poker tournament guide

Casino Poker Chips: What They're Made Of

In lieu of coins and paper bills, casinos use poker chips as exchange currency in poker ring games and tournaments. The use of poker chips has been stimulated by several concerns including counterfeiting issues and convenience for both dealer and players. This is why casino poker chips are, primarily, made of choice, high quality materials, then of design, colors, and weight.

In general, poker chips are either made of plastic, clay, clay composite, or ceramic. Most casino poker chips, however, are made of clay. Clay poker chips, in reality, are not really made of a hundred percent clay but an amalgam of other materials added to make the chips more durable. These chips are compression molded. This means that they are subjected to or molded under intense heat and intense pressure after they are shaped, inlayed, and decked with edge spots.

Inlays are the graphic or artwork centerpieces found in casino poker chips while edge spots are clay color inserts found at the edge of the chips. Both inlays and edge spots are part of the security features of casino poker chips. They distinguish one casino's poker chips apart from every other poker chips. Their distinctive design and color lend casino poker chips lend counterfeiting perfectly improbable.

Clay poker chips have no metal insert and, as such, create no vexing sound when they hit the table or when they are shuffled.

Ceramic poker chips are also a popular alternative in many casinos. Ceramic poker chips cannot be inserted with edge spots but they can be patterned with high-quality graphic designs. Like clay poker chips, ceramic casino poker chips give off no "pinging" sound.

A select few plastic chips like the injection molded Bud Jones chips are also used as casino poker chips.

Other than their distinguishing color and design, security features of casino poker chips also include UV markings, maker's symbol, and radio frequency identification tags.

Chip denominations are not the same for all casinos. Yellow chips, for instance, have $20-value in Atlantic City casinos but have a $5-value in Casino del Sol. Blue chips are worth $10 in Atlantic casinos and worth $1 in Las Vegas. Knowing the chip-color denomination of a casino is essential before throwing them into the pot.

Poker chips may weigh between 8 to 13.5 grams. Most casino poker chips weigh between 9 to 10.5 grams.

Casino poker chips are made of highest quality material and design specification to ensure that casino players find no difficulty in stacking, counting, and using their chips. For the casino operators and dealers, they mean ease in counting and stacking, and protection against counterfeits.