Reply to thread

Message: [QUOTE="mtl mile end, post: 4519703, member: 280527"] [FONT=Georgia]I've tried to avoid commenting on articles about chips that really need a lot of fleshing out at the risk of going on for pages, but there's a little I can add to this one. For about six years I was an avid collector of chips - not individual chips of collector value, but playable sets that have been "retired" from card rooms. This section of the article could use serious tweaking:[/FONT] [B]What Are Casino Chips Made From?[/B] [COLOR=#222222][IMG]https://www.cardschat.com/pkimg/02-madefrom.jpg[/IMG]If you've got friends who are into holding home poker games with authentic poker chips, you've probably heard them boast about how they only want clay casino chips because they're the most authentic. They'll talk about how they feel realistic - and they'll brag about how their casino tokens are identical to what the real deal uses.[/COLOR] [COLOR=#222222]After all, casinos only use clay poker chips, right? Actually, you'd be wrong. Poker tokens aren't 100% clay - even the ones you find in the big casinos. They're actually made from a composite that [/COLOR][COLOR=#ff0000]may include a small amount of[/COLOR][COLOR=#222222] clay, but is much more durable than clay alone.[/COLOR] [COLOR=#222222]In addition to clay composite chips, you'll also find ceramic chips [/COLOR][COLOR=#ff0000](although these are NOT made of traditional ceramic)[/COLOR][COLOR=#222222] at some Las Vegas casinos. Ceramic casino tokens are also popular for home poker games.[/COLOR] [FONT=verdana][COLOR=#222222] [/COLOR][/FONT] [FONT=verdana][COLOR=#222222] [/COLOR][/FONT] [FONT=Georgia]Chip formulae are a carefully guarded secret by each manufacturer. Very few individuals know the exact composition of poker chips. They contain little to no clay. Many of the components seem to be plastics or other polymers. Traditional chips can generally be divided into two styles: "compressed clay" (or simply "clay") and "ceramic". Clay chips are produced by compressing the ingredients in powerful presses multiple times. Some chips, like Paulsons are pressed at relatively low pressure (a few thousand PSI) while some, like ASMs are made with much higher pressures (tens of thousand of PSI). You can feel the difference when you handle the chips. Paulsons are soft and buttery, ASMs are harder. Ceramic chips are not ceramic. They are manufactured in a way to simulate the appearance of ceramic, but if you heat them, they melt (as do clay chips) - I would conclude from this that they too are made of mostly polymer. When you purchase five hundred "Authentic, Casino Weight, Clay Composite" poker chips for $50, you are getting injection molded plastic chips that resemble compressed clay. On many of these chips, you can see the injection "dimple" where the plastic has entered the mold. These chips are often "slugged" - the plastic was injected around a metal slug to add weight. Unslugged to slugged, these chips weigh in at 6-18 grams each (actual compressed clay chips weigh about 8-12g). There is no such thing, AFAIK, as an official weight for chips at any casino anywhere. When you purchase ceramic style chips, they are often manufactured by the same process (and perhaps the same facilities) as casino used ceramics. They usually weigh around 10g each, unless they are slugged. AFAIK, no casino uses slugged ceramics. The third chip variant is the vinyl chip. Formerly, the main manufacturer was the Bud Jones company, but I think they were purchased by Matsui. Matsui is currently the largest manufacturer of these chips, I believe. Vinyls are very durable with a range of colours and customization that cannot be matched by compressed clay. They too weigh in at around 10-12g. Oh, I could go on for days, but perhaps a dedicated series of threads would be more appropriate.[/FONT] [/QUOTE]

Verification

Search

Reply to thread

About CardsChat

Our Community

Our Site

Follow us