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.