The card-playing thing really doesn't bother me. A lot of these types of things are "hurry up and wait", with significant time between decision making and seeing the results. Playing cards is a fairly benign way to pass that time, and giving your hands something to do is a release for nervous energy.
It’s only a problem for Hussein given his words and actions up to this point. If he had not tried to cast himself as Rambo in the situation room (which nobody believed anyway) then this would be no big deal. As it is now, he’s caught in another one of his lies.