So eventually we'll graduate from the cheapo dice poker chips and want to move up to a nicer chip. Here are some things to keep in mind as you navigate the treacherous waters of buying your first set of quality chips.

First - all chips are some form of plastic abs material. None of them are made of "real clay" anymore. That said, the closer you can get to the feel and sound of real casino chips, the happier you'll be with your purchase. One of my sets of chips (yes, I understand the inherent personal problem with that statement) is a set of 1,000 Nexgen chips.

The Nexgen poker chips are a plastic composite chip with a metal disc or "slug" inside them to add weight. In my mind, what differentiated the Nexgen chips from other slugged chips was the sound they make when splashed into a pot or stacked and shuffled. There is very little of the ringing sound typically associated with slugged chips, and they make a nice solid sound when splashed in a pot.

Nexgens are available with single or multi-color edge spots. I bought the single color because they're a little cheaper, but the multi-color edge spots look a little nicer. I bought my set of chips on Ebay, and have since found several other great places to buy chips, like Discount Casino Gear. They have fantastic prices on chips and great service. I've found chips there that are much cheaper than other places on the net, and have gotten very good delivery as well.

The drawback to the Nexgen chips is that at 12.5 grams each, they are a very heavy chip. This seems like a great thing at first, but when you're lugging 1,000 or more of these puppies to a tournament, it becomes somewhat less appealing! Nexgens are also the best chips in the business for custom labeling. Check out Personal Poker Chips for the internet's best in poker chip labels. Nexgens are a good step up into moderately priced chips for those wanting something a little nicer than the Wal-Mart set Grammy gave you last Christmas.

For more information on poker chips than you ever needed to know, visit ChipTalk, the place where junkies go for their chip fix!