Your pathway to becoming a professional poker dealer.
Limited places available. Apply now to begin your journey.
An 8 to 12 week professional dealer training programme designed to develop the skills, confidence, and experience needed to work live poker events.
In official collaboration with
An official collaboration between Leeside Dealer Academy and Macau Sporting Club, one of Ireland's premier cardrooms, where your training takes place.
Leeside Dealer Academy operates independently. We collaborate with selected venues to deliver high-quality training.
The craft
What this is
Real training, not theory.
Leeside Dealer Academy is a structured training programme that takes complete beginners or inexperienced dealers and develops them into competent, professional-standard poker dealers.
This is not a theoretical course. It is real training in real gameplay environments: tournaments, cash games, and live poker settings.
You are trained, assessed, and developed on performance, accuracy, speed, and table control.
Who is this for?
Built for beginners and enthusiasts
No experience required. This is for anyone who wants to enter the poker industry as a dealer, build a flexible freelance skill, or open a pathway into live events and cardroom work.
Complete Beginners
Never dealt a card in a professional setting? The programme starts at zero and develops you into dealing full hands with confidence.
Poker Fans
You know the game inside out as a player. Now learn to run it. That background gives you a real head start, and dealing shows you the game from a side most players never see.
Career Changers
Looking for flexible, paid work that travels? Dealing is one of the few skills you can take anywhere there's a tournament, and there are more every year.
Foundation Poker Dealer Course
What you will learn
Full training in professional Texas Hold'em dealing, from zero to table-ready. You will deal confidently in both tournament and cash game environments, with a complete understanding of game flow, procedures, and real-table situations. All training is hands-on, in live simulated poker environments.
€1,100 Total Investment
Card Handling, Shuffling & Pitching
The foundations: clean shuffles, smooth pitches and consistent technique under pressure.
Chip Handling & Bet Building
Stacking, cutting and counting. You'll manage the pot with accuracy, speed and confidence.
Poker Hand Rankings & Game Flow
Learn the game from the dealer's seat, in every hand and every situation.
Running Full Hands Start to Finish
From pre-flop to showdown, you manage every stage of a live hand cleanly.
Cash Game & Tournament Procedures
Two formats with different demands. You'll be comfortable working in both.
Pots, Side Pots & Split Pots
The trickiest part of the job, calculated correctly every time without hesitation.
Dealing Speed & Accuracy Under Pressure
We train speed and accuracy together from the first session, because cardrooms expect both.
Professional Table Conduct & Cardroom Standards
The composure and professionalism that gets you hired and keeps you working.
What you receive
From your first session to the floor
You are set up to practise from day one and graduate with recognised certification upon successful completion.
When you join
Enrolment and training kit
Every student receives a starter kit to support their training from day one:
- ♠ Professional cardroom playing cards
- ♠ Practice chip set for at-home drills
- ♠ Full access to the structured 8 to 12 week programme
This lets you start building core dealer skills straight away: card handling, chip control, and table flow.
When you finish
Certification and professional uniform
On completing the programme, students who meet the standard receive:
- ♠ Official Leeside Dealer Academy certificate
- ♠ Recognition as a qualified academy dealer
- ♠ Official dealer uniform shirt, black and white, with the academy badge
The uniform is issued to certified dealers for live dealing work, carrying the academy standard onto the floor.
Limited First Intake
Nine students maximum.
The first cohort is capped at nine. Small groups mean more table time, closer correction, and faster progress for everyone in the room. Once the nine places are filled, applications move to the waiting list for the next intake.
How training works
Progress at your own pace
Every 3-hour session is built around repetition. Students spend most of their time dealing rather than watching, and you are certified only when you meet the standard, not on a fixed date.
One student deals
While the rest of the group plays. Real table dynamics, real pressure, from session one.
Continuous rotation
Everyone deals throughout every session. Each student deals dozens of hands per class, with no sitting idle.
Real-time correction
Our founder catches and fixes mistakes in the moment, which is the fastest way to build clean muscle memory.
Hundreds of hands, then a readiness review
You deal hundreds of simulated hands in real conditions. When you consistently meet the standard, you are invited to a final readiness assessment. Most students certify between 8 and 12 weeks, depending on practice and natural speed.
Built around your week
We know students are balancing work, study, or other commitments. Training runs across three weekly sessions of three hours each, in the evenings and at weekends, so it fits around real life.
Exact session times are confirmed for each intake and shared privately with registered students.
Payment structure
A fixed price, paid in stages
This is a fixed-price professional training programme. Payment is separate from progression: the price is set, and certification is earned by meeting the standard, not bought.
€250 deposit
A €250 non-refundable deposit secures your place on the course.
Remaining balance
The remaining balance can be paid in instalments, which can be organised after training starts.
Total: €1,100
Readiness review & after certification
What happens when you're ready
When you consistently meet the standard, you sit a final readiness review. The feedback is honest, so you always know where you stand. There are two outcomes.
Ready for Event Work
- ✓ Clean, consistent dealing
- ✓ Understands full game flow
- ✓ Minimal errors under pressure
Ready to step into live event environments with confidence, with an introduction to real event work as it comes through the network.
Continued Development
Some students need more practice before taking on live event work. We make sure they get there.
- ✓ Individual feedback and a clear improvement plan
- ✓ Continued support and guidance
- ✓ Priority placement in future training sessions if needed
After certification
Graduates become part of a professional dealer network. Employment is not guaranteed, but graduates may access freelance opportunities and live poker work as it becomes available, including cardroom cash games and tournament events.
Consistent, reliable dealers can go on to work larger poker festivals and take on more advanced roles in the industry over time, depending on experience and opportunity. When work comes through the network, it is shared with graduates as it arises.
Premium Option
Private 1-to-1 Coaching
Available for students who want to refine specific skills or prepare for professional opportunities. Limited availability. Mention your interest when you apply.
Optional add-on
Advanced Omaha module
An optional advanced module is available to certified graduates who want to widen their opportunities. It covers Pot Limit Omaha dealing, split-pot scenarios, and advanced game formats, opening access to more game types and events.
Where you'll train
Inside Macau
Sporting Club.
Training takes place inside Macau Sporting Club, one of Ireland's premier cardrooms, in the heart of Cork city. You learn on real tables, in a real venue. This is where your dealing career starts.
Professional standards
We certify on merit
Leeside Dealer Academy maintains strict training standards so that every certified graduate is competent, confident, and reliable in real poker environments.
Not all students qualify immediately. Certification is awarded only when consistent, professional-level performance is demonstrated.
The reputation of the Academy is built on the quality of its graduates.
Apply
Apply for the First Intake
This is a paid professional training programme, and places are limited. We'll speak with a small number of applicants and take only a handful into the first cohort.
How it works
- 1. Apply below. Applying is free, with no commitment.
- 2. A short introductory call to make sure it's the right fit.
- 3. If accepted, a €250 deposit secures your place in the cohort.
- 4. The remaining balance can be paid in instalments, which can be organised after training starts.
Full programme price: €1,100
About the Founder
Our Founder
"Poker is more than a game. It's a community, and within that community lies a world of opportunity."
Our founder has over 13 years of experience across cardroom dealing, tournament operations, freelance events, and live poker. Having worked on cardroom floors and independent tournament circuits across Ireland and Europe, he created Leeside Dealer Academy to teach aspiring dealers the practical skills, professionalism, and confidence needed to succeed in the industry.
Poker was something he learned from his father and his generation, playing for €10 a head on Sunday afternoons after the family roast dinner. Little did he know that those games would lead to a career and a lifelong passion for the industry.
Over the years he built a reputation for professionalism, consistency, and high standards at the table. One of the things he loves most about poker is the community, and the people you meet from all walks of life.
Through Leeside Dealer Academy, he wants to pass those skills and values on to the next generation of dealers. No previous poker experience is required. You do not have to know how to play poker, you only need to learn how to run the game professionally and create a great experience for the players.
Poker is an industry that keeps growing, with more clubs, tours, and tournaments every year. The vision is to build a trusted network of well-trained dealers, and a brand known for professionalism, quality, and helping people step into a rewarding industry.
"You do not have to know how to play poker. You need to learn how to run the game professionally and create a great experience for the players."
Our Founder
Poker professional · 13 years in the industry