Switch
You may have seen it called the back to front. I call it the switch because that is what you are doing…switching the location of one or more poker chips. I don’t like the name back to front, because depending on how you look at it, you are also doing a front to back with other chips while doing a back to front. At first glance, this trick looks very similar to a few of the other tricks, but it is quite a different move.
Before you begin
Trick Difficulty - 2
Chips needed - 2 or more
Tutorial
Setup the trick by placing the chips in between your index and ring fingers in a perpendicular fashion. The middle finger is used as a backstop to prevent the chips from falling. Apply pressure to the chips with your index and ring fingers so that the chips do not fall over.
Using your thumb, roll the chip closest to your palm out onto the ring finger and then down to the pinky.
Once the chip is on your pinky it should only be held now by the thumb and pinky finger. At the same time, pull the pinky and thumb in towards your botton and kind of push out the other fingers, away from your body. This creates a seperation between the two chip holdings. Once you have enough seperation, move your three finger group (index, middle, and ring) in towards your palm.
You may actually think you are moving the thumb and pinky, but they are stationary in this part of the trick.
After you’ve moved these three fingers in towards your palm you should now have a clear shot to bring the chip and place it on the opposite end of where you took it from.
Bring the two chip holdings together. As you bring in the chip with your thumb and pinky, the edge should come in contact with your ring finger. Once this happens you can let go of the chip with your pinky. Simply roll the chip back up into place with your thumb.
Instead of simply moving one chip at a time, you can do more. See the Double video for an example.
This trick makes a good combination with the thumb flip. See the Combo video for an example.
Comment #18 by Marco
March 7th, 2006 @ 5:13 AM
First of all, great site! I managed to to alle the level1 tricks and also the shuffle (once you get it, it’s the easiest and most fun trick of them all
)
But i got the same problem like the most of you. There is absolutey no way to move the 3 fingers with the stack towards the palm.
But like someone said, if you hold the stack with just you index and middle finger and roll the one chip on your ring finger (and/or pinky), it’s much more easy to get the chip around the stack.
I’m still learning, but i manage to do it slowly this way. Maybe it helps a little bit.
Comment #17 by oOoDRAGOONoOo
February 4th, 2006 @ 6:13 PM
Ya I’m having the same problem as you guys; it’s hard to extend the pinky thumb chip outward and the other chips inward.
I think I’ve figured it out tho, try this guys.
-when you roll the chip down to your pinky with your thumb, grab the chip and roll it down with the crease of your thumb
-as you see in the video he uses the upper part of his thumb to grab the chip, try using the lower part of your thumb(crease line)
This will somehow give you more leaverage to push the chip out.
Hope this helps.
Comment #16 by lacey
January 31st, 2006 @ 11:23 AM
i just picked up my first set of ‘real’ chips (well, more real than the plastic ones i used to play for fun with) and have started to work through the tricks. i’ve been stuck on a couple and i find that pausing the video and then dragging the bar slowly, almost frame by frame, helps a lot in filling in parts of the text i hard time understanding.
as for not being able to control your pinky on its own, you should be able to train, or basically strengthen your fingers so you can get them to move individually. hold your hand out, extending your fingers so there are spread apart from each other, imagine that you are looking at your new manicure fellas. now bring your index, middle, and ring finger tight together. you’re pinky will likely try to pull in too. using your other hand, hold the three fingers together and then concentrate on thrusting you pinky in the opposite direction. you should be able to since you are holding the other three together. keep doing that until you are building up some strength in the pinky. eventually stop holding the three fingers together with your other hand. after you have that down pretty well, start moving your pinky towards the rest and back away. i think it’s kinda like spock on star trek. if this is tough to do at first, hold your three fingers with your other hand again. keep working on it until you are able to easily able to control your pinky w/o your other fingers. you can obviously do this for all your fingers. i actually found it easiest to start with your index+middle and ring+pinky. continue by training your head and finger muscles so you can bend each finger individually. as always, start by holding the other fingers straight and together with your off hand. i also find it’s good to grab a stack of 4 or so chips and start teaching your fingers to move independently around the stack. ie, putting your thumb and index finger together on one ’side’ of the stack, while the other three on together on the opposite side. again, go through all the different combinations until your fingers and limber and autonomous.
Comment #15 by Waldo
January 13th, 2006 @ 2:55 AM
I find most tricks on this site very very hard to do. I practice and practice but get nowhere. I find the text on each trick is not detailed enough and need to explain where pressure is at each point of the trick as well as other specifics.
Comment #14 by John
September 23rd, 2005 @ 8:06 AM
I’m having minor problems with this, too. But I find it much easier when done fast.
Comment #13 by jebediah
September 2nd, 2005 @ 8:16 PM
when i try to slide the chip back in line with the others, i can’t move the stack in very far and my grip collapses, the chips are just laying in my open hand. little help?
Comment #12 by Nick
August 24th, 2005 @ 10:04 PM
I suppose you could try it by holding the chips with your index and middle finger and then pull the chip out with your thumb and onto the ring. But then you’d have to pull the ring finger away and you’d run into your problem again because the middle finger would also want to move. I’ve tried it and the pinky is much easier to use.
Comment #11 by schwarzy65
August 24th, 2005 @ 8:26 PM
I’ve noticed a lot of people having trouble with this trick, and I know I’m one of them. I think I’ve figured out that it’s due to my pinky finger. If you try to clench just your pinky in your palm, your ring finger wants to move too. There’s a muscle or tendon or something that connects your pinky and your ring finger. This is why most people can’t move the rest of the hand away from the pinky and thumb, as the ring and pinky usually want to do the same. I think I’ve identified the problem, well my problem at least, but I’m not sure how to get around it. Any way to do the trick without using the pinky?