Pot committed

Tokens, checks or Chips have been used by poker players since the 1800's and clay chips have always been the preferred choice. Over the last 75 years however clay chips have been clay filled composites due to pure clay chips' poor durability. 

Casinos, in the 1950's, started to design their own house chips incorporating logos and unique distinctive edge spots. To add further security some casinos add UV markings and even some incorporate RFID (Radio-frequency identification) technology which not only adds security but determine player's average bet sizes (the five-star Wynn Casino in Las Vegas were the 1st to use RFID).

Tournament chips are much cheaper and simpler in design as they hold no cash value although at large televised events, such as the World Series of Poker, the chips approach quality levels to that of a casino floor.

 

There are 8 main types of poker chips, they are:

 

• Plastic
• Diamond (or Super-diamond)
• Faux Clay
• Cardinal
• Composite (with and without metal inserts)
• Ceramic
• Metal (yes, metal - who knows why???)
• Clay

In my opinion these can be split up into 3 quality groups:

 

1. Home (Plastic, Diamond, Faux Clay & Cardinal)
2. Tournament (Composite & Ceramic)
3. Casino (Clay)

and ... 4. The damn right bizarre (Metal)

There are 7 poker chip manufactures for the card room/tournament/home market that are worth a special mention and these are Paulson, Nexgen, Nevada Jack, Blue Chip Company, R.T. Plastics, T.R. King and ASM (as seen in the movie 'Rounders'). In my opinion, Paulsons and Nexgen are the most noteworthy of the bunch.

You'll find Paulson chips in 3 of out 4 Vegas Casinos. They are simply the best clay chips money can buy. They sound great, can be stacked stupidly high, look and feel the part (because they are) and best of all Paulson chips are available to the standard poker playing consumer. They do however come at a rather hefty price tag at around 80p per chip compared to dice style composites at 10p, quite a difference.

Nexgens (12g)

Nexgen (or Next Generation as they like to be know) are a clay composite chip that are the closest and affordable chip you'll find to Paulsons. The colouring and edge spots are similar that of Paulsons and feel more like an actual clay chip than it's other clay composite competitors. They have a metal insert for the added weight and do unfortunately create a more clinking noise than clay chips but less so than other clay composite chips. They have a hatched surface (similar to that of the ASM chips) meaning they stack well and aren't as slick (slippy) although they are slick compared to Paulsons. I'll be blogging a full review of the Nexgens very soon once I get my set of Lucky Bees delivered.

 

Ebay addicts beware! There are a lot of fake chips being sold on ebay and you may think you're getting a deal on Nexgens (or similar) but you'll find you can't replace or buy more chips for your set. With Nexgens, the give-away is white edge spots.

My biggest tip for shopping for chips is to buy samples, do not buy without samples. Everyone has their own idea of what a good chip is or what they like the feel/weight/sound of. For instance you may play at The Western in Acton and love their chips - in which case buy some R.T. Plastics as they are the same chip. FYI Grosvenor use Bourgogne Et Grasset chips (or as it was more commonly known, now called GPI SAS) and Stanleys use 'Bud jones'.

In the UK finding decent chips is a nightmare, the only place I would recommend would be Marlow Casino Chips. David Spragg (shown on the right), collector turned dealer, runs Marlow Casino Chips and is well respected in the casino chip collectors' community. He's direct and informative, just what you want when buying chips. Marlow Casino Chips keep some stock (mainly collectors items) and import on-demand from the US so expect a lead time. They are the best and most hassle free way of getting hold of quality chips.

 

Here are some sites that you may find helpful:

Marlow Casino Chips - Quality Poker Chip Supplier

Home Poker Tourney - Excellent resource for chip reviews etc...

Chip Talk Forum - Form full of poker chip geeks

21 Ace - Another great resource for chip reviews

 

I shall leave you with this, oh yes - the sound IS important believe me (or so it would seem)!