Poker is steadily gaining momentum, and even yesterday’s players of online poker rooms and just observers of broadcasting poker matches on television are overwhelmed with the desire to buy chips and feel their weight in their hands, as well as experience the excitement of this popular gambling activity.
In the following article from the GBC Team team, you will find detailed information on diverse kinds of poker chips, as well as poker chip color value. Here you also can read the hottest pokers news that reveals interesting information about events in the industry.
How did poker chips appear?
Despite the fact that people have been playing this card game for money for more than a century, poker chips have become popular relatively recently, only some 100 years ago. Before that, people played directly on what they had. That is, if someone wanted to bet $10, this person just put this money on the playing table. However, this manner of playing poker was rather inconvenient, because no one knew what the player’s stack was at the table and how much this person could put.
That is why in 1880, the first clay poker chips were created, and since then the entire game in the casino and poker clubs has been conducted only with their utilization. However, a little bit earlier gamblers tried to invent something similar to chips. For example, during the famous American gold rush in the 19th century, players used gold in all its forms to make bets in games: pieces, coins, powder, etc. When chips finally adopted their current guise, they were made of many kinds of material: from wood to paper. In addition to this, craftsmen of those times were decorating them with various design elements.
It is important to mention that gamblers of the 20th century not only used chips in games but also collected them. This collecting type was very popular and people considered it a hobby. Of course, nowadays you also can find poker enthusiasts who collect chips.
What are poker chips for?
Playing poker without chips is extremely inconvenient. The fact is that in bidding, players must place mandatory and voluntary bets. At the same time, opponents or croupiers must quickly determine the size of bets, minimally distracting from the calculations. Chips allow you to do this more conveniently since their color depends on the face value, and you can count them faster than money.
An interesting fact: experienced croupiers can accurately determine how many chips are in the stack by simply placing their hands on it and evaluating with the touch the distance from the table to the top chip. Using a special technique, they can count the number of chips in a matter of seconds, even if there are several dozen stacks. However, not only dealers but experienced gamblers can guess the number of chips right.
Land-based gambling establishments usually buy poker chips wholesale to meet all casinos’ needs. In most cases, they order them directly from manufacturers.
Chip value in poker: color and design
A variety of chip designs is achieved through various combinations of plastic parts of different colors and the usage of stickers, pictures, etc. As the complexity of the design of chips increases, so does their price.
Poker chips can be:
- single-colored;
- with 2-3 color inserts (suits, rhombuses, cubes, etc.);
- chips with colored stickers or pictures (sometimes with a hologram pattern);
- collectible chips with logos, pictures, photos.
Chips with indicated face value are very popular. This makes the game easier by not having to remember the binding of color to the value of the chip. On sale, you can also find chips with the logos of specific casinos. These chips are usually sold apiece – they are purchased by collectors. The cost of such chips can reach several tens of dollars by the piece.
Thus, as for colored poker chips, there are three options:
- color poker chips of classic casino-style design (without laser hologram, pattern and poker chip value);
- color poker chips of classic design with a face value (without laser hologram and pattern);
- colored chips with face value and pattern (laser hologram or special coating).
A single game set can usually contain chips from one to five colors. Most often, the sets contain an unequal number of chips of different colors.
On the other hand, chips color and value in tournaments can significantly differ from those used in simple games. In the majority of poker contests, chips don’t show an exact cash value. Everything depends on the gaming process and players’ results. For instance, participants can re-entry a game with a new set of chips, or get more colored chips with bigger value when they succeed.
What are standard poker chip values?
Usually, poker beginners try to memorize what all colors mean to better understand what is going on in a game. The common ratio of the colors of chips and denominations accepted at the casino:
| Color | Value in dollar equivalent |
| White | $1 |
| Red | $5 |
| Orange | $10 |
| Yellow | $20 |
| Green | $25 |
It should be noted that the number of chips of “expensive” colors in the game is smaller than the number of chips of “cheap” color. In some sets, there are also poker chips of black color. If the number of chips in the set exceeds 100, then the number of colors increases and they can vary from blue and purple to pink and orange ones. Depending on this, you assign colors to the game value of your choice, if it is not indicated on the chips.
It is worth pointing out that usually, regions have own standards of chips coloring. For instance, the majority of gambling establishments in the United States follow common rules for a visual representation of chips. It is needless to say that these standards are mostly applied to such casino meccas as New Jersey, California, Nevada, Florida, etc. Speaking about European countries, they follow almost the same chips rules as the USA but there are some differences. Players from Europe use special rectangular chips that will seem unfamiliar to American gamblers. They are applied to identify large values and more often used in tournaments.
What poker chips can be made of?
The most expensive and at the same time, the highest quality poker chips are those made of clay. Clay chips are much more difficult to manufacture than plastic ones, since, in addition to clay, they include sand, chalk and other substances designed to strengthen the composition of the material. These chips are made by squeezing under a compress, and a drawing is applied to each clay chip separately. Such chips are very much appreciated by collectors (so there are several collectible poker chip values), and they are used in real casinos and poker clubs. At the same time, they are easy to distinguish from plastic ones by listening to the sound that these chips emit when they hit each other.
Composite chips, which consist of plastic and other materials (acrylic, clay, resin), are much less expensive. In the center of such a chip, a metal plate is often installed to give weight to the chip. In their quality, they are significantly inferior to the clay ones.
Well, the cheapest and low-quality option is plastic chips, which are sold in almost any online store. They are very cheap, made in China and are great for home games. However, over time, they lose their market condition since plastic is a soft material, and dents, scratches, and abrasions from previous games will remain on these poker chips. Clay chips have no such drawback since they can be easily polished.
Some manufacturers use such materials as various metals and ceramics to create chips. It goes without saying that these types of chips aren’t very popular and widespread. They are more interesting for collectors who search for unique sets.
The size and weight of poker chips
The sets have one thing in common – the same size for all poker chips: their diameter is 39mm. The chip is made of tightly pressed plastic, and a metal plate is placed (or not placed) inside, which gives the chip stability. It is more pleasant to hold heavy chips with metal plates inside, and they make a characteristic clicking sound, hitting each other on the gaming table.
By weight, the chips are divided into:
- light – 4 g;
- of average weight – 5-9 g;
- heavy – 11.5 g;
- super-heavy – 13 g and more.
The size of the chips is 39 mm and the weight of 11.5 g correspond to the casino standard.
The weight of sets of heavy poker chips in some cases can be 3-5 kg (300 chips) and even 10 kg (sets of 1000 chips). It should be noted that the heavier the chip is, the higher its price is.
What are poker chip values for a home game?
If you are planning to play poker at home and want to find out information on what each poker chip is worth, here you will find all the necessary data. Thus, you just need to utilize the following poker chip values chart for your home games:
- white or gray – $1;
- red – $5;
- blue – $10;
- green – $25;
- black – $100;
- purple – $500;
- yellow – $1000;
- pink – $5000;
- orange- $10000.
There are many factors that you should pay attention to before buying your poker set. The ratio of poker chips will depend on the number of players announced in the poker tournament: the more participants will be, the more chips of high value they will need in the future, since as players lose and stop participating in the game, the average number of chips in the stack will grow, and the need for chips with a small value disappears by itself.
The type of poker tournament also affects the choice of a set of poker chips (Texas Hold’em, stud poker or cash game): the chips that you will need to play limit poker are slightly different from the poker chips needed to play no-limit poker (in this article, we are considering the option of a home or professional poker tournament in no-limit poker Texas Hold’em). The amount of starting chips handed out to the players of your poker tournament at the beginning is also very important.
Of course, the number of chips included in the set determines how many players can simultaneously participate in the game. The minimum number of chips per person to play Texas Hold’Em is 35-40. It’s not very convenient to play if you have fewer chips. A reasonable and most comfortable number of poker chips is approximately 50 per person. More than 100 chips per player do not make much sense.
Poker chip sets may consist of a different number of chips and they, respectively, suit groups of people of different sizes:
| The number of chips in the set | The optimal number of players |
| 100 | 2-4 |
| 200 | 4-6 |
| 300 | 6-8 |
| 500 | 8-10 |
| 1000 | 10 and more |
Keep in mind that the rebuy option (you enable tournament participants to buy chips for a game, usually a limited number and only after the players have lost their initial stack) will increase the total number of poker chips needed for the game. Besides, do not forget that if it is necessary, you can buy additional poker chip values by color in the future.
Free chips in poker: how to get them?
Chips are an essential part of both types of poker games: virtual and those held in brick-and-mortar casinos. When gamblers play on online poker platforms, they should buy chips as in land-based casinos. However, many poker rooms offer profitable bonus programs that allow players to get chips for free.
Free chips are frequently given for loyalty, big deposits, sequential wins, etc. Users also can benefit from special daily and monthly promotions that reward players with no-cost chips. Almost every online casino has a bonus pack to attract more customers to games.
Frequently asked questions about poker chips
How many chips does a player get in poker?
Each player gets approximately 50-75 chips.
How many chips are there in poker?
It depends on the number of players.
What are the chips value in poker?
Read more information about this in our article.
How many poker chips are there in a set?
There are 500 poker chips in a set.
How to get free chips in Zynga Poker?
Gamblers use special hacks to get free chips.
How many chips do you start with in poker?
Each player should have at least twenty chips of the smallest value.
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