Not surprisingly given the immense popularity of the game and its diversity, there are lots of different chips with which you can play poker ? in real life and online. This article aims to introduce you to the most common types of chips and will regurgitate the best advice and tips from poker gurus regarding chip selection.

Since gambling was first invented, men have used all sorts of materials as chips or tokens with which to make bets. Every sort of material has also been used in recent times to manufacturer the coin-like chips used to play poker, commonly referred to as gaming chips.

Among the most common materials used nowadays are plastic, clay, composite, and acrylic composite.

A Brief History of Chips A clay chip, what is commonly referred to as a clay chip, is actually a composite with some clay filler mixed into a durable high impact polymer matrix. Modern, so called clay chips are a regular feature in James Bond-type casinos and casino scenes. They are quite expensive and hard to come by because of their popularity. Their standard diameter is 39mm; weight ranges between 8grams and 11.5grams in most casinos.

Most home game poker players use composite metal core chips. They are heavy and, most important, very durable, so they can be used or a long time without the need for particularly care and concern to ensure they hold up. These chips are injection molded from a particulate filled thermoset plastic around an internal metal slug. Almost all metal core chips are manufactured in either Taiwan or China, with Taiwan, generally, producing a better quality due to higher control measures.

The highest quality chip is, for obvious reasons, the casino chip, know as the gold standard. When we say they are the highest quality, this means that they are the best when it comes to security ? an important issue in poker and particularly in casinos ? and general durability and ?feel?.

A limited number of bonded companies are US-based. When it comes to their chips, most casinos have a unique and quite secret blend composition that they request in the manufacturing process. This is one of the primary defenses against counterfeiting.

Most modern casino chips are a synthetic polymer acrylic composite with a laminated center. The only avenue available to acquire real casino chips is to buy them from the casino at face value or from a reseller that will usually include a hefty mark-up. Casino chips vary slightly in weight, however most weight in around 10g.

The cheapest type of chip is the plastic chip. These can be purchased almost anywhere and range in quality from the extremely cheap to the slightly pricy. They vary in quality too, from supermarket to quite serious gaming variety. Although they are fine for general play, plastic chips do not offer much in the way of security and are easily damaged. A beginner should purchase plastic chips because it's economically but if once they start to play a lot, it's quite important to get a good quality chip and one that allows for some degree of security.

When you want to trade up from plastic chips, you should be sure to request samples from manufacturers so you can figure out what sort of chip meets your needs for quality and security. Manufacturers vary one from the other and it pays meet due diligence.

When you buy chips, be sure to get a carry case as well. The most common varieties are plastic, vinyl, and metal.

Choosing Your Chip Set it's not just a question of picking the right type of chip, you also need to consider how many chips you want in your set. How many are you going to need to play with?

The general rule of thumb is as follows:

3-4 Players 300 chipset is usually enough
4-6 Players 400-500 chipset will suffice
6-8 Players 500-650 chipset is required
8-10+ Players 1000+ chips depending on numbers

The above ranges are suggested number only. You can't really have too many chips, but you can have too few. Many chip sellers maintain an open stock of chips so you can purchase more as you need them. Again, you can never have too many but you must be sure you have enough to play with the number of players and the stakes that you prefer, so be aware of that and consult with the manufacturer, perhaps, to get their recommendation for the number of chips you're going to need.

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