What does "somebody plays things close to the vest" mean?

I heard this phrase in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" and also found it online by googling it.

What does the phrase mean?

It means that a person keeps their motivations a secret. It comes from poker: you hold your cards close to your "vest" or body so you don't "tip your hand" or accidentally allow the other players to see your cards.

This is a really nice article about the phrase, and includes some related poker phrases.

Note: The linked article is The Maven's Word of the Day from August 25, 2000. This series of articles was published by Random House between 1996 to 2001. I cannot find an online archive (other than the Wayback), although I will continue to look.