Casino staff usually reference chips as "cheques," being of French ancestry. Technically, there is a distinction amidst a chip and a cheque. A cheque is a chip with a amount imprinted on its face and is always worth the amount of the written denomination. Chips, although, don’t have denominations imprinted on them and any colour can be worth any amount as determined by the house. e.g., in a poker tournament, the casino may value white chips as 1 dollar and blue chips as ten dollars; while, in a game of roulette, the house may define white chips as 25 cents and blue chips as $2. A different instance, the inexpensive red, white, and blue plastic chips you can get at K-Mart for your weekend poker game are known as "chips" owing to the fact that they don’t have values imprinted on them.
When you put your $$$$ down on the table and hear the croupier say, "Cheque change only," he is just advising the boxman that a new individual would like to exchange $$$$$$ for chips (cheques), and that the money on the table is not in play. money plays in almost all betting houses, so if you put a $5 bill on the Pass Line just prior to the shooter tossing the bones and the dealer does not trade your $$$$$$ for cheques, your money is "part of the action." When the croupier indicates, "Cheque change only," the boxman understands that your $$$$$ isn’t in play.
Technically, in live craps rounds, we play with cheques, and not chips. Occasionally, a player will approach the craps table, put down a 100 dollar cheque, and say to the croupier, "Cheque change." It’s amusing to act like a beginner and say to the dealer, "Hey, I am new to this game, what’s a cheque?" Generally, their comical responses will amuse you.