Shuffling isn’t just for cards. You can shuffle chips too. And let’s face it, you’re never going to look cool until you can shuffle your chips convincingly, so practice is required. Not only do chip tricks look pretty impressive, they are guaranteed to distract and irritate your opponents as the beads of sweat form on their foreheads during the most intense poker games.
We’ve grouped some popular chip tricks into three levels according to dexterity and skill. Start small and work your way up to some complicated rolls and fans that will have your opponents quaking between hands.
Beginner chip tricks
The Backspinner
You need a smooth surface for this, such as… well, a poker table! That makes sense, right? Chances are if you have poker chips you’ll have the table kicking around as well.
First hold a single chip on the table between your thumb and index finger. Push on the side of the chip to push it forward across the smooth felt, creating a backspin effect. The chip will move forwards, stop and roll back in a straight line. And that’s it!
Note: rolling chips around on poker tables isn’t a great idea in casinos. People don’t take kindly to tricks that interrupt the game. You might also cross the betting line by accident which defeats the object of spinning the chip back towards yourself.
The Shuffle
Start with six chips arranged in two piles of three. Make sure they’re just touching each other. Arrange your fingers around the stacks as shown in the video above. Your thumb should be on the lower left-hand corner of one stack, the index finger should rest between them, and the middle and ring fingers should sit on the right stack. (Seriously, just watch the video. It’s easier that way).
Push the stacks together, and at the same time, gently drag the stacks up and apart with your index finger. You should apply just enough pressure to force the two stacks apart and allow one stack to slip into the other. Try using two different coloured stacks so you can easily see what’s happening.
Tip: Place your stacks on a soft surface. Try a cushion, the arm of a chair or on the back of a nearby cat. Being able to lever the chips up will make it easier to lift them neatly. Once you master six chips, move up to eight, ten (or as many as your cat will tolerate without running away).
The Switch
This move involves holding four chips and flipping them over so they appear to change position in an instant.
First, hold the chips between the ring finger and the index finger. The chip closest to the palm of your hand is then rolled out of the stack and to your pinky. Pause there, holding the rogue chip between your thumb and pinky. Consider how cool you’re going to look in about thirty seconds’ time. Yep. Pretty good.
Now, push your thumb and pinky downwards while lifting the other fingers up. This separates the two chips completely and brings the larger stack towards the palm of your hand. Put the lonesome chip back on the opposite side to its original position. Roll it into place with your thumb and soak up the applause.
The Finger Roll
This is one of the few tricks you can perform with just one poker chip. You will, however, still need five whole fingers for a complete roll, so if you’re a cast member on the Simpsons, you’re out of luck.
Start by holding a chip between your index finger and thumb. The thin edge should be facing your fingers. Roll the chip across your middle finger, using your index finger to guide it. Grab the chip with your middle finger and roll again, this time using the middle finger to keep it on track. Keep going until it reaches the pinky, then roll it back again. Speed up until you have it down, then move on to the Knuckle Roll.
The Knuckle Roll
This is also called the hand roll. (Not the ham roll. That’s something else entirely.) It involves rolling the chip between your fingers and flipping it along the back of your hand in the same way as the Finger Roll.
Start by holding the chip between your thumb and index finger. Your thumb pushes the chip up and over your index finger until it’s resting there. Life up your middle finger and snag the chip to pull it down between the index and middle fingers. Lower the middle finger so the chip is flipped onto the back of your hand again. Pass the chip along the backs of your fingers, then tuck your thumb underneath and drop it to complete the roll. If you’re feeling snazzy, roll it back up to the thumb again and continue until your opponent is hypnotised.
Intermediate chip tricks
The Chip Twirl
This one sounds like some kind of robotic dance move, and it’s almost as impressive. It actually involves holding a bunch of chips, removing one, flipping it in the same hand and putting it back.
Pick up three chips and hold them between your index and ring fingers. The chips should be held tight so you can tilt your hand without dropping them. Use your thumb to lever the chip closest to you, then the chip furthest away, and lift them up together. With practice, you will be able to do this so quickly that it appears they rise from your grasp at the same time. The chip that was in the middle stays in position.
Use your pinky to to hold the single chip and remove your ring finger. This gives you the axis you need to spin that single chip through 180 degrees, pushing it with your middle finger. Once you’ve flipped it, bring all three chips back together into a stack.
If all this seems a little confusing, don’t worry. You can do the Chip Twirl with two chips til you get the hang of it, but it looks so much better with three.
The Chan
This trick is named after Johnny Chan in Rounders. Rounders the movie, not the game. Although maybe he played rounders too. Who knows?
Cup a stack of chips in your hand. You should go for a meaty handful of six or more. Rest them against your pinky at a 45 degree angle and hold them there with your ring finger.
Stretch your thumb over and grab the chips furthest away from the palm. Loosen three of them and roll them between the thumb and ring finger, then onto the middle finger. Keep rolling and hold them with the index finger and thumb.
Pick up your three chips and hold them aloft with your index finger and thumb. Release the chip closest to the tip of your index finger so it can roll away. Your middle finger and ring finger act as guide rails, and it will come to rest in its original spot. Do the same with the other chips and bathe in the glory of new-found skills.
The Elevator
In this trick, you’re bringing a chip from the bottom of the stack to the top in one slinky movement that’s guaranteed to make you more sexually attractive.
Stack three chips vertically on the table in front of you. Gather your fingers around the stack. Your thumb should be at three o’clock (or nine o’clock if you’re left handed: we’re not expecting miracles here). Your middle finger should be opposite, and your ring and pinky fingers should be right below the middle finger.
Use your index finger to apply pressure to the chip on the bottom of the stack. You’ll need to press your index finger against your thumbnail and use the side of your fingertip to hold the chip steady.
Finally, flip the chip upwards onto the top of the stack. To do this, aim the bottom chip upwards with your index finger. After a little practice, you’ll get the aim just right.
Advanced chip tricks
The Magic Re-Stack
If you have large hands, you’re in luck. Finally your sausagey digits have a purpose, and it’s called the Magic Re-Stack. This is the moment your flappy fingers have been waiting for: a chip shuffle that only the most shovel-handed of poker players can pull off. It involves holding chips from the top of a stack and replacing them at the bottom without putting them down onto the felt. You’ll need a certain amount of dexterity to pull this one off, but if you’ve got a healthy stack of chips, you may as well flaunt them (and your freakish hands).
First, grab a section at the top of the stack with your middle, ring and pinky fingers. (Yes, this is painful. We forgot to mention that part, sorry.) Aim for a minimum of four chips – five if you can manage it. With four chips firmly gripped in your fingers, move them down and to the left of the main stack as though you’re pretending to put them down. Aha! But you’re not. With your index finger and thumb, pick up four more chips from your stack. You’re now holding eight, and your hand will look like a weird hoof. Trust me, you will look cool eventually.
The chips between the index finger and thumb are now placed on top of the first pile you picked up, and the whole lot are placed back onto the original stack in one smooth movement. Hoorah! You completed the Magic Re-Stack, a trick reserved for poker pros like Phil Ivey.
The Butterfly
This is it: the trick to stop traffic. The trick that will make you realise your true direction in life. The trick that gives new meaning to the phrase ‘five knuckle shuffle’. OK, perhaps not that. Anyway, this is a trick that involves all five fingers (including associated knuckles) and a wodge of four chips. You’ll need to practice hard to roll the chips correctly without dropping them.
First, hold four chips between your index and ring fingers. Your middle finger helps to hold them in place. Hold the chips where the crease is at the top of your finger. Loosen the two chips closest to the palm with a tweak of the thumb and roll them onto the index finger. The other two chips are rolled away in the other direction, carefully passed along until they are wedged between the ring finger and pinky.
You’re now holding two chips between index and thumb, and two between ring and pinky. Unless you dropped them. If you did, now’s a good time to pick them up and start again.
Your middle finger should be feeling neglected at this point, but it’s about to get a piece of the action. Waggle it around a bit like the guy does in the video above, then slip it through the two piles of chips. You can now rest the chips on it. The two piles are now being supported by all of your fingers. We’re now about 28 seconds in to the video above.
Now for the tricky part.
With your thumb, loosen the chip closest to your palm in the stack you’re holding with your thumb and forefinger. Without moving any other chips, roll it out and separate the two. Using the middle finger as leverage, do the same movement with the chips on the other side, separating the top one and sliding it towards the pinky. You’re aiming to pull the two piles apart so you have four separate chips.
If your fingers are correctly positioned, you’ll be holding four chips between them in a fan.
Congratulations! You’ve completed our most difficult chip trick! Now all you have to do is learn how to play poker.
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