Speaking of other strange expressions during card games, my brother is quite fond of saying, "in the catbird seat." This is based on a short story of the same name by James Thurber, which appeared in the November 14, 1942 edition of The New Yorker. I remember reading this story at a young-ish age, possibly in high school, and having exactly no idea what it was about. The definition of the phrase, as narrated in the story, provided little insight: "'Tearing up the pea patch' meant going on a rampage; 'sitting in the catbird seat' means sitting pretty, like a batter with three balls and no strikes on him."
