History of Poker Chips

We have a wide array of poker chips to choose from here at Nevada Jacks. From custom poker chips to upscale plaques like the ones you’d find in the world’s richest games, we have them all. Where did poker chips originate, you ask? What should you look for in today’s versions? Read on to find out.

Ways of betting on poker have been around for as long as the game. As you might have expected, betting in poker games in the Old West involved coins and even scraps of gold. Remember, gold was what many people sought. Among other items used to count the winners and losers in old-time poker games were wood, ivory, and paper. Slowly, the first poker chips began to emerge, sometimes made of the very same materials they replaced to create a round, flat disc.

Why do you need poker chips in the first place? Why don’t we just use scraps of material to count who is up and who is down? It is an interesting conundrum. The proprietors of the first poker games using the first rudimentary chips were faced with the same issues you would expect today. Primarily, if you use ordinary material with ordinary shape and detail you are bound to attract unscrupulous characters and end up with more chips than you started with. Of course, when it is time to cash out this will leave you holding the bag. Run a high stakes poker game with an ordinary cheap poker chip set today and you will certainly see our point. The best way to avoid this is to design your own secure custom poker chips.

More durable clay poker chips began arriving on the scene, which then gave way to the more customary composite (plastic) models. Clay chips are still the preferred material for most casinos in the United States but worldwide the trend is in favor of composite chips. Composite poker chips generally have a better price point and are more durable than their clay counterparts.

Technology bred the ability to produce chips of different colors en masse for casinos around the world. White chips generally meant $1, while pink was used to demark $2.50 (if you ever play $5 blackjack and hit the game’s namesake, you’ll be awarded one of these). You may also find casinos using blue $1 chips. If you head outside of the United States and play in high-stakes games, rectangular plaques may come into play.

Other common colors used in poker and other parts of the casino include red ($5), green ($25), black ($100), orange ($1,000), and gray ($5,000). Many of today’s modern chips include highly specific artwork on their faces for each casino. If you head to Paris in Las Vegas, for example, expect to see the casino’s defining edifice and name printed on the poker room’s chips. Similarly, if you placate Treasure Island, expect to see the initials “T.I.” etched on chips used in your $4/$8 game.

The Nevada Jack Skull poker chips have their own variation on denominations and colors. Our $500 chip is yellow, the $1000 is light grey and our $5000 is purple. When you first sit down at a table, ensure that the poker chips you’re using represent the values you’re accustomed to, as states like California, North Dakota, and New Jersey have various quirks. It’s also important to stress that tournament chips have no cash value; you can’t build a big stack in a major event and then head to the craps table to shoot dice. Instead, many tournament chips include the phrase “No Cash Value” or something similar on the outer edge. The color scheme for tournament chips may also vary by casino, so ask your local card room for more information.

Modern poker chips are generally composite filled, but we offer a variety to choose from here at Nevada Jacks. The Paulson Top Hat and Cane clay poker chips that we carry are considered by many to be the best clay poker chip on the market. Our own Nevada Jack Skull brand is a ceramic poker chip that comes in nine denominations and two plaques. Plus, we don’t use cheap tactics like placing a sticker on the face of our chips. These are sets you can use for lifetimes to come.

Now that you have a brief understanding of the history of poker chips, you can come armed to your next game with a leg up on the competition. We’ll see you on the felts.