Casino workers usually refer to chips as "cheques," which has its origins in France. In reality, there is a difference between a chip and a cheque. A cheque is a chip with a value printed on it and is forever worth the amount of the printed on it. Chips, however, don’t have values imprinted on them and any color can be worth any amount as determined by the croupier. For example, at a poker tournament, the dealer might define white chips as one dollar and blue chips as ten dollars; while, in a roulette game, the dealer might define white chips as twenty-five cents and blue chips as two dollars. A further example, the inexpensive red, white, and blue poker chips you purchase at the department store for your Friday-night poker game are referred to as "chips" due to the fact that they don’t have values written on them.
When you put your money down and hear the croupier announce, "Cheque change only," he’s just informing the boxman that a new bettor wish to change cash for cheques, and that the money on the table isn’t in play. Cash plays in most casinos, so if you put a 5 dollar bill down on the Pass Line just prior to the shooter tosses the pair of dice and the croupier doesn’t change your cash for chips, your money is "live" and "in play."
Technically, in live craps games, we bet with with cheques, and not chips. Occasionally, a player will walk up to the the table, put down a $100 cheque, and instruct the dealer, "Cheque change." It is amusing to act like a beginner and ask the dealer, "Hey, I’m new to this game, what is a cheque?" Frequently, their crazy responses will entertain you.
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