How to deal like a pro

Everyone knows how painful it can be waiting and then watching as the cack-handed beginner at your table takes ages to gather the cards together, before spilling the deck and exposing cards when it’s their turn to deal. But even the home game veteran or regular club-goer in self-dealt tourneys can get it horribly wrong too.

Forget what you think you know about correct practice in the field of shuffling and dealing – we enlisted the help of Nikki Letran, who has dealt at World Poker Tour final tables and in high-stakes cash games, to explain the fine art of dealing.

So grab a deck of cards – well, several decks – clear the doilies off the dining table, lay some felt and get ready to lose your evening as you shuffle, pitch, burn and turn until you master the key processes of dealing like a pro. And when your mates turn up at your next home game, they’ll look at you with a new-found respect.

Shuffle up and deal…