Aside from some of the great places online to shop ... any suggestions as to where to look for these sets (with Cases) at a B&M shop?

I thought the title of this thread was "Clay Aiken Poker Chip Sets"

Now I'm disappointed.... :(

ebay is your best bet, they aren't really clay(most of them aren't) but they have a nice feel to them...I bought the 11.5 gram ones and love them

http://stores.ebay.com/Sceaming-Deals

I have been bidding on these (no luck thus far), but they seem to have an endless supply and I figure one of these days I will get them at the price I hope to.

i have a really nice set of 11.5's 500 clay chips i would let go for 120 shipped, let me know if your interested... only used them like 4 times at a home game.

?

Originally posted by Groucho
?

I initially posted this in the "Other" Forum but it was moved here.

www.pokerchipmart.com

10% off right now as well. Cheaper than any others. Good quality.

I think I saw some at Brookstone a few weeks ago. Had a nice case and everything.

I saw these at Overstock. 100 poly clay chips $23.99 + 2.95 shipping.

http://www.overstock.com/cgi-bin/d2.cgi?PAGE=PROFRAME&PROD_ID=31885

Originally posted by kvrdave
www.pokerchipmart.com

10% off right now as well. Cheaper than any others. Good quality.

A friend of mine got his from here - really nice at less than half the price of the store in the mall (Gamer's Paradise?)

If you're willing to spend over $200 for a set of 500 chips with case, then B&M is what you're looking for.
Though I don't know of any.

The only way to get a nice big set (500+) for a decent price (under $150) is to get them on Ebay.

Originally posted by Cptkirk
I saw these at Overstock. 100 poly clay chips $23.99 + 2.95 shipping.

http://www.overstock.com/cgi-bin/d2.cgi?PAGE=PROFRAME&PROD_ID=31885

Hmmmm, that lead me to some car speaker cabinet. :hscratch:

Pokerchipmart would still be cheaper.

Overstock 500 chips = $119.95

Pokerchipmart = $99.95 with an case and there is 10% off that.

Originally posted by Tafellappen
I thought the title of this thread was "Clay Aiken Poker Chip Sets"

Now I'm disappointed.... :(

Who is Clay Aiken???

Anyway, as another option, there is a website (I think it's pokersource.com) that will send you a *free* set of 300 'composite' chips (11.5g) in an aluminum case w/5 dice and 2 decks of casion cards, shipping including. CHoice of design, incl. dice or royal suited chips. All you gotta do is sign up for partypoker's online site, $100 min deposit, and play a certain number of hands (about 125, I think). You can also probably get a 20-25% bonus on your initial deposit (credited to your account after you play the minimum # of hands).

So, you can get a set of chips free and maybe make a few $$ or at least be close to even if you play conservatively. I went for this offer and after a couple of poker sessions, filled out the info and got my set of brand-new chips (nice!) in about a week.

yup, i did what drmoze did and got the free 300 chips set after signing up for partypoker which i was about to do anyways. Ended up giving the set to my friend and got a 11.5g set from ebay (wanted 600chips w/denominations on them).

the only thing w/the 11.5g ones are they feel a bit more "plastic" than a "real" casino chip. The weight feels nice and you will hear a slight "ping" when you throw/splash the pot with the chips. For most home games, these are great and really make the games feel important/real.

there are a couple of other sites that do some nice sets as well if you're willing to pay more. just browse for an idea of what else is available. In my search for chips, I even ended contacting and getting some sample chips from a japanese chip manufacturer called matsui gaming mfg or MGM (you see some ppl selling their chips on ebay as well)

www.nevadaJacks.net
www.dice702.com
www.viptrades.com
www.buypokerchips.com

remember, there are a lot of different styles available, ie. dice, suited, diamonds, etc. Just pick the ones you like the most and you should be pretty happy. Good luck hunting!

Thanks for all the recs.

I know the prices online are cheaper than a storefront, however I'm hosting a game tomorrow night that came together at the last minute. Rather than pay $100 (+ $75-$85 to ship overnight) online or $100+ at a B&M I went the eBay route and just purchased this set:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3294438219&ssPageName=ADME:B:EOAB:US:6

Toys R Us has tins of 11.5g chips for $10/100.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0001LUG2K/qid=1085767974/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-1351294-9694214?v=glance&s=toys

I like this place...although never used them

http://www.5stardeal.com/

OH YEAH...THEY USUALLY HAVE A 10% off when you visit the site.

some costcos sell sets of 500 11.5g chips for $80

Does anyone know if they sell those Toys R Us chips in their B&M stores?

Originally posted by X
Toys R Us has tins of 11.5g chips for $10/100.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0001LUG2K/dvdtalk/qid=1085767974/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-1351294-9694214?v=glance&s=toys I like that it says "Our recommended age: 10 years and up." I'll admit that I know absolutely nothing about poker chips (or poker for that matter) but I never would have guessed that the SOUND that they make would be such an issue! :)

Originally posted by Trelach24
Does anyone know if they sell those Toys R Us chips in their B&M stores? Yes, I saw them in the store.

I just picked up a set of 400 chips on ebay. The seller allows you to customize the color and quanity of the set. I would like to keep the colors similar to those that are used in most casinos (e.g. Red = $5, Green = $25). However, I'm not quite sure how I should break down the quanities? For those of you who hold your own poker night or play, what do you find to be the best breakdown of colors and quanities? I anticipate that most games will be between 5-6 people. I will purchase additional chips if I notice more people attend our games.

If it's mostly a friendly game then I use:

75% Red
15% Green
10% Blue

Does he have any more?

I may have to run up to Toys R Us and check out that tin of poker chips.

For $10 I figure why not take a flyer on them.

Originally posted by Trelach24
I may have to run up to Toys R Us and check out that tin of poker chips.

For $10 I figure why not take a flyer on them. I felt the same way but then I saw they were made in China so I passed. Whenever possible I keep my discretionary spending away from Chinese goods. I don't know if where they are manufactured matters to you but I thought I'd save you a trip if it did.

Originally posted by tacomantt
If it's mostly a friendly game then I use:

75% Red
15% Green
10% Blue

Does he have any more?

Thanks.. That's close to what I ended up going with. I wanted to keep the colors as close to the casinos as possible and went with the following:

(50% - 200) Red ($5)
(37.5% - 150) Green ($25)
(12.5% - 50) Black ($100)

This allows me to have up to 8 players with a $1,000 buyin. Hopefully this will work well. The only problem I forsee is when having to split the pot. We will have to do it down to the closest $5 since I won't have any smaller chips.

I picked the set from Ebay for $27 plus shipping. There are quite a few sets still available from various sellers and the auctions seem to end almost every few 15 minutes.

Originally posted by Spy021

This allows me to have up to 8 players with a $1,000 buyin.

Sheesh, if you have a $1000 buy-in, why didn't you just get GOOD, REAL chips. Like the James Bond ones or something similiar. I mean, it seems like you have the money to spend....get the real deal.

Originally posted by DJ_Longfellow
Sheesh, if you have a $1000 buy-in, why didn't you just get GOOD, REAL chips. Like the James Bond ones or something similiar. I mean, it seems like you have the money to spend....get the real deal.

I wish I had that kind of scratch to spend.... I was referring to the chip total being $1,000 for each player. The actual buyin would be anywhere from $10 - $40. Sorry about the confusion.

On a related note, I went in to Bed Bath and Beyond to get the folding poker table top, but they were sold-out. I placed an order using 20% off and was told it would take about 6 weeks to arrive. :down:

You can build a real one in that time!

Here's a follow-up question since this thread just won't die ;)

Poker table covers ... I have absolutely NO idea about these. Any recommendations on brands or things in general to look for?

Originally posted by indianajdp
Here's a follow-up question since this thread just won't die ;)

Poker table covers ... I have absolutely NO idea about these. Any recommendations on brands or things in general to look for?

I'm not sure what you are talking about here. Are you thinking of making your own table and wondered about what type of felt to use to cover the table or are you looking at a sheet of some sort to cover the table when not in use like a pool table cover?

Gang, I'm confused. $100 for a set of 500 11.5g poker chips seems to be a good price, but the link at the very top of this thread is to an outfit offering them in the $40 range. If $100 is a good price, why isn't $40 a great price?
http://stores.ebay.com/Sceaming-Deals

Originally posted by kenbuzz
Gang, I'm confused. $100 for a set of 500 11.5g poker chips seems to be a good price, but the link at the very top of this thread is to an outfit offering them in the $40 range. If $100 is a good price, why isn't $40 a great price?
http://stores.ebay.com/Sceaming-Deals

That't the link I posted. It is a great price. Snipers will shoot it up to around $60 just before the aucion ends.

I think the original poster wanted them right away and couldn't wait to see if he won an auction or not. I don't need them right away so have been bidding on them at a price I think I should be able to win them at sooner or later. A friend of mine picked up a set similar to these and paid $80 for them. I am not sure which website he got them at though.

Originally posted by Spy021
Thanks.. That's close to what I ended up going with. I wanted to keep the colors as close to the casinos as possible and went with the following:

(50% - 200) Red ($5)
(37.5% - 150) Green ($25)
(12.5% - 50) Black ($100)

This allows me to have up to 8 players with a $1,000 buyin. Hopefully this will work well. The only problem I forsee is when having to split the pot. We will have to do it down to the closest $5 since I won't have any smaller chips.

I picked the set from Ebay for $27 plus shipping. There are quite a few sets still available from various sellers and the auctions seem to end almost every few 15 minutes.

Doesn't the guy sell 500 chips? What happened to the other 100?

edit: oh, you probably got them from a different seller. nevermind.

Originally posted by gev115
Doesn't the guy sell 500 chips? What happened to the other 100?

edit: oh, you probably got them from a different seller. nevermind.

I got my chips from Poker Monster through Ebay.

I asked this over in the "One and only Vegas thread", but it looks like it got buried. Lucky me, I just so happened to come across this thread today.

Anyways, does anyone in here know of a good place to buy the 11.5 gram composite chips while in Vegas? I'll be up there this weekend and I was interested in picking some up for a father's day gift. I figured while I was there, I mind as well take a look if anyone had any suggestions.

I assume that most places on the strip/in the casinos wouldn't be worth it, but maybe there are some stores around Vegas worth checking out? If not, Ebay seems to be a very accessible alternative.

Originally posted by DAC
I'm not sure what you are talking about here. Are you thinking of making your own table and wondered about what type of felt to use to cover the table or are you looking at a sheet of some sort to cover the table when not in use like a pool table cover?

Actually I thought there were attachments or tabletops that opened up into instant poker tables ??

by the way, how good are the folding poker table top from Bed Bath and Beyond or from Walmart?

Originally posted by DAC
That't the link I posted. It is a great price. Snipers will shoot it up to around $60 just before the aucion ends.

I think the original poster wanted them right away and couldn't wait to see if he won an auction or not. I don't need them right away so have been bidding on them at a price I think I should be able to win them at sooner or later. A friend of mine picked up a set similar to these and paid $80 for them. I am not sure which website he got them at though.

Got mine from that link for $52 + s/h ($18). I will post about the quality when I get them. Thanks to whomever provided the link.

OK, now you've done it. Suddenly I feel the need for a full set of poker chips, as well as a poker tabletop, even though I haven't hosted a game in years!

Might just try the freebies for the $100 buy-in thingie...

Originally posted by Dorsalphin
I asked this over in the "One and only Vegas thread", but it looks like it got buried. Lucky me, I just so happened to come across this thread today.

Anyways, does anyone in here know of a good place to buy the 11.5 gram composite chips while in Vegas? I'll be up there this weekend and I was interested in picking some up for a father's day gift. I figured while I was there, I mind as well take a look if anyone had any suggestions.

I assume that most places on the strip/in the casinos wouldn't be worth it, but maybe there are some stores around Vegas worth checking out? If not, Ebay seems to be a very accessible alternative.

I would highly recommend Spinetti's as that is where I got my set of chips from. I was able to get 500 Paulson H&C chips (20th Century - look for an earlier posting from me or here (http://scott.the-strongs.net/news.asp?newsid=128)) for $200 which was a very good price for casino quality chips. They are solid clay vs. the metal insert ones you see floating around eBay. If they don't have what you want they can tell you where it is for the price your willing to sell.

Although I haven't been able to personally go to the Vegas warehouse Chip sales, you might want to find out when the next one is (possibly when your there) and get a really good deal on a quantity of chips.

Speaking of Poker chips. I am looking for a regular game. Local to NJ. 5-10 games, no wilds, poker.

Anyone have a regular game looking for an additional player?

Well, it took me about a week but I finally won an auction at http://stores.ebay.com/Sceaming-Deals for a 500 chip set for $63.95 ($46 auction price plus $17.95 shiping)

Originally posted by DAC
Well, it took me about a week but I finally won an auction at http://stores.ebay.com/Sceaming-Deals for a 500 chip set for $63.95 ($46 auction price plus $17.95 shiping)

Incredible timing. I just got one as well. I did an esnipe bid group and ended up at $40 plus shipping. I think I had set the max to around $50 on a few. Now to choose the color breakdown.

Oh, and time to find a good table.

The chips being discussed in this thread are not 100% clay poker chips, they are composite (heaver than the avg clay chip 11.5g vs 10g) and have a 'klanky' metal feel to them.

If you are looking for 100% clay (casino style) poker chips, I recommend:

http://www.buypokerchips.com/
http://www.pokerchips.com/
http://www.kardwell.com

(these chips do not come cheap)

Originally posted by kvrdave


Oh, and time to find a good table.

As someone suggested, I found one here:

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=12992556&RN=464&xyz=xyz

I find it amusing when some places try to sell chips for more than a $1 each. I mean you can go to a CASINO and just give them $300 for 300 chips.....the one place had a 300 chip set for $359.

Originally posted by DJ_Longfellow
I find it amusing when some places try to sell chips for more than a $1 each. I mean you can go to a CASINO and just give them $300 for 300 chips.....the one place had a 300 chip set for $359.


That's all well and good if you want 300 chips of one denomination ($1). Who plays poker with only 1 denomination of chip?

Originally posted by Red Dog
That's all well and good if you want 300 chips of one denomination ($1). Who plays poker with only 1 denomination of chip?

Well, I do. Usually we just have a set denomination on the chip for the night....that usually works fine.

Also, when I play hold'em, we usually have like a 30 chip buy in, and all the chips are worth the same. Whoever has all the chips at the end, wins the buy in money.

To those of you who got their chips from Ebay/Sceaming-Deals, are you happy with the chips? Would you recommend them?

Originally posted by DJ_Longfellow
I like this place...although never used them

http://www.5stardeal.com/

OH YEAH...THEY USUALLY HAVE A 10% off when you visit the site.


Those are some nice looking sets. I like the Texas Hold'em 11.5g 650-chip set. Can get them stamped with the denominations for less than $250.

Originally posted by xlpanda


there are a couple of other sites that do some nice sets as well if you're willing to pay more. just browse for an idea of what else is available. In my search for chips, I even ended contacting and getting some sample chips from a japanese chip manufacturer called matsui gaming mfg or MGM (you see some ppl selling their chips on ebay as well)

www.nevadaJacks.net



Oooo - I like these....

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

10 gram weight as well. :thumbsup: Not a bad price for a set of 500.

Originally posted by kvrdave
www.pokerchipmart.com

10% off right now as well. Cheaper than any others. Good quality.

I bought a set of 500 11.5 gram clay chips from them too and they are great! I picked up a set aluminum case and all and I think I got them for about $100.

Originally posted by jc43156
I bought a set of 500 11.5 gram clay chips from them too and they are great! I picked up a set aluminum case and all and I think I got them for about $100.

So how much of a difference is there between the 11.5 gram chip and the 9 gram chip?

Originally posted by StrTrkker
So how much of a difference is there between the 11.5 gram chip and the 9 gram chip?


2.5 grams. :D

I know...lol

Originally posted by StrTrkker
I know...lol


I believe the casino standard is 10 or 10.5 grams. I think the slightly heavier chips feel closer to the real thing myself.

10.5 is casino weight.

Just got off the phone with Sreaming Deals from ebay. In the checkout they allow you to buy another set at the same price. I called and asked and they told me that their cost was $55 so you could only buy another set at that price. They were incredibly nice about it, so it was no big deal, and I did pick up the second set.

Those from screamingdeals.net are 11.5, and don't have the exact same feel as casino chips. But, they are much better than using coins, or those really cheap plastic chips.

These...
http://store6.yimg.com/I/cardroomsupply_1795_746698

Originally posted by bp1
To those of you who got their chips from Ebay/Sceaming-Deals, are you happy with the chips? Would you recommend them?

Not bad at all.

I guess if I were a hardcore gamer I'd want a perfect chip, but thses are certainly more than adequate for what I needed.

I just ordered the poker table top from pokerchipmart.com I'll let you guys know how it is.

kvrdave,

Which one? How much was it?

A friend of mine was going to buy one like this
http://www.pokerchipmart.com/images/FTOP01.jpg

He said Wal-mart had it for $30. His plan was to secure it to a peice of plywood and then screw the whole thing to a table. I am waiting to see how it works out for him before I go that route.

Originally posted by DAC
kvrdave,

Which one? How much was it?

A friend of mine was going to buy one like this
http://www.pokerchipmart.com/images/FTOP01.jpg

He said Wal-mart had it for $30. His plan was to secure it to a peice of plywood and then screw the whole thing to a table. I am waiting to see how it works out for him before I go that route.

I think that is it. It is the "all plywood" one and not composite board. That is what swayed me to it. Too hard to tell what you are getting on Ebay. Shipped it was about $60 after the 10% discount. I have seen the Wal-mart ones, so I am interested to see this one. This had better be nicer than the one I saw.

I haven't decided yet whether I want to attach it to a table, or keep it more portable with the carry bag.

Two bottles of water and an A&W. What is this, a game at AA?

OK, I'm about to pull the trigger. After much back-and-forth, I think I'm gonna go with some stuff from Gameland Sports and Poker Chips in ebay Stores (since their Buy It Now prices are pretty reasonable, and I don't feel like messing around with auctions after losing a few). They've got some nice sets which include 500 chips and a Texas Hold Em table top, but I decided to buy the chips and the table top separately, since I wanted the "Big Slick" set of 650 chips. Here's what I plan on getting (to see the items, do an ebay search on the quoted description, and please excuse my laziness for not including a direct link):

"EXTRAS + NEW FOLDING *TEXAS HOLD 'EM* POKER TABLE TOP", at a "Buy It Now" price of $72.50 + $26.95 UPS shipping. This includes the table top, 2 decks of cards, 5 Hold Em buttons, and a 12 page booklet (might be good to pass around to newbies, just the basics I'm sure).

"BIG SLICK 650 - 11.5g ***SUIT*** Poker Chips SET", at a "Buy It Now" price of $106.25 + $20.95 UPS shipping.

(I believe I'll save 1/2 off the cheaper shipping by ordering at the same time, so the total price for all of this should be about $216.20, if there's no tax involved.)


I decided to go with the "Suit" style of chips, simply because I feel they're more suited to poker. The "Double Dice" style seems more suited to craps, and the "Ace Jack" style seems more suited to blackjack (even though both of those styles are slightly fancier, what with the laser etching on the face in the designs. Also, I'm not sure the "Double Dice" are available in the 650 set, and the "Ace Jack" are slightly more expensive ($118.25).

The only thing holding me up at this point is the chip breakdown (you actually get 655 chips, BTW). I initially came up with a breakdown of 451 red ($5), 142 green ($25), and 61 black ($100), which would let me have up to 11 players with $1000 in chips each (40 red, 12 green, 5 black). However, now I'm thinking of going with a breakdown that would allow up to 15 players: 320 red, 255 green, 80 black, and each player would get 20 red, 16 green, and 5 black. In fact, with this breakdown, I'd only be one green chip away from having 16 players.

So, any opinions on chip breakdown? For 655 chips total, I'm between this: 451 red (68.85%), 142 green (21.68%), 62 black (9.47%), and this: 320 red (48.85%), 255 green (38.94%), 80 black (12.21%).

Originally posted by kvrdave
I just ordered the poker table top from pokerchipmart.com I'll let you guys know how it is.

On a whim...i picked up the folding top from Walmart today for $37.52. Its an aok top but actually kinda flimsly. It folds 4 way so there is that chance that it will break apart after many folds.

Im planning on taking it back and invest on a quality top or a table...

Received my 400 chip set from the UPS guy yesterday. As expected they are a bit heavier than actual casino chips, but are the same size. I would guess that unless you've spent a lot of time playing with the real deal, you would be quite happy with them. The only thing that I didn't really care for were the (2) decks of cards included. They seemed very cheap and upon holding them up, I could tell what each card was from the back. The aluminum case I received looked pretty nice and seemed to have a nice fit and finish and includes rubber feet on one the outside of where the chips sit and also on the side opposite the handle. While the handle is securely attached, I was a bit surprised at how much the case and chips weigh altogether. It seems like an awful lot of wait for just a small handle. I cannot imagine lugging around a 600 or 1,000 piece set with this handle. All in all, I am very happy with the quality of the chips and case for the price I paid ($27+ shipping).

The cards were cheap? Really? Every set that friends and I have received come with (barely-)used casino cards. And they're real nice to play with. (I pick up extras when I'm in Vegas too...)

Originally posted by drmoze
The cards were cheap? Really? Every set that friends and I have received come with (barely-)used casino cards. And they're real nice to play with. (I pick up extras when I'm in Vegas too...)

I was a bit surprised as well. The cads that I received were wrapped in plastic and inside a flimsy black/clear plastic case. They definitely did not feel as nice as the cards at my local casino, nor as nice as the bicycle cards that I typically use.

check this guy out


http://pokerchipguy.com/index.html

for anyone still thinkin about chips. i bought these:

http://vegassuppliesandgifts.com/pokerchips_VSAG.mvc?p=1RS1CCWT&Category_Code=Royal_Suited_Chips_Sets

i'm happy with them. Seller was great. He also breaks up chip color in groups of 50. check ebay for his auctions. price is 169, Buy it now. # is 3290495165.

later,
Auk70

Just purchased a 2nd set for my brother, 700 11.5 gram chips w/ a black case for $57 before shipping.

Used my first set on a game I hosted on Friday and they were perfect for our group of 7 (500 chips w/ a $50 buy-in).

Originally posted by indianajdp
Just purchased a 2nd set for my brother, 700 11.5 gram chips w/ a black case for $57 before shipping.

Used my first set on a game I hosted on Friday and they were perfect for our group of 7 (500 chips w/ a $50 buy-in).


where did you buy from.

I picked up 500 11.5 Gram SUITED Chips DELUXE SET for $77.99 at vegassuppliesandgifts.com. I added a few single chips with demonations stamped on the chip and total with shipping was less than a $100. This looks like it will be great set. The nice thing about ordering from here is you get to choose from 8 different colors and set up your chip count to fit your needs.

http://vegassuppliesandgifts.com/pokerchips_VSAG.mvc?p=51GSCDS&Category_Code=Suited_Chip_Sets

quick side note about playing cards- I guess a lot of casinos use "KEM" plastic playing cards in their card rooms. These are 100% plastic cards and can last a long time (even washable just in case your friends spill soda/beer all over the cards).

You can find these on ebay by searching for "KEM". Some ppl really like these while others dont...personal preference thing. It will take some getting used to (ie. shuffling plastic cards) but ppl swear by these. Anyways, just to throw that out there for ppl who are really hardcore and want the total casino experience.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by xlpanda
[B]quick side note about playing cards- I guess a lot of casinos use "KEM" plastic playing cards in their card rooms. These are 100% plastic cards and can last a long time (even washable just in case your friends spill soda/beer all over the cards).

Im heading to Vegas in September and will be looking to pick up a few decks of these "Kem" Poker Cards.

Thanks for the info.

Originally posted by damn_skippy
where did you buy from.

It was another eBay purchase.
Not sure if you want the specific store since it was through eBay ... if you do let me know and I'll provide that info.

I hear that the casinos in Vegas use bridge size playing cards in their Poker rooms (2.25" x 3.5") rather than the poker size cards (2.5" x 3.5"). I also checked the size of my cards that came with my chips and they are bridge size.

Originally posted by Spy021
I hear that the casinos in Vegas use bridge size playing cards in their Poker rooms (2.25" x 3.5") rather than the poker size cards (2.5" x 3.5"). I also checked the size of my cards that came with my chips and they are bridge size.

I believe you are correct. While there is only a quarter of inch difference, again some ppl will prefer the bigger cards, others probably wont notice the difference or care. I just received my KEM cards today which I got from ebay. Comparing them to the casino used poker cards they use for BlackJack and stuff, the KEM cards feel pretty nice. I was expecting them to feel kinda stiff or too "plastic-like" but was pleasantly surprised by the feel of them. They are quite flexible and feel really nice. I think my poker buddies will enjoy using these in our next home game.

Speaking of playing cards... If anyone is looking for a deal on a set of KEM cards, you may want to check out this seller on ebay (Big Slick Poker). He has a few auctions going for a decent price and his shipping charge isn't nearly as high as many other sellers. I ended up picking up a new (2) deck set with a free 2.5" dealer button for $25.80.

Is anyone else amazed that this discussion has made it to 3 pages? :D

KEM cards are far superior IMO.

Originally posted by berserker37
The only thing holding me up at this point is the chip breakdown (you actually get 655 chips, BTW). I initially came up with a breakdown of 451 red ($5), 142 green ($25), and 61 black ($100), which would let me have up to 11 players with $1000 in chips each (40 red, 12 green, 5 black). However, now I'm thinking of going with a breakdown that would allow up to 15 players: 320 red, 255 green, 80 black, and each player would get 20 red, 16 green, and 5 black. In fact, with this breakdown, I'd only be one green chip away from having 16 players.

So, any opinions on chip breakdown? For 655 chips total, I'm between this: 451 red (68.85%), 142 green (21.68%), 62 black (9.47%), and this: 320 red (48.85%), 255 green (38.94%), 80 black (12.21%).

Have you ever sat down and *played* poker, or is all of this purely hypothetical? I laughed at your "chip breakdown."

Real life note: playing with 15 or 16 players is impossible. Even 11 is a serious traffic jam. Friendly games bog down at around 8-9 players.

Also, people do not buy chips so that each person will get an exact number that uses up every chip in the set. Real life: you break up the chips to give everyone an equal stake. Generally using half to 3/4 of the chips. This allows future buy-ins if someone joins later or busts. You can even change color designations to match the buy-in if needed (when the chips don't have denominations printed on them).

Real life: People start out with a bunch of chips, bet, win, lose, etc. So when someone runs out of a particular color, they make change from other players. The initial distribution becomes immaterial very quickly.

Real life: People buy chip sets in round lots of 50 (which is how they are wrapped new, and which fit into full single-color rows in the case). So, from a practical perspective, a 4-color set of 650 would break down handily as sets of 300, 200, 100, and 50. Or something like that. It'll work just fine.

wow, drmoze... harsh, yet quite insightful

but he's right berserker, don't decide your chip breakdown based upon being able to distribute ALL of the chips in the set.

on the other hand drmoze, it's easy to have 15 people in a game (if you've got that many friends) by setting up 2 or 3 tables and doing it up tourney style.
That makes for a long, fun night in my opinion. ( though i'd hate to host the 10 hour game)

Originally posted by Spy021
Speaking of playing cards... If anyone is looking for a deal on a set of KEM cards, you may want to check out this seller on ebay (Big Slick Poker). He has a few auctions going for a decent price and his shipping charge isn't nearly as high as many other sellers. I ended up picking up a new (2) deck set with a free 2.5" dealer button for $25.80.

You're only saving a couple of bucks here as a set of 2 Kem decks can be readily had for a little over $20 with shipping.

I'm looking to trade up my Kem deck to Jumbo index, but $25 isn't really a "deal" IMO.

Anyone know of any good stores around the Vegas area that carries poker supplies like KEM Cards or can you just get these like at any Casino Shops??

Originally posted by squi23
You're only saving a couple of bucks here as a set of 2 Kem decks can be readily had for a little over $20 with shipping.

Are you talking about on eBay or from an online store?

Originally posted by bp1
To those of you who got their chips from Ebay/Sceaming-Deals, are you happy with the chips? Would you recommend them?

I like my chips that I got from them. The only potential issues, if it bothers you, is the sound and weight. If you play in a casino often enough, you will notice that these chips are heavier. Also they make a metallic sound when you splash the pot, etc. Again, considering the price difference between these and set of real clay casino style chips, I would say this is a nonfactor. Unless your are raking your home games and everyone expects casino style chips, I would say this set would do.

Originally posted by aperry
Is anyone else amazed that this discussion has made it to 3 pages? :D

Yes, but then again ... no :D

This is a pretty accurate reflection, IMO, of the grwing popularity of Poker. Specifically, Texas Hold 'Em and its sister games.

Originally posted by drmoze
Have you ever sat down and *played* poker, or is all of this purely hypothetical? I laughed at your "chip breakdown."

Real life note: playing with 15 or 16 players is impossible. Even 11 is a serious traffic jam. Friendly games bog down at around 8-9 players.

Also, people do not buy chips so that each person will get an exact number that uses up every chip in the set. Real life: you break up the chips to give everyone an equal stake. Generally using half to 3/4 of the chips. This allows future buy-ins if someone joins later or busts. You can even change color designations to match the buy-in if needed (when the chips don't have denominations printed on them).

Real life: People start out with a bunch of chips, bet, win, lose, etc. So when someone runs out of a particular color, they make change from other players. The initial distribution becomes immaterial very quickly.

Real life: People buy chip sets in round lots of 50 (which is how they are wrapped new, and which fit into full single-color rows in the case). So, from a practical perspective, a 4-color set of 650 would break down handily as sets of 300, 200, 100, and 50. Or something like that. It'll work just fine.


drmoze,

I've been playing poker for the last 25 years or so, and first started playnig Texas Hold Em in casinos about 10 or 12 years ago. I've also played in about a dozen tournaments, finishing 2nd in my first casino tournament (of about 30 entrants), and winning the last home-based tournament I played in (12 people).

Glad I gave you a laugh with my chip breakdown, but squi23 is exactly right. My main reason for buying these chips is for hosting tournaments (I guess I didn't clarify that in my original post). And I've never hosted a tournament before, which is why I was asking for opinions. I realize that I could have the buy-in chip amount be practically anything, but I like the format of the $1000 buy-in. And I realize that I could give different players different denominations of chips, but why not have it work out equally? (Obviously during the game people will color up or down as needed.) I thought that having a set of chips that would break down equally for 15 (almost 16) players would work well, since I've got 2 tables which could each seat up to 8 people. And if I use them for a simple cash game, it would certainly be a one-table affair, with 8 players max (probably more like 5 or 6, if we're playing a typical "dealer's choice" game), and there would be plenty of chips to go around (I would probably use the red chips for $1, green for $5, and black for $20, or maybe go $.25, $1, $5).

I've always loved playing poker, but have always hated it when the game inevitably degenerates into "In Between" (also called "Between The Sheets"), Cut-For-A-Buck (or $5, or $20), or the dealer's choice happens to be "I'll deal a deck of blackjack". And don't even get me started on the games with tons of wild cards, too many betting rounds, or both (No-Peek Baseball, anyone?), or that need to be explained as they're being played. If you're having a poker game, play poker, dammit!

I recently realized why tournaments are so much fun to play; for me, it comes down to 2 reasons. First, it allows people to know exactly how much money they are putting at risk before the game starts. Too many "friendly" games have a "big loser", who may keep pulling money out of their wallet, borrow money to stay in the game, etc. Second, it allows people to play no-limit, which is when bluffing really comes into play. Sure, you can play no-limit in a cash game, but then the player with the big bankroll can easily bully the other players around. And if you're not playing no-limit, then the ability to bluff effectively is minimized, since (too many) people will chase cards until the end of the hand, or someone will "keep him honest" because it only takes a few bucks to call. No-limit poker is where the fun really begins.

Perhaps I over-analyzed my chip breakdown, but I'm still happy with what I went with. Even if I had waited to order until I had seen your comments, I don't think I would have changed anything. (Having the chips fit into full single color rows in the case is of no concern to me.) I think my selection should work well for any situation I foresee in my poker game hosting future.

And squi23, I don't think a 15 person tournament would take 10 hours. More like 4-5 tops. If you increase the blinds every half hour, and go from 10/20 to 20/40 to 50/100, and double thereafter, at the start of the 4th hour the blinds would be up to 3200/6400. With the chips in play worth a total of 15,000, it wouldn't last much longer (if it even lasted that long).

Anyway, enough of my yakking. Shuffle the f*** up and deal!

great poker discussion. People who host poker games, what about automatic card shufflers? can be had on ebay for <15 dollars. I've never personally used one, but it seems like it would make dealing much easier, and speed up the game.

Originally posted by tr3
great poker discussion. People who host poker games, what about automatic card shufflers? can be had on ebay for <15 dollars. I've never personally used one, but it seems like it would make dealing much easier, and speed up the game.

I've never used one either, but the thought crossed my mind also. They had started using them in some casinos during my last Vegas trip (4 months ago). They rotate 2 decks so that, whenever they need one, a fresh deck is ready. I heard that at first the dealers were against it, but now some of them really like it - anything that speeds up play should increase the rake, and the frequency of possible tokes.

I'd be curious as to whether the cheap ones are good at shuffling (do they mix them up enough?), whether they can damage the cards, their reliability (do they ever jam?), etc.

FWIW, I seem to recall reading somewhere that, when shuffling by hand, at least 7 shuffles are recommended to insure that the cards get mixed up enough.

Originally posted by tr3
great poker discussion. People who host poker games, what about automatic card shufflers? can be had on ebay for <15 dollars. I've never personally used one, but it seems like it would make dealing much easier, and speed up the game.


My former roommate bought one of those - a 6 deck shuffler for blackjack. It was a POS - I think it worked about 15-20 times before it died.

The ones a consumer can buy are nothing like the high-end models you see in Vegas.

OK, I wasn't thinking about hosting tourneys at home. (We have enough trouble getting 7-8 people together on any night!) Still, with a no-limit tourney, you don't need much of the smaller chips--just a handful covering the minimum ante to start.

OTOH, you could just pick up a freebie set of 300 (by signing up for an online site) to supplement the main set and not worry about single-chip breakdowns. And with your experience, I'm sure you'll come out ahead on the deal! $^) Or spend some of those winnings for some extra matching chips.

I agree about not liking 'dealer's choice' games. We stick mostly with hold'em, sometimes good ol' 7-card stud. But the choice games always degenerate into lengthy explanations of arcane rules for the various games.

OK, deal 'em up!!!

Just wanted to say that this thread has been extremely informative for my own interest in poker and chips. Thanks everyone for the links and info. :)

edited to ask: Are these guys for real?

www.apachepokerchips.com

They seem to have decent prices on nice clay poker chips...

BT,
If those are in fact authentic clay casino poker chips, then I guess those are pretty good prices.

Personally, I could never justify spending that much $$$ on a set.

Give me the heavier, metallic ones from ebay for 1/3 the price, and I'm good to go!

does the pokersource.com 300 chips for signing up still work?

Has anyone bought from here??? I like these chips, but curious how REAL and CLAY they actually are. These should be like the casino, right....

Also, do you think those are stickers on the chips or are they printed right on it.

http://www.pokerchipmart.com/pokerChips9GramClayCP9V.html

I haven't read this whole thread, so someone may have already mentioned this, but I HIGHLY recommend checking out PokerSourceOnline (http://www.pokersourceonline.com) if you're looking for poker chips.

They have an AMAZING deal where if you sign up with Aztec Poker through them and play 150 hands, you not only get $50 free from Aztec Poker, but they'll also mail you 300 professional grade 11.5g poker chips, 2 decks of casino cards and 5 dice in a NICE aluminum case. I just completed the promotion last week and it went extremely smooth. In fact, I ended up only losing $20 in the 150 hands, so I cashed out with $30 ahead of the game! Here it is:

http://www.pokersourceonline.com/images/site_images/300diamondchips.jpg

They also have similar offers with other casinos. I just received the World Poker Tour Season 1 DVD set ($99 value) FREE for joining another online casino through them--plus I made $20 on that one.

Anyway, worth checking out. Best deal I've seen for joining an online poker room on the net...PLUS a FANTASTIC poker chip deal. Their forums show just how good their customer service is. Check it out!

Well, I got my chips (650 Dice style), Texas Hold Em tabletop, and a couple decks of KEM cards. The chips are great (they even gave me about 25 extra), the tabletop seems nice, and the cards feel, well, a little strange. But they do shuffle nice and easy, since they're so flexible. I look forward to putting all of this stuff to use next weekend in my first try at hosting a tournament. I also got the cheapie felt layout for table #2, which I attached to some cardboard to make it easier to use, foldable, flatter, etc.

I also took JuryDuty's advice and checked out Poker Source Online. They do a nice job of laying out all the different promotions out there for poker sites. I started up with the Aztec Riches Poker site, to get the free 300 chipset and the 50% bonus for signing up; I jumped on it because as of July 1st, you need 250 raked hands (instead of 150) to qualify for the chipset promotion. After I finish that one, I'll probably do the one for the WPT season one DVD set, then maybe another one for chips, and may finally sign up for Party Poker and link it to the frequent flopper program (can't do both the frequent flopper and a promotion, so I'll use up the promotions on the lesser known sites and save the frequent flopper program for Party Poker, where I plan on doing the majority of my playing. We'll see, though; so far I like the Aztec Riches Poker site, but it's the first one I've used...). Hope to eventually use the ffp to get an octagon table top, then I'll really be set for Poker Night!

Shuffle the f*** up!

Do they make any hot or naked woman chips?

Originally posted by tacomantt
Do they make any hot or naked woman chips?

Yes, there are naked women chips...well, topless ones.

Here they are.....would be EXPENSIVE if you want a set

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=63756&item=6105396786&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

THIS IS NOT MY AUCTION

Thanks JuryDuty and berserker37.
I'd been considering trying online poker and with the free chips, $50 bonus, and the deal ending last night I jumped in on it at around 11:30pm :)

I put in my $100, got $50 bonus, played for about 2hours and called it a night with $183 (+$33 so far). Is there anyway to see how many raked hands I've played? I'm not sure how far along I am towards the 150 needed for the free chips.

How is the quality of the chips?

On hand 165 right now, 85 more to go... 3 hours straight... ugh...

and only down 9 bucks!!!!!

(you need 250 hands to qualify for the free chip set)

Originally posted by breaux124
Is there anyway to see how many raked hands I've played? I'm not sure how far along I am towards the 150 needed for the free chips.

How is the quality of the chips?

You can IM (or email) the "floor manager" and ask them for the number of raked hands you've played; you'll need your account number or email address.

After playing for a while, I asked them and I was only at 49. I believe this is because a raked hand is defined as a pot that you have contributed to, as opposed to just seeing (and folding) your first 2 cards. I'll probably try to finish up tomorrow, I think I'm over 100 raked hands by now (glad I got in before they raised it to 250).

And I assume that the chips are identical to the ones I recently bought (they offer the same "Dice" style, so I'm guessing they're the same). I think they're great for what I paid for 'em ($100 for a 650 chip set), and even better for free. I've been playing too loose (just like I always do the first day or two in Vegas), so I'll have to grind it out to get back up to even (or better). So for I'm down about $25; of course, that's from the total I started with including the $50 bonus, so I'm still ahead overall. I'm gonna start playing two tables at a time, and wait for the premium hands. Someone also recommended to me to switch tables after you've won a bit, so that people can't pick up on your style of play too easily.

Originally posted by berserker37
You can IM (or email) the "floor manager" and ask them for the number of raked hands you've played; you'll need your account number or email address.

After playing for a while, I asked them and I was only at 49. I believe this is because a raked hand is defined as a pot that you have contributed to, as opposed to just seeing (and folding) your first 2 cards. I'll probably try to finish up tomorrow, I think I'm over 100 raked hands by now (glad I got in before they raised it to 250).

And I assume that the chips are identical to the ones I recently bought (they offer the same "Dice" style, so I'm guessing they're the same). I think they're great for what I paid for 'em ($100 for a 650 chip set), and even better for free. I've been playing too loose (just like I always do the first day or two in Vegas), so I'll have to grind it out to get back up to even (or better). So for I'm down about $25; of course, that's from the total I started with including the $50 bonus, so I'm still ahead overall. I'm gonna start playing two tables at a time, and wait for the premium hands. Someone also recommended to me to switch tables after you've won a bit, so that people can't pick up on your style of play too easily.

I know this thread isn't about poker strategy, but I thought I would throw in my 2 cents. I don't know how good of a player you are, but I would be very careful about playing 2 tables at a time. Even if you wait for premium hands, they can cost you a lot of money, because you have to make solid folds. It is hard to get a read on people if you are playing multiple tables at a time. If you do lose with your premium hands, but are "paying people off" you are just going to end up losing more money than you should. Even if you fold and save one bet, this is big towards your overall winnings and losses. Saving and making extra bets are huge. If you are playing 2 tables at a time, I think it is also difficult to "value bet" players and make an extra bet. As for switching tables, I personally wouldn't do it unless your game sucks. As for people getting reads on you, it depends what limits you are playing. A lot of people don't worry about reading people, b/c you are less likely to get away w/bluffs at low limits. Someone is going to "keep you honest." If you play solid I doubt even people having such a read on you will make much difference.

Well that is enough rambling. Good Luck.

strategy notes for those just trying to get the 250 hands for the free chip set (and $25 signup bonus @ party poker)...

It took me 6 hours to get 250 hands. I played the .50/$1 tables, and since there's no ante, you really only have to worry about 2 hands every 10 dealt (the sb/bb's)... unless you're dealt a strong hand initially. There really isn't a strategy for reading other players in low-limit, it's too cheap to keep everyone honest...

When all was said and done, I ended up with a $58 profit, and the chip set... in exchange for 6 grueling hours... but hey, what else did I have to do on a Thursday night?????

I'm around 120 raked hands now. Yesterday I started with $183 and was up to $215 and quit. Later on, I went back in and went on a cold streak of getting out drawn on the river and I was playing pretty tight. At one point I was down to $145, but started coming back and finished the night with $176 (so I'm still up :) )

I read some good info here about online tells:
http://www.poker-strategy.org/Default.aspx?tabid=57

I started reading and using some of this and it helped out alot.

Not to get us more off topic :) but I'm glad you guys are enjoying that PokerSourceOnline, too. I'm a little surprised more people don't take advantage of it! Their customer service is great and the deals solid.

It took me about 10 hours to get the DVD set, about 6 hours to get the 300-chip set, and about half an hour to get the Amazon GC playing Blackjack...and I made $175 on that one. I've played VERY tight and haven't lost any of my own money yet--I've just lost a bit of the bonus money at one place.

Here's everything I've received for playing--not counting winnings:

$100 World Poker Tour: Season 1 DVD set
$60 300-chip Poker set in an aluminum case w/2 decks of casino cards
$50 Amazon.com gift certificate
$10 Party Poker cap
$8 2 more decks of casino cards
$5 Dealer button
---------------------------
$233 + growing!

What's the blackjack/$50 Amazon deal? (I can't check it since I'm at work, a poker site might flag something to data services... :)

Hey JuryDuty, looks like you won a 500 chip set at Poker Source Online. Congratulations!

Just to check back in. The ones I picked up on ebay (last page or page 3) are very good. Not perfect, but a friend picked up a similar one for $150 and these are every bit as good or better. What a knob.

Better deal yet: Deposit $100, get $100 and the free chip set you have been talking about. Here's how (already been confirmed by Aztect support - they are awesome by the way):

1. Sign up with Aztec.

2. Sign up with neteller.com.

3. Deposit $100 to neteller.com.

4. Transfer the $100 to Aztec.

5. Let Aztec support know you have signed up with neteller and have funded your account with the instacash option.

Here is the info on the netller match play:

http://www.casinosupportservice.com/neteller_matchplay_tc.asp

The terms on that page are for the casino, not poker. Here is the correct terms for the poker match play from Aztec support:
-----------------------------------------------------
Minimum Level of Play

In order to qualify for this offer, players must wager (i.e. be dealt cards) in 100 raked hand in order to cash-in any amount of their real money balance.

Note that if you play at the Tournament tables the income will not be counted in the Minimum Level of Play calculation
-------------------------------------------------------

6. Play 100 hands and get $100
7. Play your 250 hands to get your chips.

Hope to see you there. My Aztec name is Mr_Treehorn.

Enjoy.

I tried signing up last night but both my debit card and credit card were denied? What gives? I got a $20,000 limit on my card and have plenty of cash in my checking account. Does it have to something to do with my bank and credit card company?

Thanks
Jason

Originally posted by Jay1187
I tried signing up last night but both my debit card and credit card were denied? What gives? I got a $20,000 limit on my card and have plenty of cash in my checking account. Does it have to something to do with my bank and credit card company?

Thanks
Jason

Some debit/credit cards won't allow eGambling transactions. What you can do is open a Neteller account and tranfer the money into there (via credit card (fee), InstaCash (fee), Electronic funds transfer (no-fee, but takes a few days) ).

On Aztec, you need to actually be betting in a hand for it to count towards the 150/250 raked hands... on party poker, you only have to be in the hand, so even if you fold right after the deal, it counts...

(Check out the Support forum on pokersourceonline.com for more details)

My chips are on the way! woo hoo!

Originally posted by JDub
Better deal yet: Deposit $100, get $100 and the free chip set you have been talking about. Here's how (already been confirmed by Aztect support - they are awesome by the way):

1. Sign up with Aztec.

2. Sign up with neteller.com.

3. Deposit $100 to neteller.com.

4. Transfer the $100 to Aztec.

5. Let Aztec support know you have signed up with neteller and have funded your account with the instacash option.

Here is the info on the netller match play:

http://www.casinosupportservice.com/neteller_matchplay_tc.asp

The terms on that page are for the casino, not poker. Here is the correct terms for the poker match play from Aztec support:
-----------------------------------------------------
Minimum Level of Play

In order to qualify for this offer, players must wager (i.e. be dealt cards) in 100 raked hand in order to cash-in any amount of their real money balance.

Note that if you play at the Tournament tables the income will not be counted in the Minimum Level of Play calculation
-------------------------------------------------------

6. Play 100 hands and get $100
7. Play your 250 hands to get your chips.

Hope to see you there. My Aztec name is Mr_Treehorn.

Enjoy.

Is this deal done through PokerSourceonline.com? Also has anyone used Neteller.com before? I want to try out some online poker, but I'm wary about trusting these sites with my money/bank account info. Thanks for sharing any thoughts. :)

Originally posted by CreatureX
Is this deal done through PokerSourceonline.com? Also has anyone used Neteller.com before? I want to try out some online poker, but I'm wary about trusting these sites with my money/bank account info. Thanks for sharing any thoughts. :)

I've used Neteller.com and have never had any issues at all. They are a very reputable company. However, if you still have doubts, you could always open a separate account at your bank and use that to fund your poker bankroll. This would protect your primary accounts in the unlikely event something did go wrong.

Could not recommend seperate accounts more. Not that I've had any problems with them at all, but mistakes can happen.

Open an new savings or checking account at the same bank. Use that account for your poker account like Spy suggested. The joy of having that new account at the same bank is that you can transfer funds to and from you main checking account online and usally for free. Only keep a small amount of money in your poker account unless you are about to transfer it to neteller (or anything else. Otherwise, keep it in your main acccount.

Have fun.

I do most of my banking online, but I also have a small local account just for deposits, paypal/ebay, and my neteller account. They are reputable companies, but if anything should happen at most they would get a few hundred dollars.

I can't recommend PokerSourceOnline online enough. If you're going to sign up anyway, why not get some stuff for free? Plus their customer service is great and quick to respond.

I signed up for party poker. I had to transfer money onto a Epassport account from my credit card. seemed strange, but all went well. Party poker paid me back for the 10 or 15 in transfer charges, gave me 25 dollars and poker source sent me my chips. Those guys at poker source are great. I had a couple questions so i emailed them. They got back to me in less then 1/2 hour. having alot of fun on party poker(playing in tourneys). Started with 200 with the match, got up to around 600, and now stand at 150, and got my chips in 4 business days from when i signed up. All this in less then a week.
The chips are really nice. poker source is a great site, just wish i could link my name to frequent flopper. Apparently you can only take advantage of one promotion.

OK, I just held my first Texas Hold Em tournament, and it went great! I had bought a 650 chip set from Gameland Sports, and on Friday received my free 300 chip set from the Aztec Riches Promotion (I'm now working on the Pacific Poker promotion for the Season 1 World Poker Tour DVD set).The chips were great also, and I'm glad I got the 2nd set, since we were able to "color up" the reds towards the end. (Kudos to pokersourceonline.com for organizing the promotions and getting me my chips so quickly). I also had bought a folding tabletop which worked great, and for the second table we used a cheap felt layout that I had attached to some cardboard; this one didn't work so well, as there was green fuzz everywhere. I want to get another folding tabletop, but I'm not sure whether I should get an octagon one or another Hold Em one. We also used the KEM cards that I had recently bought, and everyone liked them a lot. We had 16 players at a $50 buy-in, and gave everyone $1000 in tournament chips. We started the blinds at $10-$20, and increased them every half hour (to $20-$40, then $50-$100, then $100-$200, then $200-$400, and finally $400-$800). We paid four places: 1st got $400, 2nd got $225, 3rd got $125, and 4th got $50. We started at 6:30 PM, and finished around 10:15 or so.

A few people complained that the blinds went up too fast; perhaps next time we should go from $100-$200 to $150-$300, to $200-400? Then again, it was the short stacks that were complaining...

As for myself, I came in 4th and couldn't have hoped for much better based on the cards I was dealt. I only saw one pocket pair all night (7's), and luckily flopped a set with them. Early on I had AK suited and flopped a pair of aces (no flush draw, though), but I ended up losing about $300 to someone with two pair, aces and jacks. After that I played extremely tight, and got lucky towards the end by hitting a couple of flushes that helped me last into the money. Wish I would have seen some better hands, but did pretty well with what I had (which was practically nothing). First and second place went to two brand new players, which was kind of cool. The winner said she only bluffed on one hand the entire night! It's an easy game if you're catching cards...

Got my free set of chips from Pokersourceonline. They're great. And now after seeing them a few guys from work are probably going to sign up for the same deal at PartyPoker.

We've already got some lunchtime games going on.

Got my chips today. Signed up and played at PartyPoker, cashed out and closed up $11, got the chips a week later. Completely smooth.

RS

Just go this code at FW for www.ecasinodeals.com


You can sign up for either Casino-on-net or bethedealer and use the promotion code: 500UPGRADEC in the "Comments / Special Instructions/Promo Codes:" on the comp form to get upgraded for free to a 500 chip set.

I confirmed and it is a 500 pc 11.5 gm set.

Doug

I did the ecasinodeals promo and my chips come tomorrow! I cant wait!

Thanks :)

Okay, I think I must be a little dense, but I cannot find any clickable links anywhere on the Ecasinodeals website to get to any of the websites that they have promotions with? Anyone want to help me out?

Side note, waiting on my chips from pokersourceonline, just finished my 250 raked at party poker over the weekend. Ended up $60. Woo hoo!

Click on the icons (banner type things) to go to the casino's websites :)

Got my chips and table top today and they are awesome! It's hard to believe they give this stuff away :P

I did a little write up on my website on how to get the free stuff :)

www.idonk.com/poker.html

I did the party poker promotion and got my chips the next week. They are very nice. Now, I want to try the deal at BeTheDealer through ecasiondeals.com. It looks like you can get the comp just by depositing money at bethedealer.

The raked hand requirement at party poker was very easy to meet without losing money (made $30 in fact), but I worry about losing too much money at the other sites. Could someone who has done the BeTheDealer promotion clarify the requirements for me?

I see BeTheDealer has a 20% match bonus on deposits. I also see that there is a an 8x wager requirement prior to withdrawl. Does this mean that I cannot withdraw ANY money until I wager at least 8x my deposit? Which scenario is correct;

A) I deposit $100 and recieve a $20 bonus. I have to wager $960 before I can withdraw a single cent from my account.

B) I deposit $100 and recieve a $20 bonus. I can withdraw money at any time, including any winnings. However, my $20 bonus will be held up until I wager $960?

What I am asking is, if I deposit money and play a few hands and decide I am not interested, can I withdraw what is remaining of my money and forfeit the bonus prior to cut my losses?

Thanks a lot.

I think it's 8x's the bonus... so if you deposit $100, you have to bet $160 before you get the $20 bonus.

And there might be a minimum withdrawal allowed, depending on method... checks are usually no minimum, but they take forever. Other methods may have a $50 minimum withdrawal...

I got my 500 chips and table from www.ecasinodeals.com now I just saw they offer clay chips - and I already did both the deals :( hope they get a new one soon.

Oh, at BTD I think it's 8X on all money, but I could be wrong. I am up a little and haven't tried to make a withdrawl. I have read at FW that some people are having pretty good luck at BTD. I really like that casino and will continue to play there. You actually can Be the Dealer. But I prefer Baccarrat as the player.

http://www.ecasinodeals.com/images/vegasexhome.gif The 9g clay chips (man, I want those!) Someone at FW also posted the code 400UPGRADECLAY to go from the 300 to the 400 size clay set :( but I will have to wait.....

Real clay chips? Thats awesome! I am going to have to try casino-on-net now :)

Anyone do the Pacific Poker comp yet? A set of 400 clay chips was too much to pass on. I normally just play PartyPoker because of the loose games and the easy money, but for a nice set like that, I decided to move 100 bucks over.

Finished up my hands late last night/early this morning. Finished with almost $250, so I'll probably keep playing there - the players are every bit as bad as on Party.

For anyone who did it, how long from the time you completed the requirement until the time you got notice from ecasinodeals on the shipment?

So let me get this straight? I go to pokersourceonline and use their special25 code through partypoker, and they will send me the chips right away if I deposit 100 bucks? Or do they wait til you get the 250 raked hands? I don't have to notify them when I finish right?

Nevermind I see that I have to fill out the form with them when I sign up. So anyone want to give me step by step instructions for this other 9g set?

So do I have to wait until I actually play all the hands, or should I fill this form out as soon as I sign up?

Has anyone seen any chip deals that can be gotten if you're using a mac? Pokerroom is the only place I've seen where I can play (or, at least, the only one that has been recommended), but no chip deals there.

Originally posted by spainlinx0
So do I have to wait until I actually play all the hands, or should I fill this form out as soon as I sign up?
Fill out the form as soon as you're registered and have deposited. Then play the hands. That's my understanding of it, anyway.

Originally posted by mgbfan
Fill out the form as soon as you're registered and have deposited. Then play the hands. That's my understanding of it, anyway.

Is that how you did it? Because on the bottom it says you have to already have played the hands, so I don't want to miss out on a technicality.

Originally posted by spainlinx0
Is that how you did it? Because on the bottom it says you have to already have played the hands, so I don't want to miss out on a technicality.
From the ecasino site:

Step 4: Return to eCasinoDeals.com and fill out the form located at the link below. You must fill out this form to get the comp from eCasinoDeals.

Step 5: Play the required amount of raked hands or wager the required amount.

I'm referring to the pokersourceonline deal to get it though.

For PSO you have to complete the promotion using their bonus code before you complete their comp form.

I just finished the 250 raked hands. Man that took a while. Thanks to the 25 dollar bonus I finished up 41.58. That's a nice little profit plus a free set of chips. I'm just waiting to hear back from PSO if it all went through OK.

anyone sign up for pacific poker yet?

Jason - only 10 posts up I mention that I did the Pacific deal.

FYI I just came from my local COSTCO (Fullerton) today and they have a 11.5g chip set in a metal case 2 decks of cards and 5 dice for around $79.00. The set is located at the end of the soft cover book table near the cd's. Sorry didn't catch the chip count or the manufacture, I seem to lose my mind when I'm filling up the shopping cart with tons of crap we don't need! This is the first time I've seen this set there.

Good luck!

BTW, don't bother physically going by Spinetti's if/when if Vegas. The guy basically just sells on eBay and has very little of an actual store. If in Vegas, go to Gambler's General Store at 800 S. Main instead.

I just got an email from ecasinodeals and they have some new offers! There are 2 new casinos you can do offers at, and now they have the 9g clay chips as well as a promotion for two decks of KEM playing cards (the best cards you can buy. they are made out of a plastic and last FOREVER) PLUS a 300 chip set! The cards alone are worth $25.

It also said: "You can upgrade from a 300 piece set to a
400 piece set by using the code 400UPGRADECLAY . The promotion for the 11.5
gram set is still active, use code 500UPGRADEC to go from a 300 to a 500 piece
set."

Unfortunately the upgrade codes dont work with the KEM deal :(

Originally posted by breaux124
I'm around 120 raked hands now. Yesterday I started with $183 and was up to $215 and quit. Later on, I went back in and went on a cold streak of getting out drawn on the river and I was playing pretty tight. At one point I was down to $145, but started coming back and finished the night with $176 (so I'm still up :) )

I read some good info here about online tells:
http://www.poker-strategy.org/Default.aspx?tabid=57

I started reading and using some of this and it helped out alot.

I did not read this article but I assume it is the same as all the other ones i have read, and be careful that it may backfire. i actually use that against people after a few hands I can tell who is using these kind of strategies. My favorite is to watch for the auto buttons ala it automatically checks/calls when it makes its way around to you it means your hand is weak and to raise that person if your hand is good. I actually love to do this and when they raise at me I reraise all in. People usually get mad me when I do this but I win the hand like 90% of the time.

Originally posted by breaux124
I'm around 120 raked hands now. Yesterday I started with $183 and was up to $215 and quit. Later on, I went back in and went on a cold streak of getting out drawn on the river and I was playing pretty tight. At one point I was down to $145, but started coming back and finished the night with $176 (so I'm still up :) )

I read some good info here about online tells:
http://www.poker-strategy.org/Default.aspx?tabid=57

I started reading and using some of this and it helped out alot.

A bit off topic, but I just noticed on that site that if you sign up for Absolute Poker through them, they give you part of your rake back every month.

...interesting concept

Originally posted by Spicollidriver1
I did not read this article but I assume it is the same as all the other ones i have read, and be careful that it may backfire. i actually use that against people after a few hands I can tell who is using these kind of strategies. My favorite is to watch for the auto buttons ala it automatically checks/calls when it makes its way around to you it means your hand is weak and to raise that person if your hand is good. I actually love to do this and when they raise at me I reraise all in. People usually get mad me when I do this but I win the hand like 90% of the time.

Good luck to ya (people get mad at you???), but it won't work with me. I definitely mix it up, sometimes holding back on good hands, sometimes betting aggressively, sometimes using the autocheck/raise on both strong and weak hands, sometimes not and pausing instead. I try to mix it up so people cannot tell my hand from my betting approach.

BTW, in my experience it seems about 50-50 with people autoraising--sometimes they have the goods, sometimes (if they keep raising from early on when better cards turn up) they are bluffing all the way.

Originally posted by blackhand
A bit off topic, but I just noticed on that site that if you sign up for Absolute Poker through them, they give you part of your rake back every month.

...interesting concept

www.Pokersourceonline.com has one that is a TON better. You get 20% of your rake back and there are a bunch of different rooms that participate (royal vegas, party, etc.). They also have an online store that you can use that 20% at to get chip sets, dvds, cards, etc.

Its called the 'frequent flopper program' or FFP for short.

hey everybody, great deal! but where is the bethedealer link on ecasinodeals? for those of you who did the promo at ecasinodeals, which casinos would you recommend for playing hold 'em online?

i can vouch for the pokersourceonline deal through party poker... chips and case were great!

yeah I only use pokeroom (other then 888.com its the only mac compatible that I like) and most people (the real good players dont complain about losing just slow connections and really dumb people) b*tch and moan whenever they get beat by check raise or slowplay. I never slow play in real life but I have taken to liking it when it comes to online play. It sounds like you know what you are doing unlike some of the other dolts that are online.



I would like to see a little more info here on actual stores, even though this is all good information

Originally posted by the_12ock
hey everybody, great deal! but where is the bethedealer link on ecasinodeals? for those of you who did the promo at ecasinodeals, which casinos would you recommend for playing hold 'em online?

i can vouch for the pokersourceonline deal through party poker... chips and case were great!

The bethedealer promo ended when they added the two new casinos. The new sporting bet casino promo looks good, as they allow the lower limit tables to count towards the raked hand count.

Finished my hands at Pacific almost a week ago through eCasino, and still not a peep about chips coming.

Will email them Monday if I haven't heard by then.

Originally posted by mgbfan
Finished my hands at Pacific almost a week ago through eCasino, and still not a peep about chips coming.

Will email them Monday if I haven't heard by then.

You remembered to fill out the comp form, right?

If you did, the man to email is Tom: admin@ecasinodeals.com he will get back to you within 24 hours and will work everything out.

Originally posted by ANY5546
www.Pokersourceonline.com has one that is a TON better. You get 20% of your rake back and there are a bunch of different rooms that participate (royal vegas, party, etc.). They also have an online store that you can use that 20% at to get chip sets, dvds, cards, etc.

Its called the 'frequent flopper program' or FFP for short.

from the pokersource site:

- Get 20% of the rake back in FFP points
- Redeem your points in our FFP Store

Interesting program for sure, but I'd rather get $$ back every month. I've just signed up for the rake rebate deal at www.poker-strategy.org (http://www.poker-strategy.org) - I'll report back once I start getting my rebates ;}

GL all

Originally posted by hal9000
FYI I just came from my local COSTCO (Fullerton) today and they have a 11.5g chip set in a metal case 2 decks of cards and 5 dice for around $79.00. The set is located at the end of the soft cover book table near the cd's. Sorry didn't catch the chip count or the manufacture, I seem to lose my mind when I'm filling up the shopping cart with tons of crap we don't need! This is the first time I've seen this set there.

Good luck!


I was in Costco today and saw this and did a search first before I posted anything. I will expand on what's posted above. This is a great deal for those who don't want to play online and take a chance of losing money.

$79.99 for and aluminum case with 500 chips, 2 decks of cards, 5 dice and a dealer button. The chips are 2 color 11 1/2 gram that come in 5 colors. They are broken up in colors as listed below.

150 white
150 red
100 green
50 black
50 blue

I used to have 1-2 card games a month over here with my ugly cheap plastic chips. Now we haven't played in over a year. If I knew we would start playing again I would buy this set in a heartbeat. One cool looking set !

Originally posted by GMLSKIS
I was in Costco today and saw this and did a search first before I posted anything. I will expand on what's posted above. This is a great deal for those who don't want to play online and take a chance of losing money.

$79.99 for and aluminum case with 500 chips, 2 decks of cards, 5 dice and a dealer button. The chips are 2 color 11 1/2 gram that come in 5 colors. They are broken up in colors as listed below.

150 white
150 red
100 green
50 black
50 blue

I used to have 1-2 card games a month over here with my ugly cheap plastic chips. Now we haven't played in over a year. If I knew we would start playing again I would buy this set in a heartbeat. One cool looking set !

Did you notice if they had any of the 9g clay composite chips?

Originally posted by ANY5546
Did you notice if they had any of the 9g clay composite chips?

They just have this one item were they are 11 1/2 gram.

My Costco doesn't have this (was there last week). They don't seem to offer it online either. :down:

Originally posted by GMLSKIS
I was in Costco today and saw this and did a search first before I posted anything. I will expand on what's posted above. This is a great deal for those who don't want to play online and take a chance of losing money.

$79.99 for and aluminum case with 500 chips, 2 decks of cards, 5 dice and a dealer button. The chips are 2 color 11 1/2 gram that come in 5 colors. They are broken up in colors as listed below.

150 white
150 red
100 green
50 black
50 blue

I used to have 1-2 card games a month over here with my ugly cheap plastic chips. Now we haven't played in over a year. If I knew we would start playing again I would buy this set in a heartbeat. One cool looking set !

Just picked this up on Sunday. Very nice set.


Red Dog: there were no less than 50 of these at my Costco, which leads me to believe they hadn't been there long. Call your Costco up and see if they have any now.

Originally posted by nevermind

Red Dog: there were no less than 50 of these at my Costco, which leads me to believe they hadn't been there long. Call your Costco up and see if they have any now.


No biggy. I've been waiting to splurge on a 500 NJ chip set at nevadajacks.net. I did so today.

my brother did something with pokerparty.com where they gave him some chips for just playing i think...when it came it was a 12lb package...ill ask him later about what he did

That was about 4 pages ago in this same thread... not sure if that promotion is still going or not, but I did the same thing and it worked out great. :)

3 days ago I posted here the complete info on the chips at Costco. After looking at some places on the internet I realized that without playing for them I could not buy them any cheaper. I went down to Costco today and they had been moved in fact almost hidden, it took 15 minutes to find. Even though we haven't played cards at my house in a few years I made the plunge. Now I will be sure and get the guys together to start playing again and justify the purchase.

A friend of mine came up with an interesting idea. Next time in Vegas or another casino place just get real chips and use them. That way you could always cash them in and get your money back. In the instance the casino went out of business that makes them collectors items to sell on Ebay and worth more. You would just get $1 chips at different places to use for the different amounts. My problem with that is if I made a $1 real chip a quarter since we play for small stakes would they be honest enough to cash them all in at the end of the night.

Originally posted by BradJ
That was about 4 pages ago in this same thread... not sure if that promotion is still going or not