Chip
A chip is a round token used in place of cash at a gaming table.
The simple explanation
Poker chips stand for money, so players do not need to handle cash during the game. In most rooms the color of a chip shows its value. In cash games the chips are worth real money, and in tournaments they are only units for keeping score. In a cash game you can usually buy more chips between hands, within the table's rules. In a tournament the chips you start with are all you get, unless the event allows rebuys or re-entries.
A closer look
Chips are standardized to make handling and counting easy. Casino chips are usually about 39 millimetres wide and weigh between 5 and 16 grams, and their color indicates the denomination. Historically they were made of bone, and today the best are made of clay or composite materials. Tournament chips carry large numbers, and small denominations are removed from play in a chip race as the blinds rise. There is no universal system: some chips are printed with their value, some have none, and home games often agree what each color is worth, so check the values before you bet.
A practical example
A player buys in for $200 and receives a stack of mixed-color chips. In a tournament, each player starts with 10,000 chips that have no cash value and can only be used to play.
Full explanation
A chip is a round token used in place of cash at a gaming table.
A chip is a token used in place of cash. Chips are easier to stack, count and bet than currency, and they allow players to see each other’s stack sizes at a glance.
In a cash game each chip stands for a real amount of money. In a tournament chips have only a points value and cannot be cashed out. A player who loses all their chips is out of the tournament, and those chips have passed to the opponents who won them in hands.
In most rooms the color shows the value, but the colors are not the same everywhere. As a tournament progresses and the blinds rise, small denominations are exchanged for larger ones through coloring up. Keeping stacks neat and sorted by color helps everyone read them.
The word is also used for your stack size, as in ‘he has a lot of chips’. An older meaning of ‘check’ was also a chip.
Misplaced chips are a common source of disputes. Keep your stacks in clean stacks of the same denomination, and announce large bets.