# Why do poker players constantly fiddle with their chips? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Tags:** board-card-word-game\ **Created:** [April 20, 2025, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-poker-players-constantly-fiddle-with-their-chips/1017276 "2025-04-20T23:37:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2025, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-poker-players-constantly-fiddle-with-their-chips/1017276/1 "2025-04-20T23:37:29Z")
You can see/hear it in [this video](https://youtu.be/-_bqpDXQpa4) (there are plenty more that you can see/hear it in too). It seems a very common thing. I, personally, find it annoying. Is that the point…to put someone off their game? In golf everyone has to be super silent but when betting a few hundred thousand dollars on the line in one play the other players can make noise? Apparently it is fine. If you want to play poker then learn to deal with that. I just don’t get it. It’s annoying and distracting. In competitive play I’d think the rules would be to sit quietly and let your opponent(s) do their thing. To be clear, I am not a gambler at all. Just wondering why it works this way. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2025, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-poker-players-constantly-fiddle-with-their-chips/1017276/2 "2025-04-20T23:48:49Z")
Look at it the other way - sure it’s a potential distraction to you if your opponent is fiddling with the chips, but it might also be a [tell](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tell_(poker)). A perfectly silent and still poker opponent allows you to concentrate on making your decision - but it also deprives you of potentially valuable information ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2025, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-poker-players-constantly-fiddle-with-their-chips/1017276/3 "2025-04-20T23:49:07Z")
When I do it it’s because of nervous energy in anticipation of my next play. Frankly, it’s like a nervous tic and I don’t think most players even realize they are doing it. I don’t let it bother me when other players do it. It’s just part of the game. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2025, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-poker-players-constantly-fiddle-with-their-chips/1017276/4 "2025-04-21T00:17:35Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Apparently it is fine. If you want to play poker then learn to deal with that. I just don’t get it. It’s annoying and distracting. I do it when I play blackjack. The casinos are usually so noisy, I don’t think I’m annoying anyone. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2025, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-poker-players-constantly-fiddle-with-their-chips/1017276/5 "2025-04-21T00:35:33Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Apparently it is fine. If you want to play poker then learn to deal with that. I just don’t get it. It’s annoying and distracting. In competitive play I’d think the rules would be to sit quietly and let your opponent(s) do their thing. When I play poker I noisily chew my Oreos, speak with a bad Russian accent, and _I splash the pot whenever the fuck I please!_ [Mr. Son-of-a-Bitch, let’s play some cards.](https://youtu.be/fVmOWgnr9ik?si=r7WPpgPwYAEQ6zmX) Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2025, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-poker-players-constantly-fiddle-with-their-chips/1017276/6 "2025-04-21T05:22:01Z")
ADHD, OCD, take your pick. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2025, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-poker-players-constantly-fiddle-with-their-chips/1017276/7 "2025-04-21T07:58:27Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > In golf everyone has to be super silent but when betting a few hundred thousand dollars on the line in one play the other players can make noise? Allow me to introduce you to poker trash talk! 😉 Here’s a high-stakes game weith well-known players - and even a player who’s folded joins in with the talk 😲 [Tony G HILARIOUS trash talk and table banter - poker compilation](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npSpo_gtuf8) ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2025, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-poker-players-constantly-fiddle-with-their-chips/1017276/8 "2025-04-21T14:21:56Z")
While a nervous activity like chip fiddling can be a tell, it can also be the opposite: you fiddle with your chips to pretend you’re nervous, for example, when you have a really good hand. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2025, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-poker-players-constantly-fiddle-with-their-chips/1017276/9 "2025-04-21T14:27:16Z")
Well, 90+% of the time, you’re not actually doing anything at the table. You’re not involved in the current hand, or if you are, it’s somebody else’s action. That’s a lot of dead time to be sitting there still and silent. Most people don’t. There will be some conversation, the same way there always is when you get more than 2 people together. Some people will have little fidget items, but chips are always available. And except at the highest limit tables, most of the time, there’s not that much at stake on any given hand, either. Basically, the way actual live poker works is a little different from TV, where they can edit out everything except the big action hands. It’s a little misleading. If a little chip noise is enough to throw you off, I suggest poker may not be the best game for you. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2025, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-poker-players-constantly-fiddle-with-their-chips/1017276/10 "2025-04-21T14:30:36Z")
This is it for me. Grinding at a table is (or should be) boooooooooooring. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2025, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-poker-players-constantly-fiddle-with-their-chips/1017276/11 "2025-04-21T16:18:52Z")
They do mic the tables for TV so we (edit:viewers) hear the chips better when they (production staff) mix in more of that track. Like side converstaions and, say, eating noises, they try to mix those down & out whule play continues elsewhere at the table. And they also install pocket cams for TV, if course. ---
**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2025, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-poker-players-constantly-fiddle-with-their-chips/1017276/12 "2025-04-21T17:20:47Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > Well, 90+% of the time, you’re not actually doing anything at the table. You’re not involved in the current hand, or if you are, it’s somebody else’s action. This. Plus, it’s fun. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2025, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-poker-players-constantly-fiddle-with-their-chips/1017276/13 "2025-04-21T17:37:37Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > They do mic the tables for TV so we (edit:viewers) hear the chips better This. It’s never that loud and continuous in actual live play where you’re sitting at the table. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2025, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-poker-players-constantly-fiddle-with-their-chips/1017276/14 "2025-04-21T17:52:13Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > It’s never that loud and continuous in actual live play where you’re sitting at the table. Unless you are sitting next to [this asshole](https://youtu.be/Gp2w8KZRzDo?si=PccRKGaZfWgXdBG5). Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2025, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-poker-players-constantly-fiddle-with-their-chips/1017276/15 "2025-04-21T18:02:37Z")
I suspect a lot of poker players go through the effort to practice shuffling chips smoothly with one hand (because it’s a visible skill that a lot of players have), and after all that practice it just becomes a habit. Years ago, some co-workers challenged me to learn pen-spinning, and I did (either hand!), and now after all that practicing, I have to stop myself from automatically doing it. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2025, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-poker-players-constantly-fiddle-with-their-chips/1017276/16 "2025-04-21T18:03:23Z")
Yeah, but that’s not the chips, it’s his mouth. Last time I was in Vegas, there was this one loud-mouthed kid who kept going on about how great he was at poker, and how the rest of us were afraid of him. Except his one strategy was to just go all-in on almost every hand pre-flop. We all knew he was just stealing the blinds with shit hole cards, so we all just waited until we had monster hole cards to kill him. Turned out, it was me who hit the monster hole cards first. Called his all-in with pocket kings, and of course he had trash. After I’d knocked him out, everyone else at the table thanked me for getting rid of him. ---
**Author:** ![Pasta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@Pasta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pasta)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2025, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-poker-players-constantly-fiddle-with-their-chips/1017276/17 "2025-04-21T19:42:27Z")
On a cushioned felt table with casino-quality chips, it’s not loud at all to shuffle chips. On a wooden kitchen table with store-bought weighted hard-plastic chips, it can be deafening. But I tend not to play under those conditions. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2025, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-poker-players-constantly-fiddle-with-their-chips/1017276/18 "2025-04-21T19:53:26Z")
Because the House _strongly discourages_ you from fiddling with your dick. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2025, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-poker-players-constantly-fiddle-with-their-chips/1017276/19 "2025-04-21T20:48:31Z")
How do _you_ know this? 😊 ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2025, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-poker-players-constantly-fiddle-with-their-chips/1017276/20 "2025-04-22T08:52:55Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > Last time I was in Vegas, there was this one loud-mouthed kid who kept going on about how great he was at poker, and how the rest of us were afraid of him. Except his one strategy was to just go all-in on almost every hand pre-flop. We all knew he was just stealing the blinds with shit hole cards, so we all just waited until we had monster hole cards to kill him. > > Turned out, it was me who hit the monster hole cards first. Called his all-in with pocket kings, and of course he had trash. After I’d knocked him out, everyone else at the table thanked me for getting rid of him. I sat down to play low stakes table poker at a casino (we all had the same amount of chips to begin with) and on the initial hand the first player went all-in. 😲 Everyone folded to me (I was last to act.) As I had AK suited, I thought I would risk the call. 😉 The other chap had A6 off suit. 🕶 So I doubled up! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-poker-players-constantly-fiddle-with-their-chips/1017276.md?page=2)