Casino poker chips, also known as checks, cheques or tokens, are the small discs that used in the casinos in lieu or real currency. In poker games and other table games, usually compression molded clay chips or colored metal chips are used in various denominations.
When you win a poker game, you receive poker chips which you can exchange with the casino counter for money in real money casinos. Generally, these chips do not have any value outside the casino but in some places, chips from one casino can be honored by another casino.
There are several advantages of issuing chips. These chips are more convenient to be used than real money and it also becomes more difficult to steal or counterfeit them. They are now available as virtual money in online poker too. As compared to paper currency, these chips are uniform in size and thus can be easily counted in stacks. This feature also enables the pay master to quickly check what amount is to be paid to you.