How To Shuffle Poker Chips With One Hand

Quick instructional video that explains how to shuffle poker chips. Dark video makes it hard to see, but it is a good introduction to doing the shuffling with one hand.

Reputation is everything in the world of poker. In the beginning, it will be intimidating to play the pros. They have stone-cold poker faces, they can bluff, and they can even do poker chip tricks.

Now, this might sound like a joke to some, but poker tricks actually play a big part in the reputation of a player. Have you tried doing some as a casual player? We bet it never ends well. Don’t worry, though – it will come to you with experience.

• Another fun one to learn, Thumb Flicking I don't even play poker any more, but I always have 8 chips by my desk, as it's become something of a habit to pick 3-4 up and thumb flick them, or take the 8 and shuffle them idly while I browse the Internet.
• Start with six chips. Divide them evenly into two stacks, each with its own color. (A correct shuffle should see a single stack with alternating colors.) Place your dominant hand over the two stacks. Put your thumb on one side of the two stacks, and your middle, ring and pinky fingers on the other side of the other stack.
• Set two stacks of chips next to each other, start with just 3 chips in each stack in the beginning. Your thumb and pointer finger surround one stack while your middle, ring, and pinky fingers.
• Please consider subscribing, I am trying to get to 5,000 subs by March 2020:) In this episode of Because It's Hard I learn how to shu.

Are Poker Tricks So Important?

Yes, they are. These tricks are a very big part of the game and a player’s reputation. Of course, they also add a fun element to the game which can get pretty serious at high-stakes tournaments. Players use poker chip tricks as a way to focus or just to show off (we’re not judging).

That being said, doing tricks with your chips is much harder than it sounds. Pros weren’t born with the ability to shuffle them like that – they learned that with a lot of playtime and experience.

Everyone can do poker tricks that come in all shapes and sizes. A chip bounce, for example, is easy even for beginners. The Knuckle Roll, however, requires a lot more pizzazz.

Different Types of Poker Chip Tricks

There are dozens of chip tricks you can learn, but not all of them are equal in difficulty. We can loosely separate them into 3 categories:

How To Shuffle Poker Chips With One Hand Painted

• Level 1 – Finger Flip, Thumb Flip, Chip Bounce
• Level 2 – Johnny Chan, Shuffle, Back to Front or Switch
• Level 3 – Chip Twirl, Muscle Pass, Knuckle Roll, Butterfly Trick

You must know that none of these poker tricks can be earned in minutes. Well, OK, there are some you could learn pretty quickly, but if you want to be like the pros, you’ll have to find tricks and practice.

Then practice some more and more. Why? Well, would you like to be seen on a stream or TV failing a trick in crunch time at big-money tournaments? No, we didn’t think so as well.

Just like any other trick, these things take time. When you finally learn how to do poker chip tricks, though, it’ll be a relief and a massive sense of satisfaction.

After a while, you’ll know how to perform them without looking. As soon as the Knuckle Roll becomes second nature to you, congratulations – you can call yourself a pro.

1. How to Do the Chip Bounce

One of the easier poker chip tricks on this list, the chip bounce involves bouncing a chip off the felt and onto your stack. There’s no special technique involved in it – you just need practice. Feel the weight of the chip and practice the bounce to get it right.

Remember – the angle is key. Just make sure you get it accurately to bag one of the easiest poker tricks of all.

2. How to Do the Finger Flip

You’ve surely seen this trick on TV one too many times. It’s pretty similar to the thumb flip, except you’re using the index finger.

Make sure your ring finger is under the index finger. Keep the middle finger pulled backed out of the way so you can flip the chip. Loosen the chips and pull them down and away from your ring finger when doing the trick.

Just like the Chip Bounce, this one requires a lot of patience and practice. We strongly suggest watching a YouTube tutorial – it will explain things better.

3. How to Do the Shuffle

Ah, the old shuffle. Many new players are anxious to learn this age-old trick that involves shuffling two smaller stacks. You need to lift them off the felt light and shuffle them together like a kind of a tower.

Of course, you’ll need two identical stacks of at least 3-4 chips. Although it looks pretty complicated, watch a YouTube video of how the poker pros shuffle chips. One of the easiest poker chip tricks on this list is pretty simple once you get the hang off it.

4. How to Do the Johnny Chan

Poker legend Johnny Chan invented this trick which looks like an optical illusion. In reality, it’s anything but. It might take you a few tries before you know it by heart, but you’ll eventually get there.

We can rank the Johnny Chan trick into the group of advanced poker chip tricks. You’ll need 6 or more chips to start with depending on how big your hand is. Instead of going step by step, we strongly recommend you watch a video of it.

Or watch the movie Rounders if you haven’t already – it has the great Matt Damon in the lead role. Chan popularized the best of his poker tricks in this movie where he does it a few times.

It really looks cool, to be honest.

5. How to Do the Knuckle Roll

How To Shuffle Poker Chips With One Handed

The Knuckle Roll is one of the best poker chip tricks ever. Period. It’s cool even if you’re not a poker player. When done properly and fast, it looks like the chips are floating over your fingers.

Now, let’s say it right off the bat – this one’s probably the hardest trick to learn. It requires only one chip and as the term explains, it involves the use of your knuckles.

The trick is to roll the chip over your knuckles without it falling. It sounds complicated and it is, so this is one of those poker tricks you’ll need to watch video tutorials for.

But it’s 100% cool. Learn it and everyone will think you’re a pro.

Conclusion

Although poker chip tricks won’t bring you any money, they look great and are a trademark of a pro. Learn the aforementioned and more and you’ll put the fear of God into others.

Or, you know, you’ll look cool at a table even if you lose. That’s something.

OK, let’s learn how to shuffle poker chips… This is probably the most common chip trick, if it can even be called a trick, and pretty much any poker player knows how to do it. It’s a great way to pass time at a poker table and also a great way to relive stress. Actually it’s probably an even better way to relive stress than a stress ball (I usually even shuffle chips while playing online).

Anyway, let’s take it step by step…

Step 1.

Arrange your chips in to two even stacks. Now you have to place your fingers correctly, at first it might feel very unnatural, but with time it will become as easy as holding your remote and turning on the TV.

Place your pinky at the bottom right of your right stacks (Reverse everything if you are left handed). Then place your ring finger on the top right of that same stack. Now you should be at this point:

Doing OK? Great! Let’s continue… put the middle finger between both chip stacks like this:

OK, final part of the grip, place your index finger on the top left of your left stack and your thumb on the bottom left of that same stack. Now you should be at this point:

How To Shuffle Poker Chips With One Handset

Step 2.

All that’s left to do is to shuffle those chips! You do that by pushing both stacks into each other with your thumb, index, ring and pinky fingers and steadily lifting the chips up with your middle finger. When you get smoother at it, your motion should feel a lot like you are petting a cat or something. Some visual instructions:

Oh yeah, and obviously, when they are shuffled in between each other, push them together to get one stack.

Useful tips:

How To Shuffle Poker Chips With One Hand Sanitizer

• Try shuffling only 4 chips at first and add more when you get the hang of it.
• Start of on a soft surface (like a couch or a bed), it’s much easier to shuffle poker chips on a soft surface.
• Practice! It takes some time to learn, but when you do, it’ll be like second nature.

Have fun shuffling poker chips and good luck!