Chips in Casino — The Full Guide

In casinos all over the world, you will be offered chips for various table games; and sometimes, even for slots! So everyone who wants to gamble at a real brick-and-mortar casino needs to read this guide. It’s very important to learn the rules about chips, how they are used, why they are used, and what they represent. It’s vitally important for you to know about this topic. There are multiple reasons for this, but the following ones are crucial:

1. The General Quality of Your Own Gambling Experience

Nobody wants to sit at a roulette or a poker table and only then realize that they aren’t entirely sure what the different tokens in the casino stand for! So you don’t want to be distracted by your lack of knowledge about gambling during an exciting casino game.

2. Control Over Your Stakes and No Unpleasant Surprises

When you have a more precise idea of what the different tokens represent, it’ll be easier for you to control and organize your betting strategy.

3. Avoid Making Unintentional Rule Violations

Many people are not sure whether they can take their tokens home, or cash them a while later, and so on. Learn about the casino policies so that you can prevent any misunderstandings!

4. Hosting Home Poker Nights

While you’re learning more about chips, why not try and provide an authentic casino experience for your home poker night guests. Now wouldn’t that be so much fun?

5. Discovering New Interests

Did you know that people collect chips? Old and unique chips are popular at various online auctions.

So now that we’ve covered the main reasons why you should learn about the subject, let’s jump into lesson one. After the introduction, we’re going to cover all the main aspects of the topic, and answer some of the most common questions people are asking. Also, we’re going to reveal some interesting facts about the topic we’re discussing.

Let’s Start With the Basics — What Is a Chip?

A chip is a small round, flat object that is used to represent a specific amount of money during a gambling game. Each casino token stands for a certain amount of money. Usually, different monetary values are represented in this way by a specific color. However, these color-value relations can sometimes vary from casino to casino. We will talk in detail later about the standards for the color and value of these tokens. Besides the color, this item needs to have a specific weight, and it also needs to be produced from specific materials. Although many believe these tokens are made of pure clay, the truth is a little more complicated.

Chips need to be light, firm, and durable; so clay wouldn’t be the best choice. Instead of pure clay, casino token manufacturers use a mix of various materials, with clay being the main ingredient. However, the exact combination of materials used for this product is often a secret recipe the manufacturers are not willing to give away. The precise ratio of various materials in chips is usually kept a secret, mostly for security reasons.

The weight of a casino token can vary depending on the manufacturer, the game it is used for, or the value it represents. The usual weight of a chip is 8.5g and 10g. However, there are also some exceptions to this rule. Clay tokens, a fairly rare find, are a bit heavier; they weigh about 9.5g to 10 g. Also, there are ceramic casino tokens; and they are the heaviest ones, with a weight of 10g. Since we now know how these items are made, what they stand for, and how much they weigh, let’s get into more exciting stuff. Now, we’ll learn why chips are used, how they differ, and any relevant casino policies.

Discussing the Purpose — Why Do Casinos Use Chips?

It’s no accident that casinos started using tokens for wagering instead of real money. There are logical and practical reasons why you make your bets with tokens and not with your greens. So let’s learn about the reasons why casinos love chips at their tables!

1. Security Reasons

This first reason is pretty apparent, and you may have guessed it already. It is a lot safer for a casino to have their own substitute for money for bets than to let players use real bills. Casino tokens prevent fraud and theft at an impressive level with a fairly simple system. When you’re eventually done gambling, you can cash your chips; but only at a registered cashier. You just cannot expect to get away with offering a casino forged poker tokens — it’s almost impossible to forge them. However, these tokens don’t just prevent player fraud; they’re also used to prevent malpractice on the part of casino personnel. So thanks to the chips, a casino can be sure the dealers didn’t make any mistakes when paying a player off. Also, today, chips have special RFID (radio-frequency identification) tags that make fraud virtually impossible.

2. Because It’s More Convenient

The convenience factor is one big reason casino tokens are so popular. Imagine you had to deal with real paper money whenever you played poker at a casino. It would be quite a mess if the dealer, as well as the players, needed to count real bills during a game.

3. Psychological Factor

Do you wonder what psychology has to do with casino tokens? Well, let’s put it this way — it’s easier to throw away some clay coins than to discard some real money from your pocket. Of course, players know what the tokens represent; they’re perfectly aware that they are indeed playing with real money. However, there’s a big (proven) psychological effect tied to playing with tokens. It’s somehow easier for people to be reckless with chips than with real bills.

So now we’ve learned the “why,” now let’s examine the “where.” Which casino games have chips on the table? Let’s see!

The Practice — Which Games Use Chips?

Casinos offer tokens for playing various games. At some casinos, each game has its own tokens. At others, multiple games are played with the same type of tokens. However, in the majority of casinos, tokens for slots differ from tokens for any other games. Tokens for slots are usually made of metal, and they resemble coins. Now, classic casino clay-based chips, a token which we are talking about in the article, are usually used in four casino games.

1. Blackjack — Chips are used for blackjack in almost all casinos.
2. Roulette — It’s quite well-known that roulette wagers are made with chips, both in the European and American variants of roulette.
3. Poker — We guess you already knew that chips are always used for poker wagering.
4. Craps — In the popular casino game of craps, chips are used for betting too.

Since we now know which games use casino tokens, let’s find out what various tokens mean. As you already know, these tokens come in many different colors. Each color symbolizes a different value, so it’s quite important to know what each color means. So let’s learn about the colors now!

The Colorful World of Chips — The Meaning Behind the Colors

The relation between a chip color and value can sometimes vary from casino to casino. However, there are some common, universally accepted rules that you come across in most casinos around the world. Sometimes, there are rules about colors and values of chips on the state level. All in all, some globally known standards usually apply in all gambling establishments; at least in most of them, anyway!

For instance, many people, even those who don’t usually gamble, know that the color red stands for $5. Also, the green color usually stands for $25 green. It’s also a common practice that color black stands for a higher stake of $100. Even though tokens at various casinos share the same rules about colors, they still can have a pretty different design. Casino tokens can often feature a dollar sign, a logo, or even a unique costume, symbol. Now, let’s discuss token colors and values in detail!

Low and High Stakes — Different Chip Values

Since there are many different poker chip colors and values, we’ll first take a look at a simple table. The table below will tell you which color represents what unit, as well as what value it represents. Again, please note that this table shows a certain global standard. Admittedly, some casinos may have somewhat different rules about colors and denominations; fortunately, this is always something that’s easy to inquire about at the casino. So now, let’s see the table!

Color	Chips	Unit	Value
White		1	$1
Yellow		2	$2
Pink		2.5	$2.5
Red		5	$5
Blue		10	$10
Grey		20	$20
Green		25	$25
Orange		50	$50
Black		100	$100
Pink		250	$250
Purple		500	$500
Yellow/Burgundy		1000	$1,000
Light Blue		2000	$2,000
Brown		5000	$5,000

Since we’ve now presented you with the standard, most common rules about the relation between the color and value, let’s move on to the exceptions. Some famous casinos have their own rules about the meaning of poker token colors. Now, we shall present you with the chip policy of probably the most famous Las Vegas casino — the mighty Bellagio.

Chip Values at the Bellagio

At Bellagio, a blue chip, rather than a white one, means you’re placing the smallest possible wager. Also, many Bellagio tokens don’t come in one color, but rather in a combination of multiple colors. So at Bellagio, yellow with a dash of purple and green stands for the highest-value chip. Let’s see the table with colors and values at this luxurious Las Vegas casino.

Color	Chips	Value
Blue		$1
Red		$5
Orange with blue and green		$10
Yellow with purple and green		$20
Green with black		$25
Black with peach, white, and purple		$100
Purple		$500
Yellow with purple and green		$1,000

Now that you know how to place your desired wager, let’s discuss what you should and shouldn’t do with your chips. The following sections are very important, since we don’t want you to get yourself into any unpleasant situations.

Something’s Allowed, Something’s Forbidden — What Can You Do With Chips?

You don’t want to get yourself into any trouble? Great! Read the following list of things you can do with tokens, as well as some things you should never attempt to do. Many people are not so sure what they can do with chips, and what they are most certainly not allowed to do. So let’s solve some mysteries.

1. You can take them home. You can keep them as a souvenir, as a reminder, as a lucky charm, or whatever you wish. The casino is not going to oppose your wish not to cash the chip; they’re even going to be grateful!
2. You cannot offer a chip as a payment for a product or a service. You should never try to make an illegal profit from a casino token of any kind.
3. You can cash them in at the same casino where you’ve won them; obviously enough!
4. Don’t try to lie the casino about the number of tokens you have won. Chips are easily tracked, and if you provide false information to the cashier, you’re only going to get yourself banned.
5. Never try to counterfeit these items. Firstly, because it’s impossible and secondly, because it’s a serious offense!
6. You can buy and sell antique chips.
7. You shouldn’t try to cash expired ones (more about that later).
8. You can sell your private chip collection you’ve made for home poker (obviously enough, since they don’t actually belong to any commercial gambling establishment).
9. If you find a lost token in the casino, you should report it to the employees.
10. You can tip dealers, waiters, or waitresses with chips; this practice isn’t against  the rules.

We hope that by now, you’re pretty sure what you’re allowed to do in a casino, as well as about what you’re absolutely not supposed to do. But now, since we’ve already mentioned the issue of expired casino tokens, let’s elaborate a bit on that matter. Do chips expire? And if they do, what happens to them afterwards?

The Fate of Old Chips — Can Chips Expire?

Just like many other products, these casino items have an expiration date. However, it’s not so common for a gambling establishment to issue chips with a predetermined expiration date. When something like this does happen, i.e., whenever a chip has an expiration date, there are usually three reasons for that:

1. The casino issued them only for some short term promotion.
2. The casino wants to prevent fraud by issuing new ones from time to time.
3. The casino wants to issue a new series, for whatever reason.

As we’ve already said, this practice is not that common. Usually, casino tokens live as long as the very casino they originated from! However, if you do come across any expired chips, the reason behind their expiration is probably one of the following:

• The casino was sold and changed the owner, or it became part of a larger corporation.
• The casino went bankrupt.
• The casino was closed.
• There was some serious fraud or an attempt at forgery.
• A large number of them were stolen.

These are the most likely reasons why certain chips might have expired. So now, let’s talk a little about what happens to these casino items when they’re no longer valid for use. What does their retirement look like?

Exonumia — Chips Collecting

Chips don’t have a sad retirement; on the contrary, their autumn years are pretty interesting, when you think about it! And why is this? Because the very moment a chip expires, for whatever reason, it now qualifies as a collectible item. So plenty of people collect old chips, buy them at auctions, or sell them to other collectors. Indeed, it’s perfectly legal to sell, buy, and collect old chips as collectible items. And as you can guess from the title of this section, collecting chips is called exonumia. The price of these collectible items ranges from as low as $5 to as high as $500. The price of an antique casino token depends on the date of manufacture, the state it’s in, its relative rarity, or some special features; just as you would expect with other antiquities in general. And since we’ve just acquainted ourselves with antique chips, let’s meet one more special type of token — the nonmaterial ones!

Virtual Gambling — Chips in Online Casinos

In brick-and-mortar casinos, chips stand for real money. In online casinos, real money stands for chips. Wait, what? Confused…? We’ll explain now!

Online casinos often use the term “free chips,” which stands for a real-money bonus. You can get free chips at an online casino; even for games that don’t feature chips per se, such as slots. However, online casinos, chips don’t always stand for bonuses and promotions; they often represent real chips at virtual table games. This way, when you play online poker or online blackjack, most online games will deal you some virtual chips. So online table games still respect the gaming principle of offline table games; they just enrich it with a few additional features, that’s all!

Basically, if you know how to play poker or blackjack at a classic casino, you won’t need any kind of  tutorial for the online version of these games. The only thing you need to bear in mind when it comes to online casinos and chips is that references to “chips” sometimes stand for a specific amount of real money. And with this thought, we conclude our chips tutorial. But have a little read of our summary before we say goodbye!

Final Word

Chips come in all colors and weights — it depends on the manufacturer, purpose, or casino preferences. It’s quite easy to grasp the relation between colors and value; just follow our tables. It is legal to take chips from a casino, as long as you don’t try to sell them. You can, however, sell expired ones to collectors. Also, you can tip casino employees with chips; that practice is not against any regulations. Actually, it’s even preferable for you to tip casino personnel, either with real money or chips — this is an important part of casino etiquette. By the way, online casinos sometimes call amounts of real money chips, even with games that don’t even feature chips at all.

There is usually a logical correlation between the chip with the smallest value and the minimum bet. Also, there is often a correlation between the chip with the highest value and the maximum-size bet. So before you sit down at the casino table, ask about the lowest and the highest buy-in, as well as the lowest and the highest wagers you are permitted. So when you enquire about the wagering policy for a certain table in advance, you can easily make your decision about what chips you are going to use the most. We hope that whichever chips you choose, they are going to bring you luck!

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