Playing poker cannot be done without a few key components. Those being cards and, of course, chips. The chips play a very important part in a game of poker especially those run in the establishments. Rather than throwing around money directly, you can play with chips making the whole game easier to run. However, it bears mentioning that these chips are made in a special way and for all of those wondering how, we will answer the question below.
What Are Poker Chips Made Out of?
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As with any other product, poker chips are made out of various materials. Depending on the quality of the chips and personal preference, you can get these chips in couple of different materials.
Casinos mostly utilize clay chips. However, they aren’t purely made out of clay. Additives such as sand and chalk are frequently added to give them a better feel. The additives themselves may vary, leading to different feeling chips despite the base being the same. These additives are used for the sake of giving the chips more durability and making them less likely to crack. Pure clay may end up being a bit too brittle when it comes to rougher treatment of chips that some players engage in so it makes sense to reinforce it.
Other casinos may choose to use ceramic chips which are a lot harder and usually noticeably heavier. Now, the following fact may lead to a lot of confusion. Ceramic chips aren’t actually ceramic. These poker chips are a mix of materials, a polymer composite that possesses a lot more durability.
The ceramic poker chips are usually made out of hardened plastic but the use of resin is also frequent. This makes them less likely to crack while still giving them a nice shape and feel.
Why are they named ceramic poker chips then? The name comes from these chips having a similar feel to ceramics. While the actual ceramic could easily get damaged when being thrown and stacked as these chips usually are, the material ceramic poker chips are made out of doesn’t. Allowing us to indulge in that nice feel without having to constantly replace damaged chips.
Of course, with the way poker can be played today we also have virtual chips. These are simply ones and zeros inside of a computer but most poker software aims to bring over that satisfying feel of actual chips. Online poker sites like UFABET strive on bringing over the authentic experience from the comfort of your own home.
How Are They Made?
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The creation process for clay chips starts with compression molding. This process utilizes high pressure along with heat to produce the chip that we want. The mold is filled with colored clay. After that, the details and ornaments on the chip are added before the mold is compressed. When compression is done, the details become part of the chip and the mold takes care of the actual shape.
The ceramic chips are made through injection molding. This means that the chips are created by making a mold and then inserting the desired material into it. Because of the nature of ceramic chips, these molds represent a fast and easy way of making more chips. The base chips is then decorated with its corresponding colors and details. This is done with the aid of digital printing. The form of digital printing used replicates the patterns on each chip in a manner that allows for a mass production of chips. This also makes ceramic chips easier to customize.
