stacking the deck
Arranging unfair advantage
Stacking the deck is arranging circumstances to favor a particular outcome, from the card-cheating practice of secretly ordering cards before dealing.
The phrase implies unfair advantage through manipulation rather than merit: The rules were written to stack the deck against small businesses.
Someone who stacks the deck rigs the game before it begins.
- riggedFraudulently arranged beforehand
- rigged gameContest with predetermined outcome
- cheatingDeceptive rule-breaking
- loaded diceTampered probability cubes
- conArgument against
shuffle · cards · manipulation · unfair · fixed · dirty tricks · swindle · marked cards · hustler · sleight of hand · shell game · fraud · crooked · inside job · dealer · advantage · poker · gambit
- dirty trickscheating, lying, deceit, trickery, deception
- cherry-pickinghandpicking, selection bias
stacking the deckfair play
Honorable conduct in games
level playing field · above board · good sportsmanship · square dealing · integrity
stack, stacks, stacked, stacking, stacker, deck, decks, decked, decking