Complete chip sets should be purchased with a few things in mind: How many chips do you need? How much can you afford to pay for your chipset and how many players will be using the chips in a game. As with most things, you pay for quality and the best advice is to buy the highest quality you can afford. It is rare to be sorry that you opted for a higher line of goods so buy the best your budget allows.

A good rule of thumb for quantity follows:

3-4 Players 300 chipset is usually enough
4-6 Players 400-500 chipset will suffice
6-8 Players 500-650 chipset is required
8-10+ Players 1000+ chips depending on numbers

The above guide is a suggested number only. Remember that you cannot really have too many chips, only too few so buy all you can afford. Many chip sellers maintain an open stock of chips so you can purchase more as you need them.

Buying a quality set of Poker chips isn't cheap but if you're buying a full set of chips (300, 500 or 1,000), the price typically includes an aluminum carrying case, one or two decks of cards, five dice, and sometimes a dealer button. At online stores, a set of 300 11.5-gram composite, two-color chips goes for $75 or more, depending on the style. A similar set of 300 real clay chips will cost about $25 to $30 more. Three-color chips are more expensive.