overplaying one's hand
Excessive aggressive miscalculation
Overplaying one's hand means pushing an advantage too far and losing what you had.
The phrase comes from poker, where betting aggressively on a mediocre hand invites disaster.
More broadly, it describes misjudging your position—asking for too much in a negotiation, pressing a winning argument until it alienates people, or assuming more leverage than you actually have: He overplayed his hand by demanding a promotion and got fired instead.
- hubrisRuinous excessive confidence
- fatal flawRuinous character defect
- backfireYield unintended consequences
- miscalculationError in estimation
- misstepError in action or judgment
overestimation · misjudgment · arrogance · ego trip · bravado · cockiness · power play · downfall · unintended consequences · embarrassment · bluff · recklessness · poker · vulnerability · counting chickens · overextension · self-delusion · pushing your luck
overplaying one's handplaying it safe
Avoiding unnecessary risk
hedging one's bets · holding back · erring on the side of caution · keeping one's powder dry · biding one's time
overplaying one's handplaying one's cards right
Managing circumstances advantageously
folding · cutting one's losses · picking one's battles · reading the room · playing possum
plays, played, playing, player, players, playful, replay, replayed, replaying