You would think that buying poker chips would be simple. This is the farthest from the truth if you want to get the perfect chip. Chips come in many different styles, colors, materials and weights. Choosing the best poker chips will depend on the taste of you the poker player. You can customize your poker chips with a logo, monogramming, or stock denominations.



The good news is that even though it wasn't that long ago that a one had to pay a couple hundred dollars for a quality set of poker chips, today these same sets are now sold for a fraction of that price.

Poker Chips are made out of several different materials; the most common are clay, clay composite, ABS plastic, or a ceramic material. Plastic is by far the cheapest and should only be considered if your budget is extremely tight.

Clay poker chips are a little more expensive but there is no substitute for even the casual poker player. Your investment in a nice set up chips will add a little style to your game. The vast majority of authentic casino chips are compression molded chips or more commonly known as "clay" chips. Modern clay chips are a composition of materials more durable than clay alone.

High quality chips will tend to mark and dent, however they should not mark so badly that the chip is mutilated. You can generally spot chips of low quality by looking for offset edge spots and low quality features which is caused by poor molds. Clay chips generally will stack a lot better than the cheaper plastic or composite chips. For that last bit of style you can customize your poker chips with a logo, monogramming, or stock denominations.

Poker chips generally come in 5 different colors, White, Red, Blue, Green and Black. Many clay chips will also have a printed graphic called an inlay.

Often chips will also have a metal insert that is added to provide weight to the chip for better handling and feel. The weight of the chips is probably the most confusing aspect of picking the right chip. Chip weight is generally measured in grams; the most common are 8.5, 9, 10, 11.5 and 13 grams. Authentic Clay chips are all between 8.5 and 10 grams.

No matter if you are just a casual weekend player with friends or a serious player your choice of poker chips can either add to the tradition and excellence of the game, or detract from it. Cheap poker chips are a lot like a cheap suit so spend that little extra and get a good quality clay chip set.