Posted by Dillan | Posted in Craps | Posted on 24-01-2010
Casino personnel usually reference chips as "cheques," which has its origins in France. In reality, there’s a difference between a cheque and a chip. A cheque is a chip with a denomination imprinted on it and is always worth the value of the printed on it. Chips, on the other hand, do not have values printed on them and the value is determined by the dealer. For example, at a poker table, the casino may define white chips as one dollar and blue chips as ten dollars; at the same time, at a roulette game, the dealer might define white chips as twenty-five cents and blue chips at $2. Another example, the inexpensive red, white, and blue poker chips you purchase at the department store for your weekend poker game are called "chips" due to the fact that they don’t have values imprinted on them.
When you plop your money down on the table and hear the croupier announce, "Cheque change only," he’s merely informing the boxman that a new player wish to change money for chips or more correctly cheques, and that the cash sitting on the table is not in play. Cash plays in most betting houses, so if you place a $5 bill down on the Pass Line just prior to the shooter rolls the pair of dice and the croupier does not change your cash for chips, your money is "live" and "in play."
In reality, in actual craps games, we gamble with with cheques, not chips. Sometimes, a player will approach the table, drop a one hundred dollar cheque, and inform the dealer, "Cheque change." It is fun to pretend to be a newbie and ask the dealer, "Hey, I’m a brand-new to this game, what is a cheque?" Frequently, their wacky responses will amuse you.