Ace-High
A five card pokerhand containing no pair, but an ace. |
Aces Up
A five card pokerhand containing two pair: A pair of aces and another pair. |
Active Player
A player still involved in the pot. |
Add-on
After the rebuy period is over in a rebuy tournament, players can add some more chips to their stack for the last time in that tournament. |
Advertise
To bluff with the intention of being caught by the other players in order to get them to call a future bet that`s not a bluff. |
All-In
To bet all the money you have at the table. |
Ante
All the players must put a specific amount in the pot before the first cards are dealt. Used in some poker games, for instance 7 card stud. |
Backdoor Flush / Straight
When a player makes a hand he wasn`t originally drawing at. |
Bad Beat
When a big hand is beaten by a longshot. |
Bankroll
The amount of money a player has available for poker. |
Belly Buster Straight Draw
Used interchangeably with inside straight. |
Bet
To put money in the pot as the first player on a specific betting round. |
Bet the pot
To bet the total amount of money currently in the pot in a big bet game. |
Big Bet (BB)
In limit poker, where the stakes are doubled on the 2 last betting rounds, a big bet is the unit you can bet / raise on the 2 last betting rounds. |
Big Blind
The largest blind bet in a game that has multiple blinds. |
Big Slick
A starting hand in Texas Holdem containing an ace and a king. |
Blank
A card that is not if any value to a player`s hand. |
Blind
A forced bet that a player puts in before he receives his cards. |
Bluff
To bet alot with a weak hand to try to get the other players to lay down their hands. |
Board
The cards that are face-up in a poker game. |
Bounty
A specific amount you receive when you knock out a player of a tournament. |
Bring In
To make the first optional bet in any poker game. |
Broadway Straight
A straight from 10 to A. |
Bullet
An ace. |
Bullets
A pair of aces. |
Bust
To lose all your money. |
Bust a player
To take all the chips from a player. |
Bust out
To be eliminated from a tournament. |
Button
When there is a house dealer, a button is put in front of a player to show that he is playing the dealer`s position. The button is passed to each player in clockwise order. |
Buyin
The amount of money it costs to buy into a tournament. |
Call
To put money in the pot that is exactly equal to the previous bet or raise. |
Calling Station
A player who`s next-to-impossible to bluff and who`ll call almost any bet made. |
Cap
When the maximum of raises possible on a betting round is reached. |
Cashgame
The minimum amount of money necessary to secure a seat in a particular game. |
Change gears
Adjusting play from loose to tight or vice versa. |
Check
If no one has bet before you on a betting round you have the option to check. It`s free and you send the action further to the next player. |
Check-Raise
To check and then raise in the same round when the action returns. |
Chip
A plastic token used in place of cash money. |
Cold Deck
A term often used to describe the deck by players who feel they`re not getting enough playable or winning hands. |
Collusion
When two or more players cheat in a poker game. |
Come Over The Top
To raise or re-raise a bet from another player. |
Community
The cards face up on the table that all the players can use. |
Cowboy
A king. |
Cowboys
A pair of kings. |
Crying Call
To call with an inferior hand. |
Dead Card
A card no longer in play or with no other like cards that are live. |
Dead Hand
A misdealt hand that is not valid. |
Doorcard
The first upcard in a stud game. |
Double Belly Buster
A two-way inside straight. |
Downcard
A card dealt facedown. |
Draw Out
To improve and beat an opponent who had a better hand prior to the draw-out. |
Drawing Dead
Drawing to a hand that it would be impossible to win with, regardless of the card or cards drawn. Also known as dead in the pot. |
Early, Middle and Late Position
The early positions in an eight-handed game are the first three players to act on their hand, the middle positions are the next three and the late positions are the last two.. |
Family Pot
When most of the players at the table is active in a hand. |
Fish
A bad poker player. |
Flat Call
To call a bet without raising. |
Floorman
The person ruling in a poker room. |
Flop
A hold`em and Omaha term describing the first three community cards that are turned simultaneously. |
Flopping a set
In hold`em and Omaha, when a player forms a three-of-a-kind hand with one or two of the flop cards. |
Fold
To discontinue play in a hand and forfeit the pot. |
Forced Bet
A bet a player is forced to put in if he wants to participate in the hand. For instance an ante or a blind. |
Fourth Street
In stud poker, the fourth card dealt to each player.In Hold`em or Omaha, the fourth community card dealt. |
Free Card
A card that`s received without any money having been put into the pot because all active players check on that round of play. |
Freeroll
A tournament that is free to enter, but with real prizes. |
Freeze-out
A tournament where no player can add more money to his original buy-in. |
Give Action
To call, bet or raise. |
Gut-Shot Straight Draw
An inside straight draw. |
Heads-Up
A poker hand or game involving only two players. |
High Roller
A gambler who plays for large sums of money. |
Hit and run
A player who sits down at a table and leaves immediately after winning a pot. |
Hot
A player who wins alot of pots and picks up alot of good hands within short time. |
Ignorant End
The lowest possible straight. |
Isolate
To raise with the intention to get heads-up in the pot against another player. |
Jam
A pot in which several players are raising and reraising. |
Key Card
An important card in a specific hand. |
Kicker
Side card to a pair or better. Example. |
Knave
A jack. |
Lay Down
To fold your hand. |
Limp in
To call the opening bet. |
Loose Game
A game where most players play most pots. |
Loose Player
A player who involves himself in most of the hands, regardless of the strength of this hand. |
Maniac
A crazy player, who can do anything at anytime. |
Middle Pair
To hit the middle pair on the board. |
Monster
A very strong hand that most likely will win the pot. |
Move in
To bet all one`s chips on a single play. |
Muck
1) Where the dealer puts the folded / burnt cards during a hand. 2) To fold your cards if someone shows a better hand than yours on the showdown. |
Narrow the Field
To make a big bet to try to keep as few opponents as possible left in the pot. |
Nuts
The best possible hand at that point in the hand. |
Offsuit
Cards that are not of the same suit. |
On the come
To bet on a drawing hand. |
On tilt
When a player plays poorly after losing one or more big pots. |
Open ended straight draw
4 cards to a straight |
Out
A card that will make the hand for you. |
Outdraw
To hit a lucky card to win the hand. |
Overcall
To call a bet after one or more other players already have called. |
Overcard
A downcard in a player`s hand that`s higher than any card showing. |
Overpair
A pair in the pocket in hold`em or Omaha that`s higher than any card on the board. |
Paint Cards
A jack, king or a queen. |
Pass
The same as fold. To give up your hand. |
Pat Hand
A hand that`s complete or one that a player does not draw to. |
Pick up
Win a relatively small pot without a contest. |
Playing the Board: In Texas Hold`em
If your best 5 card poker hand is equal to the 5 cards showing at the board. |
Pocket Rockets
A pair of aces in the hole. |
Position
Where a player sits relative to other active players in a particular pot. |
Pot
1) The total amount of money bet on a hand. 2) An area near the center of the table where the bets of the players are placed. |
Pot Odds
The odds of a bet compared to the amount of money already in the pot. |
Premium Hands
The top starting hands in a game. |
Put Him On
What you think your opponents holding is in a specific game. |
Rag
A low-valued card that appears to help no one. Also called a blank. |
Rail
A barrier that separates spectators from players. |
Railbird
A spectator. |
Rainbow
A flop with 3 different suits. |
Raise
To bet more chips than the previous bettor within a round of play. |
Rake
The percentage extracted from the pot by the house dealer. |
Rank
The value of a card or a hand. |
Re-buy
In some tournaments it is possible to buy more tournament chips in the first levels. This is called Re-buy. |
Re-raise
To raise a raiser within a round of play. |
Read
To make an educated guess on what an opponent holds in his hand. |
Represent
To make it appear you have a hand that you might not have. |
Ring Game
A game with a player in every seat. A full game. |
River
The last community card dealt in a flop game. |
Rock
A player who only plays the very best starting hands. |
Rolled-up
In seven-card stud, when the first three cards are of the same rank. |
Runner-Runner
Backdoor. |
Rush
To win many pots within short time. |
Sandbag
Checking the probable best hand with the intention of raising. |
Sandwich
Two players having another opponent stuck in the middle of their betting. |
Semibluff
Bluffing with a hand that has possibilities of improving. |
Set
Three of a kind. |
Short stack
A player in a game that has a little amount of chips / money, compared to the other players at the table. |
Shorthanded game
A poker game with few players. 6 or less. |
Showdown
When the cards are exposed at the end of a hand to see who wins. |
Slowplay
To play a strong hand weakly. |
Slowroll
To await showing a winning hand longer than necessarily. |
Smooth call
When a player calls, anticipating a raise by a player behind him. |
Splash The Pot
To throw the chips into the pot. |
Split pot
If one or more players show down the same hand at the river, the pot will be split between those players. |
Stack
The amount of chips you have at the table. |
Steal the pot
To win a pot on a bluff. |
Steam
Tilt |
Sucker
A player who thinks he knows how to play. |
Suited
Cards of the same suit. |
Table Talk
A conversation going on between the players at a pokertable. |
Tell
A mannerism of a player that gives opponents an indication of the strength of his hand or whether or not he`s bluffing. |
Toke
To tip the dealer. |
Top Pair
To hit the highest pair on the board. |
Trips
Three of a kind. |
Turn
The fourth of the five community cards coming at the table in Texas Hold`em and Omaha. |
Under The Gun
The first player to act in a betting round. |
Underdog
A hand that has a little chance of winning compared to the other hands. |
Wired Pair
A pair in your holecards. |