Poker Gremlin

Internet is the place where one can find poker chip retailers in numbers of thousands. Having so many options, it is very important to know what to buy. There are two main types of gaming chips of different origins, which home game players can purchase online. One can find numerous “cheap” Chinese chips as well as more expensive ones which can cost up to 5 to 10 times more, but which come in high quality.

What differentiates trustworthy poker chip retailers from the rest is the “sample” set that most of them sell which is smaller then a regular set and serves as example, to convince you of the quality. When getting sample chips, you need to test them to see how resistant they are.

Inlay Labels

Usually custom chips have a stick on or printed label. It is important that the label does not get pulled off by a nervous fingernail during a game. So what you can do is try to peel the label off either with the fingernail or with a knife.

If it is of high quality, the label won’t scratch off. Also do the water test. Dip the chip in water and leave out for the night. This way you can see how the material behaves in wet conditions, which happen a lot during a poker game when drinks are involved. You should also check whether the labels are centered on the chip and if the edge spots are lined up with the design of the label. Also see if the label gets easily marked or scratched.

Hot Stamped Chips

This kind of poker chips have a gold text stamped. The text represents either branding or values. It is important that it doesn’t rub off or the golden paint doesn’t transfer to another chip when they rub together. Use a knife or your fingernail to try to scratch the text off.

Edges

Depending on the finish of the poker chip, they can have square edges which can be quite sharp or, quite the contrary, soft edges. The Modern Clay chips have an intended “worn in” look and feeling by having the edges pre-rounded. You can smash the chips against each other with their edges, so you can see if there are dents or marks left on the edges. Denting and marking indicate a quality clay chip, but the marks shouldn’t be too intense or the chip will fast get mutilated. “All in” clay chips are too soft, for instance, so they get quickly damaged.

Stacking / Face Texture

The stacking ability for poker chips is hard to tell from just a few of a certain type. It is usually known that clay chips are better at stacking than the composite or plastic chips, which are a lot cheaper. The plastic ones tend to slip very easy. It is the case of the cheap Chinese chips. The Nevada Jack clay composite chips, on the other hand, can be stacked even a hundred of them and still have no problem.