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Gaming chips have been made from a varied selection of materials in an almost infinite assortment of styles since the creation of betting and the requirement to track winnings. The most commonly seen materials used at this time in the creation of modern poker chips are plastic, clay, and acrylics. Clay chips, the original of the group, have been manufactured in the US since the late 19th century.

Back in the 1800s, poker enthusiasts seemed to use any small valuable item you can imagine. Early poker enthusiasts occasionally employed jagged gold pieces as well as chips – chiefly made of wood and clay. By the 1900s, poker chip designs started to play a bigger prominence, and the smooth edges of older chips gave way to chips with slits to hold them neatly arranged with each other.

There is little or no doubt that poker has grown steadily in acceptance ever since its origin in the 1800s. With the explosive advancement of net gambling and specialty television shows, public appeal in poker has feed the fire more rapidly than ever before. Many individuals are first introduced to poker by TV showslike Bravo’s "Celebrity Poker Showdown" or the Travel Channel’s "World Poker Tour," and many will play their first hands on the net. Despite online poker’s rise, not much competes with the feeling of shuffling heavy clay poker chips in your hands, tossing chips into the middle of a casino table, or stacking tall pilesstacks of chips after displaying a winning hand.