最后的王牌

It is surprising how many expressions that Americans use every day came from the card game of poker. For example， you hear the expression， ace in the hole， used by many people who would never think of going near a poker table. An ace in the hole is any argument， plan or thing kept hidden until needed. It is used especially when it can turn failure into success.

In poker， and most card games， the ace is the highest and most valuable card. It is often a winning card. In one kind of poker game， the first card to each player is given face down. A player does not show this card to the other players. The other cards are dealt face up. The players bet money each time they receive another card.

No one knows until the end of the game whose hidden card is the winner. Often， the ace in the hole wins the game.

Smart card players， especially those who play for large amounts of money， closely watch the person who deals the cards. They are watching to make sure he is dealing honestly. They want to be sure that he is not dealing off the bottom of the stack of cards. A dealer who is doing that has stacked the deck. He has fixed the cards so that he will get higher cards. He will win and you will lose.

The expression， dealing off the bottom， now means cheating in business， as well as in cards. And when someone tells you that the cards are stacked against you， he is saying you do not have a chance to succeed.

In a poker game， you do not want to let your opponents know if your cards are good or bad. So having a poker face is important. A poker face never shows any emotion， never expresses either good or bad feelings. No one can learn—by looking at your face—if your cards are good or bad.

People now use poker face in everyday speech to describe someone who shows no emotion.

Someone who has a poker face usually is good at bluffing. Bluffing is trying to trick a person into believing something about you that is not true.

In poker， you bluff when you bet heavily on a poor hand. The idea is to make the other players believe you have strong cards and are sure to win. If they believe you， they are likely to drop out of the game. This means you win the money they have bet.

You can do a better job of bluffing if you hold your cards close to your vest. You hold your cards close to you so no one can see what you have. In everyday speech， holding your cards close to your vest means not letting others know what you are doing or thinking. You are keeping your plans secret.

We are not bluffing when we say we hope you have enjoyed today’s program.

ace in the hole 的意思是底牌；殺手锏；最后的王牌；出奇制勝。玩撲克的人都知道，在很多撲克游戲中，最大的牌就是ace。有了ace，你就勝券在握，你不會輕易出ace，而是備而不用，要把好鋼用在刀刃上。而ace in the hole這個習慣用語來自一種撲克游戲。每人發(fā)五張牌，四張攤在桌面上。一張是暗牌，只有得牌的人可以看一眼。這張暗牌就叫做the hole card（底牌）。如果你的hole card是ace，那就意味著你有了秘密的殺手锏，要到一決勝負的最后關頭才出。ace in the hole雖然來自撲克牌游戲，卻被沿用到生活的各方面，包括政界。

deal the cards 是發(fā)牌的意思。

deal off the bottom 意思是出老千，作弊；欺詐。

stacked the deck 意思是洗牌作弊，暗中做手腳。

fix the cards （against sb.） 表示設計欺騙別人。

the cards are stacked against you 意思是沒有贏的機會。

poker face 直譯是撲克臉，意思是臉上毫無表情，不露聲色。通常是在牌類游戲中，拿到牌的人不動聲色無面部表情，從而無法使人猜到其拿到牌的人；在日常用語中引申為那種喜怒不形于色的人。

bluffing 意思是虛張聲勢；嚇唬。

hold your cards close to your vest 意思是守口如瓶，不讓別人知道你的計劃。玩撲克牌時你要小心地隱藏著自己的牌，這樣，其他人就不能看到你的牌到底是什么。