Poker Chips

History of Poker Chips Clay & Clay Composite Poker Chips Clay Style Poker Chips Where to Buy Poker Chips Online Main Poker Page

History of Poker Chips

Clay poker chips (also called composite chips) took hold in the 1800s as gaming became more and more popular in the US, and the impracticality of ivory chips became apparent. The new "clay" chip was made from a composite of clay and shellac baked around 3000° Fahrenheit. These chips could be manufactured quite inexpensively and became the standard.

The wide variety of styles seen today is a reflection of early casino security. The earliest clay chips were so similar that a new form of cheating developed called "ringing in." Ringing in was a practice of slipping chips from outside into a game. Chip manufacturers started offering new patterns, embossing and paste on stickers and second color inlays around 1880.

By the turn of the century a new chip style became popular, the crest and seal chip. The crest and seal chip was a clay chip with a transparent celluloid inlay printed on its reverse with a unique crest, seal or logo. Printing on the reverse prevented discoloration and each chip design could be unique to the customer.

What are Clay & Clay Composite Poker Chips

Modern clay and composite chips can be divided into two main categories; casino grade, or premium chips (usually 9 to 10.5 grams) and home game chips. Casino grade chips are then divided further into clay and clay composite chips, while home game chips range from everyday objects like pennies or dried beans, to a wide variety of materials, including metal, plastic, clay and clay composite.

The chip connoisseur considers clay poker chips to be the best available. Clay chips have become the standard in casinos worldwide. Clay chips are compression molded and labor intensive to produce. They often will cost in excess of $1 per chip. The actual manufacturing process and materials used are considered industry secrets.

Clay composite chips are injection molded and can accept full-face graphics. The quality is roughly the same and the cost much lower. Combined with greater graphic flexibility, these characteristics are helping to increase the popularity of composite chips.

What are Clay Style Poker Chips?

Another increasingly common composite chip is now being manufactured in China and elsewhere. These chips are much lower in cost and consist of a PVC plastic shell over a metal slug. These chips generally fall in the 11.5 to 13 gram range and are sometimes marketed as "The Heaviest Chip on the Market". These chips are inexpensive, but are not casino grade chips. I purchased a set on ebay marketed as "Clay Poker Chips," so buyer beware.

That said, they're a nice enough chip to play with for home games, have good weight and are much nicer than other inexpensive options. Another note is that they are more slippery than casino grade chips, so if impressive chip tricks are a goal, these aren't the chip for you… They play fine, just know that they are not clay chips, nor are they casino grade and don't be fooled by clever marketing.

If you plan on buying only one set of poker chips in your life, spend a bit more for the real thing. If you just need a bunch of chips that look and feel pretty good for a home game or office hold 'em party, these'll do nicely. Most people won't know the difference and will be quite impressed.

Where to Buy Poker Chips Online

For buying poker chips online, I recommend We Do it ALL Vegas and despite my experience with misleading marketing, ebay. I'd also add DrinkStuff.com for UK shoppers.

For clay chips, I'd suggest We Do it ALL Vegas. They offer a wide selection of real casino grade clay and clay composite chips as well as all the less expensive 11.5 and 13 gram chips in a wide variety of colors, styles, patterns and quantities. They also offer custom, personalized chips.

For the less expensive 11.5 and 13 gram poker chips, you can't beat ebay. You can find sweet deals on just about everything, including poker chips at ebay. Just know going in that most of the chips listed as "clay" or "clay composite" are not actually clay or clay composite, but rather injected PVC over metal (see Clay & Composite Poker Chips). If you can get past the questionable marketing tactics, you can find a nice set of inexpensive chips in a wide variety of styles.

For antique & collectible poker chips, I'd go with ebay again. This link is set up to search for antique poker chips on ebay. If you're into collecting poker chips, it's worth a look. My wife and I have purchased many collector chips from vendors on ebay without problem.