Idiom Families
The Big Idea
RISK IS A WAGER - decisions are bets, chances are odds, success is a jackpot
Money & Gambling
From poker tables and casinos: hedge your bets, up the ante, hit the jackpot, a long shot. American business vocabulary is saturated with card-table thinking - risk management as gambling strategy.
Fuku's Note
Poker specifically shaped American English (ante, bluff, cash in your chips, poker face). Cultures with different games contributed different idioms - knowing poker's basic mechanics unlocks a dozen expressions at once.
Ryu's Tip
If a business idiom mentions betting, ask what's being risked and what's being won - the idiom is just the wager described.
Idioms in this family
hedge your bets
To protect yourself by supporting more than one option, so you don't lose everything if one fails
hit the jackpot
To have sudden, great success or luck
long shot
An attempt with a very small chance of success
poker face
A completely expressionless face that hides what you are thinking or feeling
up the ante
To raise the stakes; to increase demands, risk, or intensity