Play Someone Off Against (someone else) and Play Both Ends Against The Middle

My guess is he knows a lot about how to play his enemies off against each other.

Today's phrasal verb is Play Someone Off Against (someone else), which means:
To  scheme in a manner that sets opposing parties or interests against one another so as to advance one's own goal: to have more control or power over a situation.  

Ichiro wanted to beat me up and so did Kazu. I did some fast talking and played them off against each other. They ended up fighting and I was able to get away!. 
The president played the House off against the Senate and ended up getting his own way.
He played the two salesmen off against each other to get the best deal. 

Notes: Separable [obligatory]
Synonym: outwit, double-cross

Both of these characters from "Lost" were very good at playing both sides against the middle, especially one the one the right, Ben.  John showed he could play people off against each other, too, as time went on in the series.

Today's idiom, Play Both Ends Against The Middle, is actually a synonym, in idiom form, of today's phrasal verb, Play Off Against, and therefore requires no further definition.

My stepson is a master of playing both ends against the middle between his father and I.