Chopping Blinds
Chopping blinds is when the small blind and big blind take back their bets after everyone else folds.
The simple explanation
When all players fold to the small blind, the two blinds can agree to take back their blinds and skip the hand. This is called chopping the blinds. It saves time and, in rooms that take a rake even when no flop is dealt, it also saves the rake. It is a courtesy that some players expect and others avoid, so ask the table.
A closer look
Chopping is a table agreement and is normally decided in advance by the whole table. Etiquette frowns on choosing hand by hand, which gives one player an unfair choice after seeing their cards. Many rooms follow a 'no flop, no drop' rule and take no rake from a pot that ends before the flop; there the saving is mostly time. In rooms that do take rake from such pots, chopping also avoids the rake. Tournaments usually do not allow it.
A practical example
Everyone folds to the small blind in a $1/$2 game. The small blind and big blind agree to chop. Each takes back the blind he posted and the next hand begins.
Full explanation
Chopping blinds is when the small blind and big blind take back their bets after everyone else folds.
Chopping blinds means the small blind and big blind return their bets to each other when everyone else has folded, and no hand is played.
The practice is common in cash games. It keeps the game moving when the blinds are small, and in rooms that rake pots that end before the flop it avoids that rake.
Good etiquette holds that the table agrees in advance whether to chop. Players should not chop only when it suits their cards, since that gives them an edge after seeing the hand.
If your table has agreed to chop, the dealer returns the chips to each blind and proceeds to the next hand.