diff --git a/app/index.tsx b/app/index.tsx
index 2da8b34..163129f 100644
--- a/app/index.tsx
+++ b/app/index.tsx
@@ -1,11 +1,12 @@
 import React, { useState, useEffect } from "react";
-import { ScrollView, Alert, Button } from "react-native";
+import { ScrollView, Text, Alert, Button } from "react-native";
 import PlayerSelector from "@/components/PlayerSelector";
 import BuyInSelector from "@/components/BuyInSelector";
 import ChipsSelector from "@/components/ChipsSelector";
 import ChipDistributionSummary from "@/components/ChipDistributionSummary";
 import ChipDetection from "@/components/ChipDetection";
 import { saveState, loadState } from "@/components/CalculatorState";
+import { savePersistentState, loadPersistentState } from "@/components/PersistentState";
 
 export enum COLORS {
   "white",
@@ -21,52 +22,76 @@ const IndexScreen: React.FC = () => {
   const [numberOfChips, setNumberOfChips] = useState<number>(5);
   const [totalChipsCount, setTotalChipsCount] = useState<number[]>([]);
 
+  // Load persistent data on startup
   useEffect(() => {
-    const loadSavedState = async () => {
-      const savedState = await loadState("SLOT1"); // Default loading from SLOT1
-      if (savedState) {
-        setPlayerCount(savedState.playerCount);
-        setBuyInAmount(savedState.buyInAmount);
-        setNumberOfChips(savedState.numberOfChips);
-        setTotalChipsCount(savedState.totalChipsCount);
+    const loadPersistentData = async () => {
+      try {
+        console.log("Loading persistent game state...");
+        const savedState = await loadPersistentState();
+        if (savedState) {
+          console.log("Persistent state restored:", savedState);
+          setPlayerCount(savedState.playerCount);
+          setBuyInAmount(savedState.buyInAmount);
+          setNumberOfChips(savedState.numberOfChips);
+          setTotalChipsCount(savedState.totalChipsCount);
+        } else {
+          console.log("No persistent state found.");
+        }
+      } catch (error) {
+        console.error("Error loading persistent state:", error);
       }
     };
-    loadSavedState();
+    loadPersistentData();
   }, []);
 
+  // Save game state to selected slot
   const handleSave = async (slot: "SLOT1" | "SLOT2") => {
     if (buyInAmount === null) {
       Alert.alert("Error", "Please select a valid buy-in amount");
       return;
     }
     const state = { playerCount, buyInAmount, numberOfChips, totalChipsCount };
-    const result = await saveState(slot, state);
-    Alert.alert(result.success ? "Success" : "Error", result.message);
-  };
 
-  const handleLoad = async (slot: "SLOT1" | "SLOT2") => {
-    const loadedState = await loadState(slot);
-    if (loadedState) {
-      setPlayerCount(loadedState.playerCount);
-      setBuyInAmount(loadedState.buyInAmount);
-      setNumberOfChips(loadedState.numberOfChips);
-      setTotalChipsCount(loadedState.totalChipsCount);
-      Alert.alert("Success", `State loaded from ${slot}`);
-    } else {
-      Alert.alert("Info", "No saved state found");
+    try {
+      await saveState(slot, state);
+      await savePersistentState(state);
+      console.log(`Game state saved to ${slot}:`, state);
+      Alert.alert("Success", `State saved to ${slot}`);
+    } catch (error) {
+      console.error("Error saving state:", error);
+      Alert.alert("Error", "Failed to save state.");
     }
   };
 
-  const updateChipCount = (chipData: { [color: string]: number }) => {
-    const chipCountArray = Object.values(chipData);
-    setTotalChipsCount(chipCountArray);
+  // Load game state from selected slot
+  const handleLoad = async (slot: "SLOT1" | "SLOT2") => {
+    try {
+      const loadedState = await loadState(slot);
+      if (loadedState) {
+        setPlayerCount(loadedState.playerCount);
+        setBuyInAmount(loadedState.buyInAmount);
+        setNumberOfChips(loadedState.numberOfChips);
+        setTotalChipsCount(loadedState.totalChipsCount);
+        await savePersistentState(loadedState);
+        console.log(`Game state loaded from ${slot}:`, loadedState);
+        Alert.alert("Success", `State loaded from ${slot}`);
+      } else {
+        Alert.alert("Info", "No saved state found.");
+      }
+    } catch (error) {
+      console.error("Error loading state:", error);
+      Alert.alert("Error", "Failed to load state.");
+    }
   };
 
   return (
     <ScrollView contentContainerStyle={{ padding: 20, flexGrow: 1 }}>
       <PlayerSelector playerCount={playerCount} setPlayerCount={setPlayerCount} />
       <BuyInSelector setBuyInAmount={setBuyInAmount} />
-      <ChipDetection updateChipCount={updateChipCount} />
+      <ChipDetection updateChipCount={(chipData) => {
+        const chipCountArray = Object.values(chipData);
+        setTotalChipsCount(chipCountArray);
+      }} />
       <ChipsSelector
         totalChipsCount={totalChipsCount}
         setTotalChipsCount={setTotalChipsCount}
@@ -86,4 +111,4 @@ const IndexScreen: React.FC = () => {
   );
 };
 
-export default IndexScreen;
+export default IndexScreen;
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/components/PersistentState.tsx b/components/PersistentState.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f235325
--- /dev/null
+++ b/components/PersistentState.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+import AsyncStorage from "@react-native-async-storage/async-storage";
+
+const STORAGE_KEY = "@poker_calculator_state";
+
+export interface PokerState {
+  playerCount: number;
+  buyInAmount: number | null;
+  numberOfChips: number;
+  totalChipsCount: number[];
+}
+
+export const savePersistentState = async (state: PokerState) => {
+  try {
+    await AsyncStorage.setItem(STORAGE_KEY, JSON.stringify(state));
+    return { success: true, message: "State saved successfully" };
+  } catch (error) {
+    return { success: false, message: "Failed to save state" };
+  }
+};
+
+export const loadPersistentState = async (): Promise<PokerState | null> => {
+  try {
+    const storedState = await AsyncStorage.getItem(STORAGE_KEY);
+    return storedState ? JSON.parse(storedState) : null;
+  } catch (error) {
+    return null;
+  }
+};
diff --git a/components/__tests__/PersistentState.test.tsx b/components/__tests__/PersistentState.test.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1626194
--- /dev/null
+++ b/components/__tests__/PersistentState.test.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+import AsyncStorage from "@react-native-async-storage/async-storage";
+import { saveState, loadState, PokerState } from "../CalculatorState";
+
+jest.mock("@react-native-async-storage/async-storage", () => ({
+  setItem: jest.fn(),
+  getItem: jest.fn(),
+}));
+
+describe("CalculatorState.tsx", () => {
+  const mockState: PokerState = {
+    playerCount: 4,
+    buyInAmount: 50,
+    numberOfChips: 5,
+    totalChipsCount: [100, 200, 150, 50, 75],
+  };
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    jest.clearAllMocks();
+  });
+
+  it("should save state successfully", async () => {
+    (AsyncStorage.setItem as jest.Mock).mockResolvedValueOnce(undefined);
+    const result = await saveState("SLOT1", mockState);
+    expect(result.success).toBe(true);
+    expect(result.message).toBe("State saved to SLOT1");
+    expect(AsyncStorage.setItem).toHaveBeenCalledWith("@poker_state_slot1", JSON.stringify(mockState));
+  });
+
+  it("should fail to save state if an error occurs", async () => {
+    (AsyncStorage.setItem as jest.Mock).mockRejectedValueOnce(new Error("Failed to save"));
+    const result = await saveState("SLOT1", mockState);
+    expect(result.success).toBe(false);
+    expect(result.message).toBe("Failed to save state");
+  });
+
+  it("should load state successfully", async () => {
+    (AsyncStorage.getItem as jest.Mock).mockResolvedValueOnce(JSON.stringify(mockState));
+    const result = await loadState("SLOT1");
+    expect(result).toEqual(mockState);
+  });
+
+  it("should return null if no state is found", async () => {
+    (AsyncStorage.getItem as jest.Mock).mockResolvedValueOnce(null);
+    const result = await loadState("SLOT1");
+    expect(result).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it("should return null if an error occurs while loading state", async () => {
+    (AsyncStorage.getItem as jest.Mock).mockRejectedValueOnce(new Error("Failed to load"));
+    const result = await loadState("SLOT1");
+    expect(result).toBeNull();
+  });
+});