Clay Poker Chips

The game of poker dates back to the mid 1800’s. It was first played in bars and on riverboats in the mid-west. The name of the game was derived from the French game called “poque” and the English game called “Brag”.

During the first poker games, money or gold were used for betting. Over time, betting with real money gave way to using chips because they were easier to manage. Original poker chips were as varied as the bars and riverboats that created them. Some were made from wood, some from ivory, some from bone and even chips made of paper.

Over time, unsavory characters began to sneak their own chips into the game, rather than purchasing them from the bar. One look at the bar’s typical chips and pretty much anyone could recreate these chips. This practice was called “ringing in”.

To stop the problem, poker chips began being made with a design engraved or embossed on the surface of the chips. Many chips were still made from ivory, with hand scrimshawed designs. Each one of these ivory poker chip sets was unique. However, these ivory chips soon gave way to clay composition chips.

Clay poker chips began being made in the late 1880’s. There were over 1000 designs, and most were made in red, white, blue and yellow. The US Playing Card Association in Cincinnati, Ohio made the most expensive of these clay poker chips during the early 1900’s. They were called “crest and seal” chips, with an embedded seal in the clay. Beginning in the 1940’s, the Burt Company in Portland, Maine began making crest and seal chips, and continued to do so until the mid 1980’s.

Beginning also in the 1940’s, poker chips began to be made from plastic. These were far less expensive, and became the most popular poker chips for home use. Plastic chips are still made and widely used today.

The highest quality poker chips of today are the ones used by poker rooms and casinos. These are clay composition poker chips. They are more expensive, but they’re long lasting and have a great feel, like poker chips from the early days.

Today, many serious poker players still choose custom clay poker chips for their home use. These chips are beautiful and will last a lifetime with proper care. Having clay poker chips made for your home use will allow you to play poker with chips that look and feel like those in a high end poker room or casino.