Heft is the first thing anyone notices about a chip, and the number on the listing is the least reliable fact about it.

The marketing number

“11.5-gram casino weight” is the most repeated figure in this category, and it does not describe casino chips. The chips on card-room tables mostly run 8.5 to 10.5 grams.

The 11.5-gram figure belongs to slug-weighted plastic chips — it is the weight of the slug talking, not the quality.

Material weight

A compression-moulded composite or a ceramic chip weighs what it weighs because of what it is made of. The mass is spread across the whole chip, the balance is even, and the sound on a hard table is a low, dull clack.

This is the construction that ages well in nightly play: there is nothing inside to separate, and the surface wears evenly.

Slug weight

An injection-moulded ABS chip is light on its own, so a metal disc is laminated inside to give it heft. The mass concentrates at the centre and the chip rings brighter when it lands.

None of this is a scandal. It is a fraction of the price, the moulded colours are bright, and for an event that handles each chip a dozen times it is the honest recommendation. The scandal is only ever the quote that does not mention it.

The two-second test

Drop a chip flat on a bare wooden table from a few inches. Clack is material; ring is slug.

Do it to your current set before you reorder, because whichever it is, the new chips need to match — a mixed rack sounds wrong every time the pot is pushed.

What to ask for on a quote

The construction by name — composite, ceramic or slug-weighted ABS — rather than a gram figure alone.

A supplier who volunteers where the weight comes from has specified their product. One who answers with “casino weight” has specified a listing.