You may have heard the term "casino poker chips" or "casino grade poker chips" tossed around by poker players. However, not many people bother to mention what this actually means. There are two basic grades of poker chip – those used by casinos, and lower cost ones meant to be used at home. If you're a professional poker player, or just want to feel like one, using casino poker chips is a good idea.
What Makes It Casino Grade?
There are two basic compositions for casino poker chips – clay, and clay composite. Both are a lot heavier than cheaper plastic chips, at around nine to ten grams. This extra weight keeps them from bouncing and sliding on the table, makes them easier to count and sort, and keeps them stacked. However, the cost of these chips' materials and the amount of labor that goes into making them brings the expense of buying them much higher – around a dollar a chip, instead of the ten cents or so for the cheapest plastic type. Composite chips are injection molded, and cost a little less than clay chips, plus they can have graphics imprinted on them. This means they're growing in popularity, although clay is still the traditional material for chips used by casinos.
Low Cost Casino Chips
There's a third type of chip that home users can buy, which is marketed as a "casino" chip, but is a much lower grade. These chips are made in China, and are actually much heavier than the chips used in real casinos, at around thirteen grams each. They're made of injection molded plastic, and the weight is provided by a metal weight embedded in the middle. While these chips are heavy and inexpensive, they're not casino grade. They might be worthwhile if you're looking for a heavy chip to be used at home every once in a while. However, if you want a real casino experience, you should invest in a higher grade poker chip, because these are often slippery, don't do well in stacks, and are hard to manipulate.
If you're interested in purchasing casino poker chips, be sure to invest in a set that's high quality – either clay or clay composite, just like they use in casinos. They'll last longer, and give you a more real casino experience. Remember – when it comes to casino poker chips, you get what you pay for.
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