Poker Glossary and Slang
Action
Opportunity to act by making a check, call, bet, raise or fold. It is also indicative of a very active game (i.e. lots of bets and raises)
Active player
Any player still remaining in a particular hand
Ante
A set mount of chips required to be put in the pot before the cards are dealt. Ante are usually the smallest amount of bet that can be made in the game. Antes start the pot and give the players an incentive to play in the game.
All-in
When a player runs out of chips during the game and cannot meet minimum bet or raise requirements and puts all the remaining chips in the pot. In this case a side pot is created for the other players who carry on betting as usual. A player who went All-in carries on playing the game and can win the main pot, if at the end of the game he has the best hand, but he is not entitled to the side pot. The player with the next best hand who did not go All-in will win the side pot.
American Airlines
Pocket aces
B&M
Shortened term for a brick and mortar card room as opposed to an online card room
Backdoor
In Texas Holdem and Omaha when a player’s hand is completed by receiving two required cards in a row, on the turn and the river.
Bad Beat
An unlucky turn of events that occurs when a player’s very strong hand is beaten by an even stronger hand
Bankroll
A designated amount of money a player sets aside for playing poker
Bet
To place money/chips into the pot
Big Slick
An Ace and a King as your hole cards in Texas Holdem
Blind
A mandatory contribution into the pot from one or two players who sit to the left of the dealer button of a set amount of chips before any cards are dealt. Blinds start the pot and give players an incentive to play. Blinds make up for the player’s next bet. There are two types of blinds - a big blind and a small blind with the small blind typically being half the size of the big blind. The requirement to contribute a blind rotates among the players.
Bluff
To bet or raise without a good hand in hope to mislead other players and make them believe that the bluffing player has a better hand than he/she holds in order to win the pot
Board
The cards dealt face up and available to all players, otherwise known as community cards.
Boat
Another name for Full House. Also referred to as a full boat
Broadway
Poker hand that contains an ace high straight
Bubble
The last non-paying spot in a poker tournament
Burn Card
The top card from the deck placed face down before the next betting round is dealt to prevent dealer from flashing a card to a player
Button
A wdisk also known as the dealer button serves to recognize which player sitting at the table is the dealer for that particular hand. After each hand has completed, as with standard poker rules, the button moves clockwise to the next active player. This is done, because there is an advantage to having to act last and so each player gets his fair share of early, late and middle positions
Buy-in
The amount of money it costs to enter a poker tournament
Call
To place money/chips to match another player's bet amount to stay in the game
Calling Station
A player who usually calls other player's bets instead of betting or raising
Canine
Hole cards comprised of a King and a Nine
Check
When a player checks he/she does not make a bet but still remains in the game. You can only check if no other player has yet made a bet. When another player bets after you check you can choose to fold, call or raise.
Check-Raise
When a player initially checks and then raises when another player bets
Community Cards
See Board. Face up cards that may be used by all players at a table to make a hand
Connector
A starting poker hand in which your two hole cards are next to each other in value, such as A,K
Cowboys
A pair of kings
Crabs
A pair of threes
Dead Man's Hand
Poker hand that contains two pair; Black Aces and Black Eights. This was the winning hand that Wild Bill Hickok was shot with
Deal
To give players and the board cards throughout a poker game
Dealer
The nominal player, who distributes the cards during a hand of poker. Each player takes a turn dealing and is designated as such by a dealer button. Also called a button
Donkey
A disparaging insult that poker players use against other players. This is not allowed in the chat area
Door Card
The first face up card dealt to each player in 7 Card Stud, also called third street.
Double Up
To increase your chip stack by 100%
Down Cards
See Hole cards a player's cards that are dealt face down which only he can see.
Draw
A situation in which a player needs one card to complete a poker hand
Drawing Hand
A hand with a potential to improve to a winning hand
Drawing Dead
A hand where no matter what card you get you are still going to loose
Ducks
A pair of deuces
Early Position
One of the three positions to the immediate left of the big blind
Even Money Pot
A situation in which a player's chances of winning a pot are about 50%
Family Pot
A hand in which most players call prior to the flop
Fifth Street
See River. The fifth face up card dealt.
Fish
A player who is clueless and very bad in poker , making a Fish a very attractive opponents
Flop
The first three community cards dealt on the board
Flush
Poker hand that consists of any five cards of the same suit. If two players have Flush the player with the highest value card wins. The odds of having a Flush are 1 in 509
Fold
To abandon your hand and drop out of the pot
Forced Bet
A mandatory bet that starts the action on the first round of a poker hand
Four-of-a-Kind
A poker hand that consists of four cards of the same value. If two players have Four-of-a-Kind the player with the highest ranking cards wins. Odds of Four-of-a-Kind are 1 in 4,165
Fourth Street
See Turn. The fourth face up card dealt.
Free Roll
Freerolls are the tournaments that do not require a Buy-in or registration fee
Full House
A poker hand that consists of three cards of the same value and two more cards of the same value (3+2). If two players have a Full House the player with the highest value of the three cards wins. Odds of Full House are 1 in 694.
Gut-shot Straight
Poker hand in which you need one card to complete a straight draw such as J,10,8,7. Also called Inside straight
Hand
Player’s best five cards that are used to win the pot in Texas Holden or seven best cards in 7 Card Stud. Hand can also mean a round of poker game from when the first cards are dealt to the final betting round.
Heads-up
A poker game where the contest is between two players only
Hi-Lo
A poker game such as Omaha Hi-Lo or 7 Card Stud Hi-Lo in which the pot is split between both the highest and lowest hand
Hole Cards
Cards that are dealt face down to each player. Also known as Down Cards or Pocket cards.
Implied Odds
Implied odds consider additional bets you believe other player will make to make the final pot large enough to make it worth while carry on playing the game
Inside Straight
Poker hand in which you need one card to complete a straight draw such as J,10,8,7.. Also called a gutshot straight
Kicker
An extra card in player’s hand which is used as a tie-breaker if needed.
King Crab
Poker hand containing a king and a three
Ladies
A pair of queens
Lay Down
To fold a hand
Limp In
To only call the big blind before the flop
Limit Poker
Variation of poker in which the bet amounts are preset
Main Pot
The initial pot where betting started prior to a player(s) going all-in
Maniac
A loose, aggressive player who likes to raise a lot of pots
Marginal play hand
A hand that is statistically weak and probably should not be played according to the odds
Missed Blind
A mandatory bet that is not posted
Muck
To discard or throw away your cards
No Limit Poker
Variation of poker in which players can bet or raise any amount from the minimum bet to the amount of their entire stack of chips.
Nuts
An unbeatable hand. Can also be called a Lock
Off Suit
A term used to describe a hand with cards that are of different suits
On Tilt
When a player after a few beats looses the judgement and starts playing too many hands, sometimes wildly and erratically, often trying to bluff it’s opponents obviously, he is said to be on tilt
Open-ended Straight
Poker hand in which two different cards can be used to complete a straight draw. The two cards being on either end of the four connected cards
Open Seat
A seat at a table that is currently available for any player to take
Out(s)
A number of cards that are needed to complete a winning hand
Overcard
A card that is higher than any card on the board
Overpair
A pair of pocket cards which are higher than any community cards on the board
Pair
A poker hand that consists of two cards of the same value. If two players have One Pair the player with the highest value pair wins. If both players have the same value pair the person with highest unrelated card wins. The odds of having One Pair are 1 in 2.
Pocket Pair
Two Hole cards of the same value
Position
A player’s place at the poker table which indicates player’s betting order. In a nine-player game of Texas Holdem the first three places on the left from the button are call early position, the next three called middle position and the last three are call the late position. Players in later positions have an advantage over those who act earlier as they can see the actions of the other players before it is their turn to act.
Post
To place money/chips in the pot
Pot
The money or chips which players bet during a poker game, from the first cards dealt to the final showdown. The winner at the final round of betting takes the pot.
Pot Limit
A game where the maximum bet allowed is no more then the size of the pot at the time the bet is placed.
Pot Odds
A calculation that compares the odds of a player making a hand to the money he/she can potentially win. It is used to decide if it is worth carrying on playing the game.
Preflop
The first stage in Texas Holdem and Omaha when the first cards are dealt before the community cards are still to come.
Qualify Low
Make a hand that is eligible to win half the pot in a high-low split game
Quads
Four-of-a Kind. A poker hand that consists of four cards of the same value. If two players have Four-of-a-Kind the player with the highest ranking cards wins. Odds of Four-of-a-Kind are 1 in 4,165.
Rabbit Hunting
Looking for the cards that would have come up after all players have folded their hands. This is considered bad etiquette.
Raise
Adding the chips to the pot to match the previous bet and to increase the previous bet forcing the other players to put more money into the pot if they wish to stay in the game
Rake
The amount of money that the card room charges for providing players with poker games. Rake is usually a small percentage of the pot .
Rathole
When a player is up in a particular poker session and then takes money/chips from the table and returns to play with a smaller bankroll
Railbird
Someone who looks on or watches a poker game after he has busted out or can't afford the stakes. It is bad etiquette to use the chat function in a game if you are a railbird
Read
To make your best guess whether your opponent has a good hand, a bad hand or bluffing
Represent
To pretend and play as if you have a strong hand when certain cards are shown on the board
Reraise
To raise against an existing raise
Ring Game
A real money game of poker at a regular table as opposed to a tournament game that is player with a preset number of chips
River
The fifth community card dealt face up. Also known as fifth street
Rock
A very tight or conservative player
Runner
A poker hand that is made only by hitting the correct cards on the turn and the river
Satellites
Satellite tournaments are events where prizes are entries into other larger more expensive tournaments
Semi-Bluff
To bet a hand which is not necessarily the best hand but has a reasonable chance of improving
Set
Poker hand that contains three cards of equal value. Also call trips
Short Handed
A game with six or less players at the table
Shuffle
Mixing cards prior to the deal
Short Stack
A relatively small amount of chips compared with the other players at the table
Showdown
The point when the betting is completed and all the players remain in the competition must reveal their cards to establish the winner
Slowplay
A type of bluff where the player intentionally plays a strong hand weakly to lure other players into calling or raising to get more money into the pot. It is also sometimes called sandbagging
Side Pot
The pot(s) from all side bets. Any player(s) who went All-in can not win any side pots that they did not invest in.
Sitting Out
A player leaving the table or being timed out is "Sitting Out". In a live game, if a player sits out, there is a time limit for a player to remain out at which time he will be removed from the game
Smooth-Calling
Intentionally calling other players bets with a strong hand in order to lure other players into the pot. Also see Slowplay.
Snowmen
A pair of eights
Split Pot
A game where the player with the best high hand and the player with the best low hand share the pot evenly. If a player has the best high and the best low hand at the same time, the player wins the whole pot.
Straight
Poker hand that consists of five cards of any suit in order (for example Q,J,T,9,8). If two players have Straight the player with the highest value card wins. An Ace can be taken as the highest or the lowest card (for example A,K,Q,J,T or 5,4,3,2,A) but it can not be used as a high and low link. (for example K,Q,A,2,3). The odds of having a Straight are 1 in 255.
Suck Out
A winning hand that is made by a player who catches a lucky card on the river
Suited Cards
Cards of the same suit
Suited Connectors
A starting poker hand in which your two hole cards are next to each other in value such as A, K and are of the same suit
Tell
An unintentional indication that gives away information about players hand, emotions or tactic, which includes hand movements, changes in posture, facial expressions or any other changes in mannerism.
Tilt
Term for a player that is playing wildly and recklessly by playing far too many hands because they have become emotionally unbalanced
Top Pair
Poker hand in which you combine one of your hole cards with the highest exposed card on the flop
Trips
A poker hand that is called Three-of-a-Kind, which consists of three cards of the same value. If two players have Three-of-a-Kind, the player with the highest ranking card wins. The odds of having Three-of-a-Kind are 1 in 47.
Two Pair
A poker hand which consists of two cards of the same value and another two cards of the same value (For example 8,8,4,4). If two players have Two Pair the player with highest value of the first pair wins. If two players have the same value first pair the player with the highest value of the second pair wins. If both players have the same value first and second pairs the player with the highest ranking fifth card wins. The odds of having Two Pair are 1 in 21.
Under the Gun
The position to the immediate left of the big blind
Value Bet
A bet that you would like an opponent to call instead of fold because you believe the chances are better that you will win rather than lose the hand
Variance
The positive or negative swings in one’s bankroll. This is not necessarily a measure of a player's skill level but it is a good indicator of a player's style
Village People
Poker hand containing four queens
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