Idiom: Hold your cards close to your chest
If you’re a poker player, you often hold your cards close to your chest.
You do this because you don’t want other players or anyone around you to see your cards.
Secrecy is a significant part of the game, and when you hold your cards close to your chest, you keep your intentions secret.
When you hold your cards close to your chest, you keep your intentions secret.
To win a negotiation, hold your cards close to your chest.
Even if you hold bad cards, you can still win the game if you play as if you can win and the other players aren’t aware you’re bluffing.
It’s essential to hold your cards close to your chest in daily life, too.
In the (notice the article) Kansai region of Japan, it’s common to haggle or bargain for a discount at electronics stores and car dealerships.
Bargaining is less common in other parts of Japan.
In Tokyo, for example, people choose an air conditioner at an electronics store and pay the sticker price.
That’s one of the reasons why Tokyoites generally pay higher rates.
In Kansai, we look at the sticker price as a suggestion that can be negotiated down.
We know how to play the game.
When you bargain, you must hold your cards close to your chest, just like when playing poker.
My wife is an excellent bargainer.
Yes, of course, she is from Kansai and is amazingly good at getting the best price possible.
She never lets the salesperson know her price and only stops bargaining when they say they are as low as possible.
For example, when I bought my car about eight years ago, the sticker price was ￥2,500,000.
After everything was done and dusted, the cost dropped to ￥2,000,000 cash.
When Kansai people negotiate, especially on costly items, they’re very secretive about what they are willing to pay.
In other words, they keep their cards close to their chest.
In case you are wondering, I have never won a negotiation with her.
Husbands do not negotiate with their wives; they do what they are told after a brief protest.
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