I'm working on my 2nd deal. I have the mechanics down, but I'm facing two major challenges. One my thumb tends to slide off the cards when dealing. I can't get that easy "grab". I've seen some suggestions of some lotions that can make my thumb grip a little better? For now I've just been licking my thumb to make it work, but it's not the greatest option. Any thoughts?

The bigger issue is when I pull the card I frequently have 1 and sometimes more underlying cards come with it. Even being careful not to apply any extra pressure the cards just seem to want to stick together. Is this an issue of how I need to adjust my grip? Perhaps an issue with bicycle cards sticking together more? (I know Bee are more preferred for this trick because of the pattern on the back.)

I've been working on the trick for 4 days several hours a day. I know it's a tough trick so maybe it just takes more practice, but if I'm doing something wrong, I don't want to keep practicing it the wrong way.

Any tips would be great. Thanks.

Indeed, more practice is a necessity. A small trick I used and that helped me immensely is to use the forefinger to feel the thickness of the cards. Your thumb should not be the only finger that does the move.

So I have been working on a strike second deal, and someone just recommended that the way I can address the issue with my thumb gripping the cards as well as multiple cards coming of at the same time is to work on a push off second deal. As a community, which do you use? Why?

If you are trying to learn a strike, one helpful exercise is to push off the top card enough to be able to strike the second and proceed dealing the whole deck without moving the top card back and forth. Once you can go through the deck with only singles you can proceed to moving the top card back and forth.

You answered one of my questions with your recent post. You didn't initially mention which type of 2nd you were practicing.

What source are you using as a guide? Both a push-off and strike 2nd are valuable. Don't discard one over the other because someone suggested it. You will face similar issues learning the push-off, (i.e. Cards slipping, multiple cards pushing off, etc.) so I would persevere.

Use Sort-Kwick or a cream such as O'Keefe's. They will help add a bit of moisture/tack to your thumb.

I certainly don’t mean one way is supperior to an other. As Tortuga stresses, you’ll face the same problem regardless of the type of second deal you choose. Keep in mind though that the other « minor » fingers can provide some help.

For the strike, see Effective Card Magic by Bill Simon.

Luke Wolf, No I know you didn't. I actually happened to be talking to someone between our posts and they made the suggestion. I didn't take your post that way at all. No worries man. Just looking for general feedback. It's tough move and I know it comes with a lot of practice. Great effect when you get it down though. Appreciate the feedback guys!

Ok ok, sorry, I thought my post was misunderstood. Indeed, many fantastic effects can be achieved with a proper 2nd deal!

For the push off I recommend the "Master Push-Off" by a young Andi Gladwin and Ben Earl.
Why the push off? The move has more applications than a second deal, looks more natural concerning the thumb position and card dealing.

BTW: You did not really expect to deal perfect seconds after 4 days of practice?

That was my concern. I fear that some magicians stop trying to master a sleight after a few days and either move on or someone suggests they try another method. Sometimes you just cannot do a certain move and it is necessary to change things up, but it is also a bad thing to have become habit.