Card games and associated metaphors run through “Tennessee’s Partner” as a symbol for the precarity of life in the mining camps. Tennessee treats his own life like a gamble; his face-off with the judge resembles a card game where the superior hand of weapons wins. He remains good-naturedly insolent throughout his trial, responding to every question by saying he refuses to “take any hand in this yer game” (Paragraph 8). When Tennessee’s partner makes his appeal for Tennessee’s life in court, he describes it as a “hand” that he’s playing alone. Even when Tennessee’s last chance at survival fails, he jokingly tells his partner that he’s been “Euchred,” meaning he has lost his advantage.

As a motif, card games also demonstrate characters’ relationship to vulnerability, developing the theme of The Utility of Humor. Tennessee uses card metaphors to distance himself from the reality of the danger he faces. Spoken by Tennessee’s partner, however, the card game metaphor represents his willingness to be vulnerable: It demonstrates that he cares enough about Tennessee to speak on his behalf and risk his own life trying to pay off the judge for Tennessee’s transgressions.