Poker Chips

The beauty of playing in land-based casinos is the experience of holding the cards, laying them on the table, and getting the chips. A great poker player knows the kind of chips he or she is playing with. There are different types of poker chips that are currently in used. Each of them represents a status or meaning. A chip can be made of plastic, ceramic, or clay, but what’s the difference?

Poker chips can be categorized based on the materials used to create them. It is also possible to categorize them based on usage. For example, there are low-end chips and high-end chips. Even a plastic chip can be considered in the mid-range spectrum given the specific requirements and design.

Chips Made of Plastic

Because of its wide availability in the market, plastic is the cheapest material that can be used to create a single poker chip. Usually, this type of chip is tagged as low-end. There are different kinds of plastic chips. The most common is the Supermarket Chips. As the name stated, this kind can be likely bought in the supermarket. It is frequently encountered in the poker set made for children. Since it is very inexpensive and lightweight, it can be a good option for practice games at home.

Another plastic chip is the Super Diamond. It has diamond designs at the edge, making it better looking compared to the Supermarket Chips. This kind is also slightly heavier compared to the cheapest contender. Suited or Dice Chips is also a good choice for home games. The design of Dice Chips is much better than the Super Diamond. It is often advertised as the chip bearing the casino style, but it is a lie.

There are also chips made of plastic but included in the mid-range spectrum. These are the Faux Clay and Nice Plastic. Faux Clay Chips have a great appearance because it looks like made of clay. This type is less slippery compared to the first ones, making it a good option. Meanwhile, the Nice Plastic is the highest quality of all plastic chips as it is injection-moulded. However, Nice Plastic Chips are not widely sold.

Metal Chips

There are also chips which cores are made of metal. Some poker players still categorized this item under the plastic chips because it is surrounded by plastic. This type of chip looks so professional and can imitate the vibes of a legitimate casino. It usually weighs 8 to 11.5 grams.

Another advantage of metal chips is that it is durable compared to its competitors. It is slightly more expensive than plastic chips but it could be a good investment for the poker fanatics. Hosting a poker game at home will definitely be exciting with this type of metal chips around.

Ceramic and Clay Chips

Chips made of ceramic is more durable compared to the other materials. There are two types of ceramic chips, the non-casino grade and the casino-grade. This kind of chip is made of special plastic or resin similar to ceramic or porcelain. Nevada Jacks used to be famous in terms of producing this type of chips. Their creation has been so popular among the poker players. Ceramic chips have a distinctive design that goes up to the edge of the chip.

Same with the ceramic, clay chips are divided into two types, the casino grade and the compression moulded. The latter is the Clay Composite, which is cheaper compared to the true clay. Because of its high quality, it is hard to identify the difference between the compression moulded and the casino grade clay chips.

The Clay Casino-Grade Chips are the most respected and the most expensive chips in the gaming world. It is not made of pure clay, but with some additional materials such as chalk and sand. This is added to make the chip more durable. Having a pure clay chip will make it too fragile. Among the other chips, the Clay Casino Grade is the one that can be easily worn out and dented.

Some players who bought high-end chips like this are happy bringing them home. In fact, there are players who see the chips as collection. Aside from being a collection, clay and ceramic chips are also used for poker games at home. Although it is a rare scene because plastic chips are preferred by home users.