card shark

noun

ˈkärd-ˌshärk 

plural card sharks also cardsharks

: a person who makes money by cheating at card games : card sharp

A former Russian interior minister … described him to a television interviewer in 1999 as a petty crook and card shark, known for bilking travelers and soldiers at Sochi, the Soviet Black Sea resort.

—John Tagliabue and Steven Lee Myers

also : a skilled card player

At a time when children's schedules are packed and digital distractions are everywhere, youthful card sharks are increasingly rare. "A whole generation of consumers didn't learn to play cards the way an entire prior generation did," says P.J. Katien, vice president, sales and marketing, for the U.S. Playing Card Co. …

—Sue Shellenbarger

Word History

First Known Use

1877, in the meaning defined above