[dinghovery]

I watch tournaments and see many players stacking chips (but not all). Some do very nice tricks. I've always wondered:

"What % of Poker Players Do Tricks With Their Chips?"

So I am adding a Poll to get an informal sampling from the poker players on Chiptalk. Vote and be counted...

[Wylecoyo]

The only chip trick I know is building large stacks of my opponents chips in front of me.

I haven't been able to pull it off the last two times I have played, but am hoping to again soon.

[links_slayer]

Seldomly.

I'm not coordinated enough.

[kyle9]

I do them quite often, but I am trying to stop, since I'll find myself paying attention to my technique for the chip trick, and not paying attention to my opponents.

[checkm8r]

I do shuffle chips on occasion, but not sure if you're counting that as a chip trick...

[Wylecoyo]

Originally Posted by checkm8r

I do shuffle chips on occasion, but not sure if you're counting that as a chip trick...

I have never been able to shuffle chips. Haven't really spent more than about two minutes trying to practice, so I guess I can only blame myself.

[AlbinoDragon]

I mainly shuffle... not really considered a chip trick. Pretty well restricted to that, and the "cut a stack and put the bottom on top with one hand" bit. It keeps idle hands busy. I only do these when I'm not in a hand. I'm afraid shuffling of one form or another might act as a tell in I'm in.

The only tricks I do is the chip flip you saw Le Chiffre doing in Casino Royale. I had been doing that with quarters back when I was 8 (picked it up watching The Right Stuff). At one point, my Dad half-scolded me for doing it in public as he said "that's an old bar trick" and wasn't all that appropriate for a young child to do. I picked it back up with chips and find it's a lot easter than it was with quarters. In fact, I can't do that with quarters anymore.

The other trick I'm trying to get better at I picked up watching HSP several weeks back. I saw Todd Brunson shuffling and he did something that caught my eye. Thankfully for the DVR, I was able to play it in slow-motion to figure it out. He took the top few chips off a stack, moved them to his pinky and ring fingers (held against the palm), picked up another few chips off the stack (with the same hand) put the first few back onto the stack and the new ones on top of those. All with one hand. Basically a variation of the cut the stack (mentioned above), but rather than putting the top stack down on the table, you hold them and return them to the stack first.

That's the limit of my repertoire. My fingers are too short and stubby to do anything more sophisticated. Trust me, I've tried! That said, the people in my home game keep having me try to teach them even the basic shuffle.

It is fun as I've noticed in the local casino, there won't be much of anything, even shuffling. If I get started, you see others start and even more try to start. Maybe a good trick to get them distracted.

[the3rd]

When I'm not in a hand, I'm constantly doing tricks. I don't know the names, but there are about 5 that I do with regularity.

[SDRamones]

tricks while playing

[99%evil]

I regularly saw a chip in half, make a chip disappear and have a tiger appear in it's place, turn a pile of chips into 20 white doves...you know typical chip tricks.