Casino personnel usually reference chips as "cheques," being of French ancestry. In reality, there is a difference between a chip and a cheque. A cheque is a chip with a value imprinted on it and is forever worth the amount of the written amount. Chips, although, do not have denominations imprinted on them and any colour can be valued at any cash amount as defined by the house. For instance, in a poker tournament, the house might state that white chips as $1 and blue chips as $10; whereas, in a game of roulette, the dealer might state that white chips as twenty-five cents and blue chips as two dollars. Another instance, the cheap red, white, and blue poker chips you buy at the department store for your weekly poker get together are referred to as "chips" due to the fact that they don’t have values written on them.
When you put your $$$$ down on the craps table and hear the croupier say, "Cheque change only," he’s simply informing the box man that a new player would like to change cash for chips (cheques), and that the cash on the table is not part of the action. $$$$$ plays in a majority of betting houses, so if you place a five dollar bill on the Pass Line just before the tosser rolls the dice and the croupier does not trade your $$$$$ for chips, your $$$$$$ is "in play." When the croupier says, "Cheque change only," the boxman understands that your $$$$$ is not in play.
In reality, in live craps games, we gamble with cheques, and not chips. Every once in a while, a player will walk up to the the table, drop a 100 dollar cheque, and inform the croupier, "Cheque change." It’s amusing to pretend to be a beginner and ask the croupier, "Hey, I am new to Craps, what is a cheque?" Frequently, their comical answers will amuse you.
