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Last Updated 02/02/07
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Poker Chips 101If you have ever been in Las Vegas and stepped inside the Industrial Size Freezers (the locals call them casinos) to cool off from the thermo nuclear climate that passes for summer there, you have probably at one time or another made your way over to one of the tables.Here is where you first come in contact with that most sought after little disc...the clay poker chip. (They're called Cheques, in the gaming industry, by the way. Pronounced CHECKS). Back when life was simple and advertisers told the truth, buying a set of poker chips was about as easy as going to the local discount store. The chips were plastic and interlocking, came 100 to a box and were always red, white & blue. Those days are history. With the rising popularity of everything gaming (professional and amateur poker tournaments are popping up around every corner) everyone seems to want to have their very own set of poker chips. Consumers today have so many different styles of poker chips to choose from that many people simply have no idea what they're getting for their money. One thing needs to be cleared up, and fast...all poker chips are NOT created equal and all poker chips are NOT clay. The Cheques Used In Casinos Composite materials today can make a chip feel and sound like clay and they cost a lot less to make. Casinos are businesses, and cutting costs is a part of any business. So why would they spend twice as much on a "clay" chip when they can get a great looking, clay sounding composite chip for half the price? The short answer is, they don't. Many casinos today are using solid composite chips, some with inserts & some without, and not clay. Hundreds of websites will sell you poker chips. There are so many merchants selling "clay" poker chips that you could spend days looking at each one (if you don't go blind from staring at your computer screen for that long). The only problem is, many of these "clay" poker chips are not clay at all, but composite chips with metal inserts. The Great Chip Weight DebateThe most popular weight for poker chips today is 11.5g. Just to set you straight, however, let's be clear that the professional casino chips have an average weight of between 9g - 10g and have no metal insert. Casinos are smart...they want to save as much money as possible as they take as much as they can from you. Casinos don't need a chip to weigh as much as a 747 Jumbo Jet. Among other considerations, the casino wants a quality chip, with a reasonable weight that will do the job. Consumers on the other hand, have the misconception that chips HAVE to weigh as much as a jumbo jet. That brings us to the chip weight debate. 8g, 9g, 10g, 11.5g, 12g, 13g or 13.5g... Can anyone say Bingo? How much does it weigh and what is it made of are the two most asked questions a person makes when looking to buy poker chips. Many people really wouldn't know (they can't be blamed for that) and many dealers will answer clay to the second question, without a second thought. Some dealers are just plain wrong because they actually assume they're clay or they don't want to say they aren't clay. The chip dealer should know his/her product, or am I missing something here? This takes us back to the casinos. For years the casinos were using clay chips. Folks playing in the casinos assumed all chips were clay and that is what many people still think today. And besides, didn't your brother-in-law, who is an expert in all things, tell you that you just have to have clay chips? Didn't he just buy a set of five-hundred 11.5g poker chips (for $80.00 no less!) because the dealer or website told him they were clay? His boast that you must have clay chips is questionable & a matter of personal choice. That $80 set of 11.5g resin/composite/metal insert chips however, has very little, if any, clay at all. These 11.5g chips are a visually appealing chip, with vibrant colors and fancy designs. They will last you a very, very long time and will really spruce up your Texas Hold'em game, or any other game you play using poker chips. There is nothing wrong with these types of chips. They just aren't clay, at least not in the way many people would describe a clay poker chip to be. In other words, a chip as used in a casino. Not Milk Jug Plastic The outside of these chips, for the most part, is made of industrial resins, also called plastic. But it isn't milk jug plastic and certainly not the cheap, light weight chips you can find at a discount store for $3.99 per 100. The inside of these chips has a metal slug, and it's that slug which give the chip it's relative weight. They are manufactured in China, by the millions, (which by the way, also happens to be where most of the gambling merchandise you see in stores and websites come from) and one of the largest markets is, of course, the United States. The 11.5 g, 13g & 13.5g chips that are called clay and these chips DO NOT have clay. The outside is clay composite, but the inside is still the metal slug. Before you go out and purchase 500 or 1000 of these chips, however, be warned of one very important quality aspect of these chips: Unlike their highbrow cousins used in the casinos, some of these chips have NO EXTERIOR COATING. The professional chips in casinos need this coating to protect against the daily wear & tear. Many of the chips being represented as clay, do not have this protective coating. The manufacturers did not go the extra mile and as a result, you can scratch these chips by using just your fingernail. I know this, because I've done it. I received an email from one of the largest suppliers of these chips, here in the USA, and he told me these chips will show wear & tear immediately. I already knew that, since I found out the hard way, that his chips were not top quality. Something to consider when your looking at the 11.5 or 13g or 13.5g chips that call themselves clay (and forget to mention they are metal on the inside). If you want to make sure of what your buying, ask the dealer for a sample. Be prepared to pay for it, since a cumulative total of hundreds of requests for samples are handled everyday by dealers and chips cost money and so does mailing them. When you get the sample(s) use the fingernail test. If you scratch the 11.5g, 13g, 13.5g clay composite/insert poker chip AND you can immediately see the scratch, my advice: forget about it. You don't want your chips to start looking like tiny ice skating rinks, do you? Nothing wrong with qualityThat being said, there is nothing wrong with the quality of many of these 8g - 11.5g resin-composite/insert chips. They just aren't clay, and you should have no illusion as to them being clay. The same can't be said of the 11.5g - 13.5g clay-composite insert chips. In many cases, they will have a hard time keeping their unblemished good looks and who wants a chip that can be scratched by just using your fingernail? Bottom line is, if you want a brand new professional quality, casino grade clay poker chip set, (500 chips & a case to hold them in) your not going to get it for $60 or $150 or even $250. It's going to cost at least $400 and it just goes up from there. And while we're at it, forget those online auction sites, a great many of those sellers are just out & out lying to you...they are selling "clay" poker chip sets which in reality are resin composite poker chips with a metal insert. Great poker chips, but not clay. Buyer beware never sounded more true. Ready to buy a set? If you are ready to buy yourself a set of poker chips, this article will hopefully have given you information that you can use to make an informed purchase. You can get a really nice set of 500 resin/composite/insert chips for under $200 and you'll get a case AND cards to go with them. And there is nothing wrong with that set. It will do the same job, cost you a whole lot less money than a pro casino grade set and last you a very long time. Also the chips look great, in all those bright colors and it is a great value in anyone's book. However, remember that you have a better chance of winning the lottery, than buying a brand new set of 500 10g professional quality, casino grade, clay poker chips for $99...no matter what that website you were on at 3 o'clock in the morning advertised.
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