Poker Craze Fuels Demand For
poker Chips December 3, 2004
It may be a gamble, but retailers bet poker chips will win big this holiday season as the nation’s craze for Texas Hold ‘Em continues to surge.
In 1999, Poker Chips USA in Northridge raked in $60,000 in sales over the holiday season. The online store tripled that amount over the same time frame last year, said owner Gus Fanfassian.
“This is the hottest trend in games right now,” said Ellen Heaney Mizer, game buyer for Barnes & Noble, which will set up displays of poker products in all its stores for the holiday season.
Feeding the frenzy for multicolored chips, cards, tables and all things poker-related are shows such as ESPN’s “World Series of Poker” and Bravo’s “Celebrity Poker Showdown.”
“They’re showing a whole bunch of young people how to play,” said Will Hunt, who started a retail line of poker products called All N’ Poker this summer.
“College kids love the game because it allows them to sit around a dorm room and play for several hours with just a few bucks,” he said.
Even Restoration Hardware, a high-end furniture store based out of San Francisco, is carrying everything from Ace shot glasses to mechanical card shufflers. Wal-Mart, Target and various other retailers are offering an array of poker goods as well.
Poker Chips USA’s most popular item is a 1,500-chip Texas Tournament set that ranges in value from $449 to $649.
“We sell anything you see in the casinos except the dealers,” Fanfassian said.
Aahs! carries everything from dice to poker sets that range from $60 to $200. There is even a sign next to the store’s prominent display of poker products suggesting how many chips are needed for games of varying size.
Since Hunt started All N’ Poker in Davis, Calif., this summer, he said orders for T-shirts and visors bearing the company’s trademark logo — “Dominate the Table,” have swelled to the hundreds on a weekly basis.
“Surfers have Quiksilver and basketball players have Nike — we want to be that brand for poker players,” Hunt said.
Steps For Shuffling Poker Chips
Steps For Shuffling Poker Chips
Shuffling chips can be frustrating at first but in time it becomes easy. Starting out, it is easier to learn on a soft surface like a pillow or a couch. Note that on a soft surface the thumb can stay on the right side of the right stack the entire time because the initial lift can occur by simply pushing the two stacks together. Once the first few chips fall into place on the bottom, the rest of the chips seem to follow easier as your hand moves up the pile. One fun exercise is to start with 2 stacks of different color chips. If you shuffle them consistently you can notice certain patterns. Always put the right stack on top of the left stack such that the bottom left chip is at the bottom of the combined stack while the top right chip is at the top of the combined stack. Once you shuffle the chips together take the top half and put them on the right, leaving the bottom stack on the left.
The shuffle is repeated until the chips are back to the same colors. If you have eight chips in each stack then you get all the same color chips back in the same stacks after 4 shuffles. The list below shows the number of shuffles necessary for stacks of other sizes.8==>47==>126==>105==>6 4==>3 3==>4 2==>2 1==>1 Another interesting exercise is to follow the same guidelines until the chips are combined into one stack. At that point the top half can be put in the left pile while the bottom half stay in the right pile. When the exercise is done in this way the list showing the necessary shuffles for different size stacks is as follows:
8==>47==>46==>65==>54==>33==>32==>21==>1The main thing to remember is that the more you practice shuffling the chips the easier it gets.
posted by casino poker chips at 11:37 PM 
Friday, May 13, 2005
500 piece and 300 piece Casino Poker Chips
These casino poker chips are the most affordable, highest quality poker chip sets available anywhere. This is a great selection, pricing and quality. All of these chips are composite clay poker chips. We recommend one 500 piece set per 8 to 10 person table. Based on our experience and customer feedback, the 300 piece set should be used for 4 to 6 people.
posted by casino poker chips at 12:30 PM
Thursday, May 12, 2005
Paulson Casino Poker Chip Review
These are the real deal ... genuine Paulson Top Hat & Cane casino poker chips! The chips that I used for this review came from a local casino, Casino Windsor. Molds vary from casino to casino but the Paulson feel and quality are consistent and world famous. The sound and feel of these chips far surpass any other home poker chip. Riffling a stack of these babies is a thing of beauty. The solid or multi-color edge spots vary from casino to casino and from denomination to denomination within each casino.
I have numerous samples of these chips. Sample diameters were 39.14, 39.13, 39.39, and 39.11mm. The thickness of 3 chips stacked together was 9.76mm.
The Paulson inlay feels a little slick at first but softens with age. Everything about this chip gets better with age. The inlay could not be peeled off in any way. They hid scratches well and I had to gouge deep to reveal the base chip color. There are denominations printed on almost all Paulson chips. There are no edge ridges on these chips.
posted by casino poker chips at 12:03 PM
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
Las Vegas Custome Casino Poker Chips.
This is a 11.5 gram composite chip with a metal insert that is available with customized inlays. These "Las vegas" custome casino poker chips are much more chiseled than a typical 11.5 gram composite and the mold contains a series of hearts, diamonds, spades and clubs that are recessed into the rim.
There was a series of almost imperceptible injection mold pimples on the rolling edge of this chip. They were impossible to feel and almost impossible to see even with a magnifying glass. There are no edge ridges on this chip. The edges were slightly sharp and seemed to wear somewhat easily. There are no markings of any kind on the rolling edge. These chips are available in all the correct colors.
The sound of this chip is more of a thud than your typical metal insert composite chip and the weight and although still 11.5g, seems better balanced. There is also a bit less of a porcelain ring to these chips.
I was sent one sample of this chip. It had a diameter of 39.00mm and a thickness of 3.35mm.
The inlays are sunken into the chip, feature full-color photo-quality resolution graphics, and are comprised of a waterproof film (not paper, and not ink). Unfortunately, the inlays can be peeled off with your fingernail. The label can also be torn and punctured. The obvious appeal of these chips is to offer a metal insert composite style of chip with a customizable and colorful center.
posted by casino poker chips at 7:22 AM
Saturday, May 07, 2005
Jackpot Casino Poker Chips
These poker chips feature the Jackpot Casino logo on a metal inlay. Even with the metal inlay, they only weigh 13 grams. They have a definite metallic ring to them but feel nice overall.
It was almost impossible to scratch the metal with a knife. The inlay is one solid piece that is embedded into the plastic molding and cannot be removed without intentionally ruining the chip. The plastic on the chip was similar to that of a typical Real Clay composite chip. The white and coloring was very deep, even on the suits.
There are four edge spots on each chip. There is a diamond and two small bars on the rolling edge of each edge spot. This looks better than it does on most chips with this feature. The overall effect of the edge spots with suits on them is nice. There are no edge ridges on this chip. There is no injection mold spot that I could see. The chip does have the same small edge seam as the chip described above but it is even smaller and nearly impossible to detect. I could not feel the seam with my fingers. These chips are fairly slippery, as are all metal inlay chips.
I was sent 7 sample chips. Sample diameters were 39.89, 39.87, and 39.64mm. Seven chips stacked together were 22.96mm thick.
This is a very nice chip. The metal inlay gives it a bit of that old-time western slug appearance and the composite helps to muffle the sound of a metal chip.
posted by casino poker chips at 2:11 PM
Friday, May 06, 2005
13 Gram Casino Poker Chip
When you use "13 gram casino poker chips" you definitely noticed the difference in weight. Lifting one chip was noticeable but lifting a stack was much more noticeable. Keep in mind that I am also the type of player who notices a big difference from the 9-10 gram casino weight to the 11.5 gram composite chip weight.
The feel of this chip is a little less 'plasticy' than a typical 11.5 gram composite chip. There is a bit of a 'chalky' feeling to them. If you press hard, you can scrape your fingernail across the chip and leave a skid mark. The sound does have a bit of that same metallic clink as a composite but these chips definitely have a heftier 'thud'. The extra weight seems to help deaden some of the metallic sound. Please note that these chips may be slightly thicker than regular chips and may not fit in all chip trays or racks.
These chips have three solid edge spots with two diamonds between each spot. The edge spots are fine but somewhat unspectacular. The chips have a bit of a chiseled brickish look to them and stack nicely. They are not as slippery as your typical 11.5g composite. Color quality is good, not too dull but not too bright. There are no edge ridges.
Each chip has a 1 mm injection mold pimple located on one side of the chip, just under the rim. Once you know it's there, you can spot it from a foot away. Again, some people who already own these chips might not have ever noticed this.
I'm not sure why anyone would want to play with a 13 gram chip. Standard casino chips weigh about 9.5 grams each and I don't want to play with 11.5 gram chips, let alone 13 grams! But if you don't mind the heavier weight and hate the slickness of most 11.5 gram composite chips, this might be the chip for you. You can also 'trade up' these chips and receive up to $100 towards higher quality chips from BPC.
posted by casino poker chips at 10:17 AM
