How to Play | Terms
Speak poker as well as you play it:
Now that you've decided to
master the game of 👄 poker, in addition to a keen eye and bucket of confidence, you need
to be able to talk the talk. 👄 Our comprehensive list of poker terminology will help you
get your lingo on!
A - F G - L M - 👄 R S - W X - Z
Action
(1) One's turn to act during a
hand.
(2) To bet or raise.
(3) Used to 👄 describe a game in which there is a lot of
betting and raising.
Ante
A small bet all players are required to 👄 make before a hand is
dealt. An ante is similar to a blind, but everyone has to contribute it before 👄 a hand
commences. Antes give the pot a value right off the bat.
All-In
A bet that places all
of a player's 👄 chips into the pot.
Backdoor
Hitting your needed cards on the turn and
the river to make your hand. For example, if 👄 there's one heart on the board and you
have two in your hand and two more hearts show up on 👄 the turn and river, you've hit a
"backdoor" flush.
Bad Beat
When a player who initially had a substantial statistical
lead over 👄 an opponent loses his hand to that opponent after the flop, turn, or
river.
Bad Beat Story
A retelling or recollection of 👄 a bad beat. These are often boring
tales you already know the end of. For example: "I had ace-king, and 👄 my opponent had
2-3. There was an ace on the board. The turn was a 4, and then - Can 👄 you believe it? -
the river was a 5!"
Big Blind
The amount of chips the second player to the left of 👄 the
dealer has to bet. The amount depends on the stakes. Like an ante, it is a posted
amount that 👄 makes the pot worth playing for before the action begins. It is equivalent
to one complete first round bet. It's 👄 a called a blind because it amounts to placing a
bet without seeing the cards first.
Blind
The generic term for either 👄 the big blind or
the small blind. If you are one of the blinds, you are sitting either immediately to
👄 the left of the dealer button (small blind position) or one position farther left (big
blind).
Board
The community cards that everyone 👄 uses in combination with their pocket
cards to form the best hand.
Bubble
In a tournament, the bubble is the top finisher 👄 out
of the money. For instance, if there are 450 players in a tournament and the top 45 get
paid, 👄 then 46th place is known as "the bubble."
Burn
The discarding of the top card
before each betting round. In the case 👄 that there is a distinguishing mark on the top
card, the burn card keeps the next card to be dealt 👄 concealed before it comes out. That
way no unfair information is being intentionally or unintentionally
conveyed.
Button
The position of the dealer. 👄 In live poker, it's usually denoted by
placing a plastic disk in front of the dealer. It rotates clockwise each 👄 time the
dealer shuffles for a new hand. The button is in an advantageous position, for he acts
last in 👄 a betting round.
Buy-In
The cost to enter a tournament, or the minimum amount
needed to sit down in a cash game 👄 at a specific table. Usually 20 times the big blind.
So, for example, if you're at aR$5/$10 table, you'll needR$200 👄 to take a seat.
Call
To
contribute the minimum amount of money to the pot necessary to continue playing a
hand.
Check
To pass 👄 on betting. If there's no action (bet) to you, there's nothing to
call. If you don't want to bet, you 👄 can just "check." If there's subsequent action from
your fellow players in the betting round, then the action will come 👄 back to you to
either call, fold or raise.
Check-Raise
A check-raise is made when a player checks on
the first opportunity 👄 to bet and later raises any subsequent bet in the same betting
round.
Cold Call
To call two or more bets on 👄 your turn. If a pot has been bet and
raised before it gets to you, and then you call, you're 👄 cold
calling.
Connector
Sequential pocket cards. A 5 of clubs and 6 of hearts would be
connectors. If the connectors are the 👄 same suit, they are "suited connectors" - e.g., 5
and 6 of clubs.
Community Cards
Cards that are dealt face up in 👄 the center of the
table, available for all players to use in making a hand.
Counterfeit
A duplicate card
on the board 👄 that greatly devalues your hand. If you have a pair of 6's in your hand,
and the board is ace-ace-7-4, 👄 and the river card is a 7, you've been "counterfeited."
You had two pairs, but now the board has two 👄 better pairs. Any other player with a card
higher than a 6 in his hand now beats your hand.
Cut-Off
The position 👄 to the immediate
right of the button.
Dealer
The player who shuffles the deck and deals the
cards.
Dealer Button
The button (often a 👄 plastic disk in live poker) that indicates the
dealer. It is passed clockwise after every hand.
Draw
Remaining in a hand in 👄 the hopes
of improving it. For example, you don't have anything concrete yet, but need one or
more cards for 👄 a straight or a flush. If you call (or raise) a round of betting to see
if the needed card(s) 👄 come, you are said to be "drawing." The two most common draws are
flush draws (drawing for a flush) and 👄 straight draws (drawing for a straight). You can
also draw for a three of a kind, full house, or better.
Draw 👄 Out
To receive a card that
transforms your hand from a losing hand to a winning hand.
Drawing Dead
You're drawing,
but it's 👄 futile because there is not one card in the deck that will create a winning
hand for you. If you 👄 have two pairs and hope to make a full house on the river, but
your opponent already has four of 👄 a kind, you are "drawing dead."
Flop
The first three
community cards dealt out after the first round of betting is complete.
Flush
A 👄 poker
hand consisting of five cards of the same suit.
Fold
To give up by placing your cards
face down on the 👄 table, losing whatever you have bet so far. You only fold when you
think your hand is too weak to 👄 compete against the other players.
Four of a Kind
A hand
containing all four cards of the same rank.
Full House
A hand consisting 👄 of a three of
a kind and a (different) pair.
Gutshot
A straight completed from "inside" by one
possible card. For example, 👄 if your pocket cards are 5 and 6 and the flop shows
4-8-king, a 7 and only a 7 on 👄 the turn or river would complete your "gutshot" straight.
It is the opposite of an open-ended straight, which is completed 👄 by any one of two
cards from the outside. A gutshot is half as likely to hit as an open-ended
👄 straight.
Hand
Five cards, made of a player's pocket cards and the community
cards
Heads-Up
Playing a pot or tournament against only one other 👄 player.
High Card
In
a hand of poker that has 5 different cards that do not form any kind of match, the
👄 highest card is the high card and it is only useful against another hand of 5 unmatched
cards if a 👄 showdown takes place.
Implied Odds
Taking future calls from your fellow
players into consideration when you are drawing to something. If you 👄 draw successfully,
you expect they'll call with their hands. These funds are speculative and not concrete,
as they aren't in 👄 the middle yet and won't be unless you hit your card and they call
your bets - hence, "implied."
Kicker
If you 👄 have the same hand as another player at
showdown, the one with the highest kicker wins the pot. If the 👄 board is 7-7-5-5-2, and
you have ace-king and your opponent has king-queen, you win because your ace beats his
king. 👄 Your ace is the "kicker." The highest card completing a five-card hand is the
only determination between winning and losing 👄 in this example.
Late Position
Position
on a round of betting where the player must act after most of the other players 👄 have
acted (usually considered to be the two positions next to the button).
Limp
Slang word
for calling, implying it's not an 👄 aggressive move.
Limit
A structure of the game in
which bets and raises are capped at a fixed amount.
Live Bet
Slang word for 👄 calling,
implying it's not an aggressive move.
Muck
All the discarded cards in a hand. If a
player folds, he tosses his 👄 hand "into the muck."
No-Limit
A structure of the game in
which players can bet their entire stack. There's a minimum to 👄 what you can bet, but
not a maximum.
Nuts
The best possible hand one can have at a given moment. For example,
👄 if you have pocket 7's, and the flop is 7-6-2, you have the "nuts" at this point, as
trip 7's 👄 would be the best possible hand. If the turn card is a 5, you would no longer
have the nuts, 👄 as that honor now goes to anyone holding 8-9, making a straight. If the
river is the last 7, you'd 👄 again have the nuts, as your hand is once again the best
possible hand.
Off-suit
Holding pocket cards of different suits.
Omaha
A variety 👄 of
hold'em in which players receive 4 hole cards and must use exactly two of them,
together with 3 of 👄 the 5 board cards, to make a hand.
Open-Handed
A category of games
characterized by a part of each player's hand being 👄 exposed.
Over-Pair
In hold'em, a
pair in the hole that is larger than any community card on the board.
Open-Ended
A
straight completed from 👄 the outside by one of two possible cards. For example, if your
pocket cards are 5-6 and the flop shows 👄 4-7-king, either a 3 or an 8 on the turn or
river would complete your open-ended straight. An open-ended straight 👄 is twice as
likely to hit as a "gutshot."
Orbit
After each player at a table has served as the
dealer for 👄 a hand. Each time the button passes you is a complete orbit.
Out
A card that
will improve your hand. If all 👄 the money is in the middle, and you turn over a pair of
kings and your opponent has a pair 👄 of aces, you need one of the two remaining kings -
your two "outs" - to beat your opponent.
Over-cards
Having cards 👄 higher than the board
cards or your opponent's pocket. For example, if it's heads up and someone's all-in,
the two 👄 remaining players would expose their cards. If it is a pair of sevens versus
ace-king, the ace and king are 👄 referred to as "over-cards."
Pair
Two cards of the same
rank.
Pocket Cards
The cards in your hand that are not part of the 👄 community cards. In
hold'em, it's your two down cards. In Omaha, it's your four down cards. Also known as
hole 👄 cards.
Pot
The place in the center of the poker table where wagered chips are
placed. The winner of the hand wins 👄 all the chips in the pot..
Pot-Committed
A
situation that likely requires you to call due to the amount of money in 👄 the pot
vis-a-vis your remaining stack of chips. In these situations, it makes no sense to
fold.
Pot-Limit
A structure of the 👄 game in which bets and raises are capped by the
current size of the pot.
Pot Odds
The ratio of money in 👄 the pot compared to what you
need to call to keep playing. For example, suppose there isR$100 in the pot. 👄 Somebody
betsR$10, so the pot now containsR$110. It costs youR$10 to call, so your pot odds are
11-to-1. Do you 👄 think the odds of your hand being the best are better than 11-to-1? If
so, you should call. Similarly, if 👄 you are getting the same 11-to-1 odds and you don't
have a made hand but the odds of drawing to 👄 a better hand are greater than 11-to-1, it
would also be correct to call.
Quads
Four of a kind.
Rainbow
In flop games, a 👄 flop in
which no two cards are of the same suit. E.g., "The flop was an ace-9-7
rainbow."
Rake
The amount that 👄 the house takes out of a poker hand.
Ring Game
A
standard poker game in which money is wagered during each hand.
River
The 👄 final of the
five community cards.
Rock
Slang for a "tight" player. A rock can sit at a table orbit
after orbit 👄 without playing for a pot. When he enters a pot, you know he's got the
goods.
Raise
To wager more than the 👄 minimum required to call, forcing other players to
put in more money as well.
Royal Flush
An ace-high straight flush, the best 👄 possible
hand in standard poker.
Satellite
A tournament with a smaller buy-in that pools all the
entrants' funds and awards seats to 👄 a higher-value tournament rather than cash. For
example, aR$500 satellite that awards a WSOP Main Event seat ($10,000 value) would
👄 award one seat for every 20 entrants in the satellite tournament. Satellites give
players the chance to enter into an 👄 expensive tournament by winning or placing well in
a less expensive tournament.
Semi-Bluff
A bluff with a hand that has the potential 👄 to
improve should the bluff itself be ineffective.
Set
Having a pocket pair that hits on
the board, making three of a 👄 kind.
Short Stack
Having fewer chips than the rest of the
players at the table or in the tournament.
Showdown
When, after the final 👄 round of
betting, players turn their hands face-up. A poker hand will only reach a showdown if
there are callers 👄 in the last round of betting, or if someone is all-in prior to the
last betting round.
Side Pot
Separate from the 👄 main pot. If one or more players is
all-in, the pot to which the all-in players contributed is the main 👄 pot. A side pot is
created from any additional money bet by the remaining players. There can be many side
👄 pots if there are more than one all-in player. An all-in player is only eligible to win
a pot to 👄 which he has contributed.
Sit-and-Go
A poker tournament that starts whenever a
specified number of players have registered. As the name suggests, 👄 you "sit"
(register), and, when there are enough of your fellow players to start the game, you
begin, or "go."
Sit 👄 out
This is when you choose to leave a table for a few hands. If a
Player sits out for more 👄 than fifteen minutes, or has missed two rounds of blinds, they
are removed from the table.
Slow Play
When, in an attempt 👄 to have other players stick
around and possibly call your bets, you play your hand less aggressively than
necessary. For 👄 example, if you flop a full house, it is unlikely anyone is going to
beat your hand. Slow-playing the hand 👄 may allow the other players to make their hands
and therefore continue to call your bets.
Small Blind
The smaller of two 👄 blind bets.
The position to the immediate left of the dealer button position, and to the right of
the big 👄 blind position.
Split Pot
When two or more players make the same hand and the
pot is divided between equivalent high hands.
Straddle
An 👄 optional pre-deal bet,
typically made by the player to the left of the big blind. The straddle amount is twice
👄 the big blind (same as a legal raise). The straddler earns the "option" from the big
blind. He may re-raise 👄 when the action comes around to him. A straddle is a cash game
convention and is not usually permitted in 👄 a tournament.
String Bet
Placing a bet on
the table in a staggered motion or multiple motions. String bets are not allowed, 👄 and
the dealer will remove the added amount of the bet if he determines a bet to be a
string 👄 bet. It's not permitted because it could be used to gauge the reaction of other
players before you commit the 👄 entire intended amount of the raise.
Straight
A hand
consisting of 5 cards in sequence but not in suit.
Straight Flush
A hand consisting 👄 of
5 cards in sequence and the same suit.
Tell
An interpretation of a physical action or a
betting pattern that seemingly 👄 reveals how strong or weak a player's hand is. The best
players do not provide many tells themselves and have 👄 an ability to detect tells of
their opponents in order to determine how to play a hand.
Tilt
Usually the result of
👄 taking a bad beat or series of bad beats, a player is said to be "on tilt" when he
plays 👄 with reckless abandon. Presumably, the term derives from tilting a pinball
machine.
Time
Requesting more time to think. A player will call 👄 for time to avoid the
dealer killing the hand due to inactivity. Conversely, a player that takes excessive
time to 👄 make decisions may have a "clock" called on them by the other players who seek
to keep the flow of 👄 the game going.
Top Pair
A pair with the highest card on the board.
For example, if you have an ace and 👄 7 in the hole, and it's a 3-4-7 flop, you've got a
"top pair" with an ace kicker. If you 👄 had a pair greater than sevens in your pocket,
you'd have an over-pair.
Tournament
A poker event involving one or more tables 👄 of
players who each begin with a fixed amount of tournament chips. They play until they
have either lost that 👄 amount, are the last player remaining holding all the chips, or
the remaining players enter into an agreement to end 👄 the game. In a tournament, players
buy in for a certain amount, which goes into a prize pool that is 👄 distributed to the
top performers, usually the final 10% of the remaining players. You cannot get up with
your chips 👄 and leave the game like a cash game. You are in the tournament until its
conclusion.
Trips
Slang for three of a 👄 kind.
Turn
The fourth community card. Put out
face-up, by itself. Also known as "Fourth Street."
Under the Gun
Player sitting in the
first-to-act 👄 position. It's the position immediately to the left of the big blind,
pre-flop, and to the left of the button 👄 for subsequent betting rounds.
