Name: The Euro-slide.
Age: The technique is as old as card games themselves, but it first hit the headlines for poker in August 2024.
Appearance: It's a way of dealing cards that's sweeping (or sliding) round Europe.
You mean it's not some awful Gen Z TikTok dance craze? No. You can blame TikTok for a lot of things but not this. And, despite what Trump might say, not everything that comes from Europe is bad.
I deal cards the way my Meemaw taught me at the kitchen table: fast, high and with a cigar in my mouth. Okay, that sounds like fun.
If it was good enough for her... Why don't the Euros like it? Well, depending on the skill of the dealer, ‘pitching’ the old-fashioned way might let you see what the cards are while they’re moving through the air.
Sounds good to me. So you're happy that other players can see your cards?
I didn’t consider that other people might look. So what's the Euro-slide? It's pretty simple: Instead of taking each card in hand and throwing it across the table, dealers touch only the tops of the cards and slide them across the felt.
And this helps, how? Well there's no chance of anyone seeing what you've just been dealt. Even the glimpse of a color can help the cheats.
Okay, I get it. Sounds like a no-brainer. Yep, absolutely everyone loves it… in Europe.
How about in the USA? It’s not quite as universally popular.
Yeah, I know a few dealers who might feel they're being criticized. That might be a part of it, but it’s not just dealers who have pushed back; some players don’t like the idea either.
Because they want to see other people’s cards? Maybe, but others feel it could slow the game down even more.
More? If it slows down much more, it will be a freezeframe. Well, there are a few reasons why live poker is slow, but you can put tanking and stalling at the top of the list.
So I guess the ones complaining about the Euro-slide never tank for minutes on end? Possibly. You'd have to ask them.
Okay, so stop the tanking and start the sliding? Everyone's a winner. Except for the cheats.
Do say: "Dealer, his first card is the eight of clubs."
Don't say: "Can you show me the other one?"
