Poker Terminology - Common Phrases & Meanings
Ever wonder about the meaning of that
poker term that keeps cropping up? Wonder💸 no more thanks to 888poker’s comprehensive
poker glossary! Here we break down all of the important poker terms in depth.💸 We’ve
also gone the extra mile to include expert strategy advice along with many of the poker
terms.
This page shows💸 the overview of the entire poker glossary. Feel free to use this
page as a base for identifying and navigating💸 to the most important poker terms.
Alternatively, the related topics at the bottom of each page can be used to💸 jump
directly between glossary entries.
A
Ace High – A made hand without at least a pair
where the high card is💸 an Ace.
Action – Can refer to any of the available options such
as bet, raise, call, check, fold etc. See💸 this glossary entry for a breakdown.
Aces Up
- Two pair, one of which is Aces.
Add-On – An amount that can💸 be added to our stack of
tournament chips for a set fee during a designated break.
A-Game – Refers to playing
💸 poker with an optimal mindset or mental state. Also referred to as playing poker “in
the zone”.
Aggression Factor - A💸 ratio that compares how many aggressive actions
(betting and raising) are taken for each passive action (calling).
Alias – Refers to💸 a
player’s online screenname. Players who predominantly play online are often known by
their alias/screename.
All-in – Refers to the act💸 of putting all of one’s chips in the
middle. See the glossary entry for a description of when this would💸 be a correct
option.
Angle – “Angle shooting” refers to manipulation of the rules to gain an unfair
advantage. See the💸 glossary entry for examples of common angles.
Ante – A forced
mandatory payment made by all players at the table before💸 any cards are dealt.
Tournaments often make use of antes in the later stages.
Any Two - Expression in
Hold’em used💸 to indicate an action that can be taken regardless of the hole cards - “I
would 3bet any two cards💸 in that spot”.
Any Two Cards - An expression used to convey
that the 2 hole cards don’t matter in a💸 certain Hold’em situation.
B
Backdoor – Refers
to a draw that needs to catch two consecutive cards in order to complete. See💸 the
glossary entry for examples on how backdoor equity works.
Backing - Lending money to a
poker player and receiving a💸 percentage of their poker profits in return.
Backraise –
Refers to a re-raise made after just calling earlier on the same💸 street.
Bad Beat –
Refers to losing a hand of poker after getting unlucky. Often the money goes in as a
💸 favourite and our opponent “sucks out”.
Bad Beat Jackpot - A large prize awarded to a
player who loses a hand💸 despite having an exceptionally strong holding.
Bankroll –
Refers to the total amount of funds a player has at his disposal💸 for the purpose of
playing poker. Consult this entry for advice on how to manage a bankroll
profitably.
Barrel – Refers💸 to making a bet after already being the last aggressor on
the previous street.
bb – The lower case ‘bb’ refers💸 to ‘big blinds’ in poker. It’s
used as a measurement of stack sizes and bet sizes in poker games.
Belly Buster💸 – A
colloquial term for a gutshot. Otherwise known as “inside straight draw”.
Bet – To
“bet” means to make the💸 first wager on the current betting round. The full list of
legal actions can be found in the glossary entry💸 under “Action”.
Big Bet – Refers to
the larger of the two designated bet-sizings in fixed limit games. The big bet💸 sizing
is usually employed on the later rounds of betting once the pot is typically
larger.
Big Blind – The position💸 at the table to the direct left of the small blind.
This position pays the mandatory big blind payment preflop.
Blank💸 – A card which does
not influence the action in any meaningful way. (Usually a low card where no draws
💸 complete).
Blind – To perform an action blind means to do it without looking at our
cards. In this glossary entry,💸 find out why this is a huge disadvantage.
Blocker – A
“blocker” is a card that has a card removal effect💸 on villain’s range. For example, if
we hold a King in our hand, it’s less likely that villain has a💸 King in his hand. Check
this glossary entry for examples of how blocker effects might be utilized.
Blocker Bet
– A💸 small bet made in the hopes of preventing our opponent making an even larger bet if
checked to. Learn whether💸 block betting is a good idea in this glossary entry.
Blue
Chips – Blue chips are usually worthR$10, but it can💸 vary. They are the highest value
chip in a classic three-colour poker chipset.
Bluff – A bet made with a weak💸 hand in
the hopes of getting our opponent to fold a better hand. Learn some important aspects
of bluffing theory💸 in this glossary entry.
Bluffcatch – To call with a hand that can
only win if our opponent is bluffing. Discover💸 the associated maths in this glossary
entry.
Board – Refers either to community cards in variants such as Hold’em and Omaha,
💸 or “upcards” in Stud variants of poker.
Boat – Colloquial term for a full house in
poker. See the glossary entry💸 under “Hand Rankings” for the full list.
Bomb Pot - Where
all players agree to place an additional ante into the💸 pot at the beginning of the hand
before cards are dealt.
Bot – A non-human player at the tables. While illegal💸 on most
sites they still find a way of making it to the tables.
Bottom Pair - Refers to a pair
💸 made with the lowest ranked card on the board when playing community card games such as
Hold'em.
Bounty – A prize💸 that can be collected after knocking a specific player out of
a tournament. A bounty is often put on the💸 head of professional players, especially
those that are sponsored pros at the site in question.
Bring-in – A forced payment made
💸 by the player with the worst upcard on the third street in tud. Said player can either
pay the bring-in💸 or “complete” to the small bet amount if he likes his cards.
Brick – A
term for a card that doesn’t💸 complete any possible draws. Especially a low offsuit
card.
Brick and Mortar - Refers to a company (casino in this case)💸 that has a physical
presence (i.e. a building) from where it runs operations.
Broadway – Any card out of
Ten, Jack,💸 Queen, King and Ace can be referred to as a “broadway”. The Ace-high
straight is also referred to as “broadway”.
BRM💸 – Any acronym standing for “bankroll
management” – the strategies which govern when to move up and down in limits.
Bubble💸 –
The stage of a tournament directly before any player has made the prizepool. Check out
this glossary entry for💸 tips on how to play the bubble.
Bum Hunter - A poker player who
only plays against weak opposition (usually heads💸 up poker) and sometimes actively
stalks weak opponents.
Burn – In live poker games it is common for the dealer to💸 “burn”
cards to help minimize the possibility of cheating. Rather than deal from the top of
the deck, the top💸 card is discarded (or “burned”) and the second card is dealt.
Busted
– The term “busted” refers to a draw (such💸 as a straight-draw or flush-draw) that
missed its card and did not complete.
Button – The button is the most profitable💸 seat
at the poker table. It's to the right of the small blind (SB) and to the left of the
💸 cutoff (CO).
Buy-in – The amount required to join a game of poker. In cash games this
can vary (within specified💸 limits) while the buy-in amount is fixed for
tournaments.
C
Call – To “call” means to match the existing wager on the💸 current
betting round. For a full list of the legal actions in poker see the glossary entry
under “Action”.
Calling Station💸 – Refers to a bad poker player who calls far too
frequently.
Calling Your Bluff – "Calling your bluff" means that💸 your opponent suspects
you are bluffing and correctly makes the call.
Cap – A cap game is one where there is💸 a
limit placed on the maximum amount of chips that can be wagered postflop.
Card Dead - A
poker term that💸 means we are on a run where we are only being dealt bad hands and spend
most of our time💸 folding.
Card Removal - The effect that our holding has on the
possible combinations of hands that villain can hold. Also💸 known as “blocker
effect”.
Case – Refers to the last card of a certain rank in the deck. For example, if
💸 there are already three Aces in play, the final Ace in the deck is referred to as “the
case Ace”💸 if it is dealt.
Case Card – The term 'case card' refers to the last card in
the deck of a💸 certain rank - e.g 'the case ace' means the last ace in the deck.
Cash
Games - A format where chips💸 directly represent cash amounts. Players can leave or join
the table at any time.
C-Game – Refers to playing poker with💸 a poor mental state. For
advice on improving mental game, see the glossary entry under “Mental Game”.
Chance -
The 'odds'💸 or 'probability' that something will occur in poker. Often expressed as a
percentage.
Chase - Following after something. In a poker💸 context this is usually
either chasing after a draw or chasing lossess after a losing session.
Check – To
“check” means💸 to make no wager. The action instead passes to the player on our left.
Note that checking is only a💸 valid option if no wager has been made on the current
betting round. See the glossary entry under “Action” for💸 a full description of all
legal actions.
Check in the Dark - To check on the current betting round without
waiting💸 to see which community cards are dealt.
Check-Raise – To make a raise where our
previous action on the current street💸 was to check. See the glossary entry under
“Action” for a full description of all legal actions.
Chinese Poker – A💸 variant of
poker where cards are arranged into 3 rows and compared against our opponent’s rows to
see who wins💸 points. Check out this glossary entry for a brief summary of the rules of
Chinese poker along with the different💸 types of variants that are played.
Chip and a
Chair - Refers to the idea that a player can still go💸 on win an entire poker tournament
even if they are down to their last chip.
Chip Dumping – The act of💸 using online poker
as a means to facilitate illegal money transfers. Check this glossary entry for clues
on how to💸 spot chip dumping.
Coinflip – The act of getting the chips in with roughly
50% pot equity. This is a rather💸 loose term as explained in the glossary
entry.
Cold-Call – A call made on the first betting round where said call💸 is the
player’s first action on that betting round.
Cold Deck - An expression used to indicate
that we are getting💸 a bad run of cards.
Collusion – The term “collusion” refers to a
type of cheating where 2 or more players💸 secretly work together to win chips off other
unsuspecting players.
Colour Up - To trade chips with a low value for💸 a smaller number
of higher denomination chips to make the chip stack easier to handle.
Combination –
Refers to a specific💸 combination of cards. Check out this glossary entry and learn how
to count card combinations in the popular poker variant💸 Hold’em.
Combo Draw – Refers to
a drawing hand with multiple draw components. Most often this will be a straight draw
💸 which is also a flush draw.
Community Cards – Community cards are placed in the center
of the table; all players💸 may use them in constructing their 5-card hand. Not all poker
variants use community cards. The most common community card💸 variants are Omaha and
Hold’em.
Complete – Can refer to calling in the small blind when facing an open limp in
💸 Omaha or Hold’em. It can also refer to raising to the small bet sizing when playing the
bring-in in Stud💸 games.
Connector – Refers to a hand that contains cards of consecutive
rank.
Continuation Bet – Refers to betting on the current💸 street after being the last
aggressor on the previous street.
Cooler – A “cooler” is a situation where our hand is
💸 clearly too strong to fold but ends up being beaten by an even stronger
hand.
Counterfeit – A situation where a💸 previously strong hand loses a huge chunk of
its value after further cards are dealt. See this glossary entry for💸 specific examples
of counterfeiting.
Cowboys – A nickname given to pocket Kings, the second best starting
hand in Hold’em.
Crack – Carries💸 the connotation of outdrawing a strong hand. “My
pocket Aces got cracked!”
Cripple – To make such a strong hand that💸 there is no way our
opponent can ever outdraw us. “We flopped big and crippled the deck”.
Crossbook - A bet
💸 between two players in the same event. The player who busts out first owes his opponent
a percentage of the💸 winnings difference.
Cutoff(CO) – The position at the poker table
to the direct right of the button. Provides a good opportunity💸 for stealing the
blinds.
D
Dark Bet – A bet made without waiting to see which additional cards are dealt
on the💸 current street.
Dealer – The person who deals the cards; it might be a player or
a casino employee. The term💸 “dealer” can also be used to describe the player who
occupies the button position at the table during the current💸 hand.
Dealer's Choice - A
poker game where the dealer of the hand is allowed to select which poker variant will
💸 be played for that orbit/hand.
Dead Man’s Hand - Two pair, Aces and Eights (at least
according to most sources). Check💸 the glossary entry for the legend behind the hand
name.
Dead Money - Unclaimed or extra chips in the pot that💸 could potentially be won by
the first player willing to take an aggressive action.
Deuce – Common nickname for a
card💸 with a rank value of two. Find more about the origins of this term in the glossary
entry.
Depolarised - A💸 type of range construction involving the top x% of holdings and
zero bluffs.
Dirty Stack - A chip stack that has💸 not been correctly organized
(considered bad etiquette or even cheating in some cases). Denominations of chips
should be grouped together💸 in piles with the larger denominations at the front of the
chip stack.
Dog – Short for “underdog”. The term implies💸 that a certain hand/player is
statistically less likely to win.
Domination – Domination is where a weak draw or made
hand💸 is likely to be running against an even bigger draw/hand when there is a lot of
action. Check out this💸 glossary entry for examples.
Donk – To “donk bet” means to make
a bet out of position on the current street💸 after closing the action by calling on the
previous street. The term can also be used to describe an exceptionally💸 weak player at
the table. (Note that the term can be considered derogatory in this context).
Door Card
– A door💸 card in Stud is the first upcard dealt to a player. Although it belongs
exclusively to the player, it is💸 visible to the entire table.
Double Up – To double the
size of our chip stack after winning an all in.
Downcard💸 – “Downcard” in Stud refers to
any cards that are dealt face down to the player. They belong exclusively to💸 the player
and are not visible to the rest of the table.
Downswing – Refers to a prolonged period
of losses.💸 Check out the glossary entry under “Variance” for more information on
downswings.
Draw – Refers to a situation where are waiting💸 on cards to complete our
hand. For example, if we have four diamonds (and are waiting on that fifth diamond💸 to
make the flush) we have a “flush draw”. The term Draw also refers to a selection of
poker variants💸 where competitors replace cards in their hand with cards from the deck
on each betting round.
Drawing Dead – A situation💸 where none of our outs will give us
the best hand. I.e. we have no shot to win.
Dry – Refers💸 to a board texture where there
are very few (if any) possible draws.
Ducks - A common nickname for pocket Twos💸 in the
Hold’em variant of poker. Check this glossary entry for more information.
E
Early
Position - Refers to the first two💸 or three seats on a full ring poker table. It refers
exclusively to the lojack on a 6-handed table.
Effective Stacks💸 – Refers to the smaller
of two stacks in play. The larger stack can’t wager more chips than the shorter💸 stack
has in play. The size of the shorter stack is hence referred to as the “effective
stack”. See the💸 glossary entry for examples.
Equity – Describes the likelihood of a
certain hand winning at showdown assuming it doesn’t fold. See💸 the glossary entry for a
more detailed breakdown of this concept.
Equity Calculator – A tool used to calculate
the equity💸 of hands/ranges against other hands/ranges. Equity calculators often also
have additional features which are outlined in this glossary entry.
Expectation –
💸 Interchangeable with the term “expected value”. See the glossary entry under “Expected
Value” for a full explanation of the term.
Expected💸 Value – The “expected value” of a
certain play indicates how profitable we expect a certain play to be in💸 the long run.
This can be calculated using expected value calculations which are explained in this
glossary entry.
F
Face Card –💸 Any Jack, Queen, or King: the artwork often contains a
picture of a face on these cards of the deck.
Family💸 Pot – Refers to a pot where most
of the players do not fold on the initial betting round. For💸 example, in a 6-handed
Hold’em lineup, perhaps 5 or 6 players see a flop.
Fastplay – To come out betting and
💸 raising when holding a strong made hand.
Favourite – Indicates that a certain hand or
player is statistically likely to win.
Fifth💸 Street - A stud game term used to describe
the third betting round (the street on which every remaining player💸 is dealt a fifth
card).
Fish – A common term used to describe a weak player at the table. Sometimes
considered💸 derogatory so discretion is advised.
Fish Hooks – A nickname given to pocket
Jacks, a strong starting hand in Hold’em.
Five-Bet –💸 The fifth bet in a betting
sequence. Check out this glossary entry for an example.
Flat – A term used
interchangeably💸 with “call” in poker. See the entry for usage examples.
Float – A call
made with a speculative holding, having the💸 intention of bluffing on a later street. In
modern times this term has been re-appropriated to describe a “bet vs💸 missed c-bet
while in position”.
Flop – The second betting round in community cards such as Omaha
and Hold’em. The term💸 “flop” also refers to three community cards that are dealt face
up on the table during said betting round.
Flush –💸 A hand made with five cards of the
same suit. See the glossary entry under “Hand Rankings” for a breakdown💸 of all the
different hand types.
Fold – To “fold” means to discard our holding in a scenario where
we don’t💸 wish to match the wager made on the current street. See the glossary entry
under “Action” for a full breakdown💸 of all the legal options.
Four-Bet – The fourth bet
in a betting sequence. See this glossary entry for an example.
Fourth💸 Street - The
second betting round in Stud. It's called 'fourth' because players have been dealt four
cards at this💸 stage.
Free Card – A card seen without having to invest additional chips.
Whether this is a good or bad thing💸 depends on the scenario as explained in this
glossary entry.
Freeroll – A tournament with no buy-in required. Also refers to💸 a
situation where a hand can either chop or win but can rarely (or never) lose. The
freeroll concept will💸 be more easily understood after seeing the examples provided in
this glossary entry.
Full Boat- Poker nickname for a full house💸 - a hand consisting of
three cards of one rank and two of another.
Full House – A five card hand💸 made with a
combination of three of a kind and one pair. See the glossary entry under “Hand
Rankings” for💸 a breakdown of all the different hand types.
G
Gap – Refers to a gap
between cards of consecutive rank. Examples are💸 given in this glossary entry.
Grinding
– Refers to playing poker for long hours and slowly building up profit.
Gutshot –
Refers💸 to an “inside straight draw”. For example, we hold 5,6,8,9 and need to hit a 7
in order to complete💸 our straight.
Gutshot Straight Draw – A type of straight draw
where we are waiting on a card on the inside💸 of our structure to complete the straight.
Also known as ‘inside straight draw’.
H
Hanger – A term used to describe a💸 protruding
bottom card when base dealing. Check this entry for information on how to spot illegal
base dealing in your💸 own games.
Hand for Hand - A stage in poker tournaments where
every table must finish their current hand before the💸 tournament moves on to the next
hand.
Hand Rankings – Check out this glossary entry for a full breakdown of the
💸 different types of hand that can be made in poker. Does a straight beat a flush? Find
out here!
Heads Up💸 – Refers to a poker hand where only two players are involved. This
could refer to either the initial deal,💸 or the later betting rounds after every other
player folds.
Hero Call – A call made with a speculative hand in💸 the hopes that our
opponent is bluffing. Is hero calling ever a good idea? Find out in this glossary
entry.
Hero💸 Fold - When a poker player folds a very strong hand (which would ordinarily
call) because he has a strong💸 feeling that he is beat.
High Hand – A poker hand where
we don’t hold a pair or stronger. The strength💸 of our hand is defined by its highest
card (Aces are high in most variants). For a full breakdown of💸 all the different hand
types see the glossary entry under “Hand Rankings”.
High Roller - The term ‘High
Roller’ describes gamblers💸 who participate in the highest-stakes games. It doesn’t
apply exclusively to poker. Casino gamblers are often referred to as high💸 rollers
also.
Hijack – A position at the poker table. Check the glossary entry for strategy
advice.
Last Longer – A bet💸 made between two players in a tournament setting. The
player who busts out first loses the bet.
Hit – We “hit”💸 when a card falls that gives
us a decent hand. “We held a flush draw on the turn but hit💸 on the river”.
Hit and Run
- Describes a situation where a player wins big shortly after joining a cash game💸 then
leaves immediately afterwards.
Hold’em – The most popular poker variant, sometimes
referred to as the “Cadillac of Poker”. Learn the💸 rules of this popular variant in this
glossary entry.
Hole Cards – Refers to cards that are dealt face down to💸 the player and
kept secret. In Hold’em players are dealt two hole cards while in Omaha they are dealt
four.
House💸 - The establishment that runs the game itself. It could be a brick and
mortar casino or an online poker💸 room.
Hyper Turbo - A type of poker tournament (or sit
and go) with an extremely fast blind structure and shallow💸 starting stacks.
I
ICM –
Stands for “Independent Chip Modelling” and refers to a mathematical technique of
assigning real monetary values to💸 tournament chips. Learn how it works in this detailed
glossary entry.
Implied Odds – A pot odds calculation factoring in the💸 additional chips
we stand to win on later streets if we make our hand. Both the glossary entry under
“Pot💸 Odds” and this glossary entry under “Implied Odds” will prove useful in
understanding the theory details behind this important concept.
Inside💸 Straight Draw –
Also known as a “gutshot”. For example, we hold 5,6,8,9 and need to hit a 7 in💸 order to
complete our straight.
Insurance – A side wager made with another player at the table.
If hero’s hand does💸 not hold up, he’ll receive an insurance payout from the other
player.
ITM - ITM in poker stands for 'in the💸 money' and refers to players in line for
a cash prize since they have successfully passed the bubble.
J
Jackpot – Some💸 casinos
and poker rooms offer a “bad beat jackpot” when an extremely strong hand gets cracked.
See this glossary entry💸 for more information on how it usually works.
Jam – Colloquial
term meaning to shove all-in. See the glossary entry under💸 “All-in” for advice on when
it is correct to commit all of our chips.
Joker - Extra card added to a💸 deck of cards
generally with a picture of a court jester. Jokers are sometimes used as wild cards in
poker.
K
Kicker💸 – Cards that don’t directly formulate a hand but still contribute to
the overall strength of a hand since they💸 are used as side cards. In scenarios where
two players have the same hand, the best kickers will win.
L
LAG –💸 Stands for “Loose
Aggressive” and describes a player who plays many starting hands in an aggressive
manner.
Last Longer - A💸 side bet wagered between tournament participants to see who
lasts longer. The last player to bust out of the tournament💸 wins the bet.
Laydown – To
make a fold. Sometimes implies reluctance to ditch the hand. “We thought for a long
💸 time but eventually made the laydown”.
Levelling – Refers to thinking on different
levels when playing a hand of poker. For💸 a full breakdown of “levels” and “levelling”
check out this glossary entry.
Leverage – Refers to chips that have an influence💸 on
correct strategy despite the fact that they are not currently in play. Check out this
glossary entry for examples.
Limit💸 – Generally used to describe a game with a
fixed-limit betting structure. All bets and raises occur in fixed increments.
Limit
💸 Poker - A betting structure in poker variants where players must bet or raise in
pre-decided fixed increments.
Limp – Describes💸 the action of just calling when there is
no raise before us on the first betting round. Check out this💸 glossary entry to
discover whether limping is ever correct in poker.
Lowball – Refers to a poker variant
which makes use💸 of a “low” hand ranking system. The easiest way to conceptualize this
is with the phrase “worst hand wins” although💸 it’s slightly more complex than this in
reality. See the glossary entry under “Low Hand” for a description of how💸 the different
low hands work.
Low Hand – In lowball variants of poker the objective is to make the
best “low💸 hand”. Check out this glossary entry for a guide on how different low hand
rankings work across several poker variants.
M
Maniac💸 – Refers to a player type whose
style can be characterized with the words “loose and crazy”.
Mark - In a💸 poker context
refers to the weak player at the table. Strong players will increase their profits by
targeting the mark.
Mechanic💸 - Someone who has learnt sleight of hand techniques for
manipulating a card deck and can potentially cheat while dealing.
Mental💸 Game – Refers
to the discipline of looking to better one’s mental outlook when playing poker at the
tables. This💸 glossary entry provides a guide for developing a stronger mental
game.
Middle Position – Middle position in poker refers to the💸 hijack, lojack and mp1
on a full ring poker table. It refers exclusively to the hijack on a 6-handed
table.
Mid💸 Stakes - Poker games with a larger buy-in than 'low stakes' but a smaller
buy-in than 'high stakes'. I.e. the💸 middle stakes.
Misclick – To accidentally perform
the wrong action when playing in an online setting. Chiefly used to describe clicking
💸 in the wrong location (or accidentally clicking) with a mouse.
Monotone – Describes a
board texture (or hand structure in some💸 cases) where all cards are of the same
suit.
Monster – Colloquial term for a very strong poker hand.
Muck – To💸 return a losing
hand to the dealer at showdown without showing it to the table. Mucking is usually
allowed when💸 we are the caller on the final street, but not if we took the last
aggressive action before showdown.
Must Move💸 - An overflow game created when the main
table in a casino is full. Players must move to the main💸 table when a seat is
free.
N
Nash Equilibrium - A game theory concept. A Nash equilibrium is reached when
all players💸 are perfectly balanced and cannot improve their winrate by deviating from
their current strategy.
Nit – Describes an extremely risk averse💸 player who hardly
plays any of his starting hands. A nit simply hopes to wait for premium holdings and
get💸 a big payout.
Nosebleed – A term used to designate ultra high stakes cash game
action, typically 5knl and above.
No-Limit –💸 The term “no limit” refers to a betting
structure where players are allowed to bet or raise any amount at💸 any given
time.
Nut-low – The lowball version of “the nuts”. It describes the best possible low
hand in a lowball💸 (or split pot) variant of poker.
Nut Flush Draw – A draw to the Ace
high flush. This will also typically💸 be the stone cold nuts if it hits.
Nut Flush – The
Ace high flush. Often the stone cold nuts in💸 games such as PLO and NLHE.
Nuts – The
best possible hand. The nuts can never lose, it can only chop.
O
Offsuit💸 – Typically
used to describe a starting hand where there is no co-ordination between the suits.
Suited hands are nearly💸 always better than offsuit hands.
Omaha – A popular poker
variant utilizing community cards. Each player is dealt four hole-cards on💸 the preflop
betting round. Check out this glossary entry for a full description of the
rules.
One-Gap – A term used💸 to describe two cards which are not in direct consecutive
order but instead contain a gap of one. For example,💸 79s in Hold’em can be described as
a “one-gapper”.
Open-ended Straight Draw – A straight draw where a player is waiting
💸 for one of two cards on the outside of his structure. For example, we hold 5678 and
make a straight💸 if we pick up any 9 or 4.
Open-raise – To make the first raise on the
first betting round.
OOP –💸 An acronym standing for “out of position”. Check this
glossary entry for more information on the term.
OMC - Old man💸 coffee. It’s used to
describe an older player at the poker table who exhibits certains characteristics.
Out
– A card that💸 will likely give us the best hand if it falls. Learn how to count outs in
this glossary entry.
Overbet –💸 To make a bet sizing larger than the current size of the
pot. Learn when overbetting might be a good💸 idea in this glossary entry.
Overcall – To
make a call when another player has already made a call before us💸 on the current
street. I.e. to call behind.
Overcard – A card which is either higher than the board or
higher💸 than our current holding. For example, we hold a pair of Tens on the flop in
Hold’em and the turn💸 card is a King. The King is an overcard to our pair.
Overlay –
Additional money injected by the poker room💸 into a tournament prize pool. This is
performed when a guarantee tournament can’t deliver the promised payout based on player
💸 buyins alone i.e. there is a shortfall.
Overlimp - An overlimp is a limp on the first
betting round after another💸 player has already limped. (A limp is where we just call
when first to act on the firs betting round).💸 An overlimp is sometimes also referred to
as a ‘limp behind’.
Overpair – A pair in the hole that is higher💸 than the highest card
on the board in community card games such as Hold’em and Omaha.
P
Pair – We make a💸 pair
when we hold two cards of identical rank. See the glossary entry under “Hand Rankings”
for a full breakdown💸 of all the different types of hand.
Play the Board – Can refer to
a situation where we formulate our hand💸 entirely using community cards. Can also refer
to a scenario where we make plays without a legitimate hand based purely💸 on the board
texture (in community card games) or the appearance of our upcards (in Stud
games).
Paint – A term💸 used to designate any cards between (and including) Jack and
Ace. Also frequently referred to as “broadways” or “face cards”.
Pocket💸 Rockets – A
nickname given to pocket Aces in Hold’em. This is the best possible starting
hand.
Pocket Pair – Refers💸 to a starting hand where we have a pair in the
hole.
Position – Can refer to the specific position at💸 the table we are occupying. It
can also be used to refer to whether we are “in position” or “out💸 of position”. This
important concept is dissected in this glossary entry.
Post – The term “post” is
typically used in conjunction💸 with mandatory blind payments whether that be the
small-blind, big-blind or antes. “Before each hand, every player at the table💸 posts the
antes.”
Postflop – In community card variants such as Hold’em or Omaha, the term
“postflop” describes everything from the💸 second betting round (the flop) onwards.
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 – The idea that a player💸 has
invested enough of his chip stack that folding at any point would now be a mistake.
Pot
odds – The💸 amount we need to call when facing a bet relative to what is already in the
pot. Typically expressed either💸 as a ratio or a percentage.
Pot Limit – A betting
structure where the maximum allowed bet or raise is a💸 pot sized bet. For example, Omaha
is commonly played with a pot limit betting structure.
Preflop – The first betting
round💸 in community cards games such as Hold’em and Omaha.
PRF - Stands for “preflop
raiser”. A statistic which indicates how frequently💸 a player is raising preflop when
given the opportunity.
Price – How much something costs, such as the amount we need💸 to
call when facing a bet. Often used interchangeably with other terms such as pot
odds.
Probe – Traditionally a small💸 bet designed to gather information. However, the
term has been re-appropriated in modern times to refer to a “bet vs💸 missed continuation
bet while out of position”.
Prop Player - A poker player who is given an hourly wage by
a💸 casino to play poker at their tables. Prop players gamble with their own
money.
Protection – A bet or raise with💸 a made hand, primarily to fold out our
opponent’s live equity rather than with the intention of getting called by
💸 worse.
Polarised - A type of range construction where hands are divided into two
categories, value hands and bluffs.
Pot - The💸 pile of chips in the middle of the table
that players are competing for. Any time a player at the💸 table makes a wager, it’s
placed into the pot.
Q
Quads – A very common nickname for “four of a kind” in💸 poker.
Despite being an unofficial name, it is currently the most popular way of referencing
this type of hand.
Qualify –💸 In split pot games, a low hand must “qualify” before it is
counted as a legitimate low hand. In most💸 variants this means holding 5 cards 8 or
lower. Check out this entry for more information on qualification rules.
R
Rabbit Hunt
💸 – Seeing the remaining community cards after folding. This has no impact on the game
but allows players to see💸 if they would have hit their hand or not.
Ragged – Often used
to describe a non-coordinated board texture.
Rap – A💸 term used interchangeably with
“tap”, potentially used to describe the act of tapping the table twice as the visual
signal💸 for checking in a live game.
Rainbow – Used to describe a board texture (or
sometimes starting hand) where every card💸 is of a different suit.
Raise – To “raise”
means to increase the size of the wager on the current street.💸 For a full breakdown of
all the legal options check out the glossary entry under “Action”.
Rake – A small
amount💸 taken from the pot each hand as payment for running the poker game.
Rakeback – A
percentage of rake paid which💸 is given back to the players as a reward. It sometimes
comes in the form of a VIP system.
Range –💸 The term “range” is used to describe a
distribution of possible holdings that a player might hold. This important concept💸 is
discussed in this glossary entry.
Range Advantage – This term is used when one player
has a better range than💸 his opponent. There are different variables that contributed to
range advantage; they are discussed in this glossary entry.
Rank – The💸 term “rank”
simply refers to a card’s value/number. I.e. Jack, Four, Ace etc etc.
Ratholing –
Describes the action of leaving💸 a ring game and then rebuying in for a smaller amount
of chips. In this glossary entry, learn why ratholing💸 is considered unethical.
Razz –
The lowball version of seven card Stud. Check out this glossary entry for a description
of💸 the rules.
Read – Sometimes used interchangeably with the term “tell”. It indicates
that we have a good vision over the💸 type of holdings our opponent is likely to show up
with. “Normally I would have folded, but I had a💸 read that villain likes to bluff, so I
made the call”.
Rebuy – To purchase additional chips. Predominantly applies to cash
💸 games although rebuy tournaments do exist.
Redraw – A possible draw has completed on
the board texture but we are drawing💸 to an even bigger hand. This is best understood
with the examples in this glossary entry.
Regular - A poker player💸 who regularly plays
in a certain game. Usual denotes an opponent of above average skill level.
Represent –
When we don’t💸 have a certain holding but we look to represent that we do through our
actions. The term can also be💸 used to analyze the meaning behind villain’s actions.
Villain bet large on all three streets: he is definitely representing something
💸 big.
Reverse Implied Odds – An adjusted pot odds calculation taking into account chips
we might lose on the later streets💸 after we complete our draw. Check out the glossary
entry for a full breakdown.
Re-raise – To re-raise means to raise💸 after there has
already been a raise on the current street. Check this glossary entry for the rules
that govern💸 re-raising in poker.
Ring Game – This term is used interchangeably with
“Cash Game”. Since not all poker games are actually💸 played with real money, the term
“ring game” might be considered more applicable in some contexts.
River – Refers to the
💸 final betting round in Hold’em, Omaha and Stud variants.
River Rat – A player who gets
lucky and sucks out on💸 the river. Especially applies to players who are clearly calling
too wide on the earlier streets.
Rock – Refers to a💸 player type who only enters the pot
with an extremely tight range. This term might be sometimes used interchangeably with
💸 the word “nit” although some assign the two words completely different meanings.
Rolled
Up - A Stud term that indicates being💸 dealt three of a kind on third street, i.e.
rolled up trips.
Royal Flush – The best possible hand in poker.💸 We hold the Ten, Jack,
Queen, King and Ace, all of the same suit.
Run – A term used to describe💸 the fall of
cards over a period of time. “Running good” and “running bad” are terms commonly used
to describe💸 a lucky and an unlucky streak respectively.
Rundown – The term “rundown” is
generally used to describe connected starting hands in💸 Omaha variants. For example, the
starting hand T987 is referred to as a “Ten-high rundown”. Learn to distinguish between
different💸 types of rundown in this glossary entry.
Run it Twice – After all remaining
players are all-in, the final board cards💸 are dealt twice – half the pot being awarded
to the winner of each runout. This is a useful tool💸 for reducing variance. Check out
this glossary entry for a description on whether running it twice makes sense.
Runner
Runner –💸 Making a strong made hand after catching consecutive running cards. For
example, we hold three hearts on the flop and💸 catch running hearts on both the turn and
river to make our flush.
S
Sandbagging – A term used interchangeably with “slowplaying”
💸 or “trapping”. It means to play a strong hand deceptively by using passive lines such
as checking and calling.
Satellite –💸 A tournament event that awards winners a ticket to
an even bigger tournament.
Scare Card – A card that might scare💸 our opponent and cause
him to fold more frequently. In this glossary entry we learn where the concept
originated and💸 whether it is actually useful.
Semi-Bluff – A bluff made with a drawing
hand. For example, we make a bluff while💸 holding a flush draw. Even if we don’t manage
to pick up the pot, there is a possibility we’ll make💸 our flush on the next street.
Set
– Three of a kind made specifically with a pocket pair in the hole.
Set💸 over Set –
Where two players both make a set at the same time (but one is higher). It is
💸 considered an unlucky 'cooler' type situation since neither player is supposed to fold
in many cases.
Sequence - Refers to the💸 ordering of the cards. For example, five cards
in sequential rank order makes a straight in poker.
Short Handed – Describes💸 a poker
table with six players or less. Heads up poker is a form of short handed poker for
example.
Short💸 Stack – A player without many chips in his stack. Certainly refers to
stack sizes less than 100bb, and frequently💸 refers to stack sizes less than 50bb.
Shove
– Colloquial term for betting all-in. See the glossary entry under “All-in” for💸 advice
on when it makes sense to commit all of our chips.
Showdown – Refers to revealing the
strength of our💸 hand to determine the winner. This happens after all the betting rounds
are complete.
Show Hand – To expose the value💸 of our hole cards after the hand is
over.
Sick – A term used to either mean “extremely cool” or “extremely💸 unlucky”. The
exact meaning depends on the context.
Side Pot – A second pot formed when one player is
already all-in💸 but there are still players left in the hand with additional chips to
play for. Check out the glossary entry💸 for an example on how this works.
Sit and Go – A
type of poker tournament which starts as soon as💸 a designated number of entrants is
reached.
Sizing – Refers simply to the size of our bet. Bet sizing is an💸 important
aspect of high level play.
Slowplay – To play a strong made hand passively and
deceptively. The hope is that💸 our opponent will either launch big bluffs or pay us off
on a later street after he believes we are💸 genuinely weak. See this glossary entry for
advice on whether slowplaying is a good idea in poker.
Slowroll – To take💸 a long time
to call when we are closing the action and have the effective nuts. See the glossary
entry💸 to learn why this is considered unethical behavior.
Soft Play - To deliberately
play a weak strategy against an opponent, perhaps💸 because we are friends with them off
the poker tables.
Solver - A poker calculator that generates game theory optimal
solutions💸 to a hand given a specific game tree.
Small Bet – Used in poker games with
fixed limit structure. Denotes the💸 smaller of two designated bet sizings (the small bet
and the big bet).
Small Blind (SB) – The position at the💸 poker table to the direct
right of the button. Also the name of the mandatory blind payment the player in💸 this
seat makes at the start of every hand.
Snap Call - Means to call immediately without
any form of hesitation.💸 The term can also be used for other actions e.g. snap fold,
snap shove.
Splash the Pot – To put our💸 chips into the middle of the table in a
disorderly fashion. It’s considered good etiquette to keep our chips in💸 neat piles when
making big bets.
Split – A split pot variant of poker is where half of the pot is
💸 awarded to one type of hand while the other half is awarded to another type of hand.
The most common💸 example is hi/lo split variants; half the pot is awarded to a high
hand, the other half is awarded to💸 the best low hand.
Split Pot - A split pot is one
that is awarded to multiple players. This could be💸 in the eventuality that a hand ties,
or when playing a split pot variant of poker.
Spread Limit - A betting💸 structure where
players may bet/raise within a range of allowable sizes. Sometimes considered the
middle ground between fixed-limit and no-limit.
Squeeze💸 – A raise made against multiple
players where there has already been a bet and a call on the current💸 street. Especially
used to describe 3betting against multiple opponents on the preflop betting round in
Omaha and Hold’em. Check the💸 glossary entry for examples.
SRP - Stands for 'single
raised pot' in poker. It refers to pots where there was only💸 one raise on the first
betting round.
Stab – To make a bet, especially in a scenario where our opponent has
💸 just shown weakness. An example of such weakness might be skipping a continuation bet
opportunity.
Stack to Pot Ratio – This💸 is a ratio that describes the relationship
between what is in the pot compared to how many chips are remaining💸 in the effective
stacks. See the glossary entry for basic strategy application.
Staking - Lending money
to a poker player and💸 receiving a percentage of their poker profits in return.
Stand
Pat – This is a legal option in draw games. To💸 “stand pat” means to decline the option
to draw additional cards and stay with the current hand.
Steam – To be💸 tilted. A player
can be described as “steaming” if he is extremely angry, perhaps as a result of a bad
💸 run of cards.
Stealing – Stealing refers to an attempt to win the pot outright on the
first betting round, especially💸 as the first raiser. For example, in Hold’em, any
open-raise from the small blind, button or cutoff is considered a💸 “steal
attempt”.
Steel Wheel - Refers to the Ace to Five straight flush. This is an especially
strong hand in PLO8💸 since it can win both the high and the low pot.
Stop and Go -
Refers to the line where a💸 player bets the flop, checks the turn (stops), then fires
the river (and go).
Straddle – A straddle is an optional💸 blind bet made before any
cards are dealt. See the glossary entry for a description of the different types of
💸 straddle.
Straight – A five card hand consisting of all 5 cards in consecutive rank
order i.e. 5,6,7,8,9. For a full💸 description of other hand rankings see the glossary
entry under “Hand Rankings”.
Straight Flush – A five card hand consisting of💸 all 5
cards in consecutive rank order and also of the same suit. For a description of other
hand rankings💸 see the glossary entry under “Hand Rankings”.
Street Poker – An unwritten
agreement between players to play insupportably loose poker. Check💸 the glossary entry
for examples.
String Bet – String bet refers to splitting a wagering decision into
multiple parts. For example💸 “I call your bet…..and raise you by another 50”. In a
modern casino, the player would be obligated to just💸 call, since this was what he
originally announced. See the glossary entry for more information.
Structure – The term
“structure” can💸 refer to a range of different variables pertaining to the format of a
certain poker game. In this glossary entry💸 we discuss betting structures and tournament
structures.
Stud – A poker variant without community cards where players are dealt a
combination💸 of upcards (visible to the table) and downcards (secret). See the glossary
entry for a full description of the rules.
Suck💸 out – When our opponent catches an
unlikely card and goes on to win the pot.
Suited – The term “suited”💸 typically
describes a starting hand where two or more of the cards share the same suit.
T
Table
Stakes – An ruling💸 which prevents players from being forced to wager more chips than
they brought to the table in the first place.
TAG💸 – Short for “Tight Aggressive”.
Describes an aggressive player who enters the pot with a relatively tight and strong
range💸 of holdings.
Tank – An abbreviation of “time bank”. Refers to the act of thinking
about a decision at the tables.
Tell💸 – Often used interchangeably with “read”. A tell
is an unconscious indication from our opponent that he has a certain💸 type of holding.
See the glossary entry for a list of common live tells.
Texture – Usually refers to the
board💸 texture in community card games such as Hold’em and Omaha but could ultimately be
used to describe any group of💸 cards such as boards in Stud.
Three-Bet – Refers to the
third bet in a sequence of bets. See the glossary💸 entry for an example.
Three of a Kind
– We make this hand when we hold three cards of identical rank💸 along with two kickers.
For a full breakdown of all the different types of hands see the glossary entry under
💸 “Hand Rankings”.
Three Pair – A term that is used mostly in Omaha variants. Only two of
the pairs count, but💸 the third pair provides additional outs to make a boat.
Tie – When
two hands are of equivalent strength and hence💸 split/chop the pot.
Tilt – Refers to
playing poker with an affected mental state – especially anger, but also fear, lack💸 of
motivation etc etc. See the glossary entry under “Mental Game” for tips on improving
this aspect of our poker💸 game.
Time Bank – The optional extra time available to online
poker players during a hand.
Tournament – A poker format with💸 a fixed buyin. Players
continue playing until they run out of chips. The last man standing is typically the
tournament💸 winner. For advice on playing tournaments, see this glossary entry.
Tracking
Software – Software that tracks poker results along with a💸 range of other features. See
this glossary entry to discover common features offered by tracking software.
Trap – To
play a💸 strong made hand passively in the hope that our opponent launches a big
bluff.
Trey – Commonly used term to describe💸 a card of rank “Three”.
Trips – Colloquial
term for three of a kind when not made with a pocket pair💸 in the hole.
Turn – The third
betting round in variants such as Hold’em and Omaha.
Two-bet – The second bet in💸 a
betting sequence. See this glossary entry for an example.
Two Pair – A hand made by
holding two sets of💸 pairs along with one kicker. For a full description of all
available hand types see the glossary entry under “Hand💸 Rankings”.
Two-tone – Describes
a board texture or group of cards consisting of two distinct suits.
U
Under the Gun – A
term💸 used to describe the play er who is first to act on the first betting
round.
Underbet – A bet sizing💸 less than 50% of the pot. See this glossary entry for
advice on when a small bet sizing makes sense.
Underdog💸 – Sometimes abbreviated to the
word “dog”. Describes a hand or player which is statistically unlikely to win.
Upcard –
A💸 card dealt to the player in Stud face up, meaning it is visible to the entire
table.
Upswing – A prolonged💸 period of winning (especially when the winrate is higher
than anticipated). I.e. running good.
Up the Ante – A common expression💸 meaning to “up
the stakes”. Also can be used to described the increase antes on each blind level of a
💸 poker tournament.
V
Value Bet – A bet with a made hand hoping to get paid off by a
worse holding. See💸 this glossary entry for advice on value betting.
Variance – A term
used to describe the ups and downs of a💸 poker players career. Variance is much larger
than many players realise. This glossary entry should help to put things into
💸 perspective.
Variant – A particular brand of poker: there are many. For example,
Hold’em, Omaha, Stud, 5-card Draw etc etc.
Villain -💸 A common poker term used to
describe our opponent in a hand of poker.
VPIP - Stands for ‘voluntarily put in💸 pot’.
It’s a percentage which describes how often a player voluntarily invests chips into the
pot preflop when given the💸 opportunity. High VPIP means a loose player.
Vulnerable – A
hand is vulnerable if it is susceptible to being outdrawn.
W
Whale –💸 An extremely bad
poker player. Especially used to describe bad poker players at higher stakes games.
Wet
– Describes a board💸 texture with excellent coordination, allowing for a large number
of possible draws.
Wheel – The Ace to Five straight. This is💸 an especially strong hand
in PLO8 since it has a shot at winning both the high and the low pot.
Wired💸 – Refers to
a pair on third street where both of the cards are downcards.
Wrap – Refers to a large
💸 straight draw in Omaha variants. Unlike in Hold’em, some of the big straight draws in
Omaha can have as many💸 as 20 outs.
Wrap Around Straight – A straight where the Ace
falls somewhere in the middle of the five cards.💸 Not a legal hand in the majority of
poker variants.
WSOP – An acronym for perhaps the most prestigious poker event💸 of all
time The World Series of Poker. Held every year in Las Vegas.
WTSD – Went to showdown.
It’s a💸 measure of how often a player goes on to see showdown after seeing a flop.
WWSF
– WWSF stands for won💸 when saw flop and is a measure of how often a player goes on to
win the entire hand after💸 seeing a flop.
For the official poker terminology page,
please click here.
