As the gaming world becomes modernized, the chips used on poker tables are also making technological strides. Where casinos were once content with using original markers on their chips, they are now turning to embedded RFID chips to track playing styles and ensure authenticity of the chips in play.

RFID chips are very small data chips that are embedded into the clay of the poker chip. They can be used to track specific players, or to monitor the amount of money in play on a table at any specific moment. While some casinos feel that the use of this technology is one of the most important technological advances in gaming technology, it is still rather controversial.

Some casinos feel that the expense of RFID technology does not translate into rewards. Chips that enabled with this technology are much more expensive than traditional chips. It has yet to be proven conclusively whether RFID technology is profitable for the casinos. Another critique of RFID technology is that it is not going to help the online poker game and is only useful in games where the bets are placed in a specific area of the table, like craps. Poker players tend not to consistently place their chips in the same area of the table with every bet. This incongruity with bet placement would interfere with the RFID chips and keep them from being read properly. In order for RFID chips to be able to be used in games like poker, casinos would have to standardize bet placement at the poker table.