Glossary of Poker Terms
On this page you will find a huge Glossary of Poker terms:
A
Action
Can mean: (1) the player’s turn to act, (2) making a bet or raise, or (3) a game that involves a great deal of betting and raising.
Action Card
Dealt community card that could potentially improve the hands of multiple players and so dramatically increase the action of the game.
Active Player
A player who still has a hand to play.
All Blue/Green, etc
Slang for a flush
All-in
Running out of betting chips while betting or calling.
Ante
The portion of the bet each player is required to put up at the beginning of the game in order to seed the pot and give it a value.
B
Baby
One of the four non-aces (2, 3, 4, 5) required for the lowest possible hand.
Backdoor
A late hand that was originally unintended by the player. Involves hitting the cards on the turn and the river to make a drawing hand.
Back Raise
Another term for a re-raise
Bad Beat
An underdog hand defeating a favored one.
Bankroll
The total gambling funds currently available.
Bet
Placing the first chips in the pot in a betting round.
Bet for Value
Betting a hand that is expected to win more than it loses in the long run.
Big Blind
An early forced bet posted by the second player to the left. It is usually a raise of an earlier blind called the small blind.
Blind
Forced bet put in by one or more players before the game starts. It is called a blind since the players have to make the bet before they see any cards.
Bluff
When a person bets or raises holding a hand that they think is worse than their opponent’s, in an attempt to have them fold a stronger hand.
Blank
A board card that is a bad draw, or that will not help complete a hand draw.
Board
Using the face up or community cards (flop, turn and river together) to make up a hand.
Bottom Pair
Using the lowest card on the flop to make a pair with one’s own cards.
Burn
A precaution against a player identifying the next card on the board by, face down, getting rid of the top card from the deck.
Button/Buck
A distinctive indicator that identifies the dealer of the game. Also known as a buck.
Bust
To lose all of one’s money on the table.
Buy
Can refer: (1) to buying the pot, or to bet into a pot that other players are disinterested in, in order to win it or (2) to buying the button, or to bet or raise in an attempt to make the players between oneself and the button fold, in order to be able to act last on future betting rounds.
Buy-in
The amount of money that is used to join a game.
C
Call
To match a bet or a raise, or to put in the minimum amount of money in the pot required to keep playing.
Calling Station
A weak player who constantly calls bets but tends to not raise or fold.
Cap
The maximum number of raises that can be allowed in a game. Can also refer to the last raise of the game.
Case
The fourth and last card of a certain rank to become available in the deck.
Center Pot
The first and main pot created during a game of poker as opposed to any side pots created if players go all in.
Change Gears
Adopting a different style of play mid-game.
Chase
When a player who is lagging behind their opponents is continues their hand in an attempt to put them in the lead.
Check
Can mean: (1) to not put anything in the pot, while still being able to call or raise later in the betting round, or (2) another name for a poker chip.
Check Raise
A tactic that aims to mislead, where a player checks early on and only raises after another player places a bet.
Chip
The round token that represents cash at a gaming table.
Cold Call
Calling a raise after a bet and one or more raises, or to cal more than one bet in a single action.
Come Hand
A drawing hand that is weak for the moment, but can potentially improve significantly after more cards are dealt or revealed.
Community Cards
Cards that are shared among players and are placed face-up in the middle of the poker game. Also referred to as “the board”.
Complete Hand
A hand with all five cards- straight, flush, full house or straight flush.
Concealed Pair
When both of the pair cards are face down.
Counterfeit
When the worth of a player’s hand decreases because of board cards duplicating it.
Crack
To beat a big hand in a showdown.
Cut the Deck
Dividing the deck into two fairly equal halves.
Crippling the Deck
One player has most of the major cards that are wanted on the current board.
Dark Bet
To bet blind, or without looking at your cards.
Dealer
The player who deals the cards. The dealer is identified by a button which is passed around the table, so that each round has a different dealer.
Dominated Hand
A hand that has a high chance of losing to a better hand that is usually played during the game.
Draw
Playing an incomplete hand that needs more cards to become valuable.
Draw Dead
A hand that will not win the pot even if made.
E
Early Position
A player in one of the first positions to act in the betting round.
F
Fish
An inexperienced player who stands to lose money.
Flat Call/Smooth Call
Calling a bet with a strong enough hand to raise.
Flat limit
When all bets placed are for the same amount of money.
Flush
A hand with five cards all in one suit.
Fold
To lay one’s cards down and stop playing a hand.
Forced Bet
A game where the player is necessitated to make a bet to begin action on the initial card.
Free Card
When the player is able to see the next card without having to call in the bet.
Full House
A hand with a three of a kind, and a pair.
Full Ring
A table seating the maximum number of players possible.
G
Grifter
Someone who cheats.
Gut Shot Straight
A draw to an inside straight.
H
Head Up
To play against only one other player.
Help Card
A card that improves the player’s hand.
High-Low Split
Games where the pot is split between the best hand and best lowball hand.
Hit
Used in the sentence “the flop hit me”, which means the flop contains help cards. hit you.
Hole Cards
Face-down cards dealt to each player in stud and hold ‘em games. Used to dscribe the first two cards in Hold ‘Em and first four player cards in Omaha.
Hook
Abbreviated form of J-Hook. A Jack.
House
The establishment hosting the game.
House Cut
The house’s profit for running the game.
I
Ignorant End
The lower end of a straight in a game that has community cards.
Implied Odds
Pot odds that are included in your calculation despite not existing because of bets that are expected to be won if the player hits their hand.
Inside Straight
Four cards to a straight, where only one rank will complete the hand.
J
Jackpot
A bonus paid to the loser of a hand if he gets a very good hand beaten.
Jacks or Better
Game of draw poker where you need to have a pair of jacks as the minimum to start the action.
Jake
Alternative term for a Jack.
Jam
A pot where several players are raising.
J Hook
Alternative term for a Jack.
Joker
The 53rd card in the deck, used as a wild card or as a Bug.
K
K-Boy
Alternative term for a King.
Kicker
May refer to 1) a single high card held with a pair of another denomination in draw poker in order to determine the better of teo near-equivalent hands, or 2) the highest side card that is not part of the basic final hand.
L
Lady
Alternative term for a Queen.
Late Position
A player who acts after most of the other players have already acted for a particular betting round.
Lay Odds
Giving an opponent favorable odds.
Leak
Accidentally showing one’s cards to the other players.
Lid
The top card of the deck.
Limit Poker
A game where the amount to be bet is fixed, or only variable within a certain prearranged range.
Limp In
Making the cheapest possible call or a slang word for calling that implies it is not an aggressive move.
Liner
Alternative term for a face card.
Live Card
An unexposed card
Live Blind
If one or more players put in a forced bet before any cards are dealt, those players still can raise when the action gets back to them.
Live One
A bad player with a lot of money to lose.
Lock
An unbeatable hand. Alternatively called the nut.
Loose
Playing more hands than is usual.
Lowball
Generic term for poker where the lowest hand wins.
M
M-ratio
A measure of the health of a chip stack as a function of the cost to play each round.
Made hand
A hand that does not need improvement to win.
Main Pot
The pot that every player participates in.
Maniac
A player who isn’t very good but gambles a lot, betting and raising without much regard to the quality of their hand. Some players may pretend to be maniacs to secure an advantage.
Marked Cards
Cards that have been illegally altered so that their value can be read from the back.
Mechanic
Someone who cheats by manipulating the cards to deal either themselves or another player a good hand.
Misdeal
An incorrectly dealt hand that will have to be re-dealt.
Mites and Lice
A hand with two pairs, threes over twos.
Muck
This can refer to 1) face-down cards near the dealer composed of discards and burn cards or 2) the action of throwing one’s cards into the muck to fold.
N
Nickel
Five dollars, represented by a red casino check.
No-Limit Poker
A game without a maximum bet so a player can bet whatever amount they want up to what is on the table/their entire stack.
Nut
Alternative term for a lock.
Nut Player
An excellent player who plays only the best hands.
O
Offsuit
Not of the same suit.
On the Come
When the player does not yet have a complete hand.
On Tilt
When the style of play becomes more erratic because of the player’s emotional responses.
Open
Take the first bet in a hand, especially in draw poker.
Opener
The first player to bet.
Openers
Cards that allow a player to start betting.
Open-Handed
Poker games where part of each player's hand being exposed.
Open Pair
An exposed pair.
Orbit
Every time a player has served as the dealer for a hand. Each time the button passes a player makes for a complete orbit.
Out
A card that will improve your hand.
Overcall
Calling a bet after one or more players have already called.
Over-cards
Having cards higher than your opponent’s pocket or the board cards.
P
Paint
Slang term for a face card.
Pair
Two cards of the same rank.
Pass
To check, if checked to and to fold, if bet to.
Pat Hand
Holding or being dealt a complete hand.
Pay Off
Calling a bet with little expectation of winning.
Pay Station
A player who rarely folds, thus who frequently calls better hands and loses.
Picked Off
When a player gets called while bluffing.
Picture
Slang name for a face card.
Pigeon
An easy player who can be picked on.
Starting hole cards in stud and Hold 'em.
Pocket Rockets
A pair of aces in the hole.
Position
One's location in the betting sequence, relative to the players still in the hand.
Pot
The total amount of money bet so far in a hand.
Pot Limit
A game where the maximum bet is determined by the size of the pot at the time.
Pot Odds
The amount of money in the pot divided by the amount of money you must bet in order to call.
Premium Hands
The best possible hands.
Proposition Player /Prop
An employee of the gaming establishment whose primary purpose is just to play and help keep enough players at a table. The prop player does not participate in wins or losses.
Puck
A token denoting the dealer position. See Button.
Puppy Feet/ Pups
Club flush or just the suit of Clubs.
Quads
Four of a kind.
Qualifier
A minimum standard that a hand must meet in order to win. Usually applied to the lowball side of a high-low split pot.
Quartered
To divide half a pot between two tying hands in split pot games.
Rags
Board cards that are small to medium, not suited and not in sequence.
Rail
A barrier dividing the card playing area from a public area.
Railbird
A spectator behind the rail.
Rainbow
Small groups of cards with no two in the same suit.
Raise
To wager more than the minimum required to call, forcing other players to put in more money as well.
Raiser
One who raises.
Rake
The usually small percentage of money taken from each pot and given to the house in return for hosting the game.
Rat-Hole
To take money or chips off the table during play.
Read
To determine whether an opponent has a good, medium or bad hand by observing his personal behavior. REPRESENT - Implying, by one's betting style, that one has a particular hand.
Reraise
To raise after an opponent has raised.
Ribbon Clerk
A small time gambler.
Ring Game
A standard game where players can come and go as they choose.
River
The last card dealt in a hand of stud or Hold'em.
Rock
A very tight, solid poker player.
Rolled Up
In seven-card stud, being dealt three of a kind in the first three cards.
Royal Flush
An ace-high straight flush, the best possible hand in regular poker.
Runner-Runner
A hand made using both of the last two cards dealt.
Rush
A winning streak.
S
Sandbag
Playing a strong hand as if it were only a fair one.
Scoop
To win all of the pot in a split pot game.
See
To call a bet, as in: "I'll see you".
Semi-Bluff
To bluff with a come hand that figures to win if it hits.
Set
Trips or Quads. In Holdem, a pair in your hand with one (or two) on the board.
Shark
A good/crafty player often posing as a fish early in the game.
Shill
An employee of the gaming establishment whose primary purpose is just to play and help keep enough players at a table. A shill is staked to the game by the house as his compensation.
Short Call
Call a bet with not enough money on the table and start an all-in side pot.
Short-Stacked
Playing with a only a small amount of money.
Showdown
The point at the end of the hand where all active players reveal their cards and the pot is awarded to the winner(s).
Side Pot
When an active player runs out of money during the course of a hand, the remaining players participate in a second or Side Pot for the rest of the hand. Additional side pots are possible if several players run out of money at different points in a hand.
Slowplay
To play a hand unaggressively and risking as little as possible.
Small Blind
In games with two blinds the first blind is the Small Blind because it is usually one-half (or less) the amount of the big bland.
Snapped Off
To get a good hand beat.
Solid Player
A strong, all around player.
Split Openers
In draw poker, to discard one or more openers, usually to draw to a straight or flush.
Split Pair
A pair in Stud with one card up and the other down.
Split Pot
A pot that is split between two or more hands.
Spread
For a casino to offer a particular game.
Stack
The amount of money (the stack of chips) a player has on the table.
Stacked Deck
A deck that has been arranged to give one player a huge advantage.
Stake
The amount of a player's BUY-IN, or the amount of money they are willing to play with in a given session.
Stand Off
To call a raise. "Opener raises, I stand off".
Steal
To win the pot by bluffing.
Steal Position
The next to last or last position.
Steam
Playing wildly, calling and raising a lot.
Straddle
In Hold'em, a raise to the big blind before the deal.
Streets
Fourth Street, Fifth Street etc. In stud, the fourth card dealt to a player, the fifth card etc.
String Bet
An unethical and often illegal means of raising whereby a player puts a call-size stack of chips into the pot and, after observing the reactions of the players, then goes back to his stack and puts out more.
Stuck
A significant amount of money lost.
Stud
Any of several poker games in which some of each players' cards are exposed.
Suicide King
King of Hearts. So named because in the drawing the king appears to be stabbing himself in the head.
Suited
Two or more cards all the same suit.
T
Table Charge
A fee paid for playing.
Table Stakes
A standard rule whereby during a hand players can only bet the money they have on the table.
Tap
In no-limit games, to wager all of one's money in one bet.
Tapped Out
Out of money.
Tell
Any personal mannerisms that reveal the quality of one's hand.
Three of a Kind
Three cards all the same rank.
Three Flush
Three cards of the same suit.
Tied On
When your hand is good enough to play it to the end.
Tight
A style of play that entails playing fewer hands than average.
Tight Player
A person who plays on the premium hands.
Toke
Gambling term for "tip". Comes from the term "Token of appreciation".
Top Pair
In flop games, having a hole card that matches the highest card on the board.
Top Two Pair
In flop games, having hole cards that make the highest possible two pair hand.
Trey
A three.
Trips
Three of a specific kind, as in "Trip sixes".
Turn
The fourth community card in Hold'em.
Two Flush
Two suited cards.
U
Underdog
Before all the cards are dealt, a hand that does not figure to be the winner.
Under the Gun
The position that has to act first in a round of betting.
Uphill
To chase or try to outdraw a better hand.
V
Value Bet
A small bet to get calls and increase the pot.
W
Walk
A pot won by the last blind when no one opens.
Wheel
A-2-3-4-5. The best possible low hand. Also called a "Bicycle".
Wild Card
A joker or standard card that, by player agreement and/or dealer's choice, can be used to represent any card desired.
Wired Pair
A pair in the hole.
