Poker Chips Buying Guide

A WORD OF CAUTION: Beware of websites offering rock-bottom pricing. Although they may sell poker chips that LOOK LIKE high quality poker chips, you need to know that these are bargain-basement, low quality imported poker chips. Often the cheap chips are warped (so they don't stack right), have visible seams, imperfections in the patterns, or have faded inconsistent colors. Find a retailer that works with the most reputable manufacturers in the world that have years of experience making high quality poker gear. Just remember - you get what you pay for!

1. First, determine the quality of chips you want: Casino Style or Economical

  • Casino Style chips are made out of a Clay Composite. These are the most popular and resemble the chips used in actual casinos. If you're going to buy a Clay Composite chip, skip to #2.
  • Economical chips are made out of Acrylic or Plastic. They're lightweight yet durable and come in a variety of colors. If you're going to buy an Economical chip, no need to go any further. Simply choose the quantity you want to purchase.

    2. Choose a pattern for your chips. The pattern is the little design that encircles the outer ring of the chip on each side.

  • The Casino Style chips are available in Diamond, Suited, Dice, Striped and Specialty patterns with logos like pictures of playing cards or the classic Welcome to Las Vegas sign.
  • Some of the most popular patterns are the Suited (the chip is encircled with clubs, hearts, spades, and diamonds) and Dice (the chip is encircled with dice displaying one to six dots).

    3. Choose your chip weight. The most popular weights for Casino Style are 11.5 grams, followed by 8 grams. Good Poker Ship Retailers sell primarily 11.5 gram chips because they feel right in your hand - they have a nice weight to them. They're also by far the best sellers.

    Now that you know what type of chips you want, go here to view our Poker Chip Sets. You will learn that most poker ship sets are available in 300 and 500 quantities in your choice of aluminum, wood, and vinyl cases. For the best values, check out poker chip sets that include the highest quality chips and cases, plus two bonus decks of cards and a Poker Guide, including all of the rules, tips, and tricks for winning big.

    4. Choose the quantities of each color you wish to purchase. You can assign any values you want to each color when you sit down to play a game. You want to have a larger quantity of low value chips since these get played the most. Commonly accepted values would be:

     

  • Red Chips = $1
  • White Chips = $5
  • Green Chips = $25
  • Black Chips = $100

    Again, you can choose any color for any denomination you prefer, but be sure to buy the appropriate proportions.
    a. 3 - 4 people, purchase at least 300 chips
    b. 5 - 6 people, purchase at least 500 chips
    c. 7 - 8 people, purchase at least 700 chips

    5. Do you want your chips customized? Most high quality retailers can hot stamp one side of your chips with gold foil lettering, your choice of letters, numbers, or characters. Many people choose their initials. Why customize your chips? First, there's nothing like walking into a poker game with your own personalized chips. It shows everyone that you're a serious poker player, which gives you a psychological edge right off the bat. Second, it's a security issue. With custom chips, you don't have to worry about someone bringing extra chips to the game and slipping them in their stack.