Slide Dealing Technique Used for First Time in US World Poker Tour Event
The $5,000 WPT Venetian Las Vegas Fall Championship is the first US WPT event to use slide dealing. Dealers slide hole cards across the table to keep bottoms invisible and deter cheating. It follows South Point's earlier adoption and smooth use in a Sydney WPT stop.
SCCG Take — The shift prioritizes integrity in live tournaments. US operators and tours now have a tested model to weigh for broader rollout.
Dealers at a major Las Vegas tournament are using the slide dealing technique for the first time in a World Poker Tour event that takes place in the United States. The $5,000 WPT Venetian Las Vegas Fall Championship carries a $2 million guarantee and runs from Nov. 5-10, with the final table livestreamed on PokerGO. Players have already noticed a significant difference in how the cards are dealt.
Slide Dealing Mechanics and Purpose
Venetian required its dealers last month to stop the traditional pitch technique in favor of slide dealing. South Point became the first poker room in town to start slide dealing earlier this year. No other card room on the Strip had ever used this method, which is not new to some casinos around the world.
Dealers slide the hole cards to players as opposed to tossing or pitching them. The purpose is to help prevent cheating. If cards are pitched carelessly, an observant player could sneak a peek, but sliding keeps the bottom of the cards invisible.
A recent World Poker Tour event in Sydney, Australia, featured the technique. By all accounts, dealing went smoothly without complaints from players, according to PokerNews.
Tournament Progress and Schedule
The WPT Venetian kicked off on Thursday. Cherish Andrews bagged the chip lead on Day 1a, which saw 103 players compete. 32 players have already secured a bag for Day 2. Day 1b takes place on Friday at 11:15 a.m. local time, followed by the final opening flight on Saturday.
This first deployment in a US WPT event focuses attention on procedural safeguards at the table level.
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