Shuffle
Can you name a player that you haven’t seen shuffle chips during the World Poker Tour or World Series of Poker episodes? The sound of shuffling chips can be heard in poker rooms around the world. It happens to be my favorite trick, because once you learn it, you can’t stop. Another popular name for the shuffle is “riffle.”
Before you begin
Trick Difficulty - 2
Chips needed - 6 or more (even numbers work best)
Tutorial
To start this trick, place two stacks of chips (3 chips per stack) side by side on a table.
Practice on a table with a soft surface (such as a poker table) or on a hard pillow. A softer surface will make it easier to lift each stack properly.
For each stack use a different color of poker chip. This will allow you to see if the chips were properly shuffled.
The tutorial will explain how to perform the trick with your right hand.
Start by placing the thumb on the lower left corner of the left stack and the index finger on the upper left corner. The middle finger is placed in the space between the top of the two stacks. The ring finger is placed on the upper right corner of the right stack and the pinky on the lower right corner.
Others like to place the thumb at the middle of the left stack, the index finger in the space at the top of the two stacks, and the other three fingers on the right side of the right stack. I believe this method is harder because you don’t have as much control over the left stack. By using two fingers on the sides of each stack you have much more stability.
Lift up on both stacks with the middle finger. As you lift, lightly push each stack in with the fingers holding the outside edges. Ease up on the pressure applied by the middle finger, let gravity takes its course, and the two stacks will come together as one, alternating chips from each stack.
Once you learn the trick, you don’t even actually push the stacks in. You can use all of your fingers to lift up the stacks and by lifting a little bit more with the middle finger, the chips will easily fall into place.
The Shuffle mousepad makes a place to practice this chip trick on. The mousepad has a soft cloth surface with padding that will allow you to easily pick the chips up. It makes a great gift for the poker player who plays online poker at home or takes a few poker chips to work to practice their tricks.
Comment #30 by Niclas
October 18th, 2004 @ 9:13 PM
Great site! I got the trick after 15 minutes, i thought i was easier to do it if you watched one of the clip at the same time. Work for me.
Comment #29 by Keith
October 18th, 2004 @ 2:02 AM
Hey, this is Keith again, from Comment 22. I just went to a friends house and he had a different type of clay composite chips and I was able to stack them using almost every method on this page. I went back home and STILL can’t stack my own chips. Bottom line: if your chips are too slippery, forget it, no method can keep them from sliding out. It’s not the method, it’s the chips.
Comment #28 by Kris
October 16th, 2004 @ 2:28 PM
I got it! - finally… I tried all the techniques and tips suggested above, but for me David’s “verticle” method worked the best. In fact, after practicing the other techniques for about an hour, I tried David’s method and it clicked almost immediately. After I got to 5 chips in each stack right handed, I switched to the left hand - and it worked instantly! Thanks for sharing this method. Great website!!
Comment #27 by Danny
October 14th, 2004 @ 6:22 PM
I finially figured out the secret to this trick. (at least what works best for me) if you are on a soft surface, you dont need to lift the chips up, instead just softly push the outsides edges down into the soft surface and push the stacks together. The 2 stacks pop right up and fall into place perfect
Comment #26 by Ron
October 14th, 2004 @ 9:54 AM
Just a little note to those still working on this one. YOU WILL GET IT! For the first hour or so of me trying this trick, I just couldn’t seem to get it. My fingers would not work and it seemed un-natural. Then suddenly…It Clicked. Now I don’t even think about it while performing it. Keep practicing!
Comment #25 by David
October 13th, 2004 @ 4:44 PM
The secret is using the right amount of pressure (which just takes practice) and your trigger finger (which is the middle finger for this site’s instruction). If you’re having difficulty, I’d like to suggest a different method which you may or may not find easier. First, take a look at Nick’s video and notice that he places the two stacks side by side horizontally. The method that I use is to place the two stacks side-by-side vertically and use a completely different finger placement. It goes like this:
1. Place the two stacks together, one in front of the other.
2. Place your index and middle finger against the front of the front stack (about 3/4 inch apart) and place your pinky and thumb similarly at the back of the trailing stack. When you have your hand positioned correctly, you’re hand will look somewhat like a covered tent w/ the chips under it (the points where your 4 support fingers touch the table should make a near-perfect rectangle).
3. Practice putting mild pressure from front to back using your two finger sets (Keep your fingers straight, you won’t be using these to pick the chips up, they’re used only to apply pressure). You should be able to do this without having any chips slide out. (This was a method I used to teach one of my friends how to do it).
4. Now comes the trigger finger, which is your remaining ring finger. Now that you’re able to apply pressure towards the middle with both your front and your back fingers, you now place the tip of your ring finger against the bottom chip on the back stack. Because that finger is used to bridge the chips, you must make sure that you’re making contact with the bottom chip as far towards the front of it as possible (which effectively puts your ring finger in a position such that it is in contact w/ both stacks eventhough you’re only concerned with picking up the back stack).
5. Now you put it all together. Apply a little bit of pressure (and getting feel for the right amount of pressure takes more time than any other part of this trick) with both your front fingers and back fingers and as you do this, use your ring finger to pick up that bottom chip on the back stack. As you do all of this, and depending on how many chips you’re using, move your hand up slighly from the table. As you move your hand up (and it’s not much, with 8 chips in each stack, you will move your hand up about 1 inch slowly) all you need to do w/ your four support fingers is keep them in the position that they’re already in, don’t try and guide the chips further with them, you don’t need to. Many people make the mistake that they think they need to guide the chips with the four support fingers but if you keep them in a stable rectangle and raise your hand correctly (think of your hand like a raising cage) the chips will fall nicely, alternating from each stack.
Don’t get frustrated, it takes time to get the feeling and the coordination to make it all work smoothly but once you’ve got it, it’s definitely a feel you’ll retain (plus, you’ll want to do it constantly)
Comment #24 by Jordan
October 13th, 2004 @ 2:01 PM
Rrrgh………I still can’t get it.
What’s the “secret” to this trick?
-JV
Comment #23 by Adrian
October 12th, 2004 @ 7:22 AM
Keith, I have clay chips as well, just bought them..only used them for a few games and I can pull it off.
I don’t know how to describe it, but you kinda have to let gravity do a bit of the work with the shuffle. Once you lift the chips, just relax your hand and let the chips do the work, then slide.
Took me about 15 minutes to get it. And the funny thing is I use my pinky on the left stack, on the lower left part of the stack. Anyway, keep trying you will get it.
Comment #22 by Keith
October 12th, 2004 @ 2:59 AM
I’ve tried everyone’s technics and my chips keeps sliding every which way. Certain technics may have your fingers in place to better prevent this, but I keep having them slide uncontrollably. I’ve got decent clay composite chips, but they’re brand new. Does that hurt the trick? How long to break them in??
Comment #21 by Daxe
October 11th, 2004 @ 6:46 AM
I found that the pressure used to squeeze the chips together is a big factor in how hard this trick is. Try lighter pressure squishing them together. Also, chips with slightly worn edges are easier to learn on. I finally got some brand new chips and can hardly manage it.