A Few Poker Chip Set Options

Some of the common options for today’s poker chip sets are customization or personalization, style of case, and grade of poker chip. While these are not all of the options available these are some important options worthy of taking a look at. Depending on your taste this could be a fairly major purchase. So try to be prepared when heading into the marketplace.

Customized poker chips offer an array of design options. Gold foil hot stamping is an after market process that use a single color foil (usually gold) to press a design into the face of the chip. These designs are most typically values or initials and can be different on each side of the poker chip. It is also possible to have custom artwork such as logos or slogans made into a hot stamp die and pressed into the chip. If your custom poker chip needs demand full color, then custom labels are the solution. These labels can be basic paper with an adhesive back that the average person can print on their home computer or they can be a much higher quality PVC coated label that is water resistant and not easily produced. Whichever route you take, at least be certain that you are applying the labels to a poker chip that is made for them. The chip will need to have an inlay area in the center which is basically a recessed section that will naturally protect or hide the edges of the labels.

Poker chip cases can be a very important or unimportant part of a poker chip set. If your goal is durability and long life then a cheap case will disappoint. If you plan to display your chips when not in use, then a plain looking case with no viewing window simply will not do. The basic aluminum poker chip cases are the most popular, but are just as inconsistent as the standard ABS plastic home poker chips, due to all the some China manufacturing reasons. The good news is that there are still some good ones out there and they come in a variety of capacities that range from 100 to 1000. Most of the wooden cases on the market will display your chips nicely, but some of these are of poor quality as well. One of the more consistent poker chip cases in terms of quality is the casino style carrier.

The grade of the poker chip that is in your set is somewhat subjective, but most people judge the chips by price and similarity to casino poker chips. With these factors in place, the typical 11.5 gram ABS plastic chip in near the bottom to middle of the spectrum. The striped dice version that has been found in nearly every store at some point has been made by lots of different companies and price competition has driven the quality manufacturers out of business. However there are still some less popular designs of the ABS plastic chips that are still old stock and some of these chips are impeccable. The next jump up the scale would be the variety of clay composite chips and the knock off ceramic chips. These poker chips are about twice as expensive, but some offer amazing clay or ceramic like feel and sound.

Moving to the top of the spectrum we get into the chips that are clay chips just like or very similar to what is used in a casino. These are of the same quality as casino chips, just made into different designs that are just for the home market. You will pay dearly for these chips which can range from $.50 per chip to $1.30 per poker chip. Since it is generally a very infrequent investment, many people that really enjoy poker and quality poker chips will pay these prices. The good news is that when you need to expand your set and come back a year or two later, you will most likely be buying poker chips that will match your old chips.