Understanding poker chip values and colors [complete guide]
Published by: PokerOrg
Poker chips are poker currency. Players use them in cash games 💶 and tournaments, home games, and casino or cardroom events. They represent dollar amounts during play, and provide a way to 💶 play poker with a shared understanding of those amounts.
Standard poker chip values and colors
Every casino, cardroom, and home game host 💶 can establish their own poker chip values. The values may vary by tournament operator, casino owner, or local poker community 💶 standards. One of the first questions a player should ask at a new venue is: “How much are poker chips 💶 worth?”
Poker chip values
Values assigned to chips are generally the same across most poker rooms:R$1,R$5,R$10,R$20 orR$25,R$100,R$500, andR$1,000. For higher stakes, there 💶 are usuallyR$5,000 andR$1,000 chips on hand, with some as high asR$25,000 orR$100,000.
Chips used for home games are often the same, 💶 with white as the lowest denomination, then red, blue, green, black, purple (or lavender), yellow, orange, and another shade of 💶 green. Some venues offer pink and various shades of blue.
Poker chip colors
The primary reason poker games use chips is to 💶 create consistency. Players in almost every establishment must exchange money for chips and use the chips only at the tables. 💶 The chips are all the same size, with only colors to designate the difference in values.
Color coding also allows security 💶 systems to better monitor the action at tables, as chip stack sizes and different colors are easier to see than 💶 dollar bills.
Poker chip color value: cash games vs tournaments
All venues will differentiate their poker chip colors for cash games and 💶 tournaments. The basic reason is that gaming chips in cash games are worth the exact value on the chip. In 💶 tournaments, however, players buy in for a specific amount of money that doesn’t usually correspond with the amount in their 💶 starting chip stacks.
Another reason to use separate chips is to prevent players from trying to sneak cash game chips into 💶 a tournament. Tournament chips are kept in a very secure location until the event takes place. Additionally, poker players are 💶 allowed to keep chips and take them from the casino — usually as memorabilia.
Tournament chips, however, are the strict property 💶 of the establishment.
Different poker chip colors separate the two types of chips. Tournament chips must have higher denominations, and they 💶 often bear the name of the event or host, such as the World Series of Poker or World Poker Tour.
Chip 💶 values in cash games
Most poker rooms use the same poker chip values across different cash games. There’s no industry standard, 💶 but most establishments apply identical poker chip color values for at least some denominations, like theR$100 black chips. Other values 💶 may vary, especially for the higher-value chips.
White =R$1
Red =R$5
Blue, Brown, or Orange =R$10
Green =R$25
Black =R$100
Purple =R$500
Yellow, Orange, or Gray =R$1,000
Orange, 💶 Gray, or Red/White/Blue =R$5,000
Dark Green, Dark Blue, or Brown =R$25,000
Light Blue or Gray =R$100,000
Each state’s gaming control board (or national 💶 gaming regulators if outside of the United States) must approve and register most aspects of different poker chips. That includes 💶 logos, chip colors, weight, sizes, designs, and materials. Each state may have its own requirements and standards.
Most professional poker chips 💶 at poker rooms display the room’s logo in the center of all gaming chips. The logo display is a form 💶 of advertisement, but the logo or brand name also makes the chips optimal for mementos and collections.
Removing colored chips from 💶 casinos
Some restrictions apply to removing poker chips for cash games from casinos. There’s usually a time limit on cashing in 💶 the chips. Because of the time limit, you usually can’t cash in chips used as collectors items at a later 💶 date. Poker rooms may also change their logos or designs periodically to prevent counterfeits and fraud.
Rectangular poker chips
For the highest-stakes 💶 cash games, casinos started using rectangular plaques. These are heavier and clearly different from any poker chip. Their unique design 💶 is an indicator that the stakes are high. High-stakes players often enjoy using something other than standard gambling chips. And 💶 it’s not a coincidence that the shape of these chips resemble the shape of paper money.
Chip values in poker tournaments
Poker 💶 chip values don’t represent actual dollar amounts, so most tournaments report chip counts by prefacing the number with T$.
For example, 💶 a player may buy into a tournament forR$400 and receive 40,000 in chip values, spread across different colors of chips. 💶 That player now has T$40,000 in the tournament. The chips don’t correspond to a real-life dollar amount. But an amount 💶 is necessary to track stack sizes and poker chip distribution.
High value chips in tournaments
Anyone or any establishment hosting a poker 💶 tournament must have enough chips to supply all potential players. While high-denomination cash game chips may be rare, every tournament 💶 must have high poker chip values on hand.
Color-ups
Colors are important for many reasons in a poker tournament, but they must 💶 be easily distinguishable when the dealers and staff do color-ups.
As players bust out of a tournament, the remaining players accumulate 💶 their chips. Those remaining players will pile up many more of the lower values than necessary with increased blinds. The 💶 tournament staff will remove the smaller denominations in exchange for higher values, reducing the chip stacks to more manageable sizes.
Stacking 💶 poker chips by color values
Poker chip color value also matters when stacking chips. The standard way to stack is to 💶 separate poker chip values by color in stacks of 20. Tournament players should be able to look at another’s stack 💶 and determine how many chips they have. This is necessary for calculating odds and making betting decisions.
Setting chip values and 💶 stack sizes for home games
Home games almost always use the same poker chip colors from house to house. The average 💶 poker chips set contains whites, reds, and blues or greens. Larger home games may use bigger poker chips sets with 💶 more colors, such as black and yellow.
There are no values printed on chips intended for home-game use. This allows poker-night 💶 hosts to set the values that best represent the money at stake in their games. For example, instead of white 💶 chips representing one dollar, they can be worth one cent.
Typically, home games start with 25 to 50 chips per person. 💶 This depends on the stakes and number of players, as well as the general betting patterns of the participants. More 💶 advanced and experienced home games may let players buy in for a specific dollar amount that matches the exact poker 💶 chip values. A standard game may useR$1/$2 blinds.
Home game poker chip color values
Different options for poker chip distribution could be:
$40 💶 for 20 big blinds (20BB) = tenR$1 chips, fourR$5 chips, 1R$10 chip
$100 for 50BB = tenR$1 chips, tenR$5 chips, fourR$10 💶 chips
$200 for 100BB = tenR$1 chips, tenR$5 chips, nineR$10 chips, twoR$25 chips
The above distributions can work just as well forR$0.01/$0.02 💶 games.
Home game tournament poker chip color values
Home game tournaments are more complicated but still manageable. Running a home game tournament 💶 requires knowledge of (and setting up) a blind structure and instructions for how to color up chips. A host could 💶 hold a tournament for up to six people with a set of 300 poker chips, but a 500-piece set is 💶 optimal, especially for deep stacks.
To start each player with 100BB, the host would judge poker chip value by color. For 💶 instance, you may decide that eight white chips represent T$25 each. You may also set eight reds at T$100 each, 💶 eight blues at T$500 each, and five greens at T$1,000 each.
Pro tip: When playing with a 300-piece chip set, recycle 💶 the white chips as higher denominations later in the tournament. As long as everyone agrees that the chips can take 💶 on a higher value, recycling the colors works well.
Chip values in major poker tournaments
How much are poker chips worth in 💶 poker tournaments? The value is shown right on the circle in the center of the chip. Most establishments will print 💶 chips especially for a particular tournament series, like the WSOP or WPT. Casinos like the Venetian also print special tournament 💶 chips for their signature series.
Multi-colored tournament chips
Poker chip colors in major tournaments are often multi-colored designs. The chips typically display 💶 multiple colors around the outer part of the chip but one primary color in the center.
For example, the T$100 chip 💶 at the World Series of Poker at the Rio was the standard black but with blue highlights. When looking at 💶 the top or the side of the chip, though, it’s clearly a black chip. And when a player or tournament 💶 staff stacks them perfectly, they align to show the primary and secondary colors clearly.
Cashing in colored tournament chips for stated 💶 value
Tournament chips show their tournament value (500, 1000, etc.) but also add a disclaimer of “no cash value.” That means 💶 you can’t take the chip to the cashier cage and exchange it for cash, because tournament dollars don’t equate to 💶 real dollars. The values of gambling chips for tournaments correspond with the blind structure.
Tournament poker chip colors and values
Major poker 💶 tournaments typically start at a value of T$25 (or just 25) and increase per standard blind structures.
Green = 25
Black = 💶 100
Purple or Light Blue = 500
Yellow or Gold = 1,000
Orange or Gray = 5,000
Dark Green or Brown = 25,000
Pink or 💶 Lavender = 100,000
Red = 500,000
Light Yellow = 1,000,000
The higher-valued professional poker chips only come into play in the late stages 💶 of very large tournaments, such as the WSOP Main Event.
A brief history of poker chips
Centuries ago, gamblers used various tokens 💶 in games like poker. These were called tokens, jettons, fiches, mils, checks, or cheques.
The modern-day customisable poker chip came into 💶 play when saloons and early casinos realized using a standard set of betting chips would prevent misunderstandings between players and 💶 dealers. Standard poker chip colors and values had the added benefit of reducing cheating opportunities.
Clay poker chips
Original poker chips were 💶 made of clay, but they were brittle and needed frequent replacements. As the years and games progressed, manufacturers began to 💶 use clay composite materials with additives to make them more durable.
Today’s most commonly found chips are made of mineral clay 💶 with additives for strength. The highest-quality gambling chips are called ceramics, though they’re actually made with highly durable plastic resin. 💶 However, these chips are expensive and lack the feel of clay chips that most players prefer for stacking and shuffling.
Plastic 💶 home game chips
Home game chip sets are often made of plastic. The very cheap, original chip sets consisted of very 💶 thin, plastic discs. Those transitioned to stronger plastic chips with metal inserts to make them heavier. Manufacturers eventually added some 💶 amount of clay to better mimic the look and feel of real casino chips. Professional chip sets with strong clay 💶 chips can be prohibitively expensive for the casual home game player.
Poker chip sizes
Over time, the size of casino chips has 💶 changed, but it’s now consistent in almost all casinos. Poker chips are 39mm in diameter, with only an occasional high-limit 💶 chip a little larger — possibly up to 48mm. The standard thickness of a poker chip is 3.5mm. The weight 💶 can vary from 7g to 20.5g, though most stay between 8g and 14g.
What is an RFID poker chip?
Today’s casinos have 💶 begun to incorporate RFID poker chips into their rotation. These chips contain radio frequency identification (RFID) using electromagnetic fields for 💶 tracking purposes. Manufacturing these chips can be expensive, but using them can prevent theft. They also help track player action 💶 at the tables, as well as dealer performance.
Poker chip values FAQs
What color poker chip is worth the most?
In most casinos, 💶 the light blue or grey poker chip is worthR$100,000, which is the highest chip value available. In lower-stakes games, the 💶 black chip is often the highest in value, worthR$100 in most casinos.
What color poker chip is usually assigned the lowest 💶 value?
White poker chips are typically assigned the lowest value, usually starting atR$1 in casinos. As such, low-stakes Hold’em games can 💶 be easily identified by the stacks of white chips on a table in front of each player.
Are casino chip colors 💶 universal?
There is no universally standardized color scheme for the value of poker chips, even though many casinos follow the same 💶 system as introduced above. It always makes sense to familiarize yourself with the value of each of the chips used 💶 by a casino before buying and placing your bets for this reason.
Do all US casinos use the same color chips?
Most 💶 US casinos follow the standard poker chips’ value and colors, although there are a few exceptions. So, before sitting down 💶 for a game of poker in the casino of your choice, you need to double-check the value of the chips 💶 in front of you – never just assume!
How do casinos verify chips before cashing them?
Casinos have various high-tech ways of 💶 verifying their chips before cashing them. Some use holograms and color-shifting ink, while other casinos have RFID transmitters, which make 💶 them impossible to replicate. This prevents fraud and ensures that only legitimately won chips can be cashed in on the 💶 casino floor.
Featured image source: Flickr by Marco Verch Professional Photographer used under CC license
