Poker Chips Buying Guide

If life were simple, there would only be one type of poker chips and it wouldn’t be so hard to decide what poker chip to buy for your frequent poker games with your buddies. But there are actually three different kinds of poker chips you can choose from, and each have their advantages.

• Plastic Chips. Go to any Walmart and you’re sure to find the most commonly used poker chip: plastic. Plastic chips are so often used because they are cheap, come in large quantities, and tend to last a long time. However, in the wrong hands, they’ll break. Most professional poker players hate to use plastic chips, because they do get very slippery when wet, and they’re simply not what is used in casinos. If you’re looking to get cheap chips, plastic is probably a good call.

• Clay Chips. Ahh — these are what the casinos use and professional poker players swear by. Clay chips are more expensive than plastic chips, and are more breakable, but they’re also easy to grip (even when your hands get sweaty) and are the real deal. If you want your poker game to have an authentic casino feel, it’s time to invest in some clay chips.

• Composite Clay Chips. They look and feel just like real clay chips, yet they’re a bit cheaper. Like the composite leather used in place of real leather in footballs and basketballs, composite clay chips are a cheaper alternative to real clay chips. Most cannot tell the difference between the chips, although seasoned pros probably can. These are a good option if you’re deadset against plastic chips, but can’t quite afford clay chips.

How Many People Will Be Playing

You could go to Target and buy 300 plastic chips, or you could order 300 clay chips. But will that be enough? Well, it might not be if you’re planning on having more than 4 players. A good rule of thumb for choosing how many chips to purchase is to allot between 75 and 100 chips to each player—so if you’re going to have 3-4 players, 300 chips will be enough, but if you’re going to have 5-6 players, you might want 500-600 chips.

The Design

Many poker chips now come with the option of being customized, and if you’re looking to impress guests, it’s certainly a good option. Some stores will allow you to have a custom logo put on the chip, while others will let you simply put your initials and/or a name on the chip. Practically all stores sell chips in a variety of colors other than the standard red. Of course, it will cost you more to have customized chips, but they certainly can be worth it.

The Weight of Poker Chips

While all plastic chips are created with an equal weight, clay and composite chips come in different weights. You’ll actually want to really take the weight of the chip into consideration, as the chip should be the right weight for you and your guests, and should fall in the right price range (heavier chips, obviously, cost more).

The standard weights for composite clay/clay chips are 13.5g, 13g, 11.5g, 9g, 8.5g and 7.5g. The heaviest chips aren’t really recommended unless your guests want to get a workout while they’re playing poker.