Count poker chips in a stack from a photo

Poker chip counter: checking a float or chip set by color

A poker chip counter is useful at three moments: setting a table float before play, checking it after play, and taking inventory of a club or home chip set. Clubs and card rooms also keep a marked photo as a record of what was handed over. The counter counts chips, not their value; you multiply each color by its denomination yourself, which is why counting by color is the key step.

For an exact chip count, spread the chips flat on felt or a plain table in one layer. In Similar items, mark one chip of each color, up to three per count, and the Found per example rows give a figure for each color. A five-color set takes two passes over the same photo: count three colors, clear the examples, then mark the other two and count again, adding each color as its own tally row. Edge spots and inlays make every chip look busy, so draw the example box around the whole chip, rim included.

Chips standing in a rack or carrier show only their edges, which is the wrong angle; pour them out first. If the chips are already in stacks of a known, equal height, you can count the stacks from above and multiply, but check each stack height by hand, because one short stack throws the total off. Game tokens and dice from the same game night can be counted into the same tally.

Chip count checks

• Chips flat in one layer, out of the rack
• Up to three colors per count, one example each
• The rim of the chip inside the example box
• Each color on its own tally row, value worked out afterward