The different types of Poker chips
Today, poker chips are available in a multitude of varieties and colors. The standard combinations are single-color, two-color, and three-color, with or without names. The official weight of casino chips is 11.5 g. But this notion of official weight for casino chips was invented by producers of cheap chips to enhance their product, but does not correspond to any historical reality. Poker chips are almost always casino size: +/- 39 mm in diameter. The thickness of the wafer changes depending on the design.
The standard token set uses 5-10 colors. The most common token colors with corresponding values are:
– white 1
– red 5
– green 25
– blues 50
– black 100
– yellow 1000
This distribution commonly used in business cases does not correspond to an obligation or the practice of casinos. It is moreover not judicious because on the one hand the value “50” is generally not useful to constitute a cellar, and on the other hand, the blue contrasts badly with the black which constitutes in this distribution the immediately higher value.
There are different types of tokens. Often poor quality plastic tokens are considered. While this is only just a priori because there are very good quality plastics. Plastic chips injection molded by Bud Jones or Bourgogne & Grasset have an excellent reputation and are found in most casinos around the world. On the other hand, it is not uncommon to find tokens, let’s say, of quality “Clay” which are of poor quality. Often what determines the quality of the tokens is the seriousness of the manufacturer. Note that you need at least a case of 500 tokens for home games.
Of course, everything depends on the type of game and the variant chosen, but with a good distribution even 300 chips are enough to organize a tournament of 10 players. Furthermore with 1000 tokens you will not be quiet when it comes to transporting or storing them.
The different types of tokens
PLASTIC TOKENS
Entry-level tokens look like the classic Suited or Dice but without metal insert and very basic design! The cheapest poker chips. Convenient for a trip because they have the advantage of not being heavy to transport. These tokens are often copies of the Composite best sellers and weigh from 2gr to 8gr.
COMPOSITE ABS TOKENS
The tokens in ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) or in ABS Composite (Abs and Calcium Carbonate) are injection molded. They exist with or without metal insert but generally they have a metal insert. Although heavier than other plastic tokens, their composition of metal coated with ABS composite, a very hard material, gives them a particular resistance. The metal insert increases the weight in order to obtain a good feeling. These are the most common chips in Poker, unfortunately today we only find chips with the finish more than desirable of these best sellers of poker like the Dices or the Suited.
PLASTIC TOKENS
Polypropylene Plastic (PP) tokens, a flexible material, molded with or without a metal insert. They are generally customizable and exist in several weights (11.5gr, 14gr). Those of 11.5g with a laser sticker are good poker chips, pleasant to handle and are essential on the poker tables.
METAL & COMPOSITE TOKENS (METAL CHIPS)
These Tokens are the strongest and also the heaviest. There are several types depending on the nature of the metal used. They are generally entirely made of Metal (Bronze or alloy) or Metal coated with plastic, the part being inserted in an ABS or PP piece. This Token strongly resembles a coin due to its composition. The diameter may change slightly from the standard 39mm. They are stronger, heavier. These are great tokens that will last a long time, at an affordable price.
CLAY COMPOSITE TOKENS (CLAY FILLED)
Normally the shell of the token is of a different material from the central filling, which can very well also be based on clay (or rather a synthetic clay) and are then designated under the name of “Clay Filled”, tokens whose turn is the same as a Clay Composite, and whose interior is made (normally) of compounds imitating clay. Nowadays, this type of token is almost no longer produced for commercial reasons. Clay-Filled tokens are only deluxe plastic tokens, with or without a metal insert, with a very good and better finish than composite tokens. Imitating the purely “Clay” effect, they have good solidity and are washable. The composite used is different from other plastic tokens, with a very good impact sound and a very good finish!
COMPOSITE CASINO TOKENS
High-end and brand plastic tokens (Bourgogne & Grasset; Bud Jones; Matsui) whose Plastic composition is a manufacturing secret (the heart of the token would be in bronze) and which can be found in many Clubs and Casinos. Hyper resistant and washable token. It is however impossible to buy this type of Pro token. Unless you order large quantities, the price is very high for a plastic token.
CLAY MOLDED CLAY TOKENS
The majority of “Pure Clay” tokens are based on different Composites as well as synthetic additives and sometimes (rarely), partly made of clay, since 100% clay tokens have not been produced since the beginning of the 20th century. The ingredients used are kept secret by the manufacturers, but it is certain that clay is not the main ingredient of a Clay Token.
They are made by extreme compression (thermo compression) in a single material, the touch and the sound are therefore exceptional. The inlay (design in the center of the token) is sometimes engraved in the token (Paulson) and presents no risk of alteration or detachment. They weigh from 9gr to 15gr. Considered by many players to be the best chips in the world, Clay Tokens have a unique sound and feel. They are also the most pleasant to handle because they are less slippery than the others. They are however very fragile. Their qualities and their fragility as well as the price make them an exceptional token.
Clay tokens from companies like Paulson (GPI group – Bourgogne & Grasset); T.R. King (closed in 2006) and Atlantic Standard Molding (ASM, which produced the tokens for the film Rounders), are the best clay tokens, present in the biggest casinos in the world.
CERAMIC TOKENS
Ceramic chips are very good poker chips, less expensive than real Clay, they allow to mount higher stacks because they “stick” to each other and their rough specific surface facilitates chip tricks. But ceramic tokens are more fragile than standard tokens. A big advantage is that the token is easily customizable. The weight of a ceramic token is around 10gr. There are three distinct manufacturing methods for very different qualities of ceramic tokens. The printed ceramics, the ceramics with stickers, these two types of tokens being very close in quality, often of Chinese import and practically more manufactured and then the engravings which are marvelous tokens.
ENGRAVED CERAMIC TOKENS (Embedded)
These are exceptional tokens, comparable to clay tokens molded by the quality of manufacture, the process being completely different. The manufacturing of an engraving uses an application method called “compression”. The design is one with the token, so it is directly etched. It is an unalterable type of token, however they are very fragile.
POKER PLATES
Poker plates are generally used in Europe by tradition. In recent times, plates have become fashionable again and it is not uncommon for manufacturers to offer single plates to complete your poker set. Generally ceramic but also plastic.
The plaques often represent big values (1000, 5000, 10.000, 25.000 50.000, etc.), they are on the tables of famous European tournaments, like the WPT of Paris. The size of a plate is often close to the size of the playing cards (more or less), which is very practical for storing them in a case having a place for a card game!
The small old fashioned European mother-of-pearl plates found in Backgammon sets can do the trick for a game of poker, to play like in another era.
Where to find the Material?
There are a large number of sites offering poker equipment. Specialists often offer quality. It is possible to find great promotions there during the destocking period. You will be able to thus constitute your own set of Poker according to your desires by selecting your chips and thus assembling the set of your dreams.
