[First, a demo]

[What now follows is the classic S.W. Erdnase description of the bottom deal, and I have added annotations in square brackets. The original Erdnase description is excellent and my own thoughts a meager addition to clarify my own thinking and solicit feedback from others. For my own hands, the Erdnase description didn’t quite work. Without further ado, here’s Erdnase…]

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. The bottom is the most convenient place for retaining desirable cards during the shuffle or riffle, and perfection in dealing from that position obviates to a great extent the necessity of stocking, as the cards can be dealt at will, and consequently need not be run up in a certain order. 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.

[The last line, about practice soon doing the rest, is in my experience not true. Rather, practice will do the rest after a long, long time. Further, Erdnase writes that bottom dealing isn’t the most difficult to attain. That may well be true for him, but I have found few more difficult moves. Here’s Erdnase on the grip.]

Hold the deck in the left hand, resting one corner against the middle of the first joint of the second finger, the other corner of the same end in the second joint of the first finger, the first two joints of which rest idly along end of deck. Press the deck outward as much as possible and rest the opposite inner end corner against the palm below the base of thumb. Rest the thumb on the top of deck, pointing towards the second finger tip, which just shows at top of corner. Bring up little finger against the side, and the third finger midway between the second and little fingers. The deck is held in position principally by the corners, between the second finger and the palm below base of thumb. The little finger may aid in holding the deck, but it must be released when the bottom card is pushed out. (See Fig. 22.)

[I use a common modification of the above grip that I first encountered reading The Annotated Erdnase by Darwin Ortiz. The modification changes the position of the first finger. Here are the original Erdnase instructions repeated with my changes in yellow.]

Hold the deck in the left hand, resting one corner against the middle of the first joint of the second finger, the other corner of the same end [rests on top of the third joint of the first finger, the first joint of which presses lightly on the front edge of the deck beside the second finger.] Press the deck outward as much as possible and rest the opposite inner end corner against the palm below the base of thumb. Rest the thumb on the top of deck, pointing towards the second finger tip, which just shows at top of corner. Bring up little finger against the side, and the third finger midway between the second and little fingers. The deck is held in position principally by the corners, between the second finger and the palm below base of thumb. [The first joint of the first finger aids the second finger in securing the deck against the palm.] The little finger may aid in holding the deck, but it must be released when the bottom card is pushed out.

[In other words, rather than wrapping the left first finger around the corner of the deck as in Erdnase’s description, we place that finger just to the left of the second finger. The left first finger tip thus ends up being about 1/2 an inch to the left of the second finger tip. The flesh of the third joint of the first finger should touch the bottom of the deck only very lightly, to prevent sticking up the bottom card. That’s the grip. Here’s Erdnase on the mechanics.]

The second finger [actually, the third finger] and thumb do the work. Draw back the thumb a little and push the top card over in the usual position to seize with the right hand for dealing. Then draw back the third finger, which action is concealed by the overhanging card, until the tip rests against the edge of the bottom card. (See Fig. 2.) 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. If this is done properly it leaves the top and bottom cards in the same relative position, the top card effectively concealing the under one. 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.) This can be done so perfectly that the quickest eye cannot detect the ruse. It requires some practice. The main thing is to understand the action thoroughly and hold the deck correctly.

[I think of the dealing mechanics as fitting into a symmetrical rhythm. There are three beats as the hands move together followed by four beats as the hands move apart.

As the hands move together, the thumb starts to push off the top card. As the thumb and its top card reach the end of their journey, the third finger starts to draw back to the edge of the bottom card. The hands are basically touching now as the third finger buckles/releases the bottom card.

The hands now start to move apart as the third finger begins to push out the bottom card, and then the thumb starts to draw back the top card, and then the right hand has seizes the bottom card, at which point the hands should be about an inch apart and continuing away from each other. As soon as possible, the left fingers must gently squeeze the deck, to prevent excessive finger flash, before the right hand deals its card to the table.

There is a rhythm to this that goes 1-2-3 as the hands come together, 4-5-6-7 as the hands move apart. Here is what falls on each beat:

1. Push off the top card.
2. Move the third finger to the edge of the bottom card.
3. Buckle/release the bottom card with the third finger.
4. Push out the bottom card.
5. Draw back the top card.
6. Seize the bottom card with the right hand.
7. Retract the left third and pink fingers (gently squeeze.)

With practice these movements bleed into each other though it can be helpful while learning to do them deliberately and as slowly as we can but no slower. This rhythm is approximately what works for me.

The position is an excellent one for ordinary dealing, and should never be changed. The corner pressed against the palm should be as far from the wrist as possible. Each time a card is pressed out from the bottom, the deck will have a tendency to slip towards the wrist, and must be held, or worked back into position again.

The left hand does nine-tenths of the work. After the hold is established, the main task is in acquiring facility to push out the bottom card with the second [actually the third] finger tip. The cards may come out in numbers, or appear to stick fast; but the process is very easy when the knack is once obtained. 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. 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. The thumb movement is identically the same as in the true deal, and the drawing back of the top card is undetectable when properly and rapidly executed. A very slight up and down movement of the left hand as the cards are taken, aids in concealing the action. Hoyle makes a point of instructing that a dealer should always keep the outer end of the deck, and the cards, as dealt, inclined towards the table. Following this rule tends to hide the work of the third finger in bottom dealing.

Bottom dealing is little used with a full deck. It becomes much easier as the pack grows less, consequently the dealer waits until the last several rounds before resorting to it. It is also easier to deal the cards alternately from the top and bottom than to take them from the bottom one after the other. The movement of the third finger need not be so rapid and is less noticeable; and should the deck slip out of position, it can be worked back as the top card is being taken. When the bottom cards must be taken consecutively, it is an aid to crimp them very slightly, or to jog them a little, i.e., to allow them to protrude about an eighth of an inch at the side. But neither of the manœuvres is desirable, or necessary to a good performer.

[At this point in my learning the bottom deal, I find 42 cards the ideal size of a deck to deal bottoms. Writing the above has clarified my thinking on the Erdnase-style bottom deal.]