showing wear. These chips should last months without any visible wear and years and years without having to worry about them being too worn for continued service (if ever).

Reviewers Comments

I own two different playable sets of Blue Chips and they are awesome. While I only have twenty-four sample Samurai Palace chips, I can definitely say they are at least as good across the board, and significantly better in some ways, as the Blue Chips I have come to love playing with in my regular games. I would love to add a full set of these to my inventory and cannot imagine how playing with them would not be an absolute pleasure. If you like the design and appeal of these chips, I would heartily recommend them to you. If you cannot be satisfied with a chip this nice, you will probably never be satisfied regardless of what you buy in their place.

[Matthew]

Samurai Palace clay chips
Purchased from: holdempokerchips.com
Price Paid: Group buy sample price - about $18-$20 shipped for 2 sample sets

I have sample sets of these chips and I was able to follow the entire design process on chiptalk. Everything was new about these chips. The insert designs and colors were carefully chosen as well as the development of new mold. I admire the creativity of member "circlencircle" that went into the creation of these beautiful chips.

Pros:

• Very original design.
• New mold designated the "T" mold, with solid blanks avaialble from holdempokerchips.com.
• Old school color combinations, very subdued.
• Heavier chip than the other Blue Chip Company chips out there, which is now an option for BCC customs.

Cons:

• From a security standpoint they are readily available.
• Although unique, not true customs.
• For some, different inlays on the obverse and reverse are a negative.

[bolgenmod]

Samurai Palace Clay Chips
Purchased from: http://www.holdempokerchips.com (group-buy)
Price Paid: group-buy price (??, under .90 each)

I bought these chips because I loved the fantastic design: the Japanese theme, the sophisticated color scheme, and the edgespot progression. I had no experience with BCC chips before, but I am very happy with them: they feel and sound different from my Paulsons, but different is not necessarily worse.

Pros:

• Colors: the colors are gorgeous, especially the grey .25, the purple 500, and the dark grey 5000.
• Edgespots: great progression of varied styles.
• Inlay : love the Japanese theme and the two-sided inlay.
  
• Mold: the new T-mold really fits the overall design.
• Stacking: these chips stack unbelievably well, better than any other chip I own (including my Paulson Pharaohs).
• The Grey .25 chip: so outstanding it deserves its own bullet point!! I believe this is the most beautiful (and sophisticated) mass-market home game chip out there.

Cons:

• They really do need oiling to make the most of the colors, and I think oiling is boring.
• Yellow 1000s I got had ghost edgespots -- I don't know if that is common.