Poker Chip Materials - How can I actually tell what it what? (1 Viewer)

[pgup]

If you're looking to buy poker chips you see all sorts of descriptions given for the material...

There's plastic chips, composite-clay/China-clay, ceramic, "real clay", etc., etc. - But as it turns out clay chips aren't actually made from just clay and ceramic chips aren't actually made from ceramic. It's all a bit of plastic-y mess. With all sorts of other things mixed in, like metal slugs or metal flakes of different kinds. And even within each segment there's differentiations like ceramic vs "casino quality ceramic". (I have samples of chips marketed as such and the "casino quality" ones have laminated sides, rounder corners and a different surface finish, but is the material itself different - as suggested by the phrasing - I can't tell.)

In the cheaper segment everyone calls everything "clay", no matter what it really is. It's an obsession. And if they don't outright say "clay" they try to work it into similar-sounding terms. (What on earth is "claytec"?)

Even on reputable sites like Apache it's hard to tell. The description of the Pharaoh's starts out by saying "Each chip is solid clay" and then further down it calls them "new China Clay chips". But "China clay" essentially means injection-molded plastics with added materials to make them fill a bit more like clay, no?

No one ever says what's actually in the chips. (Well, Roxley tried, bless 'em: They say the Iron Clays are made of 64% limestone and other clay minerals, 24% synthetic compounds and 12% iron core - but even that is somewhat vague)

So how can I actually tell what is what? And what's just marketing-speak?

Am I forever doomed to order samples of everything?

 

[pgup]

I guess my point is this: I was on a long journey. I tried researching all the different materials and ingested all I could find about the manufacturing process of poker chips. But all the descriptions were too vague or made no sense, so I decided to get samples of as many different types of chips as I could find.

Maybe it was always naive to assume I could make an informed decision based on research? Maybe poker chips are the ultimate gut-feel product and getting samples was always the only way to go...

 

[allforcharity]

Modern chips are various compositions of organic polymers with additives for colour and bulk.

I do have a set of chips approaching 90 years old that I swear feel like they're made of clay (or some other chalky, earthy substance) held together with cotton or wool.

 

[upNdown]

Well, Roxley tried, bless 'em: They say the Iron Clays are made of 64% limestone and other clay minerals, 24% synthetic compounds and 12% iron core - but even that is somewhat vague)

That’s the happiest horseshit I’ve heard in a while.

1. Get samples, decide for yourself.

2. Read everything you can here, use the search function and ask questions.

And realize that if you’re looking for clay, the only companies making compressed clay chips today are Classic Poker Chips and Paulson (Angel.). If you’re buying older chips, refer to 1 and 2, because there have been a handful of other companies/brands in the past.

Long story short, there aren’t a lot of easy answers in this hobby and there’s definitely no guidebook.

 

[AlbinoDragon]

A great deal of this also is on personal preference. What the majority here fawn over and spend incredibly large amounts of money on (myself included) might not be your cup of tea. It's like trying buy a car based on what someone's suggestion might be. You're likely to wind up with a Ferrari as the car for your family of four.

There's recently been a thread of someone here saying their china clay chips were better than the "cheap feeling" CPCs.

Ultimately, who cares what they are made of and in what fractions. There's been enough "debate" about this over the years. At some level, it doesn't really matter. We're never going to find out the exact formula for Paulson or CPC or BCC or TRK chips. Those are trade secrets and even if we do get the formulas, we're unlikely to have the equipment and techniques to turn those components into chips.

It's like me giving you the ingredient list for chocolate chip cookies, but no other information on how to make them.



Short story, buy what you like, buy what fits your budget, put the chips you get into play (most important part) and enjoy the resulting game.

Remember, the vast majority of the time, when you see "clay" in a description for a chip, it's marketing B.S.. If it says "pure clay" it absolutely is marketing B.S..

 

[Tonysquander]

I have heard it’s all cotton. Lots and lots of cotton.

 

[Eriks]

The world of poker chips is filled to the brim with cheap crap that people/businesses will try to pass off as ”clay”, ”official casino chips”, or whatever the can think of to sell their product.

PCF is basically the only place where you will get accurate and honest descriptions of the chips you’re buying (Classic poker chips, BRpro are the good exceptions).

 

[pgup]

The world of poker chips is filled to the brim with cheap crap and PCF is basically the only place where you will get accurate and honest descriptions of the chips you’re buying (Classic poker chips, BRpro are the good exceptions

In that case I'm glad I've finally found this place!

 

[RedDirtBo]

@Hobbyphilic just released a video that might answer some of your questions.

 

[upNdown]

@Hobbyphilic just released a video that might answer some of your questions.

John Hobby gets a couple things wrong here. The Paulson Cleveland Horseshoe chips contain no lead. When he says Paulson claims they use less lead, that information was accurate in the early 2000s. They’ve been producing lead free chips exclusively for over 15 years.

Also when he says ceramics are more durable and will last forever, that’s obviously dubious. Ceramics will fade with significant use over time, as the dye sublimated graphics wear down. This will likely happen at different rates depending on the quality of the manufacture. For high quality ceramics it probably isn’t a factor for most home users. But it’s worth mentioning.