Poker Chip Tricks for Beginners: The Chip Riffle and More

Every poker table has someone shuffling chips between hands. It is a nervous habit, a party piece and — once you can do it — very hard to stop. These are the chip tricks to learn, in order of difficulty.

1. The chip riffle (chip shuffle)

The classic. Two stacks of chips become one, perfectly interleaved, with one hand.

1. Make two equal stacks of three chips side by side on the felt, touching. (Move up to five or more each later.)
2. Place your hand over them: thumb against the outside of the left stack, middle and ring fingers against the outside of the right stack, index finger resting on the front where the stacks meet, and little finger at the back.
3. Squeeze gently inwards with thumb and fingers so the stacks press together and their inner edges lift slightly off the felt.
4. Let the inner edges drop, slowly relaxing the pressure. The chips fall alternately and interleave.
5. Push the stacks together with your thumb and fingers and square them up with your index finger.

The hardest part is the lift. Practise on felt, with heavy chips; on a hard table or with light chips, the stacks slide apart.

2. The thumb flip

1. Hold one chip on edge, upright, between your thumb and index finger.
2. Flick the bottom edge upwards with your thumb, so the chip spins up and over your index finger.
3. Catch it between index and middle finger.

3. The twirl

Hold a chip on edge between your thumb and middle finger. Use your index finger to spin it around the axis between thumb and finger, like a tiny wheel. Keep it spinning with flicks of the index finger.

4. The knuckle roll

The chip walks across the backs of your fingers.

1. Balance a chip flat on the back of your index finger, between the first and second knuckles.
2. Tip it with your thumb so it rolls over onto your middle finger.
3. Lift your index finger to flip it on; lower the middle finger to receive it.
4. Repeat to the little finger, then pass it back underneath with your thumb.

Start with a large coin or chip and go slowly. This takes weeks, and it is the same move magicians use with a coin.

5. The chip walk (the butterfly)

Hold three or four chips in a small stack between thumb and fingers, then pass them one at a time from finger to finger in a wave. It looks complicated but is a combination of the moves above.

Which chips make it easier

• Heavier chips, around 10 to 14 grams, are much easier than light plastic ones. Clay chips with a metal insert sit flat, grip each other and do not slide.
• The same size and thickness for every chip in a riffle — mixing chips from different sets makes the stacks uneven.
• A felt surface. A table topper or a mat gives the stacks just enough grip.

Etiquette

Chip tricks are fine between hands and while you wait. During someone else's big decision, put them down — the clatter is distracting. More on poker etiquette.