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Updated
7/10/2009: As of today we have updated this page as we are
receiving numerous requests for replacements that have no influence on
the ability of our clay chips to perform their intended function. All
of our chips are marketed as counters for Poker and other games. We do
not offer collectible chips or chips as pieces of art. Our replacement
policy is in line with policies all chip manufacturers offer to
casinos. Variances will occur and should be expected as part of any
clay chip purchase
Clay chips by
definition are compression molded Casino chips. Each chip is
individually assembled by a real person
(click here for a quick overview) and
pressed at up to 10,000 pounds pressure and 300˚ heat. As such, each
chip is a little different as inlays will not be in the exact same
position or roundness, side spots can look different, diameter may
vary slightly and specks of
"clay" can appear in different places on the chip. These
characteristics give clay chips a unique appearance and flavor. All of
these characteristics are to be expected in a clay chip and considered
as manufacturing variations and NOT defects. Clay chips offer a
level of uniqueness and security that no other chip in any medium can
offer. They can not be copied as easily as ceramic or plastic extruded
chips may be. The tooling to copy clay chips is not available to
purchase, making clay chips #1 in security.
Holdem Poker Chips
sells all our Casino chips as gaming pieces only. We are not in the
business of selling collectible chips. While some of our chips may
become collectible due to market forces, we sell all our chips as
"gaming tokens" only.
To help identify
conditions that are considered defects and which are considered
acceptable variations we have added some scans and photos of chips
below. The top group shows what conditions we will replace chips, and
the bottom group show several of the most common acceptable production
variations that are considered normal and not replaceable under the
defect policy.
Re "Spinners":
"Spinners" as it relates to Casino Chips is a production variance
caused by the center on one side of the chip being slightly raised to
the point that when placed on a hard top table the chip will spin
several rotations similar to a top. This is where the term "Spinners"
originated from. Every clay chip manufactured today is susceptible to
having "Spinners". Some occur very rarely, and some as much as 2-3% of
a manufacturing run. Holdem Poker Chips considers these manufacturing
variations acceptable in clay chips and does not offer returns or
exchanges for these chips
Re "Warping":
"Warping", similar to "Spinners", is a chip that does not lay
perfectly flat when placed on a hard surface or in a stack on top of
another chip. In every case compression molded chips are made to
exacting enough tolerances to stack 20-30 high without issues. The
ability to stack these chips any higher should not be expected. While
you as a client may expect clay chips to be manufactured to tolerances
that computer controlled injection molded chips are, the manufacturers
and us as a vendor do not consider this as a defective, but an
acceptable production variance. We never replace/refund chips for
warping issues.
Re "Colors over
Multiple Lots": At times a clay chip may distinguish different
color tones from lot to lot. This may occur due to conditions at the
time the batch was mixed or be due to changes in the mixture or
pigment used to create the color. When we order and receive orders
from our manufacturers all the chips are a color match within each
color. But a reorder 1 year later MAY NOT match the exact same
tone. It is not to be expected in every case that a 2006 chip will
match a 2008 chip. In these cases we try to inform in our item
description of this possibility but it is not always available. If
this possibility is or concern, we advise you to evaluate your needs
now and the possibility of future expansion before making your
purchase. At the time of your purchase we do insure that all chips
are uniform in color appearance.
Casino chips in
general are uniform appearing gaming tokens (or checks) used
to account for, in a "cash game", the amount of money a player has,
and in a tournament games a scoring tool to keep track of a players
position in the game relative to other players. Compression molded
chips, are not intended to be precisely "minted" objects or works of
art where every chip is manufactured to exacting tolerances and with
exactly the same in look, feel, sound and stack ability.
The manufacturers of
clay chips determine themselves what the tolerances their chips are
made to, and as a vendor, and ultimately you as an end user have to
accept these variances or make other choices. If you are
considering a clay chip set and can not live with some of the
variations listed above or shown in the second group you might re-evaluate your
choices, as all clay sets experience these characteristics to some
extent, and are part of the unique beauty of a clay Casino chip set. |
