ABS vs. Composite vs. Clay Poker Chips

Are you confused over the difference between the various type of poker chips available? Not sure which to select for your home game, poker tournament, gift, or charity event? Here I will provide an explanation of the different types, and the benefits and drawbacks of each.

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ABS: A hard compressed plastic. These chips are very common for the home market due to their low cost, great look, and durability.

Benefits: Low cost, highest durability compared to other chips. Great graphics usually printed right on the chip so no stick on label

Drawbacks: Very slick so they don't stack well (meaning they don't "stick" together and will fall over if you slide a tall stack across the table). Sound very plastic and bounce around alot.

Use: Not to be confused with the cheap plastic chips you find in department stores, these are generally the same size as casino chips and often have metal inserts to give added weight for a better feel. Great entry level poker chips due to their low cost. Also great for hosting large tournaments and charity events since they look really good and will hold up to rigorous abuse. In my store I call these tournament grade poker chips. Trademark Poker makes a huge selection of these.

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Composite Clay: A mixture of clay & plastic. The clay gives them a better sound and feel compared to abs and other plastic chips. The clay to plastic ratio is only known by the manufacturer and they never tell. Often the only way to tell is by the price, the more clay the higher the price. But be aware that the quality of the graphics and labels can also drive up the price. There is a wide variation in these. Generally the 11.5 gram chips are the lower cost and quality compared to the 13.5g and 14g chips from what I have seen.

Benefits: Better sound and feel compared to all plastic chips. The more clay content, the better they stack and feel. On the low end (like the dice or suited design) they cost about the same as ABS chips and they are all lower cost then the full clay chips discussed later.

Drawbacks: Professionals often don't like the "pingy" sound the metal inserts make when the chips strike each other. The plastic content still makes them fairly slick when compared to full clay chips. Many of them have stick on graphics labels that may peel over time and wont stand up to as much abuse as the ABS chips.

Use: These are the favorites of most home poker players. They are rugged enough to keep their appearance for years, and generally aren't as plastic feeling and sounding as the ABS. In my experience, the 13 gram and higher chips seem to feel and sound better than the 11.5 gram chips. The metal insert also provides the ability to "hot stamp" them so they can be customized with initials or denominations for chips that don't have labels. These can be purcased in either individual rolls to create your own set, or in predefined poker chip sets.

Terms confusion: Some of the chips are just called "clay poker chips" to distinguish them from the lower clay content composite chips by the manufacturers. They really are composite clay but have a higher clay content. Most retailers keep this distinction when they list their products to help the buyer. Often the clay chips category on a site will include everything from higher clay content composites, to the full or real clay chips discussed below.

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Real Clay & Full Clay: These are the line of chips with the highest clay content. In reality, every chip is a composite to some extent since clay is very brittle and breaks too easily. So manufacturers add other materials to make them stronger. These chips are the closest to the sound and feel of actual casino chips. I call these casino grade and real clay poker chips in my store.

Benefits: Closest to the sound and feel of actual casino chips. They stack the best of all poker chips because of the soft clay texture, they "stick together" better in tall stacks. The most expensive ones do not contain a metal insert so there is no "pinging" sound when the chips splash the pot. The high end Paulson's contain graphic inserts that are inset as part of the chip and are very impressive.

Drawbacks: While there is a low end line of these very good chips that feel and sound very authentic, these chips can be very expensive. The Paulson's are over $1 per chip. They are the least durable of all poker chips because of their high clay content (You can actually break these with you bare hands but it takes some effort).

Use: Professionals and real poker fanatics love these chips because they are so close to casino sound and feel, and for performing "chip tricks". You can get a set of the low end chips for about the cost of a very good composite but they are plain in appearance. The low end chips contain an insert to provide extra weight and so they can be hot stamped as well. Because they are less durable, these chips are generally only used for home poker games where they wouldn't be exposed to so much abuse. Kind of like fine china, you might only bring out the high end chips for special occasions.

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Metal Inserts: The average casino chip is really only 8 - 9 grams in weight. Most poker chips for home use have a metal insert embedded in them to give added weight and to make them able to be hot stamped for customization. The heavier feel to the chip is a nice touch and most people prefer it. The downside is there tends to be a noticeable ping sound when the chips strike each other or splash the pot.

While many professionals seem to dislike this (I guess because it sounds a bit different than what they are used to in the casino), most other people don't even notice it, and the nice heavy feel it gives the chip is worth it to them. I personally like the heaviest 13.5 to 15 gram chips because of the weight. But the weight does add to the shipping cost, so it might be something to consider.


Poker Chips Sets: Most poker chips can be purchased in singles or rolls of specific denominations to create your own poker chip sets. You can also buy predefined sets that include aluminum, leather, or wooden cases in sets of 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 750, and 1000 chips. There are other variations too. 500 poker chip sets tend to work for most people that have games of 5 - 8 people. If you create your own set, you will also need to purchase a high quality (due to the weight of the chips) poker chip case in the size you need.



I hope this information will help you make your chip decisions. Happy gaming!

John
http://www.pokerstuffonline.com

Pro Clay Poker Chips Review

I recently reviewed the 13 gram Pro Clay Poker Chips made by Trademark Poker. Since these are clay poker chips and touted their "soft clay feel and texture", I decided to compare them directly to Paulson poker chips which really are, at least in my mind, the standard to judge all other clay chips.

What I look for is the feel of the chip, it's stacking properties (slippery or sticky), the sound of the chip (when they hit each other), bounce (when dropped on the floor), and graphics/color when compared to the Paulson's. Since Paulson makes chips for actual casino's, their home versions are as close as you can get to a real casino chip, without buying them from the casino. (One note: Paulson chips are real casino size and weight, so they are lighter at about 8-9 grams. Most chips for the home market add a metal insert to give them added weight and to make them "hot stamp" ready. There are good and bad points to this practice).

Feel & Texture: The Pro Clay chips really did impress me in this category. They have almost the same feel to them of the Paulson's. On a scale of 1 to 10, with Paulson at 10, I would have to give them an 8 or 9.

Stacking Properties: This was also impressive for the price. I usually set a stack of the chips on a fairly slick table, and press my finger on top of the stack while attempting to slide the stack across the table. When I do this with a 5 or 6 stack of Paulson's, with very little pressure, they tend to stick together and stay stacked while moving. For the Pro Clay chips, they also stayed together very well, but not quite as well as the Paulson's. I would give them a 7 or 8 for "stickiness" or should I say "lack of slipperiness".

Sound: Again, very well done Trademark Poker. I am a 52 year old man and my hearing isn't what it used to be, but when I "splash" these chips into the pot, or drop them onto each other, I really could not hear the difference. This is really remarkable since they have a metal insert that usually causes a pinging sound when chips strike each other. Real clay poker chips without the inserts have more of the "clunk" or "thud" sound you hear in the casinos. I would have to give them an 8 or 9 for sound. That surprised me.

"Bounce": Or maybe a better word would be their "plasticity". When you drop a plastic(ABS) chip on the floor, it will bounce around and flip and flop a few times. I could not tell the difference. Paulson's might bounce an inch or so and maybe only 1 or 2 times. The Pro Clay chips did about the same. I would give them an 8 or 9 here too. They did have a little more bounce than the Paulson, but I doubt you would notice on a padded poker table.

Graphics/Colors: Ok, not even close but it really isn't fair to compare to Paulson since they have embedded insets with graphics printed on them. This is a fairly plain chip, with 2 colors per chip. The center area has no graphics or printing at all, the purpose being that these can be hot stamped with your initials or a denomination, or have stick on labels attached.
But as far as the colors and the word "Casino" stamped into the chip around the edges, the quality of the markings are very good. I have often seen chips like the dice design where the dots on the dice are offset and vary from chip to chip. So compared to other chips without all the graphics and 2 colors, I would give them a 9 or 10 for quality. Compared to Paulson's embedded inset, they would be a 1 (now come on). They are available in 8 colors if you build your own set, but there are also preconfigured sets available with a case.

Why do you care? The price is the big reason. If you are looking for casino feel and sound in your home poker games, these are ideal! Paulson's cost over $1 per chip. These chips are about 17 cents each! So if your not ready to spend over $500 for a set of poker chips, but you want a full clay chip, these are a good choice.

Summary: Overall, I would rate these chips 7 to 8 out of 10 compared to Paulson for feel sound, and stacking properties. Compared to clay composites or ABS, they are way better.

Please stay tuned for more reviews. I plan to write a post next on the difference between ABS, Composites, Clay, and Full Clay poker chips.

Happy Gaming! John
Poker Supplies & Accessories here

Terms used:
ABS - a hard compressed plastic. Very slippery so don't stack or sound as good as clay or composites, but are very inexpensive, the most durable, and look very good
Clay Composite - secret mixture of clay and plastic that only the manufacturer knows the ratio. Usually you can only tell by price (and feel).
Full Clay or Real Clay - somewhat of a misnomer since a 100% clay chip would be very brittle, means a very high clay content and generally much more expensive.

Please post a comment if you agree, disagree, think I'm full of it, or whatever! (You can only hurt my self esteem)

Poker Quote

"Poker is a fighting game, a game in which each player tries to get the better of every other player and does so by fair means or foul so long as he obeys the rules of the game. He may bluff or lie about his own strength, the object of the game being either to frighten the other players into believing that he has greater strength or else to prove it." KARL MENNINGER, Love Against Hate

For all your poker supplies, visit Poker Stuff Online.com! We have poker chips, poker chips sets, clay poker chips, real clay poker chips, poker tables, poker table tops, and other poker accessories!

LIA Poker Charity Event

We were one of the proud contributors to the L.I.A. Foundation's Texas Hold'em Showdown for Autism. We provided free Copag Plastic Playing Cards sets to be given away as prizes to the players.

The event was held at the Fort McDowell Casino in Fountain Hills, Arizona and included several celebrity guests.

Checkout the website. We are always glad to participate in charity events. If you have an upcoming poker or casino gaming themed charity event, contact us if you are looking for prizes.

For all your poker supplies, visit Poker Stuff Online.com. We have poker chips, poker chips sets, clay poker chips, real clay poker chips, poker tables, poker table tops, and other poker accessories!

About Poker Tables

If you have a game or recreation room where you have the room for something more permanent, a poker table may be "in the cards" for you. Generally more expensive than poker table tops , they may well be worth the investment.

Poker tables come in three varieties:
1) Folding Poker Tables - The legs fold up on these, as well as the top of the table itself which folds in half. This reduces the space required for storage as well as lowers the shipping cost.
2) Folding Legs Poker Tables - The tops on these tables are all one piece. Only the legs fold so you can stack them against a wall out of the way like any folding table. While considerably more expensive to ship due to the size, many people prefer them.
3) Premium Poker Tables - Much like a pool table they cannot be folded or stored, but are permanent additions to your game or rec room. They are relatively expensive but have a great look to them.

You can find these tables and many more poker supplies and accessories here & poker chips here!

What the heck is a Poker Table Top?

Probably the more important question is "why would I want a Poker Table Top?"

The answers are Cost and Convenience.

A full size poker table can cost well over twice the price of the best poker table tops after shipping due the the size and weight. However, the high end ones have many of the same features like padded felt, padded armrests, and cup holders. If price is really a factor for you then the lower end tops start as low as $35 to $50!

Portability is another issue. It is pretty difficult to take even the folding poker tables to a game somewhere else. Weighing in at almost 100 lbs, they are great for storage purposes, but if you want a traveling poker game, then the low end foam tops are ideal due to their light weight. They also include carrying cases or bags and can easily fit into the trunk of your car.

If your games are usually played on the kitchen or dining room table at your own house or a friend's, then you really want to look at a poker table top. You just unfold it and lay it on top of your table. If you have a game or recreation room, and you can set it up and leave it, or fold it up and store it, then a poker table is well worth the investment.

Poker table tops come in two main materials and many sizes and shapes. The light weight foam material is ideal for it's low cost and portability. The wooden table tops are more durable and heavier so they are less likely to be disturbed during play, and they tend to have more high end features like armrests and padded felt.

I am open to all opinions, let me know what you think.

For all your poker supplies, visit Poker Stuff Online.com. We have poker chips, poker chips sets, clay poker chips, real clay poker chips, poker tables, poker table tops, and other poker accessories!

Poker Stuff Online

This is a blog to talk about anything poker (or other casino games, or anything else we might want to talk about for that matter :) ).

I will also provide information about specials, sales, and information about our poker and other casino game products occasionally here as well so stay tuned.

If you are interested in being a regular contributor to this blog, please contact me. If you have any useful articles or information that you think my readers would like (that you have written), and would like to see it posted here, contact me also.

Feel free to comment on any of the posts and give us all your 2 cents worth. Just please keep it somewhat clean. No pornography or being offensive to others please!

Since this is a fairly new poker store (since 2008), I am also always looking for reviews and opinions of the site or the products. Would you like to see a product we don’t have? Don’t agree with our descriptions? Site is ugly and needs work? Let me know! Disclaimer: All criticism will lower my self esteem and reveal my many weaknesses :-)

Welcome to PokerStuffOnline.com. We have all your Poker Supplies & Accessories!
Thanks, John V.
Email me at info@pokerstuffonline.com or call toll free 877-823-6435