Casino Fiches
Whether you play blackjack in Las Vegas, roulette in Macau or poker in Malta, chips are used in just about every casino game. And that’s a bit odd when you consider that these chips can sometimes even represent amounts that run into the millions.
The reason that chips – also known as chips, casino chips, tokens or coins – are used has everything to do with simplicity. Just imagine what would happen if those same millions were placed on the table in paper money and coins.
Table of Contents
What are chips?
A chip is a relatively small and flat disc with a usual diameter of about 4 cm. Chips can be made of all sorts of materials, but are usually plastic discs. It is also common for the name of the casino to be printed on the chip.
Credits
You can buy a chip in a casino. This is done with money, of course, and you get a corresponding value in return. The result is also called credits, where each chip has its own value. There are also casinos that sometimes come up with their own special editions, which also represent specific values.
Which colour represents which value?
There is no universal standard for chip values, as they can vary from one gambling facility to another or from one event to another. In addition, not all chips are used, as you can imagine that a group of highrollers would not want to use 25-cent chips. Nevertheless, the most common colours and values are as follows:
What are chips made of?
Although chips may look similar to each other to the layman, there are a lot of differences. The material alone can differ. Each material has its own weight, feel and sound. The most common materials used are clay, composite, faux-clay, metal, ceramic, mother-of-pearl and plastic. The composite chips, for example, often have a metal core and are cast. This also makes these chips easy to stack. It is striking that the cheaper materials (such as plastic and composite) are less sensitive to damage than expensive materials such as ceramic. As a result, cheaper chips are also the most durable.
Different games, different types of chips
As you can imagine, there are also differences between the various table games. For example, regular casino chips are not used at a roulette table. Instead, the dealer issues special roulette chips. Each player at the table is given a different colour of chips so that the dealer can keep track of which chips belong to which player. Because the house wants to keep track of which chips belong to whom, usually even couples or friends who play together are not allowed to share chips. While it may vary from casino to casino, some casinos allow the same chips to be used in multiple table games. These chips are casino specific and therefore cannot be used at other casinos. Also, the size of the chips may vary. For example, baccarat chips often have a different diameter.
Safety first
Each casino has a unique set of chips, even if the casino is part of a larger casino network. The security features of casino chips are therefore numerous. The production of chips is also considered a whole art in itself, involving high resolution design and security measures. The reason for this? To prevent chips from other casinos or even fake chips from being used to exchange for money. For example, custom colour combinations on the edge of the chip are often characteristic of a particular casino. It is also not uncommon to find UV markings, and the most modern chips even include RFID (radio wave identification) technology and watermarks that are almost impossible to reproduce. For let’s face it: a brown chip (often) represents a sum of 10,000 euros. So you can imagine that casinos want to minimise the susceptibility to fraud.
History of Chips
Around 1660 the first casinos were legalised in Europe. After this legalisation, it took several centuries before chips made their appearance. The first mention of chips dates back to 1880, and this was initially via chips made of clay. Nevertheless, even then chips were used for practical reasons. It was suddenly a lot easier for the croupier to count and pay out.
Fiches nemen barriers weg
Another reason for using chips is that people keep their fingers crossed when they play with real money. Chips remove this barrier: visitors feel less like they are throwing money around, after all, they have a piece of plastic in their hands.
How to avoid counterfeit casino chips?
At first glance, such a casino chip may not look very special, but if you think that this makes it easy to counterfeit one, then you are (fortunately) wrong. It is in fact more difficult to counterfeit casino chips than you might think, simply because each chip has an exact weight, colour and design. Moreover, casino chips are marked with a special ink that is only visible under UV radiation.
High denomination chips are monitored
Furthermore, high denomination chips are also closely monitored by casinos, so counterfeiting high denomination chips becomes extremely difficult for cheaters. For higher-value chips, casinos even use special tracking devices such as the aforementioned RFID tags. These are built into the chips themselves and can be useful if someone tries to steal chips or use counterfeit casino chips.
Playing behaviour can be measured with chips
But these chips do more than just act as an extra security measure. They also help the casino keep track of activity at the various table games, see how much each table earns (or loses), and ensure that dealers are handling transactions correctly. In other words, the chips can be used to monitor the complete behaviour of both players and dealers. Think of it as a kind of internally built camera.
Big brother is watching you
Speaking of cameras. It’s also important to remember that casinos also employ intensive surveillance on the casino floors. They do this by deploying personnel on the gaming floor as well as monitoring the room with a camera. A small casino can thus follow literally every player who has cashed out large sums of money, just as they can follow their chips until the moment a payout is requested. So, no, cheating with casino chips is not that easy. And that’s a good thing.
Why are casino chips used?
| Why are casino chips used? | ||
| Reason | Explanation | Note |
| Safety | In order to minimise the risk of theft and abuse, casinos nowadays opt for chips. Chips increase casino security for everyone involved. | After all, the chips represent values that can run into thousands and even millions of euros. That is a whole suitcase full of money. |
| Convenience | In addition, casino chips are much more user-friendly than notes and especially coins. Notes and coins are not only inconvenient to use, but also represent different amounts. | This is beneficial for the player, for the dealer and for the provider itself. |
| Less error prone | The croupier and the player can count the chips quickly and easily because they are all the same size. Only the colours differ. | As a result, both players and dealers make fewer mistakes during the course of the game. |
| Faster gameplay | The reason it becomes easier for the dealer and player to count the values also makes the game go much faster. | Clumsy counting and getting confused is a thing of the past with chips. |
| Encouraging more money to be put in | Chips tend to encourage players to wager more money in the casino. This obviously works to the house’s advantage. | Losing a chip with a value of €50 feels different than losing a €50 note. |
FAQs/common questions casino chips
Can you take chips home?
Yes, they are (as long as the chips are still being used by the casino in question) simply exchangeable for the corresponding amount.
Does a colour always have the same value?
No, this can vary by country, region, state (e.g. USA) or even the branch.
What is the difference between chips and chits?
Chips are also known as cards. In fact, in many international casinos, chips is the most common word. Other names are casino chips, tokens or coins.
Which chips are attractive to buy?
Chips from well-known international casinos you don’t expect to ever play at. Also chips that are known to be withdrawn from use are interesting for collectors.
What are the alternatives to chips?
Of course money is an alternative. This can be an alternative especially for people who play a tournament in a domestic setting. Then there are the so-called plaques. These are rectangular pictures which also represent a certain financial value.
