Poker Chips Gambling Game Sets and Types

Poker chip production is thought to have begun in the early 1930’s and since then supplier and wholesaler numbers have grown substantially. Production of poker chips, from cheap discount chips to professional personalized clay chip sets, has grown to accommodate a growing following of all types of poker games. This text can be used as a rough guide to help you decide what type of poker chips are suitable for your personalized tastes and games you play.

Poker chips are the discs used in all types of poker games for gambling bespoke amounts of money dependent on the type of poker game and players involved. Poker chips come in a variety of types and you can buy them separately or as part of a chip set. The poker chips themselves typically come in 3 types of material:

• Plastic – These tend to be the cheap chip sets, light-weight but perfectly serviceable for the occasional game. Often ‘clay’ chips are made from ABS plastic which provides a professional feel and weight (typically 11.5g) but are not as expensive as genuine clay chip sets. ABS plastic chips also provide a great template for customizing your own chip set to make home games more interesting. Unfortunately production of personalized chips for home games is usually a painfully long-winded operation but there is at least one site on the web providing a quick and easy service.
• Mother-of-pearl poker chips- Often suppliers refer to these as ‘plaques’. These chip sets are typically found in European gambling houses and used in most types of poker games.
• Round ‘clay’ chips – These are mostly made from ABS plastic with a metal insert to give extra weight and a professional feel. Some lines of production make types formed from ‘clay composite’. As a guide, these are the most expensive sets, highest quality and most-used in professional poker games.

ABS plastic is often considered the best material-type for a home game due to its quality, durability and value-for-money. These chip sets can be single-colour chips which are often available at discount prices, or two-colour chips which look better quality. Some have a large centre part that is ideal for customizing your own set with anything from a company logo to a photo making home games all the more fun!

Production of chips is often as part of a set. These usually include a set of cards and dice, all packaged in boxes of varying qualities. Aluminium and leather are common materials for the best quality cases. Finally you have to decide the quantity of chips to buy. Generally a 300-500 chip set is suitable if you are supplying a home game or a 100 poker chip set each is an ideal amount for gambling.