Twirl

Poker amateurs may have first seen this trick when Gus Hansen performed it on an episode of the World Poker Tour. Dutch Boyd and countless others have also done it during World Series of Poker episodes. It is one of the hardest tricks to learn, but one of the most fun to do. Other popular names for the twirl are “chip spin” or “chip twirl.”

Before you begin

Trick Difficulty - 3
Chips needed - 3

Note #1
There are variations that use more than 3 chips, which I’ll discuss later.

Tutorial

Start by holding 3 chips between the index and ring fingers (perpendicular to the fingers), with the middle finger bracing the back of the chips. The grip is exactly the same as when you start the thumb flip. The chips shouldn’t be any closer to the finger tips than a half an inch.

Using the thumb, loosen the two outer chips. Only the middle chip is still held firmly with the index and ring fingers. Once loose, pull these two outer chips up with your thumb so that they are held by the thumb and index finger.

Tip #1
You can also view this as pulling the single chip down and out with the ring finger.

Note #2
This next section is different from the way that you will see most people do the twirl, but I believe it’s easier this way. I’ll discuss the other variation at the end of the tutorial.

As the ring finger pulls away and the chip rolls along the index finger, bring up the pinky to grab the bottom of the chip. Once you have a firm hold, remove the ring finger from the chip.

Place your middle and ring fingers on the edge of the chip held by the index finger and pinky. Bend these two fingers in towards the palm, spinning the chip 180 degrees in the process by using the index finger and pinky as axis points.

Tip #2
By using two fingers to spin the chip, you have more control.

Once the chip is perpendicular to the fingers, carefully pull the middle and ring fingers out. With your pinky roll the chip along the index finger and back up. At the same time, the thumb helps to bring the outer chips down so that the single chip gets inserted back in between the two.

Tip #3
This trick has several hard parts. Seperating the outside chips from the middle chip can be difficult the first few times you try. Spinning the chip, but keeping it in place between your fingers can get extremely frustrating at times. Stay patient, keep practicing, and you’ll catch on.

Variations

After pulling out the middle chip, a lot of people like to keep it between the ring and index fingers. They then spin it with only the middle finger. I’ve found this method to be more difficult. By bringing up the pinky and using it as an axis, you are able to get more distance between the two groups of chips, making it easier to complete the spin. I’ve also found it to be more stable to spin the chip with two fingers instead of one and this would not be possible if you didn’t use the pinky as an axis.

Once you can easily spin the middle chip, try using a total of 4 chips. Pull the two inside chips out and spin them both before inserting them back in the between the outer chips. Or take 5 chips, only pulling out one and spinning it.

Videos

Updated: September 24, 2004 @ 7:11 pm

88 Responses to “Twirl”

Pages: « 9 … 7 6 [5] 4 3 … 1 »

Comment #50 by Paul
December 15th, 2004 @ 8:46 PM

Help.. i can seperate the chips ..then i have the chip on my pinky..then i try to attempt to spin it with my ring finger..and the chip just falls onto my fingers..whats wrong ?
Comment #49 by john
December 15th, 2004 @ 3:46 PM

now im really getting tired twirling the chip… i just cant get it…ive been trying it for a few weeks…anyone got tips?
Comment #48 by john
December 15th, 2004 @ 3:36 PM

I was able to seperate the middle chip but had lots of trouble spinning the chip
Comment #47 by Jeff
December 12th, 2004 @ 10:59 AM

I’ve figured out a really good way to ease the separation part of the trick.

I noticed while watching some old WPTs that the pros (Gus and Scott at least) will do a thumb flip before starting a chip twirl.

This works wonders. If you do a single thumb flip first, the result is that the first and third chips are raised slightly higher than the middle chip automatically. Just don’t tighten them back up after the thumb flip (I was doing this out of habit before I realized it All you have to do after the flip is raise your thumb up holding the two outer chips and the middle is left resting on your ring finger just like you want.

The separation is extremely fast and simple this way. But you need to get really good at the thumb flip first… hope this helps.

Jeff
Comment #46 by Neil
December 7th, 2004 @ 11:01 AM

I got this trick sussed after a couple of days. Thought I had the secret worked out loads of times, but in the end its just practice. But one thing I can definitely recommend (and I used to consciously have to do this but it comes naturally now) is to make sure that pinky and index finger are rougly opposite each other. The more exact, the better the spin, and less chance of it falling out. Obvious really but I didn’t think of it for ages.
I also find after you start to get it coming natural, a looser grip is easier.
And I wouldn’t worry too much about gravity, I like to do the trick with all of the chips horizontal (looks better to me when I do it
Keep up the good work, this site’s great.
Comment #45 by Drew
December 2nd, 2004 @ 3:44 AM

Alright, I am having toubles with the spin part as well, except the chip slides off my index finger instead of my ring finger. Any suggestions on how to fix this?
Comment #44 by Peter
November 29th, 2004 @ 4:34 PM

For those having difficulty with the spin. Since you are pushing the chip towards you, I would try to start the spin by having slightly more then half of the chip away from you when its between your index and ring/pinky finger. Like anything else practice practice practice…

Great site!
Comment #43 by Patrik Q
November 27th, 2004 @ 10:02 AM

I just love this site thanks for all the tips, im sooo close to nailing this one .
Comment #42 by Aaron
November 22nd, 2004 @ 1:11 PM

the twirl was the first trick i ever learned. I found it easier to do it without using the pinky at all. Catch the middle chip with your ring finger, seperate the chips, spin the middle chip between your middle finger between the ring and the index.
As for the spinning and it falling flat, just practice. Try it for 15 mins, leave it alone, come back later and try it again….you’ll get it.
Comment #41 by Brett
November 21st, 2004 @ 3:14 PM

I’ve got the middle chip drop down pat, but when I start to spin the chip, it wants to walk off of my pinky, even with a tight grip. What’s up with that?