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Casino personnel normally refer to chips as "cheques," being of French ancestry. In reality, there is a difference amidst a chip and a cheque. A cheque is a chip with a value written on its face and is always worth the value of the imprinted number. Chips, although, do not have denominations written on them and any colour can be worth any dollar value as determined by the dealer. e.g., in a poker tournament, the house may value white chips as one dollar and blue chips as $10; whereas, in a game of roulette, the croupier might state that white chips as $0.25 and blue chips as $2. A different example, the cheap red, white, and blue poker chips you purchase at the department store for your weekend poker get together are referred to as "chips" because they don’t have denominations written on them.
When you put your cash down on the craps table and hear the dealer say, "Cheque change only," he is merely telling the box man that a new patron wants to exchange $$$$$ for chips (cheques), and that the $$$$$ on the table is not part of the action. $$$$$ plays in most betting houses, so if you lay a five dollar bill on the Pass Line just prior to the shooter throwing the dice and the dealer doesn’t trade your money for cheques, your money is "in play." When the croupier says, "Cheque change only," the boxman understands that your money isn’t in play.
In reality, in land based craps games, we play with cheques, not chips. Ever so often, a gambler will walk up to the the craps table, drop a one hundred dollar cheque, and say to the croupier, "Cheque change." It’s fun to act like a novice and ask the dealer, "Hey, I am new to Craps, what is a cheque?" Frequently, their wacky answers will entertain you.
