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.
