Poker Terms

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A

Action
  1. A players turn to act.
  2. A game with lots betting.
All-in
Committing all your chips to the pot.
Ante
Compulsory bet for any player wanting to participate in the next hand.

B

Backdoor
To win a hand using the turn and river cards in a hold’em game.
Bad Beat
To lose despite having the advantage.
Bankroll
The amount of money you have available to gamble.
Blind
A compulsory bet made by one or more players before any cards have been dealt.
Bluff
To make a bet or raise when you are unlikely to be holding the best hand with the purpose of getting your opponent to fold.
Board
Describes all the community cards in a Hold’em game.
Bot
Refers to software programs designed to play poker. Short for robot.
Bubble
The last finishing position in a tournament where you don’t win anything.
Burn
To discard the top card of the deck, face down, before dealing to a community board.
Button
A small disc that is passed around the table indicating the order of play.
Buy-in
The cost of joining a tournament

C

Call
To equal the bet made before you and continue as an active player in the hand.
Calling station
A passive player who likes to call every bet but rarely folds or raises.
Cash out
To leave a cash game and turn chips back into cash.
Check
To bet nothing.
Check-raise
To check in a deliberate attempt to get another player to bet and then raise over that bet.
Connector
A starting pair in a hold’em where the cards are consecutive.
Crack
To beat a powerful hand.
Cut-off
The player who is one position before the dealer or button.

D

Dead card
A card that is no longer playable.
Dead money
Describes a player as having no real chance of winning. Generally a derogatory term.
Deuce
A Two. The lowest ranking card in poker.
Dominated
To hold the same best card as your opponent but have a higher kicker.
Draw
To need a specific card or cards to improve your hand to one that will win.
Drawing dead
To be against an opponent who cannot be beaten, regardless of further community cards to be drawn.

F

Family pot
A pot in which all the players at the table are still involved before the flop.
Fish
A derogatory term used to describe a bad player who gives his money way to easily.
Flop
The first three community cards, delivered face up simultaneously.
Flush draw
To hold four cards of one suit hoping to draw a fifth to make a flush.
Fold
To withdraw from the hand and return yor cards to the dealer.
Free card
When all players check a round of betting before the turn or river card.
Freeroll
A tournament with no entry fee.
Freezeout
A tournament where players all start with the same amount of chips and play continues until one player remains.

G

Gutshot
A card drawn to complete an inside straight.

H

Heads-up
When play is down to two players.
Hole card
A players concealed card.
House
The operator of the game (ie casino, card room).

I

Inside straight
Four cards that require one in the middle to complete a straight.
Into the tank
An expression used when a player spends a long time thinking about what action to take with his hand.

J

Joker
Sometimes used as a wild card as an extra card.
Junk
Poor cards.

K

Kicker
A players highest non paired card. Used to determine the winner when players have near equivalent hands.

L

Limp
To enter a pot by simply calling.
Live
Live cards that can still win you the hand when you are the underdog.
Loose
To play more hands than normal.
Lowball
Avariation of poker where the lowest hand wins.

M

Made hand
A hand that requires no more drawing cards to be complete.
Maniac
An over active player that plays very aggressively.
Monster
An almost certain winning hand.
Muck
Discarded and burnt cards held by the dealer. Also means to fold.

N

No-limit
Any game of poker where there is no limit on the maximum raised.
Nuts
The best possible hand in the current situation.

O

Off-suit
A hold’em starting hand with two cards of different suit.
Open-ended straight
Four sequential cards that requires one card at either end to complete a straight.
Option
The player posting the big blind has the option to check or raise in sequence.
Out
Describes the card or cards you need to make your hand a winning one. Knowing the number of outs available helps determine your chances of winning.
Overcard
Any card in the community cards that has a higher rank than the cards you hold.

P

Pass
To fold.
Play the board
When your pocket cards can not improve upon the hand that the community cards make up.
Pocket
The cards that are dealt to you and are not shared by other players.
Pocket pair
A pair dealt to you in a hold’em game.
Post
To put in a blind bet.
Pot-committed
A situation whee you have so many of your chips committed to a pot that you are locked into it.
Pot-limit
A game in which the maximum bet is limited by the amount already in the pot.
Pot odds
The amount of money in the pot compared to the amount you must pay to continue playing. When compared to your odds of having the winning hand, helps determine whether it is a good bet.

R

Ragged
A random looking flop that wouldn’t appear to be of advantage to anybody.
Rags
Worthless cards.
Rainbow
A rainbow flop is one that contains three different suits.
Raise
To equal and increase upon the previous bet.
Rake
The amount of money taken by the dealer from every pot.
Rank
The numerical value of a card.
Rebuy
Some tournaments offer players that have lost there chips the chance to buy back into the game.
Represent
To bet in a way that gives the impression that you just hit a good card even though you haven’t.
Reraise
To raise a raise.
Ring game
A cash game as opposed to a tournament.
River
The fifth and final community card.
Rock
A player that only plays with a quality hand.
Runner-runner
A hand made with the last 2 community cards.

S

Scare card
A community card that could make a previously strong hand no longer the favourite.
Semi-bluff
A bet or raise you hope will cause your opponents to fold, but is done with a hand that is some possibility of winning.
Set
A three of a kind that is made with a pocket pair and one card from the board.
Seventh street
The final round of betting in7 card stud.
Short stack
A stack of chips that compares badly to others at the table.
Showdown
When all players left in a hand reveal their cards to determine who has won.
Side pot
This is when a player goes all-in but other players still have money to make further bets.
Slow play
To mislead other players into thinking you don not have a strong hand by taking your time to think.
Split pot
More than one player with equivalent hands which get an equal split of the pot.
Steal
To bluff in a late position in an attempt to steal the pot from apparently weak hands.
Stud
Any poker variant where the the first card or cards are dealt face down and subsequent cards are dealt face up.
Suited
When your starting cards in hold’em are the same suit.

T

Tell
A unintended clue from a player that indicates the strength of their hand or their future action.
Tight
A conservative player who only plays strong hands. Unlikely to bluff.
Tilt
When a player plays recklessly and emotionally (usually after a bad loss) they are considered to be playing on tilt.
Top pair
To form a pair using the highest card in the flop.
Top set
To form the highest possible three of a kind.
Trey
A three.
Trips
Three-of-a-kind
Turn
The fourth community card.

U

Underdog
The player with the hand least likely to win.
Under the gun
The player who must act first in the betting round. This is considered to be the worst position as you have no information about you opponents actions.