More Card Idioms - English Vocabulary with Jennifer

6,270 views ・ 2021-11-04

English with Jennifer


Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.

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Hi everyone. I'm Jennifer from English with  Jennifer. You may know that I've played  
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a lot of card games in my life. I grew up playing  popular games like Blackjack, Slapjack, Go Fish,  
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and some less common games like Steal the Pile and  500. I hope that card games don't die out because  
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of video games and entertainment apps. There  are a lot of idioms related to playing cards,  
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and they sure make a lot more sense  if you've actually played these games.  
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In this lesson, I'll share four expressions.
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"To play your cards right" means to do things in  the best way possible in order to be successful  
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and get what you want or get something of  value. We often use this in an IF-clause.
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If you play your cards right, you might  get a promotion in one or two years.
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He's a good athlete, and he could get a  scholarship if he plays his cards right.
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If you're good at keeping your face  expressionless, then you know how to  
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have a poker face. You can have, keep, or wear  a poker face. It's like keeping a straight face.
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Sometimes you want to hide what  you're thinking or feeling.  
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This is important in card games  because you don't want to reveal  
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if you have good or bad cards. That would be  giving too much information to your opponents.
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So, imagine a business setting. During  negotiations, Dave always has a poker  
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face. Until the deal is final, you don't know  whether he's happy or not with the terms.
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Sometimes winning in cards depends on skill. Other  times, you either have good luck or bad luck. When  
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you draw a card from the deck, it may be a good  card or a bad card. That's the luck of the draw.  
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This expression refers to chance.  You have no control over the outcome.
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I bought an economy seat on the plane,  and I had no choice about seating.  
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I ended up in a row with extra leg room and empty  seats beside me. It was just the luck of the draw.
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You know, one card game I never  had any interest in learning  
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is bridge. I understand though that the four  suits are ranked: clubs, diamonds, hearts,  
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spades. I believe spades have the  highest value in poker, too, so if  
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you have something...anything in spades, that's  a good thing. It means you have a lot of it.
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Liliana has intelligence and wit in spades. Sergei  is very hard-working. He has ambition in spades.
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Okay. Quick review. If you do things in the best  way possible in order to be successful, you...
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play your cards right.
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If you don't change your expression in order  to hide your thoughts and feelings, you...
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keep a poker face.
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When things depend on chance, that's just...
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the luck of the draw.
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If someone is very generous, we  could say they have generosity...
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in spades.
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For practice, finish my  sentences with your own ideas.
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That's all for now. Please like the video  if you found it useful and interesting.  
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As always, thanks for watching and happy studies!
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