Casino chips bring instant joy to any gambler, and the more you have, the luckier you feel. But there are various casino chip colours and even different shapes, each indicating a distinctive value of the individual token.
Casino chips are the currency of a casino. They are used for playing games of chance, including roulette, poker and blackjack. Although mainly circular, there are also rectangular tokens that substitute real money at the gambling table, acting as both a security measure and to streamline the gameplay.
While the appearance of casino chips is mostly standardised, their various features have become part of the existing gamut of the games during which they are utilised.
Plastic Chips vs Ceramic Tokens
Plastic poker chips are the most widespread type of gambling tokens used. These can be found in most gambling establishments and used for private games at home. While easy to use, plastic chips have a flaw – they are complicated to stack and count.
To make plastic chips more robust and mitigate their weaknesses, manufacturers have introduced composite chips. These are denser plastic chips, made up of composite plastic resin and metal insertions that increase the chip weight. Touch wise, these chips still feel plastic, yet they make a metallic sound against one another and can stack easily.
The highest quality and most authentic casino chips are ceramic, or more correctly classified as moulded chips. They have a similar feel to a piece of quality porcelain and are made up of a compound of materials that include sand, clay and calcium carbonate.
Dimensions and Design of Casino Chips
The most basic plastic chips weigh about three grams each and come in a standard colour pallet of white, red and blue. These chips are usually smaller than standard casino chips.
Composite and ceramic chips weigh between nine and thirteen grams each, although there is no benchmark weight for these. The addition of a metal ring inside the chip can further increase its weight. Usually, the heavier the chip, the more desirable it becomes due to its acoustics and tangible value.
The designs imprinted onto a ceramic chip are called engravings. These are usually done on paper and coated with a thin plastic layer before the chip gets compressed. Like this, the print is permanently embossed on the chip surface and cannot be erased through use.
These are the three most popular chip designs:
- Suited chips (with four sticks printed around)
- Diamond chips (with diamonds printed around)
- Dice chips (with six dice faces printed around)
Casino Chip Colours and Values
The standard colour scheme of casino chips is white, blue and red, with occasional green and black chips being used. Nonetheless, there have been some non-traditional colour combinations being used recently, varying from pink and lilac to orange, yellow and grey.
There isn’t a standardised set of rules that govern colours and corresponding denominations. Each casino is free to use its own set of preferred colours. However, there are some more widely used denominations that the majority uses.
Standard Poker Chip Colours and Values
While the rules may vary, here is the list of the generally accepted chip colours, shapes and denominations:
- White chip = $1
- Yellow chip = $2
- Red chip = $5
- Blue chip = $10
- Gray chip = $20
- Green chip = $25
- Orange chip = $50
- Black chip = $100
- Pink chip = $250
- Purple chip = $500
- Bordeaux chip = $1,000
- Blue chip sky = $2,000
- Brown token = $5,000
Although these are the standard colours used, always check with the casino where you are playing the exact value of each chip before you commit yourself to a game. Also, remember that all chips will have a value imprinted onto their face, so use this as a guide too.
Casino chips not only look colourful and pretty, but they serve a vital function of facilitating the gameplay and eliminating the need to use real money. This equalises the flow of the game and speeds up the proceedings. By being fully aware of what type of chips you are using, you will be able to keep a tight wrap of your reserves and quick overview of your winnings.
