Poker Chips

Second only to the deck of cards in importance to the game, the ubiquitous poker chip stands out as one of the truly most unique features of poker. As well as making the game go more quickly, using these color coded tokens instead of cash, there is the security of knowing that someone is not slipping counterfeit money into the pot. In casino poker, they make it easier to transport your stake from table to table and lowers the risk of theft. Besides they add an aesthetic element to the game and make your wager easier to see.

While poker chips were originally made of clay, the brittleness and difficulty of maintenance on them made it necessary to find better material. Since the 1920's casino and high stakes "clay" poker chips have been made with ceramics or a ceramic/clay composite. This new way of making poker chips has opened up a world of design modifications. You can buy personalized poker chips, discount poker chips and even replica Las Vegas poker chips. It is easier to emboss security designs into this material and the range of colors, patterns and designs are limited only by the imagination. For the beginner or casual poker player there are many options in materials from plastic to wooden poker chips to choose from. Some gaming suppliers offer poker chips, cards and poker tables in matching sets and usually throw in free shipping when you purchase one of these sets.

While you can buy individual poker chips for as little as 10-25 cents each, your best discounts come when purchasing entire poker chip sets of 300, 500 or 1,000 chips to a set. These are offered complete with carrying and storage cases. While the usual weight of a standard poker chip will range from 9 to 11.5 grams, many of the real casino poker chips have recently been increased to 13 grams. Poker chips however do only come in one shape, round. A few of the variations on the surface include flat chips, raised edges that will include either grooves or embossed designs and lettering. Some poker chips include designs indented into the surface of the edge of the poker chip to aid in anti-forgery and for personalization of their brand.

With the ability to create poker chips in such a wide variety of designs, their uses can go beyond the poker table. A nice poker chip set makes a great gift to the poker player in your life and their convenient size makes a great advertising promotion for businesses. Chocolate poker chips are sure to leave a pleasant taste to remember you by.