To Play your Cards Right
Saber mover tus fichas
Click on the image to watch a segment from the program «Play your cards right»
Meaning:
To do everything that is needed in order to succeed or to get things your own way.
Click on the image to listen to the song «If you play your cards right» by Alicia Myers
Origin:
This idiom comes from the game of poker. Everybody can play poker but to be a champion you have to do the right moves in the right moment which is to play your cards smartly. This is that if two persons are given their own hands, the one who has the best hand is not necessarily going to be the winner. It all depend on how they play their cards.
Click on the image to learn more about this idiom in The Free Dictionary
Example:
•Somebody will be promoted in my company for the Marketing Manager position. There are three candidates to occupy the position and I am one of them. The board of directors together with the chairman are going to select the winner in three weeks. If I want to be the next Marketing Manager, I definitely have to play my cards right during the following three weeks.
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