The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 plus 5 letter word CARD SHARP
I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
C
A
R
D
S
H
A
R
P
More clues leading to the result CARD SHARP
- Cheat exactly behind joker
- Pack instrument for trickster
- Character, 13 across cheat
- Foolishly had scrap with Republican who won’t deal fairly
- A dodgy dealer?
- Deck guy who’s cheating?
- Discards harpoon held by cheat – quite the reverse
- Caution astute cheat
- Cheat who may have a heart hidden away?
- One can’t be trusted after a deal is made
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "cheat" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case cheat = card sharp.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.