The World Poker Tour or WPT has hit the television and media like an all in bet and a two ace flop. And of course with all that popularity there will be products. There are playing cards, hats, shirts and a never ending list of other trinkets. What I want to talk about is the WPT poker chips set.

I do a lot of writing about poker chips, sets and the like and my clients know that. Its a hobby I enjoy. The other day I was surprised to find out that one of my best clients went online and ordered me a set of WPT poker chips, the 500 piece set. These chips are sweet!

I saw the deluxe metal carrying case and got excited right away. It has the WPT logo embossed right on the front, locks and it looks incredible. With baited breath I opened it up and was happy to find that unlike some cheaper poker chip sets, there were small blind, big blind and dealer buttons included and with their own black velour holding slot.

Now here is the big thing. Having the WPT on the 500 piece chip set was one thing but these are a special Bellagio Las Vegas set. I was to Las Vegas a couple of months ago so this made my poker chip set feel even more special. Each green, blue, red and brown poker chip has the WPT logo on one side and a nice Bellagio logo on the other. The edges were also nicely rounded so I could blunder through my best attempts at some poker chip tricks.

Does any of this make you play poker any better? Of course not, but when my girlfriends Dad and friends came over I couldnt wait to ask them if they wanted a game. I had to show off my chips. Childish maybe, so what. There were two Bellagio card decks that were in there and another neat and helpful thing was a cheat sheet of card hand rankings so that the newer folks could tell if they should fold or bet.

We all threw in 20 dollars and had a great time sitting around the kitchen table laughing, bluffing and the worst of us blushing. I cant wait for a couple of weeks when we will all be in Mexico together, having a few drinks and laughing while we throw a few chips into the center.

Raymond Burton

Ray Burton is a personal trainer in Calgary Alberta. He has trained for Golds Gym, World Health Club and the Canadian Military. Now running his own personal training company "Buildingbodies Personal Training" and promoting his book "Fat To Fit", Ray enjoys helping people live better lives through fitness.