Casino staff 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 a chip with a value printed on it and is always worth the value of the imprinted on it. Chips, on the other hand, don’t have values written on them and the value is determined by the croupier. For instance, at a poker tournament, the croupier might value white chips as one dollar and blue chips as ten dollars; while, at a roulette game, the casino may define white chips as 25 cents and blue chips as two dollars. A different example, the inexpensive red, white, and blue poker chips you purchase at the department store for your weekend poker game are called "chips" because they do not have values written on them.
When you put your money on the table and hear the croupier announce, "Cheque change only," he’s simply telling the boxman that a new player wants to change money for chips (cheques), and that the cash on the table isn’t in play. Money plays in most betting houses, so if you put a $5 bill on the Pass Line just before the player tosses the ivories and the dealer does not change your money for chips, your cash is "live" and "in play."
In reality, in live craps games, we play with cheques, not chips. Every now and then, an individual will approach the table, put down a $100 cheque, and say to the croupier, "Cheque change." It is fun to pretend to be a beginner and ask the croupier, "Hey, I’m a beginner to this game, what is a cheque?" Frequently, their crazy answers will amuse you.
