Kruger Magazine

Second Dealing in Blackjack – Does It Really Work?

Second dealing is used in quite a lot of card games. Basically it is a method of manipulating the deck during the game by dealing the card which is second from top and not the top card in order to cheat. Second dealing is also very widely used in various card tricks and magic performances. The player or the dealer who specializes in second dealing is known as a second dealer, deuce dealer, two dealer or a number two man.

When Can Second Dealing be Used?

Second dealing only works and can be used only when the dealer or the player knows the value of the card which is on the top of the card deck. If the value of the card is known and if it would be useful to the player, second dealing would be done in order to reserve the desirable card for the player and avoid dealing it to the opponents.

Types of Second Dealing

When you play internet blackjack, there are several different types of second dealing methods which are used for cheating as discussed below:

Second Strike Dealing- In this method the dealer would push the card on top of the deck to the left and the thumb would remain in contact with the exposed second card. The dealer would then pull the card out and discreetly put the top card back in its original place.

Push Off Dealing- The right thumb in this method would be used to push the two top cards when they would be aligned perfectly as one card. Also, the left hand would then take the second card as the other card would be pulled up back on the top of the deck.

Third Dealing- In this method, the thumb of the right hand would be used in order to push the 2 top cards to the left aligned as one card. The other thumb would then pull out the third card which would be exposed while the top 2 cards would be put back in their original place.

Bottom Dealing- In this method the player would push the top card with the left thumb and the card at the bottom of the deck would be pulled under the cover of the top card which would then be put back in place.

Center Dealing- in Center dealing the dealer would be able to deal any card that he/she wishes from the center of the deck rather than from top or the bottom of the deck.

When these methods of second dealing are used with marked cards, the results could be undetectable. With marked cards it becomes easier to identify desirable cards and then the dealer or the player would be able to deal it from the deck. However, all of these moves are very difficult to pull off since they require absolute perfection if they have to be performed discreetly. In most cases, second dealing is only performed by dealers who are expert at it and can perform the trick without getting caught.