Poker chips have been made from a varied range of materials in an almost endless variety of variations since the birth of gambling and the need to track winnings. The most commonly seen materials employed at this time in the manufacture of current poker chips are plastic, clay, and acrylic composite. Clay chips, the original of the group, have been made in the US since the late 1800s.
Back in the 1800s, poker players appear to be using any small valuable item you can imagine. Early poker enthusiasts at times employed rough gold pieces along with chips – primarily manufactured of wood and clay. By the 20th century, poker chip designs started to play a bigger prominence, and the smooth edges of older chips gave way to chips with engraved slits to keep them neatly arranged with each other.
There is little doubt that poker has increased steadily in universal appeal ever since its origin in the 19th century. With the huge advancement of web gambling and specialty TV shows, public appeal in poker has accelerated a lot faster than ever before. Most people are first introduced to poker by television showssuch as Bravo’s "Celebrity Poker Showdown" or "Poker After Dark," and most will compete in their initial hands on the net. Despite online poker’s growth, not much replaces the feeling of shuffling weighty poker chips in your hands, throwing chips into the middle of a poker table, or stacking tall pilesstacks of chips after displaying a victorious hand.