Thanks + Chip sample comparison

[speedracer]

First, thanks to everyone on this board for all the good info.

I got my first two sets of samples and wanted to offer a brief summary/comparison.

5stardeal

super diamond ($0.08) – probably not much of a surprise here….they aren't too good.

dice/suited ($0.14) – exactly as expected, can't go wrong for this price range.

tri-color suited/crown ($0.32) – nice upgrade to 3 colors. Edge spotting is too busy on the suited. Edge spotting is much nicer on the crowns but "crowns" aren't as nice as "suits/AKQJ". Not worth the extra cost, IMO.

high roller ($0.39) – nice looking, but also has a very hard plastic feel. Others have mentioned a concern about the edge spotting being primarily white regardless of chip color. I think this concern is justified. I really wanted to like these since they look good and are pre-denominated without the dollars and cents symbols. But, I wouldn't recommend them, especially at that price.

fan of cards ($0.80) – very good looking, but I don't like the feel (not for that much money)…..guess I am in the minority here because isn't this a bluechip chip? I wasn't impressed.


chipsandgames

diamond/dice/suited ($0.18) – may be slightly less "slick" than the ones from 5star.

double dice/dice style b/diamond suited ($0.25) – upgrades to nicer edge spotting, otherwise they are rather plain and not too exciting compared to the added cost.

tri-color AKQJ/tri-color diamond suited ($0.34) – nice looking chips, especially the AKQJ. They may still be a little too much $$$ for what they are though.

"real clay" dice/suited ($0.30) – they are too heavy, but have a good feel to them…almost a rubbery texture. Durability may be a problem because you can scratch them, although it seems you have to intentionally try. Can someone offer any experience with these? I am leaning towards getting these if I can be convinced that they are durable.

"real clay" tri-color ($0.49) – have the same good feel. However, the craftsmanship is poor and not worth the extra money. There are rough and mismatched edges where the color transitions are.


I have a few more samples coming, hopefully next week. It is looking like you either have to go all the way to one of the custom designed versions, or just stick with the composite dice chips (although the "real clay" version is still in the running for me).

Any comments and suggestions are welcome. Thanks.

[rich8]

thanks for the info. i was interested in the tri color ones suited ones from 5star. but after reading your post, i went to chipsandgames. i really like their akqj ones. they are pretty sharp.

could you elaborate more on the differences from 5star and chipsandgames, quality, feel, etc.

how are the edgespots on the chipsandgames one?

you seem to like the 11.5g dice ones for the price. so am i basically paying $.20 more for the tricolor ones. are they basically like the 11.5g dice ones but with an extra color?

thanks.

rich

[Drew]

First, thanks to everyone on this board for all the good info.

I got my first two sets of samples and wanted to offer a brief summary/comparison.

5stardeal

super diamond ($0.08) – probably not much of a surprise here….they aren't too good.

dice/suited ($0.14) – exactly as expected, can't go wrong for this price range.

tri-color suited/crown ($0.32) – nice upgrade to 3 colors. Edge spotting is too busy on the suited. Edge spotting is much nicer on the crowns but "crowns" aren't as nice as "suits/AKQJ". Not worth the extra cost, IMO.

high roller ($0.39) – nice looking, but also has a very hard plastic feel. Others have mentioned a concern about the edge spotting being primarily white regardless of chip color. I think this concern is justified. I really wanted to like these since they look good and are pre-denominated without the dollars and cents symbols. But, I wouldn't recommend them, especially at that price.

fan of cards ($0.80) – very good looking, but I don't like the feel (not for that much money)…..guess I am in the minority here because isn't this a bluechip chip? I wasn't impressed.


chipsandgames

diamond/dice/suited ($0.18) – may be slightly less "slick" than the ones from 5star.

double dice/dice style b/diamond suited ($0.25) – upgrades to nicer edge spotting, otherwise they are rather plain and not too exciting compared to the added cost.

tri-color AKQJ/tri-color diamond suited ($0.34) – nice looking chips, especially the AKQJ. They may still be a little too much $$$ for what they are though.

"real clay" dice/suited ($0.30) – they are too heavy, but have a good feel to them…almost a rubbery texture. Durability may be a problem because you can scratch them, although it seems you have to intentionally try. Can someone offer any experience with these? I am leaning towards getting these if I can be convinced that they are durable.

"real clay" tri-color ($0.49) – have the same good feel. However, the craftsmanship is poor and not worth the extra money. There are rough and mismatched edges where the color transitions are.


I have a few more samples coming, hopefully next week. It is looking like you either have to go all the way to one of the custom designed versions, or just stick with the composite dice chips (although the "real clay" version is still in the running for me).

Any comments and suggestions are welcome. Thanks.

Good review. I have some of the "rubbery" chips and I can tell you that although they get dirty easily, they are durable. I play with them constantly while playing poker online and we have many home games with them.

Thanks for the review, I'll include some of this information in my chipguide:

http://www.mynameismatt.com/cg

[speedracer]

Rich, I should have noted that most all of these chips start from the same 11.5g base. All the 11.5g chips feel about the same. I thought the ones from chipsandgames felt slightly less "slick". But after having 3 other people compare them and finding no difference, I believe they must be the same. (one possible MINOR difference would be that 5star sent all the chips loosely in a bubble bag so there probably was a very small amount of wear .... which didn't happen to the chipsandgames chips because they were sent in a 9-pokect sheet so the chips couldn't rub together.) Quality seems pretty equal as well, except for the one tri-color "real clay" chip. I think it just needs some tweaking in the manufacturing process, but right now it is pretty poor.

Edge spots seem good. The one complaint I would have was on the 5star AKQJ/suited tri-color. It's spots alternate between a small dot and a long bar. This bar is what really drags down the overall chip IMO. My digital camera is not good enough to show all these details so I won't bother trying to post pics. The tri-color suited one from chipsandgames seems to be very good edge spotting, alternating small dot small diamond. They are pretty sharp and I really like the colors, but for me personally they are not worth 2+ times the cost over the dice chips. And I also think I would rather have the better "feel" of the "real clay" dice/suited chips rather than the better color .... for about the same price. Chipsandgames did send a coupon for $7 off the next order to compensate for the shipping of the first "free" sample, so you might should order a sample set from them.

[speedracer]

Drew, thanks for the info. When you say they get dirty easily....have you tried cleaning them? I know the composite ones would clean up with no problem, but these so-called "real clay" ones might not hold up well to cleaning????? Guess I will try it out on this sample I have.

[Drew]

Drew, thanks for the info. When you say they get dirty easily....have you tried cleaning them? I know the composite ones would clean up with no problem, but these so-called "real clay" ones might not hold up well to cleaning????? Guess I will try it out on this sample I have.

Yeah, they clean fine. I actually just filled a bowl with hot water and put some soap in there, put the chips in. then i layed them out on a towel and used a toothbrush to clean them.

Worked fine.

[Drew]

Rich, I should have noted that most all of these chips start from the same 11.5g base. All the 11.5g chips feel about the same. I thought the ones from chipsandgames felt slightly less "slick". But after having 3 other people compare them and finding no difference, I believe they must be the same. (one possible MINOR difference would be that 5star sent all the chips loosely in a bubble bag so there probably was a very small amount of wear .... which didn't happen to the chipsandgames chips because they were sent in a 9-pokect sheet so the chips couldn't rub together.) Quality seems pretty equal as well, except for the one tri-color "real clay" chip. I think it just needs some tweaking in the manufacturing process, but right now it is pretty poor.

Edge spots seem good. The one complaint I would have was on the 5star AKQJ/suited tri-color. It's spots alternate between a small dot and a long bar. This bar is what really drags down the overall chip IMO. My digital camera is not good enough to show all these details so I won't bother trying to post pics. The tri-color suited one from chipsandgames seems to be very good edge spotting, alternating small dot small diamond. They are pretty sharp and I really like the colors, but for me personally they are not worth 2+ times the cost over the dice chips. And I also think I would rather have the better "feel" of the "real clay" dice/suited chips rather than the better color .... for about the same price. Chipsandgames did send a coupon for $7 off the next order to compensate for the shipping of the first "free" sample, so you might should order a sample set from them.

I have both and I can genuinely feel a difference. If you go to 5star, you'll find the regular chips in the "poker chips" section and the "clay" chips in the online specials catagory.

[speedracer]

Yes, sorry for not being clear. You can definitely feel the difference between the composite (slick) version and the "real clay" (rubber-like) version. But when comparing 5star "slick" versus chipsandgames "slick", I couldn't really find a difference afterall.

[speedracer]

Hi, I received some samples of the "clay composite" from 5star recently. They are definitely a much better feeling finish than the "ABS composite". They have almost a chalky feel to them. They are also still very much different from the chipsandgames "real clay" version, which has the rubbery feeling finish.

Does anyone know anywhere else that I could look for these "rubbery" finish chips? The $0.30 cost seems a bit high so I want to shop around, but I have spent all I can afford to on ordering samples already.

Thanks for any help.

[tabascojrc]

I went into a chipsandgames brick and mortar store. And took a look at the "rubber" like chips, they were a tri color design, What I noticed was the edges where the colors met were rough. You could feel the seam Anyone else notice this? Are the chips from online the same? Are 5stardeal's the same?

[confinatio1409]

rich8 I agree with yor argument.