Poker equipment

Equipment for playing poker:

• Cards: Standard Anglo-American playing cards are used. In home games it is common to have two decks with distinct backs, and to shuffle the unused deck while each hand is in progress. Casinos typically change decks after 15 minutes of use as they become soiled. Have extra decks on hand to replace soiled, marked or bent cards as necessary. High-quality plastic cards last much longer than paper ones, especially for such games as stud poker, where players often bend up the corners of cards lying on the table rather than holding the cards in their hands.

• Chips: Currency is difficult to handle, so most poker games are played with chips, which are coin-shaped tokens of uniform size and weight, often made of clay or other similarly-textured heavy material allowing them to be easily stacked and unstacked. Inexpensive lightweight plastic chips are sold in many places, but these are nearly as difficult to use as currency. Different colors of chips are usually used to represent different amounts of money.

• Table: It is convenient if every player (a typical poker game will have 2 to 10) can reach the center of the table where the pot is built, so tables are generally circular or only slighlty oblong. It helps if the table is padded with a soft material that makes it easy to pick up cards, coins, and chips. Many tables sold as "poker tables" for home use have hard surfaces that are less convenient than a simple circular dining table with a soft blanket and tablecloth, and so are often not worth the price.

• Lammers: Miscellaneous plastic tokens with text markings are handy for various uses. In a typical home game only one is used to mark the current dealer as the deal rotates (in which case it is called a button or buck). In a casino they are used to remind players of which game variant is being played, who owes blinds or house commissions, and other uses.

• Cut card: Not generally used in home games, but universal in casinos and recommended. This is a thick plastic card the same size and shape of a playing card upon which the deck is placed before being picked up for the deal. This prevents any accidental exposure of the bottom card of the deck during the deal.