As exciting as offline and online poker games may be, there are undoubtedly moments when you have to wait for another player to decide what to do. If you’re playing online, there are many things you can do to pass the time while you wait, such as checking your email, browsing social media, or watching a quick video, but what are your options when you’re trying to pass the time in a live poker game? 

One of the things you can do to keep your hands and mind busy — and also show off a little — is shuffle poker chips. In this blog, you’ll learn what poker chip shuffling is, how to shuffle poker chips, and some other cool poker chip tricks.

What Is Poker Chip Shuffling?

Poker chip shuffling is simply a fun way to impress people or pass the time (usually during a poker game) by shuffling your poker chips in different ways. Much like shuffling cards and other card tricks, it doesn’t make you any better at poker, but they could thrill others who are watching you. At the very least, shuffling chips can keep your hands and mind busy during slow periods of the game.

How To Shuffle Poker Chips

In some fun and unique variants of poker games, you may not have to worry about filling any downtime. But this isn’t the case for all poker games, where sometimes players take their time to make the right play. Thankfully, you can distract yourself by practicing shuffling poker chips. When it comes to shuffling poker chips, all players shuffle the chips using one method. 

1. First, begin with a stack of at least six poker chips.
   
2. Then, split this stack into two smaller stacks of three chips.
   
3. Pick up each stack using your dominant hand. Place your thumb and pinky on the far side of each of the two stacks, closer to you, followed by your index and ring finger on the far side of the two stacks, further from you. Finally, press your middle finger between the two stacks at the point where they are touching the furthest away from you.
   
4. Use your middle finger to slowly lift the chips while applying pressure on the sides of the chips using your other fingers.
   
5. As you raise the chips and apply pressure, the chips will slot together.

These movements may feel odd at first, but you’ll get used to doing them with time. You’ll even be able to add more chips as you go, making your poker chip shuffling seem even more impressive to those around you.

Other Cool Poker Chip Tricks

When learning how to do tricks with poker chips, shuffling is just the first step on your journey. Here are some of the most popular tricks that you can learn:

1. Poker Chip Thumb Flip

The first of the flashier tricks is the thumb flip. When you do this trick, you’ll use one hand to lift a poker chip up and flip it to the back of a small stack of poker chips in your hand. Follow these steps to perform this trick:

1. Pick up a small stack of three poker chips between your thumb, index, middle, and ring finger and hold it horizontally.
   
2. Use your thumb to apply pressure to the top chip, slowly pushing it upwards and separating it from the rest of the chips.
   
3. As the bottom of the chip starts to reach the top edge of the second chip, use your thumb to flip it to the back of the stack.

And that’s all there is to it.

2. Poker Chip Knuckle Roll

The second trick on this list is the knuckle roll. You’ll have seen other people do this trick before, but they probably used a coin instead of a poker chip. Here’s how to perform the knuckle roll:

1. Hold a single poker chip between your thumb and your index finger.
   
2. Using your thumb, slide the poker chip towards the top of your index finger until it’s balanced along the top of your index finger. Make sure to keep a gap between your middle and index finger.
   
3. Again, using your thumb, gently press up to flip the poker chip toward your middle finger while moving your middle finger toward your index finger. If done correctly, the poker chip will slide and end up pinched between your index and middle finger.
   
4. Use your index finger to gently lift the poker chip until it’s balanced on the top of your middle finger. Make sure there’s a gap between your middle and ring finger.
   
5. Again, using your index finger, gently press up to flip the poker chip toward your ring finger while moving your ring finger toward your middle finger. If done correctly, the poker chip will slide and be pinched between your middle and ring finger.
   
6. Use your middle finger to gently lift the poker chip until it’s balanced on the top of your ring finger. Make sure there’s a gap between your ring finger and pinky.
   
7. Again, using your ring finger, gently press up to flip the poker chip towards your pinky while moving your pinky towards your ring finger. If done correctly, the poker chip will slide and be pinched between your ring and pinky finger.
   
8. Once pinched between your ring and pinky finger, you can use your thumb to bring it back to the start.

Once you’ve gotten these basic steps down, all you need to do is practice so you can get faster and faster.

3. Poker Chip Twirl

The last trick on this list is less well-known but can still be impressive. It involves holding a stack of three poker chips, pulling out the middle one, flipping it, and putting it back in between two poker chips, all with one hand. Here are the steps to learning this trick:

1. Begin by holding the three poker chips between your index finger and thumb.
   
2. You then use your middle finger to slowly slide out the middle poker chip a little.
   
3. With the middle poker chip poking out from between the other two chips, you then push the middle chip out using your ring finger, ensuring it slips between your middle and ring finger.
   
4. You can then use your middle finger to twirl the chip.
   
5. Once you’re done twirling the poker chip, use your ring finger to slide it back between the other two poker chips that are still between your thumb and index finger.

And that’s it for the last poker chip trick on this list. These four poker chip tricks could impress some of those around you or keep you busy while you wait during a poker game. 

Play Good Old-Fashioned Online Poker and More at Borgata Online

While shuffling poker chips might be an impressive party trick or an interesting way to keep your hands busy between turns, there are times when you’ll just want to sit down and play. When you just want to get straight into the action with some real-money poker games, be sure to take a look at what Borgata Online has to offer.

Borgata Online’s excellent online poker service has everything casual and competitive poker players could want, including exciting cash games to play 24/7 and regular daily and weekly poker tournaments. These poker games are available in the Texas hold’em or pot-limit Omaha variants, so be sure to take a seat at your favorite virtual poker table.
All this and even more excitement are waiting for you when you register at Borgata Online.