📗 Exploring Erdnase Book Club: Bottom Dealing
Update #11: The Erdnase Bottom Deal
Hey there, magic and sleight-of-hand friends! It’s been far too long since I published an update to the Exploring Erdnase Book Club. I know, I know, I promised to finish it within a year. It turns out that this plan might have been a little ambitious (okay, wildly optimistic). This deadline was never a realistic goal, given that I’ve also been writing regular posts for my blog, Marty’s Bag of Tricks, and articles for my other Substack publication, Marty’s Magic Ruseletter. Oh, and then there’s the small matter of my three lovely but vivacious daughters who demand my constant attention. And then there’s also my day job!
Fear not, the Exploring Erdnase Book Club is still something I’m committed to doing. In fact, our journey through the pages of The Expert at the Card Table continues today! We’ve already covered the first six sections, and I’m excited to share that I’ll keep publishing updates until we reach the end of the book, which I anticipate will be sometime midway through next year. No silly deadlines this time.
If you’d like to catch up, here are the first nine updates:
And now, let’s move on to this week’s topic: the infamous bottom deal! You can find the description on pages 52 to 55 of the first edition of the book. The Erdnase Bottom Deal, as outlined in The Expert at the Card Table, is a classic sleight-of-hand manoeuvre employed by card manipulators to deal cards from the bottom of the deck while simulating a regular deal from the top.
S.W. Erdnase introduces this section of his book with the following passage:
The art of dealing from the bottom, although not the most difficult to attain, is perhaps the most highly prized accomplishment in the repertory of the professional.
What I find most interesting about this statement is that if you ask most experienced card mechanics and magicians, they’ll tell you that the bottom deal is one of the most difficult sleight-of-hand techniques to learn. However, Erdnase suggests that this isn’t the case. Instead, he asserts that, with a perfect understanding of the technique and a good deal of practise, it is possible to attain a decent bottom deal without too much difficulty.
Like acquiring many other feats, a perfect understanding of the exact manner in which it is performed will avoid the principal difficulties. Practice will soon do the rest.
Its reputation as a difficult move and the fact that it isn’t used in many card tricks I want to perform has meant that I’ve largely ignored the bottom deal until now. However, after reading the detailed explanation in The Expert at the Card Table, I’ve decided to dedicate some serious practice time to the move, as the author suggests is required.
It requires some practice. The main thing is to understand the action thoroughly and hold the deck correctly.
It is very easy to overthink the process of learning a move like the bottom deal. The first hurdle is what grip to use. There are four popular grips. I’ve listed them below, along with the main characteristic that identifies each of them:
Erdnase Grip - First and second fingers at the front short edge of the pack.
Mechanics Grip - First finger only at the front short edge of the pack.
Straddle Grip - The pack is gripped between the first finger at the front short edge of the pack and the little finger at the rear short edge.
Full Grip - All four fingers are positioned resting on the long edge of the pack. Also known as a Square John Grip.
Obviously, the grip promoted in The Expert at the Card Table is the Erdnase Grip (this is where the name originates). Moving both your first and second fingers to the front, short edge of the deck results in a somewhat ugly “claw” grip. However, this way of holding the pack seems perfectly natural enough to me, even if it would raise suspicion when playing cards with fast company. It does feel a little uncomfortable simply because I’ve spent most of my life holding cards in a Mechanics Grip when I deal. Erdnase suggests that his grip is also used for all honest deals as well:
The position is an excellent one for ordinary dealing, and should never be changed.
This chimes with what I’ve heard about false deals from other sources; that you should modify your regular deal to look the same as your false deal. Otherwise, your bottoms will stick out like a sore thumb.
This will be my first serious attempt to master the bottom deal. It’s easy to get distracted by the different grips you can use, i.e., worry far too much about picking the “best” or most deceptive grip. For this reason, I’ve decided to stick with the Erdnase Grip until I feel confident in performing a deceptive bottom deal that will pass muster in the context of a magic trick. I don’t care if the move isn’t deceptive enough to fool seasoned gamblers because I don’t intend to use the move for cheating at cards, and I recommend you don’t, either!
The author provides a very detailed description of the grip and action required to perform a successful bottom deal. For this reason, it would be foolish of me to use a different grip. Although, I’m sure I’ll try and learn to perform a bottom deal using a Mechanics Grip at some point. Most expert card mechanics and sleight-of-hand artists seem to agree that this is a more natural grip to use.
To Buckle or Not to Buckle?
The technique for the Erdnase Bottom Deal, as it is described in the book, presents an intriguing interpretative challenge. When pushing out the bottom card with the third finger, the author advises us to:
“Press up and slightly inwards against that card and push it out, at same time releasing the little finger and holding the deck firmly between second finger and palm.”
Later in his description, he says:
The second finger tip comes around the corner to the side, just barely sufficiently to hold the deck in place, and when the third finger tip releases the bottom card from the hold of the second finger, it slips out quite freely.
Erdnase’s description of the bottom deal in his classic text has led to two primary interpretations. Some magicians believe he was suggesting a full buckling action to free the card from behind the second finger of the left hand. However, given the lack of explicit mention of buckling or bending the card—including in his list of technical terms—it seems more likely that Erdnase was referring to a third-finger dealing action. Regardless of how you interpret the mechanics of the push-out, the bottom card must flex slightly to be released from the grip of your left second finger. Consequently, you could argue that this action should be considered a buckle, albeit a small one.
For further insight, I consulted with two respected sleight-of-hand experts, Doug Conn and David Williamson. While Doug has always understood the move to involve a small buckling action, David interprets the text as instructing a third-finger deal and doesn’t view the action as a buckle. This disagreement between two accomplished performers underscores the ongoing debate about Erdnase’s intended methodology, a debate that continues to inspire discussion and exploration in the magic community.
Hand Size and Grip Adjustments ✋
The effectiveness of the Erdnase Bottom Deal also appears to depend on hand size and finger length. While my hands are average-sized, my long fingers initially made the push-out movement awkward and slightly uncomfortable. The push-out was especially challenging when using a bridge-sized deck.
I’m a Sleight School member, so I posted a message about the Erdnase Bottom Deal to the site. David Williamson was kind enough to provide me with some personalised video instruction on this technique. His demonstration revealed that I was holding the deck too low, which was causing me difficulties with the push-out, particularly given my long fingers. By raising the deck and positioning it closer to the firm base of my thumb (rather than the fleshy part), the movement became much easier to accomplish. A higher grip also reduced the tension in the move. In fact, the push-out is much easier when I have the corner of the deck wedged right into the crotch of my thumb (although this makes the grip look even less natural).
Two key adjustments significantly improved my technique:
Positioning the deck higher in the left hand, with its bottom left corner closer to the thumb base (or even wedged into the crotch of the thumb to aid learning)
Applying a firmer buckling action to the bottom card, increasing my control over the bottom card and reducing the likelihood of multiple cards being pushed out
My poor technique is also making the base of my thumb a little sore and even caused me to develop a small blister on my third finger! Therefore, when practising the Erdnase Bottom Deal, look out for these warning signs of an incorrect grip:
Excessive tension in the hands
Soreness at the base of your left thumb
Blistering on the left third finger
Based on my limited experience, the Erdnase Bottom Deal seems better suited for performers with larger hands and shorter fingers (mine feel too long to perform the move comfortably). However, I’m confident that proper positioning and grip adjustments can help me overcome these anatomical challenges.
The Take
Once you have a solid grasp of the grip and understand the mechanics of the push-out, the next logical step in mastering the Erdnase Bottom Deal is to learn the “take”. This technique creates the illusion that the top card is being dealt to the table:
Now advance the right hand apparently to take off the top card. (See Fig. 24.) Draw back the top card with the left thumb, and at the same instant seize the bottom card instead with the right thumb and second finger and deal it in the usual manner. (See Fig. 25.)
The take is easy to learn compared to the third-finger push-out; it largely relies on developing the right timing:
The thumb of the left hand plays a very important part in the blind, by drawing back the top card at the proper instant; and it is this action that makes the deal appear perfectly regular.
One thing that I’ve found aids with the deception is placing the pad of your right thumb on the top card before drawing it back with the left thumb. This creates a “retention of vision” effect, which helps disguise the fact that the card is actually coming from the bottom.
Additional Learning Resources
The Exploring Erdnase Book Club aims to encourage you to read, understand and interpret the contents of The Expert of the Card Table. Therefore, I don’t want to spend too much time exploring other bottom-dealing techniques not featured in the book. However, seeing a move executed correctly when learning a difficult technique like the Erdnase Bottom Deal can make learning much easier.
The first video resource I’d recommend is Jason England’s tutorial on the Bottom Deal, produced with Theory11 and released in 2017. This is a remake of his previous 2008 tutorial. In the 80-minute video, Jason shares his progressive system for learning the bottom deal, beginning with the Erdnase Bottom Deal. It’s more than worth the $14.95 price tag.
You can search YouTube for various magicians demonstrating the Erdnase Bottom Deal. However, it’s important to note that many individuals modify their approach to this sleight due to their hand size and in response to other bottom deal techniques they’ve studied. Below, I’ve included the only accurate demonstration of the Erdnase Bottom Deal I found on YouTube, demonstrated by a gambling sleight-of-hand enthusiast, Ted, who lives in Japan. Thanks, Ted!
While browsing YouTube, I also found a helpful free tutorial by gambling expert Houston Curtis. It covers several exciting concepts, tips, and practice drills. Notably, it includes a modified Erdnase Grip and an alternative technique for the take, which he calls “Thieves in the Night”. What a great name for a gambling move!
Top Tips for the Erdnase Bottom Deal
The Erdnase Bottom Deal consists of three fundamental components that must be mastered in sequence:
The Erdnase Grip
The Third-Finger Push-Out
The Take
Here are five top tips, extracted from the text, that should help you learn the Erdnase Bottom Deal:
Perfect Your Grip: The deck rests primarily between the tip of your second finger and left palm. This grip provides stability and enables your left hand’s third and little finger to move independently.
Master the Third-Finger Push-Out: Your third finger controls the bottom card push-out. This movement requires dedicated practise, a commitment that will pay off when it becomes second nature.
Coordinate Your Thumb Movement: As you deal the bottom card, your left thumb pulls back the top card. This natural-looking action is essential for the deception, as it mirrors the movement of a standard top deal. The timing of this coordinated pullback is crucial for maintaining the illusion, and requires a high level of precision.
Incorporate Full-Body Misdirection: A slight up-and-down hand motion, along with keeping the deck tilted toward the table, as advised by Hoyle, enhances the natural appearance while dealing. These subtle adjustments effectively conceal the suspicious extra finger action while maintaining a smooth, natural dealing rhythm—a key element in any bottom deal.
Build Your Skills Progressively: Begin your practise with half a deck and alternate between top and bottom deals. This methodical approach makes the technique more manageable at first, reduces the need for rapid consecutive bottom deals, and helps develop a more natural motion. As you gradually work up to a full deck, you’ll feel a sense of accomplishment and growth in your skill.
When these elements work together seamlessly, the bottom deal becomes virtually indistinguishable from a standard deal, even to trained observers. Or, as Erdnase puts it:
This can be done so perfectly that the quickest eye cannot detect the ruse.
Final Thoughts
Due to the size of my hands and the length of my fingers, I’ve discovered that I have much better success holding the deck in a higher grip. However, I hope that with concentrated practise, I’ll be able to lower the deck to achieve a more natural and relaxed Erdnase Grip.
After a few hours of dedicated practise, I’ve managed to grasp the basic mechanics of the Erdnase Bottom Deal. I’m excited to make this false deal deceptive enough for use in a card trick or gambling demonstration. I estimate that achieving this will take me three months of regular practise. I’m especially eager to perform “From the Cellar” by Darwin Ortiz and have set a personal deadline for myself: Christmas Day. This deadline is a personal challenge that I’m determined to meet. If you’re interested, I would love for you to join me in this endeavour.
Up Next
Next week, we’ll take a look at the Erdnase One-Handed Bottom Deal. Until then, happy bottom dealing and don’t stop bucking that tiger! 🐯