Bottom dealing or base dealing is a
sleight of hand
Sleight of hand (also known as prestidigitation or ''legerdemain'' ()) refers to fine motor skills when used by performing artists in different art forms to entertain or manipulate. It is closely associated with close-up magic, card magic, card ...
technique in which the bottom card from a deck of playing cards is dealt instead of the top card. It is used by
magicians as a type of card illusion, and by
card sharp
A card sharp (also cardsharp, card shark or cardshark, sometimes hyphenated) is a person who uses skill and/or deception to win at poker or other card games. "Sharp" and "shark" spellings have varied over time and by region.
The label is n ...
s and
mechanic
A mechanic is an artisan, skilled tradesperson, or technician who uses tools to build, maintain, or repair machinery, especially cars.
Duties
Most mechanics specialize in a particular field, such as auto body mechanics, air conditioning and ...
s, and as a method of
cheating in poker or other card games.
The deck is typically held in a modified
mechanic's grip in the dealer's non-dominant hand. The dealer slides the top card partially off the deck as if to deal it, while the dominant hand instead takes hold of the bottom card. The card is snapped away from the deck while the top card is reset.
Unless the dealer is particularly skilled at bottom dealing, the technique produces a slightly different sound from standard dealing, and the second-to-bottom card may be drawn slightly out of place. This is called a "hanger."
Bottom dealing and
second dealing both have application in
performance magic.
[
Bottom dealing and second dealing, pp. 27-31.][
The Glide, pp. 97-99.]
Bottom dealing experts include
Persi Diaconis
Persi Warren Diaconis (; born January 31, 1945) is an American mathematician of Greek descent and former professional magician. He is the Mary V. Sunseri Professor of Statistics and Mathematics at Stanford University.
He is particularly know ...
,
Darwin Ortiz
Darwin Ortiz (born 1948) is a magician, who is an authority on gambling and card manipulation.
Life and work
Ortiz was born and raised in New York City, where he had a keen interest in card tricks since childhood. In 1974, he dropped out of NYU ...
, Steve Forte, Daniel Madison, Jason England and
Richard Turner.
In Popular Culture
* In the movie
''Rounders'', Worm is caught dealing off the bottom of the deck. The police officer who accuses him says "This son-of-a-bitch is base dealing. Caught a hanger, Sarge." They discover that Worm's partner, Mike, has A's and 7's as his first four cards, and the card on the bottom of the deck is an Ace.
See also
*
Card manipulation
Card manipulation is the branch of magic that deals with creating effects using sleight of hand techniques involving playing cards. Card manipulation is often used in magical performances, especially in close-up, parlor, and street magic. Some ...
*
Cheating in poker
*
Second dealing
*
Card marking
Notes
References
* John Nevil Maskelyne, ''Sharps and Flats''. {{ISBN, 0-87019-049-0
Card game terminology
Card magic
Card tricks
Cheating in gambling