Poker Glossary

A

Aces Up
A pair of aces with one other pair.

Action
The process of folding, calling or raising. Also refers to the betting, as in "That game has a lot of action."

Action Button
A bet that must be posted, blind, in a seven-card stud high-low game, by the winner of a scoop pot above a certain size, rather than just a call of the original forced bet.

Add-on
Some tournaments allow players the opportunity at a certain point to buy additional chips, called an add-on. This is different from a rebuy, because usually everyone still in the tournament is able to add-on. Add-ons usually mark the end of the rebuy period.

Aggressive Action
A wager that could enable a player to win a pot by forcing all remaining players to fold.

All-in
A bet of all of the chips you have on the table. Also the term used at some online poker rooms when you are involved in a pot and get disconnected. The money you currently have in the pot is viewed as an all in bet.

Ante
A forced bet made by all players before the hand is dealt. Used in Stud games instead of a blind, and also late in some Texas holdem tournaments in addition to the blinds.

B

Back door
Making a hand with cards you need on both the turn and river.

Bad beat
To lose a pot when you are a large favorite to win. For example, in holdem when your AA is beaten by an opponents 88.

Bankroll
The total funds you have available to play poker. Not the buy in at a table or game.

Best of it
When you are involved in a pot and the favorite to win.

Bet
An action when a player places money in the pot.

Big Bet Poker
Pot limit and No limit poker are sometimes referred to as Big Bet Poker. The "Big" in a sense refers to the size of bets relative to the pot, irrespective of the amount of money involved.

Big Blind
A designated amount that is placed by the player sitting in the second position, clockwise from the dealer, before any cards are dealt. Players joining a game in progress must post a Big Blind, but may do so from any position.

Blind
A forced bet placed by players before the hand starts used to stimulate the betting action. Most games have two blinds each round, a small and big blind. The big blind is usually equal to the lower betting limit and the small blind is half the big blind.

Bluff
To bet when you don’t have the best hand in hopes that your opponent will fold, allowing you to win the pot.

Board
In holdem and Omaha, the community cards located in the center of the table.

Bottom pair
To pair the lowest card on the board.

Bring-in
To bring in the betting is to make the first bet on the first round of a hand (not including blinds bets and antes).

Button
The player who is designated as the dealer. The button acts last in every betting round except the first in holdem and Omaha.

Buy-in
The amount of money with which you enter a game is your buy-in. In a non-tournaments game, this is the amount you get in chips. In a tournament, your buy-in is the amount that costs you to get your initial number of tournament chips.

C

Call
The action of matching a bet placed by an opponent.

Capped
Term used in limit poker when the maximum number of raises on the betting round have been reached

Check
To pass the option to raise. If there are players to act behind you, they will have the option to raise the pot.

Check-raise
When you check and an opponent bets behind you and you then raise.

Common Card
A bet that must be posted, blind, in a seven-card stud high-low game, by the winner of a scoop pot above a certain size, rather than just a call of the original forced bet.

Community cards
Cards located in the center of the table that any player can use in combination with their hole cards to make a hand.

D

Deal
To deal is to give out the cards during a hand. The person who does this is called the dealer. To be dealt in is to be given cards during a hand. To be dealt out or dealt around is not to be given cards.

Dealer Button
A flat disk that indicates the player who would be in the dealing position for that hand.

Deck
A set of playing cards. In most games, the deck consists of 52 cards.

Discard
In a draw game, a card that was thrown away by a player, to be replaced by another card.

Draw
Draw games are games where at some point during the hand you are allowed to discard some or all of your cards, to be replaced from the deck.

Drawing dead
When you are still in a pot with no chance of winning.

Drawing hand
An incomplete, but potentially strong hand. This usually refers to a hand where you have 4 out of 5 cards to make a straight (straight draw) or a flush (flush draw).

E

Early Position
These are the people in the small blind, big blind, and under the gun positions. These players have to act earlier during betting rounds after the flop.

EPT
European Poker Tour

F

Face Card
A king, queen, or jack

Favorite
The player or hand that is the statistical favorite to win the pot.

Fish
A derogatory term for a poor poker player.

Fixed limit
In limit poker, any betting structure in which the amount of the bet on each particular round is preset.

Flat call
To match a bet by an opponent without raising.

Flop
The first three community cards in holdem and Omaha.

Flush
A poker hand consisting of five cards in the same suit.

Fold
When a player surrenders his hand and no longer participates in the pot.

Forced Bet
A mandatory bet on the first round of play in a stud game, such as 7-card Stud.

Four of a Kind
A hand consisting of four cards with the same denomination

Fourth Street
The second up card in seven-card stud or the first board card after the flop in hold'em poker

Freeroll
Freeroll tournaments are tournaments with no entry fee or initial buy-in.

Full House
The poker hand consisting of one pair and three of a kind. E.g. 4-4-K-K-K (two fours and three kings). Deciding which hand is stronger one first looks on the three of a kind.

G

Grinder
Also known as a Rounder. These tend to be semi-professional players that make money playing poker

Gut shot
Also known as an inside straight. For example, 3 4 6 7 needs a 5 to make a straight.

H

Heads-up
Playing against only one opponent. The same term is used if only two players are in a game and when all betting action in a larger game is down to two players.

Hole Cards
The cards that are dealt facedown to a player

I

Implied odds
Additional bets that you are likely to receive if you hit the hand you are drawing to.

J

Jackson Five
Starting hand of a Jack and a Five

K

Kicker
A card used to break ties. If both players have a pair of Aces, the player with the next highest card wins the pot.

In draw poker, a side card (one of a different rank) held, when drawing, with a pair or three of a kind, to disguise the hand or to try to improve the hand. In hold'em, the unpaired card that goes with a player's pair or three of a kind. Often, the rank of the kicker determines the winner of the pot.

Kill Pot
A pot with a forced kill by the winner of the two previous pots, or the winner of an entire pot of sufficient size in a high-low split game. (Some pots can be voluntarily killed)

L

Limit
A game that has preset betting limits. Also refers to the actual betting limit, like 5/10 limit.

Limp
To enter the pot with the minimum bet.

Loose
A player that plays too many hands.

Low Card
The lowest up card at seven-card stud, which is required to bet

M

Main pot
When a player goes all-in in a table stakes game, that player is only eligible to win the main pot - the pot consisting of those bets they were able to match. Additional bets, placed in a side pot, are contested among the remaining players.

Middle Pair
To pair the middle card on the flop with one of your hole cards.

Middle Position
These are players that tend to act during the middle of a betting round. For example, in a field of 10 players, the players in the 4-7 position are players in middle position

Muck
To discard your hand, face down. Also refers to the area where discarded hands are placed.

N

No Limit
Betting structure where players are allowed to wager any or all of their chips in one bet

Nuts
The best possible hand at a given point in the game.

O

Open End
A straight draw that can be made from either end. 3 4 5 6 needs either a 2 or a 7.

Option
The choice to raise a bet given to a player with a blind

Outs
The cards left in the deck that can complete your hand.

Overcard
A card that is higher than any of the board cards.

P

Pair
Two cards of the same rank. Two Kings for example.

Play the Board
When a player uses all five community cards for his hand in hold'em poker

Position
Refers to when a player acts in the betting order. Also refers to a player that acts after another player. The last player to act is said to have position on the other player.

Post
Put up a blind (small blind or big blind). If you miss playing the blind in a particular round the house dealer asks if you want to post, that is, put in as many chips as are in the blind you missed. When the action gets to you, you have already called one bet, and, if the pot has not been raised, you do not have to put any more chips in the pot. You can, of course, raise in turn.

Pot
The money in the center of the table to be won.

Pot Odds
The comparison of the amount of the bet you have to call and the amount already in the pot. When this is compared to your chances, or odds, of making your hand you can determine if you are receiving the correct pot odds to call the bet.

Pot Limit
Betting structure of a game in which you are allowed to bet up to the amount of the pot.

R

Raise
Placing a bet larger than the last bet by your opponent.

Rake
The amount taken out of each pot by the house.

Rank
Each card has a suit and a rank. A pair is two cards of the same rank.

Rebuy
When you first sit down at a game, you buy in with a certain amount of money. Rebuying is what you do when you buy more chips before you leave. Rebuys are also allowed in some tournaments to players who fall below a certain point - often only up until a certain point and often limited to a fixed number of rebuys.

River (Fifth street)
The last of five community cards in flop games, e.g. Texas Hold'em and Omaha. Sometimes also called Fifth street. Sometimes "river" is used to refer to the last card in nonflop games, such as 7-card Stud.

Royal Flush
A poker hand consisting of a straight flush from A-10 (Ace to Ten). E.g. A-K-Q-J-10 (Ace-King-Queen-Jack-Ten) in clubs.

S

Scoop
The term used in high / low games, meaning a player won both the high and low, so the "scooped the pot"

Semi-bluff
To bet with a hand that may not be the best hand but has a chance to improve to the best hand in hopes of winning the pot uncontested.

Set
Three of a kind where two of the three are concealed.

Short stacked
To have a small amount of chips in comparison to the cost of the blinds.

Showdown
When all the betting is done, if more than one player is still in the pot, showdown is the process of figuring out who wins.

Side pot
A pot created between two or more players that still have money on the table when another player is all in. The all in player cannot win any of the side pot.

Small Blind
The amount put in the pot by the person immediately to the left of the “dealer button" prior to the cards being dealt.

Split Pot
A pot that is divided among players in the event of a tie

Stack
The amount of money you have in front of you on the poker table (i.e., stack of chips). A stack can also refer to a particular number of chips.

Steal the pot
To win a pot through bluffing.

Straight
A poker hand consisting of five cards in a straight rank order. E.g. 4-5-6-7-8.

Straight Flush
A poker hand consisting of a straight and all the cards are in the same suit.

Suited
Of the same suite. For example an Ace of Hearts and a Queen of Hearts are considered suited.

T

Table Stakes
1. The amount of money you have on the table. This is the maximum amount that you can lose or that anyone can win from you on any one hand.

2. The requirement that players can wager only the money in front of them at the start of a hand, and can only buy more chips between hands.

Tell
An involuntary action that gives away the strength of your hand.

Third Street
First round of betting in a stud poker game

Three of a kind
Three card of the same rank. E.g. Q-Q-Q (three Queens).

Tight
To not play many hands.

Tilt
Making unwise betting decisions based on emotion instead of solid strategy. Often happens after a bad beat.

Top pair
To pair, or match, the top card on the board.

Trips
Three of a kind, with two of them on the board.

Turn (Fourth street)
The fourth of five community cards in flop games, e.g. Texas Hold'em and Omaha is called the turn. Sometimes it is also called Fourth street.

U

Under the gun
The first player to act in the first round of betting. Located to the immediate left of the big blind.

Underpair
An underpair is a pocket pair that is smaller than any card on the board. For example, if you hold pocket fives and the board is 6,8,Q, you hold an underpair

V

Value Bet
A bet that is made where the bettor is hoping to be called, so he/she wins extra money from the call. This generally refers to a bet made on the river

W

Wager
A fold, check, call, bet or raise to make a play

Wired pair
A pair in your hole cards. Also referred to as a concealed pair.

WSOP
World Series Of Poker