The chips come in different colors, each of which is ascribed a certain dollar value. A basic poker set will contain five colors: white, red, blue, green, and black. White chips are the least valuable kind, at $1 per chip. Red chips are worth $5 each, blue chips are $10, and green chips are $25. Black chips are the most expensive of this set, valued at $100 each. Occasionally there will be variations in poker chips values; for example, green is sometimes played at $20 instead of $25. Of course, in a casual game there’s nothing stopping players from assigning their own values as necessary. However, some chips come with the values already inscribed, which can be confusing.

A full poker chip set can have up to 13 different colors, and the values can vary a bit more broadly. Besides the five basic ones, you might find yellow chips for $2, grey chips for $20 (or some other value, depending on the system), and orange chips for $50. “Premium” chips worth over $100 include pink chips, which are worth $250, purple chips for $500, burgundy chips for $1,000, light blue chips for $2,000, and brown chips for $5,000.

A three- to five-color poker chip set should be plenty for a casual poker tournament. If you have the five basic colors or less, experts recommend sticking with the standard values. These values are designed and distributed so that you can raise the blinds progressively as you go through the tournament. In small cash games where a $1 minimum is too high, you can work with cents instead of dollars, so that white chips are worth 1¢, red chips are worth 5¢, and so on. The figures remain the same, but the stakes are much more manageable.

Most veterans recommend a poker chip set of at least 500 for casual games of up to 10 people. This will start everyone off with about 40 chips, which is plenty to begin with. To move up, the general rule is to have 1000 chips on hand for every 20 people playing.

How does it work? Selling PokerStars chips is relatively simple because of the site’s large customer base, which includes both registered and unregistered users. Registering is highly recommended, however, as members’ confidential information (including location and account details) is protected under the site agreement.

Chips are usually sold in large batches, with prices ranging from around $7 to $17 per million. You may come across buyers who will try to buy at a discount, or some who offer genuinely good deals. There’s a bit of luck involved (the best offers can get sold in a matter of minutes), but if you’re patient enough to look around you’re sure to find a match.

As often happens in online communities, you can arrange a deal privately with someone you know personally, or have played with enough times to build trust. If you don’t know anyone on the site (or even if you do, just to be safe), start with small exchanges so you don’t risk losing all your chips to a scammer.

You can buy and sell your chips in any of a hundred sites, including PokerStars itself—a quick search will show you just how many options there are. But like anything else on the Internet, it’s never smart to spring for the first name that comes along. Look the site up, read reviews, and go over the rules to make sure you’re getting your money’s worth. Security is an important issue, and with all that real money getting traded on a daily basis, poker sites are a scammer’s favourite haunt. A security guarantee or logo on the page will tell you that it’s safe to trade.

A bit of research goes a long way. A site that requires registration is already several times more secure than one that’s free for all, as the administrators have a way of tracking down users. A reliable support platform is also a good sign. You can also look the site up on Alexa, which keeps a record and history of online businesses. The higher it ranks, the safer your money is.