Casino chips which are also known as checks are small discs used in place of money in casinos. These tokens can be made of various materials such as metals or clay. They are colored brightly in different colors. They come in different denominations as well and are mainly used in high stake game tables.
Plaques are similar to chips but different in certain ways for instance they are usually bigger in size than chips and are rectangular in shape etc. These tokens are used in place of money and are exchanged for money at the end of the games either at the game table or at the casino counter; outside the casinos they don’t have any value.
Chips and tokens are used in place of money because they are more convenient and also because there is lesser chance of cheating and stealing with the usage of chips. Because their sizes and shapes are same it is easier to store and count. Sometimes they are not even counted they are simply weighed to find the value. It is convenient or casinos since it reduces the risk of casinos overpaying any customer.
History states that poker chips have always been used but no in the form we have it now. Very early poker players would use any kind of small thing as chips like coins or wooden tablets, even gold dust. Present day chips are made of clay like material that is not exactly clay. They are not painted rather different colored clay are molded together to have a colorful effect. These chips also have some design on them that is called the inlay.
Usually inlays are made of paper and are covered with plastic. The whole thing is then compressed together so that the inlay becomes a part of the chip and can not be pulled away. Ceramic chips later came into circulation and became popular immediately because of their low cost. They are actually made o plastic though they have a feel of clay. These chips weigh about 10 grams.
Each casino usually has a unique set of chips that are standardized. Different casinos have different security measures to prevent chips from being copied or replicated. Cheating or counterfeiting chips are not very common though not impossible. Casinos have at times replaced chip sets and identified fraudsters. Different materials are used to clean these chips like dry eraser, wiper fluid, mineral oil etc. These chips are an important part of any casino and without them casinos would seem incomplete.
