I have now switched to the Your Members plugin, for only $50. It works great in conjunction with the native Wordpress code, and is not encrypted. I was able to modify a few of the Your Members and Wordpress programs to do exactly what I wanted. With a bit more fine tuning and testing, I should be able to install the member registration and login, as well as the Simple Press Forum, this coming week.

Several of you have previously used Wordpress to register here at Chip Flip Jump. I’ll be deleting all the current users when I activate the Your Members plugin, in order to start fresh. I’ll also be sending an email to all you current users to let you know you can then register FREE again.

After a lot of testing I finally installed two of the new Membership pages a few days ago, only to find out that you’re not allowed to have an offline test site as well the live online site, using the $97 Wishlist Member plugin. Once you activate the live online site, you can no longer test offline. Very counter-productive!!! Therefore, I had to take down the new pages until I’ve tested ALL the levels of membership. Stay tuned, I’m also looking at other membership plugins.

After being urged by several people, I’ve decided to increase the total “Flip Jump Contest” contest prize pool to $300, up $100.

The cash prizes will now be awarded as follows:

1st Place = $100
2nd Place = $60
3rd Place = $40

Each of the five “Best Individual Event” winners will receive $20.

I hope to get this contest started soon. Setting up a members area with passwords, an entry form and database to hold the entry information, a forum for member discussion, an entry viewing area on the Contest page, and a poll for voting, is all taking a lot longer than I figured. I also need to shoot some video examples in the near future.

So, I hope you’ve all been practicing, and are almost ready for the fun to begin.

* Two rounds of judging will be done via an online poll.
* The payout will be done using PayPal.
* A maximum of 2 prizes will be awarded per entry.

I’m continuing to fine tune the rules, and will keep you posted here of any other new changes.

My broken video camera is in the shop now and should be back in about a week, then I can shoot an example contest entry video, as well as a few other contest related videos.

Contest entries will be submitted to an online video service such as YouTube. I’ve set up a group on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/group/FlipJumpContest. There’s nothing there yet except an icon video, and the video upload feature is disabled until the official start of the contest. However, you won’t be required to use the YouTube group if you don’t want to, any online video service will do. Just submit the URL.

Each contest entrant will be allowed two entries, as long as the second entry uses the Single Jumps and Combinations not used in the first entry. For example, if your first entry included Fat Jumpers and Combinations with 9 or less chips, the second entry must include High Climbers and Combinations with 10 or more chips. You may use the same Freestyle video for both entries, or have a different one for each entry.

The new separate “Contest” page will be ready soon with all the official rules. So start practicing for the 1st Flip Jump Triathlon. More early contest information can be found here.

The three events in the “1st Flip Jump Triathlon” will be: Single Jumps, Combinations and Freestyle. You’ll have your choice of two types of Single Jumps and two types of Combinations.

Start practicing now, so you can win part of the $200 in prizes, as well as bragging rights.

Flip Jump Triathlon Events

< 1 > Single Jumps

Choose between:

Fat Jumpers – When the Jumper stack has a lot of chips, such as a 622.

or

High Climbers – When the Catcher stack is several chips taller than the Base stack, such as a 226.

You’ll have 15 seconds to do as many Flip Jumps as you can, with no video edits. You may change the number of chips you’re using during the event.

< 2 > Combinations

Choose between:

Combinations using 9 or less chips.

or

Combinations using 10 or more chips.

You’ll have 15 seconds to do as many Flip Jumps as you can, with no video edits. You may change the number of chips you’re using during the event.

< 3 > Freesytle

This is where you can do any kind of Flip Jumps you want. You can use all the different catches, do two-handed Flip Jumps using one or two Base stacks, and include Zeros and Slinky’s. You can also combine Flip Jumps with Shuffles or any other type of poker chip trick.

You’ll have 30 seconds to do as many Flip Jumps as you can, with no video edits. You may change the number of chips you’re using during the event.

$200 in Prizes

The cash prizes will be awarded as follows:

1st Place = $70
2nd Place = $35
3rd Place = $20

Each of the five “Best Individual Event” winners will receive $15.

Contest Judging

I still haven’t worked out the exact judging procedures. It’s most likely going to be a combination of my poker buddies and I, as well as an online poll.

I’m now working on a seperate “Contest” page, which will have examples, all the official rules, an entry form, a listing of all the entries and a voting form.

Please feel free to comment with any suggestions and thoughts about this contest.

Clay Chips

I have found that the best chips for doing most Flip Jumps are clay poker chips, because there is very good friction between the chips. This gets more important as the stacks you’re using get taller. The higher the friction, the better chip stacks hold together and land on each other. Probably the best quality clay chips available are called “Paulsons”, made by Gaming Partners International, formally Paulson Gaming Supplies. They are used in many casinos around the world, and are also available, in several styles, from many gaming suppliers online. I recommend my affiliate Discount Casino Gear for good prices and fast service.

All new Paulsons are what I call “Sharpies“, chips with a very sharp edge, which can do Flip Jumps that I call the “Zeros“. My favorite style is the “World Top Hat and Cane”, above left. They have a good rim size in relation to the inlay size, which makes them nicely weighted toward the outside edge. They range in weight from 8.8 grams to 10.6 grams, depending on the color. I carry 44 of these chips in 4 colors.

Another type of Paulsons I use are from my local Chumash casino, above right. They range in weight from 9.1 grams to 10 grams, with red chips being lighter than white chips. They have become “Rounders” due to heavy use and machine washing. They’re good for mixing Flip Jumps with “Shuffles“, since they’re easier to Shuffle than Sharpies. I carry 25 chips in 2 colors.

Other new Paulson chips that are available from online gaming suppliers include: the “National” series, the original “Top Hat and Cane” series, and the “Pharaoh’s” series, left. These chips are all made from the same mold, and they range in weight from 9.3 grams to 10.2 grams, depending on the color. I carry 8 assorted sample chips.

Ceramic Chips

Another type of chips found in many casinos are made of ceramic rather than clay. They are beautiful full-color full-chip printed chips with very rounded edges.They have a different feel than clay chips with a more glassy sound when ruffled. They have a nice pebbled surface with okay friction for taller stack Flip Jumps. They range in weight from 9.9 grams to 10.8 grams, depending on the color. I carry 8 “Rounders Casino” sample chips made by Chipco.

Composite Chips

The last type of chip I carry are common Composite chips, which can be found almost everywhere. They’re made of plastic and have a metal insert molded into the chip to add weight. They have a beveled edge and are slippery with very little friction. They’re cheap to buy, but are only good for the most basic Flip Jumps. As the stacks get taller, they just won’t stay together very well. They range in weight from 11.5 grams to 11.8 grams, no matter what color. I carry 20 chips in 2 colors.

I wanted to create a case that would carry plenty of chips, as well as having a good padded surface for practicing. I started with an empty 300 chip aluminum case, above center, (available for $8.94 from Discount Casino Gear (affiliate)). All the other materials are quite inexpensive, and the case is easy to modify.

To create the finished case, above left, I first removed the dividers separating the cards and the dice compartments, as well as the central four chip dividers. Next I created the padded insert, seen on the right above. It started with a 11 1/8″ x 7 1/4″ piece of 3/4″ plywood, covered with a 1/8″ piece of rubber mouse pad material. I then wrapped it with a piece of felt and stapled it to the bottom of the plywood to keep it tight. I then screwed a piece of 3/8″ plywood on the bottom so it would sit flat and raise the height. The insert fits snugly into the center section. There’s room to store 52-53 chips on each side of the insert.

Photo by Randy Morse

All of the videos you see here at Chip Flip Jump were shot using this case as the background. I just turn it around backwards and sit behind it, shooting from the front side.

Next time I’ll talk about the different kinds of chips I carry in this very cool customized case.

That’s right, start practicing your Flip Jumps. Win part of $200, as well as bragging rights, in the 1st Chip Flip Jump Contest.

I’m still working on the exact format, rules and payouts. I think it’s going to be a Triathlon, where you choose to do three Flip Jump variations(events) from a choice of five or more variations.

Possible events, (see the Basics & previous posts for explanations):

High Climbers
Fat Jumpers
Combinations
Fancy Catches
Slinkys
Flip Jump Shuffles
Freestyle of your choice (unedited)

Submissions will be in the form a video uploaded to a website like YouTube, with the URL sent here to Chip Flip Jump. I’m not sure yet how the judging will be done, perhaps using an online poll. Comments welcome.

The grand prize will go to the best overall three event video, with smaller prizes going to the best of each event.

I hope you’ll use the comments below for suggestions about the contest format and rules.

Many of you are familiar with the Poker Chip Shuffle trick. When you start with an 8-chip stack, 4 of one color on top of 4 of another color, and then Shuffle three times, you end up with the same 4-on-4 stack you started with.

The same thing happens when you do three 224 Chip Flip Jumps using the same 4-on-4 stack. You end up back where you started.

Now for the interesting part: You also end up with the same stack after two 224 Flip Jumps or two Shuffles, a stack of 2-2-2-2. Therefore, you can mix Flip Jumps and Shuffles by switching to the other after the second Flip Jump or Shuffle, and get the same end result.

Chip Flip Jumps on the video: Chip Flip Jump & Shuffle Mix
3 Shuffles
3 224’s
2 224’s + 1 Shuffle
2 Shuffles + 1 224

Chip Flip Jump & Shuffle Mix - 1:09