Deal from the bottom of the deck

Origin

The imagery of "dealing from the bottom of the deck" transports us to the smoky, lamp-lit backrooms of 19th-century American saloons, where high-stakes poker games were often a battle of wits and deception. A skilled card sharp, with nimble fingers and a cool demeanor, would subtly extract cards from the bottom of the deck during a deal, ensuring they or an accomplice received a winning hand while others were none the wiser. This illicit maneuver, designed to rig the game without detection, became a vivid metaphor for any hidden, unfair tactic used to gain an advantage, establishing the phrase in the lexicon as a symbol of concealed dishonesty.