Casino employees generally refer to chips as "cheques," which is of French ancestry. Technically, there’s a difference between a cheque and a chip. A cheque is just a chip with a denomination written on it and is always worth the amount of the written value. Chips, however, do not have values imprinted on them and the value is defined by the table. For instance, at a poker table, the croupier may value white chips as $1 and blue chips as $10; whereas, at a roulette game, the dealer might define white chips as 25 cents and blue chips as $2. A different example, the inexpensive red, white, and blue plastic chips you purchase at Wal-Mart for your Friday-night poker game are called "chips" because they do not have values imprinted on them.
When you put your cash down and hear the dealer say, "Cheque change only," he’s simply informing the boxman that a new bettor wish to change money for chips (cheques), and that the money on the table isn’t in play. Cash plays in many betting houses, so if you put a five dollar bill on the Pass Line just prior to the player tosses the dice and the croupier doesn’t change your cash for chips, your cash is "live" and "in play."
Technically, in live craps games, we compete with with cheques, and not chips. Sometimes, a player will walk up to the the table, put down a $100 cheque, and inform the dealer, "Cheque change." It’s a blast to act like a newbie and ask the dealer, "Hey, I’m a beginner to this game, what is a cheque?" Generally, their comical answers will entertain you.
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