From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishplay your cards rightplay your cards rightSUCCEED IN DOING somethingto deal with a situation in the right way, so that you are successful in getting what you want If he plays his cards right, Tony might get a promotion. → card
Examples from the Corpus
play your cards right• This could all turn out for the best if he played his cards right.• Oh, no - she knew how to play her cards right.• The domino effect can work for us as well as against us if we play our cards right.• If you play your cards right, you might get them to reduce the price.play your cards rightplay your cards rightSUCCEED IN DOING somethingto say or do things in a situation in such a way that you gain as much as possible from it Who knows? If you play your cards right, maybe he’ll marry you. → playExamples from the Corpus
play your cards right• Oh, no - she knew how to play her cards right.• The domino effect can work for us as well as against us if we play our cards right.• This could all turn out for the best if he played his cards right. 