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Poker Terms - A Glossary of Poker Language

Poker has evolved a vocabulary all of its own. The language of poker has crept from the card table into common speech. Many of us use poker related phrases without even being aware of it, many of course we all know. This glossary of common poker terms should help you through the maze.

Ante

(n.) A small amount of Chips or money that each player is required to place into the pot at the start of the game and before the cards are dealt. This event in a poker game is often referred to as 'sweetening the pot' and it guarantees that there is money in the kitty to be won in each hand. Not all games have an ante: In general, most Hold 'em games do not have an ante, instead they use 'blinds' to seed the pot.

(n.) Ante can refer to the pot. The total amount of money that is being wagered.

Bad Beat

(n.) The event where a poker hand that would be considered unbeatable (i.e. a full house) is pipped by one that had only a very slim chance of being the winning hand (an underdog). This usually results from the winning hand making a very unlikely draw on the last card (a longshot-draw or lucky-draw) and beating the clear mathematical favourite. A fair number of on-line poker sites have bad-beat-bonuses that pay out more to the player than they would have actually won from the hand with which they lostwon with the hand

(n.) The name given to the consolation prize paid to the loser in a bad beat situation. If you were the big favourite to win but you lost to the lucky draw of another player you might be entitled to the Bad-Beat-Jackpot if the cardroom policy permits with your specific type of loss (generally Aces full, or better) .

Bait

(n.) A small bet placed so as to encourage opponents to stay, bet or raise.

Bankroll

(n.) The total money a poker player is both willing and able to gamble with. It can also mean that you provide the money for someone else to gamble. This should not be confused with the money the player currently has on the table, nor with the player's stake in any particular game

(v.) To provide another player with money for use at the table.

Barn

(n.) A Full-House. Three-of-a-Kind and a Pair. (Full Barn is slang for Full-House)

Bet

(v.) The act of placing money or chips as a wager into the pot on during any round of betting the result of which is that the player maintains a chance of winning the pot.

(n.) The money or chips placed into the pot on during any round of betting.

Big Blind

(n.) A blind bet which is usually a raise of an earlier blind (the Small-Blind). It is the final and largest regular blind bet in a poker game. The Big-Blind is made by the player directly to the left of the Small-Blind (the player in the second position clockwise from the dealer). In limit-poker, the Big-Blind is generally equal to the minimum bet on the first round of betting.

Blind

(n.) A 'Blind' bet is one that is made in the dark without looking at your cards. It is a forced bet, placed in each new hand, before any cards are dealt. This forced bet opens the pot, usually in lieu of an Ante but sometimes in conjunction with an Ante. Blinds are, as a rule, placed by one or more players immediately to the left of the button or dealer. You usually have to post a blind when joining a game.

(n.) Blind refers to the actual Poker Player who must make an opening bet before any cards are dealt

(n.) Blind might be used to refer to the seat where the forced bet is posted.

Bluff

(v.) To bet or raise strongly with a weak, poor (and often busted) hand that is unlikely to beat other players. The intention of this action is to entice the remaining active to fold before reaching a showdown when the bluffed hand would likely lose.

Board

(n.) The poker table or surface onto which the cards are dealt.

(n.) All face-up, visible community cards in Stud, Hold 'em and Omaha which are exposed. These common cards can be used in any player's hand and are usually placed in the centre of the table.

(n.) The board on which a waiting list is kept for players wanting seats in specific games.

Button

(n.) A distinctive marker or token (white acrylic disk) that is used to symbolise a dealer when there is a house dealer. The button (also known as the dealer button) moves around the table from player to player after each hand in a clockwise direction, ensuring that every player has an opportunity to be the last to act. In online poker it is shown as a small button usually marked with the letter 'D'.

(n.) The person who possesses the dealer button. The designated dealer position for this hand. The nominal dealer is considered to be 'On the button'.

Call

(v.t.) The act of making a bet which is equal to the previous bet or raise, by placing chips or money into the pot. Calling allows you to continue playing in the round without further raising the stakes or folding. The colloquial term 'see' (I'll see that bet) means the same.

(v.t.) The actual chips or money that has been placed in the pot which matches the previous bet or raise.

Calling Station

(n.) A Calling Station is a weak-passive (and loose) player who raises/folds infrequently, but calls almost any bet or occasionally checks. Also known as a Telephone Booth this type of player is popular in most games as they fill the pot.

Check

(v.) One of the four poker actions: To not initiate betting in a round, whilst remaining in the poker game and retaining the option to call or raise later in the betting round. To Check is to effectively place a zero bet. This action, which is also known as a 'pass', is only legal for a player before any other bet has been made (there has been no action in front of them). To check in poker might be a sign that the player holds only a fair hand, but may of course be a bluff. The option to bet is now passed onto the next player in the round.

(n.) A poker chip. This term 'check' is mostly used by casino dealers and employees. 'Chip' is the word most often used amongst non-professional gamers. See CHIP

Cowboys

(n.) Colloquial term (nickname) for Kings, predominantly used in the plural form to indicate a pair of Kings.

Deal

(v.) To distribute cards to the players or put cards on the board.

(n.) The complete process commencing with the shuffling and dealing of cards until the time that the pot is won.

Draw

(n.) A type of poker game in which players are dealt five face-down cards, and in which they later having an opportunity to exchange some of their original five cards with fresh cards from the deck. 'Five-card draw' and Draw-Poker are such games.

(v.) The act of discarding a card or cards from your hand and exchanging them for an equal number of replacement cards from the deck.

(v.) The act of simply taking a card from a deck of cards.

(n.) The result of a game in which one or more players split the pot as result of having equally ranking hands.

(n.) The set of cards that can be dealt at a later stage in Stud and Hold 'em poker games.

(n.) The time in a game during which the replacing cards is permitted.

Fish

(n.) A relatively poor player who easily looses his money to others in the game. The fish is the reason we have the expression "Don't tap on the aquarium.", meaning don't deter the bad players from playing in case they leave and take your source of income with them. It is also often said that of the players at a poker table... 'if you can't spot the fish, you are the fish'.

FishHooks

(n.) A nickname for Jacks (and occasionally in some places Sevens).

Five of a Kind

(n.) Five cards of the same (index/type/rank/denomination/value/face value/number). This is only possible with wild cards.

Five-card Draw

(n.) A draw poker game, probably the most well known, in which all players start with five cards dealt down. They may draw new cards to replace them, after which the best high hand wins the pot.

Five-card Stud

(n.) A stud poker game in which each player gets dealt five cards. Four cards are exposed and the fifth is a hole card. Betting occurs after 2, 3, 4, & 5 cards.

Flop

(n.) The first three community cards dealt face-up on the poker table, at the same time in a game like Hold 'em or Omaha.

(v.t.) To deal a flop, or to actually make a hand on a dealing a flop.

Flush

(n.) A poker hand consisting of any five cards of the same suit. The best flush hand is the one with the highest ranking non-common card

Fold

(v.t.) The act of a player putting their cards in the discard pile when it is their turn to act. When the player declines to call or raise, but instead folds, they leave the current game and they forfeit all the bets they have placed into the pot during that hand.

Forced Bet

(n.) A mandatory bet which is required to start the action on the first betting round of a poker hand. It is a blind bet that a player cannot refuse to make. This is the way that action usually begins in a Stud-Poker game

Foul

(n.) A hand that may not be played. Reasons for this are discussed elsewhere. A player with a foul hand may make no claim on any portion of the pot.

Free Ride

(n.) A round in which all players 'pass' and no bets are made.

Full Hand

(n.) A poker hand consisting of three-of-a-kind and a pair. When you describe your full house you use would say the three-of-a-kind being "full" of the pair. Example: Three Kings and Two Eights would be described as 'a Full-House: Kings full of Eights'. A full house goes by many other names, some more common than others.

Full House

Hand

(n.) All a player's personal cards. The cards dealt to the player which the player holds.

(n.) The five cards dealt to the player determining the poker ranking. In poker games where over 5 cards are available for one to play this will mean the player's best five cards.

(n.) A single poker deal being one complete poker game from the posting of the blinds to its conclusion. The game played to completion with one or more players winning the pot with cards given out in one deal.

Hit

(n.) A card draw or catch that improves a player's hand. Usually in reference to the final card the player is seeking for their hand.

Hole Cards

(n.) In Stud and Hold 'em, the Hole-Cards are the face-down cards (downcards) dealt in front of each player. These concealed cards in the player's hand are unseen by the other players,

House

(n.) An establishment (Casino or Cardroom) or person hosting a poker game for profit. This might be a Las Vegas Casino, a dining room table or an online server. The House manages the games and takes the rake.

House Cut

(n.) The house cut is the profit taken by the house for hosting the game usually a cut taken from all pots. This income can be earned from a few possible sources including the 'Button charge', 'the rake' and 'the table charge'

Inside Straight

(n.) An inside straight is an incomplete straight hand. It is a broken sequence of cards which is missing only one (inside) card to complete the straight, somewhere between the top and bottom cards. The player who catches this missing card will make an Inside Straight. i.e., 3-5-6-7 is an inside straight as only a 4 will complete the hand.

Kicker

(n.) An extra, unused, unpaired poker card in the player's hand which is used as a tie-breaker when two players' hands are almost equivalent. It is usually the spare card that accompanies one pair, two pair, or three-of-a-kind. For example, if both hands contain a pair of Fives, the hand that contains the highest kicker card would make the draw (win). Therefore a pair of Fives with an Queen beats a pair of Fives with a Seven. Kickers can be vitally important in Hold 'em when for instance you have KQ and your opponent has KJ. and the flop contains a King. Both players have a pair of Kings, but your Queen kicker steals the pot. The Kicker can also be called a side-card or odd-card.

Late Position

(n.) A player in the late-position is one of the last to act in a betting round. Late-position refers to any position usually refers to the two position next to the button. This is usually an advantage as the late-position player does not have to act until after most of the other players have acted.

Lead

(v.) The act of making the first bet into the pot in a round of betting, even if you had the option to check.

(n.) The first player to make a bet into the pot.

Leader

(n.) The first player to make a bet into the pot.

Live Blind

(n.) A blind bet made before any cards are dealt. The live blind gives the player the option to raise if no other player has raised. 'Live' means that those players still retain the option of raising when the action gets back to them.

Live Card

(n.) Any card in the deck or in a player's hand that has not been dealt or exposed is considered a live card.

Lock

(n.) A hand that is guaranteed to win at least part of the pot. You can not have a lock unless all the cards have been drawn.

Lock-up

(n.) A chip marker that saves a seat for a card player.

(v.) Placing a chip marker in an open seat to reserve it (see House Policies: Seating for rules governing lock-ups).

Loose

(adj) A word that describes a player who plays many hands and stays involved with many pots. The reference is to being loose with your money.

Lowball

(n.) Lowball is a draw-poker game in which the lowest hand wins. Five, Four, Three, Two, Ace is the best low hand.

Main Pot

(n.) The centre pot in a game of poker where all active players participate and main bets are placed. This is the pot first established in a game. All other bets are placed in a side pot or side pots. These side pots are only created when one or more players go all-in. Side-Pot are contested amongst the remaining players.

Make

(n.) A poker hand that has a pretty fair chance to win the pot.

(v) To Shuffle the deck is often referred to as 'to make the deck'.

Maniac

(n.) An extremely loose and aggressive player who plays a lot of hands that many would fold. They bluff wildly, betting, raising and re-raising regardless of the quality of their hand. Maniacs are often found in flop games. Generally speaking a maniac is a bad player, a non strategic gambler. Conversely, a player who occasionally plays the maniac can confuse and unbalance the opposition, and as such is quite dangerous.

Middle Position

(n.) A player in the middle-position is one which gets to act somewhere between most of the other players in a betting round. Middle-Position refers to any position approximately halfway around the table from the first table to act, commonly the Fifth, Sixth and Seventh seats to the left of the button.

Misdeal

(v) A mistake made by the dealer during the deal resulting in the reshuffling of the cards and a new hand being dealt.

(n.) An incorrectly hand dealt that needs to be dealt again.

Muck

(v.t.) To discard or throw away your hand thereby folding and taking them out of play. Muck is especially used when discarding cards after an opponent reveals a better hand than your own. When players muck their cards they are returned to the dealer

(n.) The discard pile of cards no longer in play. The collection of face-down discarded cards gathered in the centre of the table near the dealer. The pile contains folded hands, burns and discards for drawing purposes.

Nuts

(n.) Based on the board cards, the nut is the best possible hand at that time. The nut cannot be beaten but it is not a Lock unless all the cards have been dealt. This expression is most commonly used in Texas Hold 'em Poker games. The nuts is sometimes called the absolute nuts to distinguish it apart from terms like 'the nut straight' or the 'nut flush', each of which refers to the best possible hand in a particular class.

Offsuit

(adj.) Cards that are not of the same suit. A starting hand in Hold 'em, in which the two cards are of different suits.

Open

(v.t.) The act of making the first bet in the first round, commonly in draw poker games.

(n.) The first bet of the first round.

Opener

(n.) The player makes the first voluntary bet and opens the pot. (as opposed to the forced bets). This is common in draw poker. If a hand has no openers it is considered passed-out and new hands are dealt.

Overcard

(abb) A pocket card that is higher than the highest Board-Card.

Paint

(abb) Face Cards or picture cards (Jack, Queen and King).

Passed-Out

(adj.) A hand in which nobody opens. This usually results in new hands being dealt but what happens is specific to each game.

PF

(abb) Abbreviation for 'pre flop'.

PFR

(abb) Abbreviation for 'pre flop raise'.

Picture

(n.) A Face Card (Jacks, Queens and Kings).

Picture Cards

(n.) A Face Card (Jacks, Queens and Kings).

Pigeon

(n.) A card that is valuable for a player's hand.

Play the Board

(v.) In Flop-Games you are playing the board if your best five card hand makes use of all of the five community cards. Therefore, the best possible hand you can make uses none of the cards you were dealt.

Pocket

(n.) The unique cards in your hand that only you can see and which are kept hidden from other players. They are also known as hole-cards. In Texas Hold'Em, Omaha or Seven-Card-Stud they are the two starting cards dealt to you face.

Pocket-Cards

Position

(n.) The physical placement of a player at the table relative to the opener which establishes their place in the betting order.

(n.) The relative location of a player in the betting sequence of the poker game. This position relates to the players still in the hand.

Pot

(n.) The area of the table in which antes, bets, and raises are placed.

Quint Major

(n.) A Royal Straight-Flush.

Rake

(n.) Money/Chips taken from every pot by the dealer. In casino poker this 'take' is the casino's income for hosting the game. House revenue is usually a percentage of the pot (5%-10%) up to some maximum amount. Most casinos make their poker income from the rake, but some charge a time-based fee to each player.

Rank

(n.) The relative *Numerical Value* of a card as opposed to its *Suit*. There are 13 Ranks in a deck of cards.

(n.) The relative value of hands in a poker game.

Ring Game

(n.) A full poker game that is played for actual stakes (money), and where players may come an go as they please. This is the opposite of a tournament game (where chips are staked) or other non-money games played with friends. Ring-Games are als know as Live-Games.

Royal Flush

(n.) This is an Ace high straight-flush (A-K-Q-J-10 suited). It is the best possible, highest ranking hand in poker. You might hear it called A Straight-Flush to the ace.

Running Bad

(v) Losing regularly over a period of time.

Running Good

(v) Winning regularly over a period of time.

Rush

(n) A winning streak or being 'On a Rush' is to have several winning hands in a short period of time.

SB

(abb) An abbreviation for Small-Blind.

(abb) An abbreviation for small bet

Shuffle

(v) Mixing the cards before the hand being dealt.

Side Bet

(n) Any bet that is made outside of the pot.

Spread

(v.t.) For a Poker Room or Casino to offer a particular type of Poker Game.

Stock

(n) The cards remaining in the stacked portion of the deck after dealing.

(v) To 'stack a deck' or arrange the cards for cheating purposes prior to game-play.

Straddle

(n) A straddle is an additional optional blind bet placed after the forced blinds and before the cards are dealt. It is usually twice the value of the Big-Blind. The straddle is made by the player to the immediate left of the Big-Blind (last-blind). In limit poker, the player who straddles is granted last-action after the blinds for an unraised pot. The player who straddles the Big-Blind is required to declare his intention to do this prior to the cards being dealt. It is effectively a raise which forces any player who wishes to play to then pay for two bets. The limits of the game do not increase and as the straddle does not constitute a raise, the maximum number of raises allowed by the game can still be made above the amount of the straddle bet.

Straight

(n.) A poker hand consisting of five cards in sequence (rank) but not in suit (such as three, four, five, six, Seven.) Aces can usually be high (10-J-Q-K-A) or low (A-2-3-4-5). In Hold 'em, Aces can be high or low.

Straight-Flush

(n.) A poker hand consisting of 5 cards in sequence (rank) AND in suit (i.e. Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven. In Hearts). Some Straight-Flushes have special names. Ace-Two-Three-Four-Five is for instance called the Steel-Wheel

Streak

(n.) A run of winning hands or losing hands.

Suit

(n.) Any of the four characteristic sets (Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, or Spades) in a deck of playing cards.

Suited

(n.) Two or more cards which all the same Suit. Usually used in reference to your pocket cards. (Opposite of Off Suit)

(adj.) A starting hand in Hold 'em in which the two cards are of the same suit.

Table Charge

(n.) The fee payable for playing.

Table Stakes

(n.) The actual of money a player has on the table which represents the maximum amount that the player can lose or that anyone can win from the player on one hand.

(n.) A rule in poker which dictates that players can only bet with the money they have on the table at the start of the. Players may only purchase additional chips between hands. If a player is required to place a bet of greater value than tier stack then that player is entitled to call with all his chips. That player is only eligible to win only the portion of the pot to which he made equal contribution. After such an event in a game, a side pot will be created for which only the remaining players can compete.

Tells

(n.) An action or gesture made by a player which gives other players a clue as to the true strength of their hand or helps them anticipate their next action. The body language, language and mannerisms of a competitor are usually unconscious and can help a player to read their opponents.

Under the Gun

(adj.) The position of the player who has to act first in a betting round. This is not necessarily the first player in a round. Being one player to the left of the Big-Blind puts you under the gun before the flop.

Underdog

(n.) A player or hand that is not mathematically likely to win the pot before all the cards are dealt. Back to Top

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