There are many variations of poker chips in terms of style, weight and size on the market, but generally the ones that you see and use in the casinos are all made out of clay. Clay gives the poker chips certain feel and structure that adds a real presence, class and durability to the game of poker. 9 gram and 13.5 gram clay poker chips represent the high quality of poker chips that are available on the market today. Let’s examine these clay poker chips a little further in this article.

The clay poker chips that are used in casinos have certain requirements such as size, weight and quality. Manufacturers that sell chips to the general public make these chips of a very similar quality and upon the same guidelines as the authentic chips that are played on actual casino tables. This enables amateur and social players to have quality chips made by the best manufacturers, right in their own homes.

The normal clay chip size is 39 millimeters in diameter and weighs 11.5 grams. These are exact specifications so that each chip will be identical (unless of different color). The majority of Casinos, including those based in Vegas, tend to use chips between 9 gram and 13.5 grams according to their own needs. This keeps the chips uniform and easier to control and when different colors are used it helps players to differentiate their chips form their opponents.

There are many reasons that 13.5 gram clay is the substance preferred when it comes to poker chips. First of all, it gives the chips a solid and evenly spread weight. These chips feel smooth but heavy, and usually help players to remember the value of each chip. Clay can be imprinted to give a certain design or signature of owner which is usually what happens in Casinos – Casino branding is popular.

9g clay poker chips are professional grade poker chips that are perfectly and specifically designed to be exactly the same in style, texture, size and weight. Casinos pay a lot of money for the highest quality poker chips. These chips are custom made to have the design and look of that given casino. This is very important to all casinos; irrespective of their location.

Clay poker chips are special because they are all uniform and they look terrific. This means that they are exactly the same size and weight and the design and decorations are perfect. Abnormal chips are usually a sign of counterfeiting and fake chips from Casinos; therefore the manufacturers must be precise in their manufacturing processes. There is a lot of money riding on the quality of the chips and the level of difficulty that is applied to eradicating counterfeit practices.

Along with the size and weight, the outer coating of the poker chips is also quite important because this will prevent the decal from coming off if it is fiddled or deliberately tampered with. With high quality manufactured chips when the decal is removed, the chip should be ruined beyond repair. Therefore all clay poker chips are either played with when they are in their original state or they are removed from play altogether. It is neither easy nor cheap to produce such high quality chips but they really are a necessity for Casinos. Casinos must be confident with the quality and preservation of their chips which means that they are willing to put a lot into them.

But do not despair. Just because you are not a Casino does not mean that you cannot have casino quality 9 gram, 11 gram or 13.5 gram clay poker chips too. These chips are usually cheaper to the public because they do not have to pass through such stringent security guidelines. They will generally be made out of the same materials and taken through the same production process. And of course if you really want to, you can customize them to your liking, even with your own brand.

Copyright 2005 Jake Johnson

This article was posted on November 27, 2005