Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (US) of cards, to display, to examine [one fig. ‘removes their skin’].

1884		H.G. Carleton Thompson Street Poker Club 48: Mr Williams [...] triumpahantly skinned out three jacks and a pair of trays.
1896		Ade Artie (1963) 10: Then this boy that was keepin’ tab on his stack all the time, he had to think it all over and have another talk with himself and skin his cards three or four times, and then he put in.
1897		A.H. Lewis Wolfville 189: I’m skinnin’ my kyards a bit interested.
1908		Cork Examiner 14 Nov. 10/6: Six blind sports were in their luxurious card-room, skinning their cards with fleeing smiles of satisfaction or frowns of impatience.

2. (US prison) to shave a prisoner’s head.

1929

C.G. Givens ‘Chatter of Guns’ in Sat. Eve. Post 13 Apr.; list extracted in AS VI:2 (1930) 134: skinned, v. To have one’s head shaved.