Gave one's playmates a hand (5)
I believe the answer is:
dealt
'gave' is the definition.
(dealing is a kind of giving)
'one's playmates a hand' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'a' is within the answer.
'hand' could be 'l' (abbreviation for left, as in the left-hand side) and 'l' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'det' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for dealt that I've seen before include "Distributed playing cards" , "Doled out" , "Gave out playing cards" , "Carried out business" , "Delivered" .)