Tournament Strategies
After receiving pocket cards, you are immediately faced with a choice: play your cards and either raise or call the blinds, or fold.
Practice Matters
45. This brings the hands into much the same position
45. This brings the hands into much the same position as the Second Method. To palm, grip the bottom cards with the left third finger at first joint, and press firmly against right thumb raise whole deck slightly, swinging finger end of top portion against left thumb, keeping right thumb stationary as a pivot, until the finger ends of both packets are past each other, and straightening out left first and little fingers. See Fig.
46. Then press right thumb with ends of both packets
46. Then press right thumb with ends of both packets down into left palm, releasing under packet, and slide the deck out of left hand to be cut, turning over the left with the palmed ends at the same time. After the deck is on its side the movements are perfectly natural in appearance, and the action of tapping the edges on the table to square up is common enough to pass in most any company. But tipping the deck may give an opportunity to note the bottom card, and the action will more likely cause a suspicion of that design than of palming.