Hey guys.

I am in the process of restarting our home game at my apartment. Im gathering supplies and Im on the hunt for chips.

Well, I did some research on here and came across Claysmith Gaming. They seem to have some decent enough chips for a home game and they have all the denoms I would need to make things a tad bit easier on everyone playing.

I wanted to order 3 of their sample packs, two of them were my main decision.

The Milanos were sold out so I couldnt order them. I really wanted the Bluff Canyon chips which I just received and may still get them even though I didnt realize they were 13.5g slugged. They feel like bricks lol.

But my questions is- I noticed some of the edges are a bit sharp and have some very small burs. Is there some type of conditioning other than just using them? Has anyone ever thought of tumbling them in a pillow case and throwing them in a dryer(with no heat of course) or anything similar?

Maybe brushing the edges with scotch brite?

Whats going on with Claysmith? Are they backordered or something? Their Milanos in high demand?

If anyone else has any other recommendations for sample chips that are similar price range as Claysmith Id appreciate it.

I want to keep my budget under $250 for a 500ct set and I need $0.25 denoms.

Thanks

Have you looked at the Brybelly Eclipse chips on Amazon? They were the ones I bought to replace my old dice chips. Had them for some time and they are holding up well with weekly use. They have the denominations you want certainly. Might be an option for you or maybe not. Good luck with your start up.

I always recommend to people that if you think you'll ever host a tourney or two, go with the tourney denominations. My cash games are .25/.50, but even the clown show that is my home game can figure out that 25=.25 and 100=$1. we play cash most weeks, but I've hosted 3 table MTTs, so this worked best for me.

Thanks for the help guys. Ive brought up tourney ideas with my group before and no one was ever interested. I guess its because they dont want to come here and bust early and then be stuck waiting... They just want to play.

I just order a sample of the Vinerati chips... Do you guys think ill be alright just having 3 denoms of chips? .25/1.00/5.00..

We have always just played .25/.25 but I just have a feeling someone would complain about not having a .50, 2.00 and a 10.00..

I know it really doesnt make a difference, but they are just used to the standard cheap dice chip set where you run out of chips and you need to have like 4-5 different denoms to make a stack.

I think Id be alright with 3 denoms if I go with the Vineratis..

Im a little ticked off that I cant get Milano samples... And the Bluff Canyons are still a consideration too.

Unless you're going with really deep stacks you should almost never need more than a 5 dollar chip in play for a .25/.50 game. We've had 1400 bb's on the table and number of times and needing bigger chips have never been an issue

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And to actually answer the question, 3 denominations is perfect. The rest just confuse things

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^^^ fitty cent chips is a PITA

You can always get one barrel (25 chips) of $10 chips later on if you need it, but a 500ct set should have plenty of nickels. (Of course, 500 chips is a lot, so you can still get one barrel of 10s for ****s and giggles.)

So a spray across all your questions:

1) Yes, Milanos are in demand. They're one of the best (IMO) mid-range chips out there. Mine have held up well to regular use for close to 6 years now. The only conditioning I did with mine was oiling about 3/4 of them.

2) Veneratis are quality ceramic chips. A buddy of mine has them for his game, and they've held up well. For me the only difference between them and milanos is preference of clay vs ceramic.

3) Denominations: I have .25/1/5/25, but I think I've only ever had to use my 25 chips once when we were playing 9 handed and it was an insane action game. We play .25/.50 NLHE and 1-3 button blind Omaha (PLO, PLO8, and Big O with a sprinkling of SOHE) and most folks buy in for a $100. I start the night giving out 20 x .25, 20 x 1, and the rest in $5 chips, and then rebuys are generally a stack of 1s and the rest in 5s.

.25s , $1 , and $5 chips are totally adequate for your stakes. I added a few $10 and $25 rolls , but they seldom get used. Once in a while a big stack will trade in some $5s for a small stack of $10s , but that is mostly just "showing off" a big night which all our crew like to do.

If the chips have little tabs or fine lines from the injection molding, a little sanding could help.

It would go quicker if you have a power sander and a vice to hold it in place, or a power grinder. You could use a fine grit and test on a couple of chips to see if you like the effect.

If you have a grinder, there may be another type of attachment that won't require such a steady hand. I'm not sure what's out there for that. Maybe a nylon brush? Maybe someone here has better advice on that.

OK yea Im sticking with .25/1/5 chips and keep it simple. I did some math and a 500 piece set is more than enough. I may get a loose roll of 10s too.

Im pretty excited to get ceramic samples. I dont think Ive ever felt ceramics before!

Im gonna do an experiment with these samples I have. They are the Bluff Canyons from Claysmith. Im gonna put them in a sack and throw them in a dryer for a few minutes.

My thinking is that a tumble with a bulk of the chips at the same time will give them nice even wear instead of doing one chip at a time.

I'd suggest $25s over $10s, unless you plan to play a 10/20,20/40,or 30/60 limit game in the future. 4-5x multiplier between chip values for a cash game generally work well. Big quarters will work well if your game gets deeper than usual and maxes out the initial 500 chips. Rebuys can be passed out in big chips and players can then buy change at the table. If these are going to come in to play, giving your players a reminder on the one chip rule may reduce the chance of misunderstandings.
I'd also suggest buying at least as many chip racks as you typically have players. Find a rack that is a consistent tight fit with 20 of the chips you end up with and it can help out with passing out buy-ins and quickly/accurately counting cashouts.

Big agreement here. I thought we'd be playing 10c/25c, so I had purchased $10 chips along with $25. It turns out that the $10 chips make everything harder. Moving forward, we're just going to do either 25c/25c or 25c/50c.

The $10 chips aren't really great for small SnG tournaments either. In retrospect, I shouldn't have bought them at all.

Ok, so I received all of the samples I ordered:

Claysmith Bluff Canyon
Tiki Kings ceramic
Vinerati ceramic

I have to say that I really like the Bluff Canyons. This is mainly because the chip design reminds me of the casinos I go to and the Native American vibe. Only downside is that they feel clunky and heavy. A lot of spinner chips too... If only they were full clay and no slug..

I like the Tiki Kings too. I feel that they would add a nice light and friendly vibe to the game and the colors really pop. The $5 red almost looks like its pink but I could deal with that. The .25 chip is a nice blue color unlike the brown .25 from the Bluff Canyon.

I ordered one set sample of the Vineratis and received two sets, some didnt have any denoms on them, which is not what im looking for.

I also really like the Vineratis. They feel and have the same texture as the Tikis. May be a bit thinner than the Tikis..?

Its a tough call between the Vineratis and the Tikis. The Vineratis have denoms that Ill never use and I was a bit turned off by them when they didnt have a $10 chip. But you guys are saying the $10 can get in the way and youre probably right...

Im going to bring the samples to a few of my poker group people and get some opinions and see what they want.

BTW, I will not be using these chips for any SnG or tournament style play.. Im only playing cash games.

Can't you specify the quantity of each denomination you want when you order? Just order the denominations and quantities you need.

Yes Vinerati has the denoms I need, I just wasnt expecting a 100,000 chip. Must be for tourneys...

But I have gathered some opinions on which chips I should buy and Im going with the Tikis.

We always do a tourney, then as players bust they form a cash game.


Good info on the chips fellas, been looking into a nicer set myself.

Just to echo what others have said, .25/1/5's should be exactly what you need. I have a few stacks of .50 cent chips and $10 chips that basically never get used.

I have 10 racks of the Bluff Canyon chips that we use exclusively for our home game and have received many compliments about the chip quality and how easy it is for new players to recognize the denomination. Brand new they do have sharp edges and burrs of material that can shed off, but after weekly use that quickly goes away. As much as I would love to have the worn, rounded edges of casino chips, that's just the reality of buying affordable poker chips.

I think for the price and the wide availability, the Bluff Canyons are hard to beat.