Although it makes absolutely no difference to the way the game is played, if you have decided to run your own poker games, the minimal investment on a decent set of poker chips is absolutely worth the money. I mean – you could actually play using matchsticks if you wanted, but there is something about the feel of decent quality poker chips that makes the players think you are more professional.

I ran poker games in pubs for a living, and have been through various sets of chips. Some good, some a waste of money and some great value for money. As time goes on the chips get stolen, lost, broken or even in some cases, thrown violently at another player. In this last case – lightweight is beneficial. Either way – if you are planning on running a serious game, it is best to get more chips than you think you need. If you are just running a game at home, you are less likely to lose any.

The price of chips has come down dramatically since I started buying them years ago, and you can now buy a decent set of chips for very little cash. The best weight and material, I have found, is 11.5 grams clay chips. The plastic chips serve a purpose, but the heavier clay chips look and feel like the casino chips. One word of warning – 1,000 chips is heavy and I have yet to find a case to hold that many chips that did not fall apart. 500 chips is optimum, and if you need more chips, I recommend buying several cases instead of one big one. Here are a few recommendations, starting with the more expensive any working down to less expensive sets.

I keep a set of these for using at home games only. These are the best quality chips on the market I feel. Possibly because Paulson make chips for most of the better casinos. The logo is almost impossible to scratch off, and the inlays are sealed into the chips. I would not want to be taking these to the local pub to run a game, because they are pretty expensive. You can replace them in smaller batches if you do lose them but that is even more expensive. My set comes in an aluminum case, but you can also buy sets in very nice wooden cases that are not designed to be carried around. If you want the best – these are it.  They also do a range of other designs including the “National Poker Series,” and “Pharaoh’s Club.”  Well worth the money – and I paid a damn sight more than Amazon are selling them for now.

If you are looking at running a large game with perhaps up to 50 players, these are extremely good value for money. 11.5 grams, clay and guaranteed to have no metal inserts (some of the cheaper chips are lightweight with a metal insert). I have has several sets of these, and although they just come in boxes, these are also worth the money. More than enough chips in this set to run professional looking games without breaking the bank. I have had several sets of these and found them to be consistent throughout. Highly recommended for a larger game. I have no idea who makes them, but I suspect it is one of the secondary casino suppliers. They are advertised as "Texas Hold'em" chips for some reason. I have no idea why - all poker games use the same chips - just another unnecessary bullshit marketing gimmick, I suppose. But don't let that put you off - they are solid chips.

Once you drop down from the Paulson price type of chip, there are dozens of makers selling special commemorative sets. I personally have never thought it worth spending extra money just to have a US Marines logo on the chips, but I guess if you are a US Marine, you may see that differently. (I am not a US Marine.)

This is the only set I have not personally used, but I know the makers and they are good quality – you are just paying about $40 more for the seal. Not that sort of S.E.A.L.

They also sell sets for other branches of the military and there are WPT set, EPT sets, and even football teams. Not my sort of thing as invariably when I was running a game in the US – I did not want to take sides - and there is no love lost between the Marines and the Army.

These are probably the best of the budget chips, around $70 the last time I looked. Guaranteed clay, and coming with an aluminum case that will fall apart – if not on the outside – certainly the inside. Apart from the case they are very good quality budget chips, and I guess 500 chips will weigh about 13 pounds, so it is not surprising the internals fall to bits. They also come with some free cards that are nothing to write home about, and six dealer buttons. Good value for money basic chip set.  Great for a home game and you are not going to shoot yourself if you take them to some where else and lose a few of them.

One thing for certain is there is no shortage of choice of poker chips for sale. It seems everyone has jumped on this particular bandwagon. There are heavier chips available than 11.5 grams, but I found this to be optimum, especially when I needed to carry 3,000 chips into somewhere. Apart from the US. Marines chips, I have used all these and can recommend them.

Let’s shuffle up and deal ☺