Introduction
From the lowest cost plastic poker chipset that you can find at your local store to the high-quality chips made of ceramic and clay that are used at casinos all around the world, every poker chip type feels and weighs differently, and comes with its own quirks. This article seeks to discern between the different levels of quality that poker chips can come in, so read on to find out more! And if you’re looking for online poker rooms, be sure to check the deposit and play poker games like hold em.
Low-End
The lower-end poker chips are cheap in price as they are mass-produced through the method of injection molding. The best part about these chips is no doubt their affordability and the advantage where you won’t get super stressed out if you lose a few.
- Plastic
The plastic poker chips that can be found almost everywhere are cheap and forgettable. They are mostly available for purchase in most supermarkets and are the lowest quality chips that you won’t quite care to lose. The levels of quality are few and far between when it comes to plastic poker chips, so let’s move on.
- Faux Clay
Faux clay chips are one level up in quality from their plastic counterparts. As their name suggests, they’re not actually constructed with actual clay, but of a proprietary substance which makes the chips feel heavier to hold, with a slightly dusty surface; making the chips seem as if they were layered in some talc-like substance. Faux clay chips are thus much less slippery to hold than the lower quality poker chips made of plastic. A large majority of places you visit will have you believe that these faux clay chips are completely suitable for casual or home play, but well, don’t trust them!
Mid-Range Poker Chips
Just like how the low-quality chips are injection molded, mid-range poker chips are produced in the same way. The difference, however, is that these poker chips are better in quality due to the different formulas involved which results in a quality that you feel is better than what it actually is.
- “Higher-Grade” Plastic
Such chips straddle the line that goes between the lower to mid-range quality of poker chips. Often involving the insertion of a metal that is embedded to add weight, the injection procedure results in chips that are incredibly uniform. These “nicer” plastic chips are thus last longer, and although they’re not anything to marvel over, they can be quite functional for your home poker play.
- Composite
Composite poker chips feel heavier and better in quality than the “nice” plastic chips as they are constructed using a mix of clay and plastic, and are often slugged for weight. These chips can however feel quite slippery due to its plastic components. As with the faux clay and plastic poker chips, these chips are also injection-molded, making them more cost-effective to construct in huge quantities.
High-End Poker Chips
Now we’ve come to the exciting part! High-end poker chips refer to the type of chips that people will usually source for if they are serious about purchasing a high-grade set of poker chips. They are just like the chips you would expect to see in casinos all around the world, obviously, in terms of their feel, look, and quality.
- Ceramic
Ceramic chips can be ranked between the mid and high-end scales. The ceramic material is valued high enough to service the games of various casinos worldwide, and even the World Series of Poker. As opposed to the cheaper composite and plastic poker chips, ceramic poker chips are produced using the process of compression instead of injection-molding.
- Clay
Despite strong competition from the ceramics, poker chips of clay material still reigns as the top choice and standard. Clay chips can be spotted at almost all casinos worldwide, and with good reason. They have a certain weight to them of about 10 to around 13 grams generally, which is a weight that the plastic and composites cannot achieve even when combined with their metal details. This may come across as odd as clay chips are often still produced using the typical basic materials which are used to construct composite poker chips. Well, the difference lies within the formula used, While they’re termed as clay chips, such chips are not just composed of the clay material only,
and while manufacturers are protective over their formulas, these clay chips are usually made with fine sand or even chalk. The use of chalk or fine sand is to prevent the poker chips from getting too soft or brittle, which can result due to the curing procedure that is involved in their manufacturing. Without the addition of such materials, it would be impossible for clay poker chips made of clay to achieve the gold standard of their kind.
Even though the gold standard clay poker chip still gets worn out and needs replacing on a regular basis in casinos due to the heavy usage on a daily basis, a professionally manufactured clay poker chip is meant to be able to withstand years of home poker playing. These top-quality chips have a silky feel yet without feeling too soft, and its weight will have you believe that it is authentic cash you’re tossing atop the pot. With that said, your home poker game will definitely still put your clay chips under a great deal of stress, so at the end of the day, it’s common to find scratches all over your chips. Just keep in mind to keep your young kids and pets away from your clay chips though!
Conclusion
To conclude, the following are several of the best poker chip sets you can buy as a good gift or for your own use. Rock & Roll Chip Set is a 200-count set consisting of 13.5-gram clay chips and two decks of playing cards packaged in a wooden carousel, which is a nice fit for family games for four to five members. Nevada Jack “Skulls” Poker Set features 500 10-gram chips, each coming with the classic image of the hat-wearing skull, packaged comfortably in a signature black case. With two card decks and a dealer button, this set retails at about $300 and is great for your poker parties. Poker Depot offers an entirely personalizable clay poker chip set which gives you full control over the quantity, colors, denominations, graphics, and just about everything with regards to the chips and their casing — A great option for those DIY-lovers!