[IndyGuy]

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buy some casino type poker chips, learn a few shuffles/tricks at home, have a beer, relax

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Don't buy some casino chips, don't learn any shuffles/tricks at home, have a beer, relax. Chip tricks don't win pots and contrary to what Dutch Boyd would have you believe, it is *NOT* intimidating at the poker table.

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I'm pretty sure he just said to do this so that OP would get comfortable handling chips. I think it's a good idea. Obviously, chip tricks don't win pots, but handling chips is part of the B&M experience, so a little practice at home wouldn't hurt.

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Telling someone they need to practice chip tricks to play poker is like telling someone who's training for a marathon that they need to practice by setting up a card table with lots of cups of water so they can properly run by and grab a cup successfully during the race - while it may be part of the actual event, it's so insignificant to the actual going ons of the event that it's pointless to practice.