Speaking strictly as a generally common-chips collector, I'd say the best approach is to decide what *you* like, and go from there. Me, I'm a sucker for rose and motorcycle-themed chips, but I'm also hot for chips with splashy, colorful graphics, animals in the inlay, and especially hotstamped solids. But I have a little bit of everything from a little bit of everywhere, and I've decided that I'm not going to artificially limit my collection to any one kind of chip. If I see a chip I like, I'm getting it, is my philosophy. I'm not much on the older, more plain chips that command a pretty penny here, and with the kinds of chips that I grab from casinos, it's hard to do trades or sales on thechipboard in any meaningful way. But that's ok, I'm having a grand ol' time here anyway.