Level: 2/3
Tuning: Standard

From Garcia's first solo album, "Deal" is one of many card game/gambling songs in the Dead lexicon. Words are by Robert Hunter, lyrics by Jerry, as is so often the case. There's a loose connection to the old-time standard "Don't Let Your Deal Go Down," which also has ragtimey chord changes. In this key-of-C fingerstyle arrangement the thumb strums chords on the downbeats (4 beats per bar) with occasional up-picking by the fingers, on high strings, to fill out the rhythm. The solo features some up-the-neck, moveable chord shapes and a monotone thumb-bass: instead of alternating bass notes, the thumb thumps away on the root bass note of each chord while the index and middle fingers pick out melody notes.