You’ve probably seen poker chips with dice faces on them.
They’re very common, and they’re usually sold as part of a poker set. For instance, a set of chips, two decks, a cutting card, and the dealer button.
Here are my thoughts about them — hopefully this article gives you a better idea of what they feel like and whether you should or shouldn’t buy them.
Keep reading…
Not all dice chips are created equal
First of all, although the word dice refers to the design of the chips, and the design itself is always the same — the quality does change depending on where you buy.
Wear and tear is inevitable over time, but low quality dice chips will feel and look worse compared to better quality ones.
For example, the color may not be as bright; the edges may be too sharp, or too rounded, which makes it harder to stack them or do tricks with them.
There may also be imperfections in the print — specifically, the dice pips — or the surface may not be 10 percent smooth.
If you’re buying dice chips, my advice would be to check the reviews or at least make sure you’re buying quality ones.
Also, personally I’d pick the less common colors, if available.
A set of white, blue, green, and red dice chips looks a bit ugly in my opinion.
So go with purple, black, light blue, or any other color that doesn’t look like every other amateur poker tournament set. That’s going to look much better.
Pros and cons of dice poker chips
Alright, so should you buy dice poker chips? Are they good enough?
It all depends on your budget, really. A set of high quality, beautiful, casino-grade poker chips would be ideal, but that could cost you well over $1,000.
Plus, those may be harder to find.
For a friendly home game, dice poker chips are great because although they’re pretty cheap, the weight and feel is good enough to play.
They are nowhere close to, say, Paulson poker chips. Nor can they be compared to high end clay chips.
But if you’re only playing once or twice, or don’t want to spend too much on a set of chips you’ll use rarely, then dice chips could be your best bet.
Now, if I had to list all the pros and cons, here’s the ones that come to mind.
Advantages
- Wide range of colors available (depending on the store)
- Ideal weight (usually about 11.5 grams each)
- Nice high-pitched sound when shuffling/stacking them
- Easy to find, both online and offline
- Usually customizable with own logo
- Very inexpensive
Disadvantages
- Quality isn’t always the same
- There are better poker chips out there
- Standard colors look kind of ugly
- Edges may be a bit too sharp
Why do poker chips have dice printed on them?
No real reason other than the fact that the dice logo usually reminds people of casinos and gambling.
But interestingly enough, all the main poker variants do not use a dice. For instance, you’ll never actually need a dice to play Texas Hold’em, or Omaha poker.
You probably knew already, it’s just that it’s kind of funny that some of the most common poker chips out there use a logo that has nothing to do with the game.
Some poker sets come with a dice or two, but that’s about it.
Suited poker chips
And then there are suited poker chips — chips with spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs printed on them.
I’ve seen two main versions — make sure you get the ones that are slightly thicker and heavier.
Proper suited chips will have the same weight as dice chips, about 12 grams or so, and the standard thickness, which is about 3.5 millimeter.
Cheaper ones will be much lighter and feel more like toys.
Other poker chips designs
Both dice and suited poker chips are very basic, but there are so many different poker chip designs.
Paulson poker chips were the best, in terms of quality and design, but unfortunately they stopped selling to the home market a few years ago.
There is still a wide range of poker chips that can be bought online. Plastic, ceramic, and clay are the most common materials.
Or, you could buy a set of actual casino chips. Probably quite expensive, especially if you’re buying two hundred or more. But they’re the real deal, and the design is fabulous.
Keep in mind, most poker chips can be customized with your logo and it’s usually not a huge price difference.
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