stack the cards
stack the cards {v. phr.}
1. To arrange cards secretly and dishonestly for the purpose of cheating.
The gambler had stacked the cards against Bill.
2. To arrange things unfairly for or against a person; have things so that a person has an unfair advantage or disadvantage; make sure in an unfair way that things will happen. — Usually used in the passive with "in one's favor" or "against one."
A tall basketball player has the cards stacked in his favor.
The cards are stacked against a poor boy who wants to go to college.
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Source: A Dictionary of American Idioms
