There’s no denying that a mental edge can make a big difference in a poker game. The best mental edge you can have is when your opponents are intimidated by you. The best way to intimidate an opponent is show that you have far more playing experience than they have. A great way to display this is to learn how to do some chip tricks.

When you start shuffling and twirling your chips at the table, all the other players will immediately form an opinion that you’re a skilled and tricky player. Sometimes players will even comment, saying things like “oh, oh we got a pro at the table”. That means they’re intimidated by what you’re doing and you’ll most likely be able to force these players off of pots the whole game. You can really intimidate them if you wait until you win a big pot before displaying your first trick.