Poker Chip Cases

This is another area in which quality is sacrificed for low cost. There are many styles of aluminum and wood cases that look sharp and sturdy in a picture, but are assembled poorly.

Aluminum poker chip cases are not all created equal. While a photo may make an aluminum chip case seem sturdy, we can tell you 90% of the ones sold are flimsy and easily break. The aluminum case that holds a 500 pc 11.5 gram chip set weighs about 20 pounds, requiring a quality built case.

The problem is that many of the aluminum cases you see online all look the same, but they are not. Here are some things to look for when buying a quality poker case.

Aluminum Case Comparison

Chip Holders in the Aluminum Case

The chip holders in an aluminum case should be recessed to fit the chip, not held in racks that easily break. Take a look at the photo below. The thin wooden chip rack is towards the rear of the picture. These chips racks are glued and stapled together, and easily break with use.  Most chip cases today are constructed with chip racks.

In fact, chips racks are so weak that the chips must be shipped in a separate box than the aluminum case. If not, the weight of the chips alone during shipping will snap the wood in the rack.

A properly designed chip holder is recessed into the aluminum case and molded to fit the chips. See closeup below:

Poker Chip Lounge aluminum cases use recessed chip holders, making the case so strong and durable enough that the chips are shipped in the aluminum case itself, not in a separate box.

Outer Case Construction
Most aluminum cases are constructed using metal clips to hold the side panels to the case frame. Aluminum cases constructed this way will not last long if put through a lot of use. The weight of the chips is too much and eventually the rivets on the metal clips become loosened, and the side panels become weakened. The case becomes unstable and eventually falls apart.

A quality aluminum case does not use metal clips to hold the case together, but uses more of a uni-body type frame.

Pokerchiplounge.com only supplies cases with this superior design. Less pieces fastened together will give a more sturdy and durable case.

Additional Aluminum Case Construction Checklist:

• Chip holders in an aluminum case should be wood and recessed to fit the chip, or have racks that are anchored strongly into the case. 
• Outer case design should be one with rounded corners.
• The case exterior should be scratch/dent resistant.
• The interior felt should be glued and sewn to withstand wear and tear. While this is hard to show in pictures, many of the aluminum cases we have tested only have the felt glued inside and not sewn. This leaves the felt vulnerable to coming apart from the interior of the case.

Cherry Wood Cases - There are number of sites selling this same case. It’s called a “cherry wood ” case. The pictures of these cases give a false impression of its quality.

We obtained a few samples of these cases, and were very surprised at how poorly they were constructed. The wood has a plastic feel to it, and the locks on the case were crooked. The leather handle had poor stitching. While we did not do any durability testing, it is easy to see that this case would not last long under normal wear and tear.

Foldable Poker Tabletops – Make sure to ask if the foldable poker tabletop is of solid wood construction. There are tables out there that look the same in a picture as the solidwood constructed ones, but are flimsy and cheap. In some cases, we have caught websites stealing our photos and using them on their site to sell their cheap tables. This means the table you see on their site is not the one you will receive.

We hope this tutorial has helped you understand more about poker supplies. The huge demand for poker supplies has created many suppliers taking advantage of you by selling junk product for low prices.

Pokerchiplounge.com strives to bring you the best quality poker supplies at reasonable prices. Please browse through our site, and don’t forget to check out our “Build your own Poker Chip Set” section. Feel free to contact our customer service department regarding any question you may have.

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