All 0-9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Word Description
3bet The act of making a raise against a raise in a hand, or in other words, the final bet in the sequence of Big Blind - Raise - 3Bet

A-Game 1. The game played at the highest available stakes at a particular venue. 2. A description of the quality of a player's performance when he is playing at the top of his ability. Usage: Like in sentence "He is playing his A-game." Opposite to Z-Game.

ABC Player A player who follows a predictable and readable betting pattern. Usage: Like in sentence "He was an ABC player."

Ace-High A five-card hand with an ace but no pair; if nobody has at least a pair, it's the winning hand (similarly "King-high", "Queen-high etc.). Usage: Like in sentence "I have an ace high; can you beat that?" "Yes, I got a pair of deuces."

Add-on A purchase of more chips (optional) at the end of the re-buy period in a tournament.

Aggressive Adjective to describe a player who raises and re-raises and rarely calls. Usage: Like in sentence "John is really an aggressive player".

Aliases Group of players names tagged under the one name. Usually used to see all your results from different sites under the one name

All-In To run out of chips while betting or calling. In table stakes games, a player may not go into his pocket for more money during a hand. If he runs out, a side pot is created in which he has no interest. However, he can still win the pot for which he had the chips. Example: "Poor Bob. He made quads against the big full house, but he was all-in on the second bet."

Angle-Shooting Using unfair tactics. Usage: A poker player who uses various underhanded, unfair methods to take advantage of inexperienced opponents. The difference between an angle shooter and a cheat is only a matter of degree. What a cheat or thief does is patently against the rules; what an angle shooter does may be marginally legal, but it's neither ethical nor gentlemanly. Nor is it in the spirit of the game. Unfortunately, poker is not a gentleman's game. In addition to learning how to protect yourself against cheating players, you must learn to watch out for the angle shooters. See "Angle".

Ante A small portion of a bet contributed by each player to seed the pot at the beginning of a poker hand. Most hold'em games do not have an ante; they use "blinds" to get initial money into the pot.

Backdoor Catching both the turn and river card to make a drawing hand. For instance, suppose you have As-7s. The flop comes Ad-6c-4s. You bet and are called. The turn is the Ts, which everybody checks, and then the river is the Js. You've made a "backdoor" nut flush. See also "runner."

Backraise A re-raise from a player who originally called. Usage: Usually permitted only in home games, in which the rule that a raise must equal in size the previous bet or raise does not hold. Like in sentence "An oft-used ploy by many players is to backraise with small pairs."

Bad Beat To have a hand that is a large underdog beat a heavily favored hand. It is generally used to imply that the winner of the pot had no business being in the pot at all, and it was the wildest of luck that he managed to catch the one card in the deck that would win the pot. We won't give any examples; you will hear plenty of them during your poker career.

Bankroll The amount of money you have. Usage: Many serious poker players have a separate bankroll just for poker. If you bankroll someone, you are giving them money to play with, usually in exchange for a percent of their profit. Like in sentence "She doubled her bankroll after 1 month of playing the PartyPoker."

Bet Into To wrest the initiative from a player who bet strongly the previous round, by betting instead of checking also known as a donk bet

Bet the Pot To bet an amount of chips approximately equal to the amount of chips in the pot. Usage: In Pot Limit games, this is the maximum bet; however, the pot size in Pot-Limit games is calculated in an unintuitive way: all the money in the pot, plus (if you have been raised) the amount you would bet if you reraised. Also known as Pot-Sized Bet.

Big Blind The larger of the two blinds typically used in a hold'em game. The big blind is a full first round bet. See also "blind" and "small blind."

Big Slick A nickname for AK (suited or not).

Blank A board card that doesn't seem to affect the standings in the hand. If the flop is As-Jd-Ts, then a turn card of 2h would be considered a blank. On the other hand, the 2s would not be.

Board All the community cards in a hold'em game -- the flop, turn, and river cards together. Example: "There wasn't a single heart on the board."

Bot Short for "robot". In a poker context, a program that plays poker online with no (or minimal) human intervention.

Bottom Pair A pair with the lowest card on the flop. If you have As-6s, and the flop comes Kd-Th-6c, you have flopped bottom pair.

Broadway An Ace high straight. Usage: This is a name of card combinations which was succesfully used by some player and historically called Broadway. Abbreviated signing of this term is A-K-Q-J-10.

BTN Refers to your position at the table, see Button

Bubble (1) The point at which only one player must bust out before all others win some money. (2) The person who was unfortunate enough to finish in that position.

Bullets A pair of Aces

Burn To discard the top card from the deck, face down. This is done between each betting round before putting out the next community card(s). It is security against any player recognizing or glimpsing the next card to be used on the board.

Bust Out To lose all your chips and thus be eliminated from a tournament.

Button Button A white acrylic disk that indicates the (nominal) dealer. Also used to refer to the player on the button. Example: "Oh, the button raised."

Buy-In An amount of money you pay to enter a tournament. Often expressed as two numbers, such as $100+9, meaning that it costs $109 to enter the tournament; $100 goes into the prize fund and $9 goes to the house.

Call To put into the pot an amount of money equal to the most recent bet or raise. The term "see" (as in "I'll see that bet") is considered colloquial.


Call Cold To call both a bet and raise(s).


Calling Station A weak-passive player who calls a lot, but doesn't raise or fold much. This is the kind of player you like to have in your game.


Cash In To exchange poker chips for cash and then to quit (Cash Out). Usage: Like in sentence "After playing for four hours John decided to cash in his chips."


Cash Out To leave a game and convert your chips to cash.


Change Gears Changing your style of play. Usage: Like in sentence "Chris has definitely changed gears since the tournament moved to the final table".


Check (1) To not bet, with the option to call or raise later in the betting round. Equivalent to betting zero dollars. (2) Another word for chip, as in poker chip.


Check-Raise To check and then raise when a player behind you bets.


Chop An agreement between the two players with blinds to simply take their blinds back rather than playing out the hand if nobody calls or raises in front of them.


CO Position before the button - See Cut-Off


Cold Call To call more than one bet in a single action. For instance, suppose the first player to act after the big blind raises. Now any player acting after that must call two bets "cold." This is different from calling a single bet and then calling a subsequent raise.


Cold Deck Deck of cards that a cheat has fixed. A deck, presumably with preset hands in it (usually with several good hands, the best of which will go to the dealer or his confederate), surreptitiously substituted by a cheat for the deck he is supposed to be dealing. So called because, after cards are dealt for awhile, they warm a bit to the touch, while a cold deck actually feels cool.


Community cards Cards that are turned face up in the middle of the table, and which belong to all players still in the hand. Community cards are used in Hold 'em and Omaha.


Connector A hold'em starting hand in which the two cards are one apart in rank. Examples: KQs, 76.


Cowboys Pair of kings as your hole cards in Texas Hold em. A very strong hand.


Crack To beat a hand -- typically a big hand. You hear this most often applied to pocket aces: "Third time tonight I've had pocket aces cracked."


Crap Shoot A term used for less skillful tournaments with lots of loose action throughout.


Cut-Card Another term for the bottom card.


Cut-Off The position (or player) who acts one before the button.


Dead Card A card that is not legally playable


Dead Money (1) Money contributed to a pot by a player no longer in the pot. (2) A player in a tournament who has no realistic chance of winning.


Dealer The man or woman who handles the cards, gives out the pots, and monitors the game.


Dealers Button A flat disk that indicates the player who would be in the dealing position for that hand (if there were not a house dealer). Normally just called "the button".


Deuces A pair of Twos


Disconnect Protection A tool to protect players in the event that their internet connection is lost while involved in a pot. Usage: Also known as "All-in protection".


Dominated Hand A hand that will almost always lose to a better hand that people usually play. For instance, K3 is "dominated" by KQ. With the exception of strange flops (e.g., 3-3-X, K-3-X), it will lose to KQ a lot.


Donkey Stupid, weak player of stupid move. Usage: Like in sentence "Let's go to this poker room. it is full of donkeys"


Double Up Going all in on a hand during a no-limit game and winning, which essentially doubles your bankroll. Even with a short stack, a player who doubles up 2 or 3 times in a row can get right back into contention in most poker tournaments.


Draw To play a hand that is not yet good, but has outs to improve. Example: "I'm not there yet -- I'm drawing." Also used as a noun. Example: "I have to call because I have a good draw."


Draw Dead Trying to make a hand that, even if made, will not win the pot. If you're drawing to make a flush, and your opponent already has a full house, you are "drawing dead." Of course, this is a bad condition to be in.


Ducks A pair of Twos


Early Position Position on a round of betting where the player must act before most of the other players at the table. (It's considered the two positions located to the left of the Blinds. )


Edge An advantageous position.


Entry Fee An entry fee is usually payable for all tournaments (unless they are freerolls) these may be as little as a few cents or as large as thousands of dollars. Usage: A Party Poker entry fee may look something like this: No Limit Hold Em $30+$3 The total payable is therefore $33. $30 goes to the prize fund and $3 to the game organiser, in the example, Party Poker.


EP See Early Position


Equity Your "rightful" share of a pot. If the pot contains $80, and you have a 50% chance of winning it, you have $40 equity in the pot. This term is somewhat fanciful since you will either win $80 or $0, but it gives you an idea of how much you can "expect" to win with average luck over a big sample.


Expectation (1) The amount you expect to gain on average if you make a certain play. For instance, suppose you put $10 into a $50 pot to draw at a hand that you will make 25% of the time, and it will win every time you make it. Three out of four times, you do not make your draw, and lose $10 each time for a total of $30. The fourth time, you will make your draw, winning $50. Your total gain over those four average hands is $50-$30 = $20, an average of $5 per hand. Thus calling the $10 has a positive expectation of $5.


Extra Blind A blind put in by a player just entering the game, returning to the game, or otherwise changing his position at the table. See also "blind" and "post."


Facecard A king, queen, or jack.


Fast As in "play fast". To play a hand aggressively, betting and raising as much as possible. Example: "When you flop a set but there's a flush draw possible, you have to play it fast".


Fifth Street Also known as the "river" card. In flop games, this represents the fifth community card on the table and the final round of betting. In Stud games, this is the fifth card dealt to each player and represents the third round of betting.


Fill Up To fill a Full House


Fish A poor player -- one who gives his money away. It's a well-known (though not well-followed) rule among good players to not upset the bad players, because they'll stop having fun and perhaps leave. Thus the phrase, "Don't tap on the aquarium."


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


Flat Call Calling a bet without raising


Flop The first three community cards, put out face up, all together.


Flop a Set To catch a third card of the same denomination on the Flop when holding a pocket pair.


Flush Any five cards of the same suit.


Flush Draw When a player has four cards in his hand of the same suit and is hoping to draw a fifth to make a flush.


Fold To throw your hand away when it's your turn to act.


Fold Equity The extra value you get from a hand when you force an opponent to fold. That is, if you don't have to see a showdown, your hand has more value than if you do.


Four Flush Four cards to a Flush.


Free Card A turn or river card on which you don't have to call a bet because of play earlier in the hand (or because of your reputation with your opponents). For instance, if you are on the button and raise when you flop a flush draw, your opponents may check to you on the turn. If you make your flush on the turn, you can bet. If you don't get it on the turn, you can check as well, seeing the river card for "free."


Free Roll (1) One player has a shot at winning an entire pot when he is currently tied with another player. For instance, suppose you have Ac-Qc and your opponent has Ad-Qh. The flop is Qs-5c-Tc. You are tied with your opponent right now, but are free rolling, because you can win the whole pot and your opponent can't. If no club comes, you split the pot with him; if it does come, you win the whole thing. (2) A tournament in which its free to enter to win a prize or cash


Full Boat Slang for Full House.


Full House Any three cards of the same number or face value, plus any other two cards of the same number or face value. Usage: Three kings and two 3s is a full house, often known as kings full, and sometimes more specifically as kings full of 3s.


Gap Hand A starting hand with cards more than one rank apart. For instance, T9 is a one-gap hand. 86 is a two-gap hand.


Grinding Playing in a style with minimal risk and modest gains over a long period of time. Usage: Like in sentence "Tony has been grinding away at $5/$10 limit all month".


Gut Shot To draw to and/or hit an inside straight


Gutshot Straight A straight filled "inside." If you have 9s-8s, the flop comes 7c-5h-2d, and the turn is the 6c, you've made your gutshot straight.


Hand History The details of hand played at a poker site which includes hole cards, stakes, amounts wagered etc

Head to Head Two people playing poker


Heads-Up (1) A pot that is being contested by only two players. Example: "It was heads-up by the turn." (2) A game where the maximum amount of players is 2


High Limit A game where the amounts wagered are high.


High Roller A gambler who plays for large stakes. Being a High Roller is often times relative. Extreme High Rollers are also referred to as "Whales".


High-Card To decide the first dealer in the flop tournaments each user is dealt a single card and the player with the highest card (based on the card and the suit order - of spades, hearts, diamonds & clubs) becomes the theoretical dealer.


Hit As in "the flop hit me," meaning the flop contains cards that help your hand. If you have AK, and the flop comes K-7-2, it hit you.


Hit And Run The act of joining a poker game, winning big in a short period of time, and leaving the table.


Hold'em Also known as Texas Hold 'em, where the players get two down cards and five community cards. See our complete Hold 'em rules in our Game Rules section.


Hole Cards These are the Down Cards in front of the players.


Implied Odds Pot odds that do not exist at the moment, but may be included in your calculations because of bets you expect to win if you hit your hand. For instance, you might call with a flush draw on the turn even though the pot isn't offering you quite 4:1 odds (your chance of making the flush) because you're sure you can win a bet from your opponent on the river if you make your flush.


Import Hand History To insert hand histories into a database

Improve To draw cards that improve one's hand.

Inside Straight Four cards which require another between the top and the bottom card to complete a straight. Players who catch this card make an Inside Straight.

IP In Position

Jackpot A prize fund awarded to a player who meets a set of predetermined requirements. For example, some casinos will give a jackpot to someone who gets four-of-a-kind or higher and loses.

Jam A pot where several players are raising.

Jinx A curse of bad luck

Kicker An unpaired card used to determine the better of two near-equivalent hands. For instance, suppose you have AK and your opponent has AQ. If the flop has an ace in it, you both have a pair of aces, but you have a king kicker. Kickers can be vitally important in hold'em.


Late Position Position on a round of betting where the player must act after most of the other players have acted

Leak A weakness in your game that causes you to win less money than you would otherwise. Example: "She takes her pocket pairs too far; it's a leak in her game."


Limp To call. Generally the term refers to pre-flop action. For instance: "He limped in early position with 77."


Limp In To enter the pot by calling rather than raising. (The usual concept of "Limp In" is when the first person to speak just calls the Big Blind.)

Live Cards that are not duplicated in an opponent's stronger hand. For example, if you have A9 and your opponent has AJ, then your ace is not "live" because making a pair of aces won't do you any good. The nine, however, is live; making a pair of nines gives you the better hand.


Lock A hand that cannot lose.

Loose Is a player who plays a lot hands.

Loose Game A game with a lot of players in most hands. Usage: Like in sentence "The games on PartyPoker are very loose."

Low Limit A game where the amounts wagered are small.

LP Late Position

Luck An illusion of winning or losing beyond statistical reality.

Luck Out To outdraw and beat a good hand. Usage: Like in sentence "I had the nuts until the river when he lucked out on me with a straight".

Made Hand A hand to which you're drawing, or one good enough that it doesn't need to improve.


Main Pot The center pot. Any other bets are placed in a side pot(s) and are contested among the remaining players. This occurs when a player(s) goes all-in.

Maniac A player who does a lot of hyper-aggressive raising, betting, and bluffing. A true maniac is not a good player, but is simply doing a lot of gambling. However, a player who occasionally acts like a maniac and confuses his opponents is quite dangerous.


Micro-Limit Games so small that they couldn't be profitably dealt in a real cardroom. They exist only at online poker sites. You might arbitrarily call games $.25-.50 and smaller "micro-limit."


Middle Pair In flop games, when a player makes a pair with one of his/her down cards and the middle card on the flop. Usage: Like in sentence "You have Ad 9h in your hand, the flop is Ks 9s 6h. You have a pair of Nines, the middle pair."

Middle Position Somewhere between the early and late positions on a round of betting

Minimum Buy-In The least amount you can start a game with.

Monster A very big hand. In a tournament, a player who begins to accumulate chips after having a small stack is considered to be a monster.

MP Middle Position

Muck To discard or throw away your hand. It's also a pile of cards that are no longer in play.

No-Limit A version of poker in which a player may bet any amount of chips (up to the number in front of him) whenever it is his turn to act. It is a very different game from limit poker.


Nut Flush As far as 'nut' means the best possible hand, 'nut flush is the best flush available within each hand. Usage: Like in sentence "I had the ace of spades, the nut flush".

Nut Flush Draw When one card will give you the best possible flush.

Nuts The best possible hand given the board. If the board is Ks-Jd-Ts-4s-2h, then As-Xs is the nuts. You will occasionally hear the term applied to the best possible hand of a certain category, even though it isn't the overall nuts. For the above example, somebody with Ah-Qc might say they had the "nut straight."


Odds The probability of making a hand vs. the probability of not making a hand.

Odds Against The number of failures per success.

Odds On Odds at less than even money.

Offsuit A hold'em starting hand with two cards of different suits.


Omaha A game in which each player is dealt four down cards with five community cards. To make your hand, you must play two cards from your hand and three from the board.
On Tilt Playing worse (usually, more aggressively) than usual because a player has become emotionally upset.

One-Gap A hold'em starting hand with two cards two apart in rank. Examples: J9s, 64.


OOP Out Of Position

Open To make the first bet.

Open-ended Straight Four consecutive cards whereby one additional (consecutive) card is needed at either end to make a straight.

Out A card that will make your hand win. Normally heard in the plural. Example: "Any spade will make my flush, so I have nine outs."


Outdraw When one person beats his or her opponent by drawing a better hand.

Overcall To call a bet after one or more others players have already called.


Overcard A card higher than any card on the board. For instance, if you have AQ and the flop comes J-7-3, you don't have a pair, but you have two overcards.


Overpair A pocket pair higher than any card on the flop. If you have QQ and the flop comes J-8-3, you have an overpair.


Pair Two cards of the same face or number value.

Pass To fold

Passive Checking and calling hands rather betting and raising hands.

Pay Off To call on the final round of betting when you may or may not think you have the best hand.

PFR Pre Flop Raise

Play Back To raise or re-raise another player's bet.

Play the Board To show down a hand in hold'em when your cards don't make a hand any better than is shown on the board. For instance, if you have 22, and the board is 4-4-9-9-A (no flush possible), then you must "play the board": the best possible hand you can make doesn't use any of your cards. Note that if you play the board, the best you can do is split the pot with all remaining players.


Pocket Your unique cards that only you can see. For instance, "He had pocket sixes" (a pair of sixes), or "I had ace-king in the pocket."


Pocket Pair A hold'em starting hand with two cards of the same rank, making a pair. Example: "I had big pocket pairs seven times in the first hour. What else can you ask for?"


Pocket Rockets A pair of Aces in the pocket or hole.

Poker network The group of several poker rooms owned by the same company. Usage: Poker network is like other business networks with satellite companies.

Poker room 1) the unique poker software where players can win money. Advanced software has a connection to internet what gives the feature to play with other players online. 2) the facility in casino or at home where poker games are played at special table.

Post To put in a blind bet, generally required when you first sit down in a cardroom game. You may also be required to post a blind if you change seats at the table in a way that moves you away from the blinds. Example: a player leaves one seat at a table and takes another in such a way that he moves farther from the blinds. He is required to post an extra blind to receive a hand. See also "extra blind."


Pot The money or chips in the center of a table that players try to win.

Pot Odds The amount of money in the pot compared to the amount you must put in the pot to continue playing. For example, suppose there is $60 in the pot. Somebody bets $6, so the pot now contains $66. It costs you $6 to call, so your pot odds are 11:1. If your chance of having the best hand is at least 1 out of 12, you should call. Pot odds also apply to draws. For instance, suppose you have a draw to the nut flush with one card left to come. In this case, you are about a 4:1 underdog to make your flush. If it costs you $8 to call the bet, then there must be about $32 in the pot (including the most recent bet) to make your call correct.


Pot-Committed A state where you are essentially forced to call the rest of your stack because of the size of the pot and your remaining chips.


Pot-Limit Pot-Limit A version of poker in which a player may bet up to the amount of money in the pot whenever it is his turn to act. Like no-limit, this is a very different game from limit poker.


Preflop Pertaining to the bet or situation before the flop. Usage: Like in sentence "When you are in a crazy game that is constantly having capped family pots preflop, you can call with a minimum of 22/JTs/AQ."

Premium Hands The best possible hands.

Protect (1) To keep your hand or a chip on your cards. This prevents them from being fouled by a discarded hand, or accidentally mucked by the dealer. (2) To invest more money in a pot so blind money that you've already put in isn't "wasted." Example: "He'll always protect his blinds, no matter how bad his cards are."


Push When the dealer pushes the chips to the winning player at the end of a hand. It's also when dealers rotate to other tables.

Quads Four of a kind.


Ragged A flop (or board) that doesn't appear to help anybody very much. A flop that came down Jd-6h-2c would look ragged.


Rainbow A flop that contains three different suits, thus no flush can be made on the turn. Can also mean a complete five card board that has no more than two of any suit, thus no flush is possible.


Rainbow flop A flop that contains three different suits, thus no flush can be made on the turn. Can also mean a complete five card board that has no more than two of any suit, thus no flush is possible.

Raise To increase the previous bet

Rake An amount of money taken out of every pot by the dealer. This is the cardroom's income.


Ratholing The illegal action of taking money off the table and putting it somewhere else.

Re-raise To raise a raise.

Read Analysis of a player based on how they play, mannerisms, and tells.

Rebuy An option to buy back into a tournament after you've lost all your chips. Tournaments may offer one or more rebuys or (often) none at all.


Represent To play as if you hold a certain hand. For instance, if you raised before the flop, and then raised again when the flop came ace high, you would be representing at least an ace with a good kicker.


Ring Game A regular poker game as opposed to a tournament.


River The fifth and final community card, put out face up, by itself. Also known as "fifth street." Metaphors involving the river are some of poker's most treasured cliches, e.g., "He drowned in the river."


Rock A player who plays very tight, not very creatively. He raises only with the best hands. A real rock is fairly predictable: if he raises you on the river, you can throw away just about anything but the nuts.


ROI Return On Investment

Round of Betting This is when players have the opportunity to bet, check or raise. Each round of betting ends when the last bet or raise has been called.

Round of Play The action sequence in which every player deals a poker hand.

Royal Flush This is an Ace high straight (A-K-Q-J-10) of the same suit. It is the best possible hand in poker.

Run 1) A straight. 2) Several good hands after one another; a rush

Runner Typically said "runner-runner" to describe a hand that was made only by catching the correct cards on both the turn and the river. Example: "He made a runner-runner flush to beat my trips." See also "backdoor."


Running Bad A losing streak.

Running Good A winning streak.

Sandbagging Holding back and calling despite the fact that you have a very good hand, usually to disguise strength, provoke bluffs, and to check-raise.

Satellite A tournament that does not award cash to its winners, but a seat (or seats) in a subsequent "target" tournament.


Scare Card A card that may well turn the best hand into trash. If you have Tc-8c and the flop comes Qd-Jd-9s, you almost assuredly have the best hand. However, a turn card of Td would be very scary


Second Pair A pair with the second highest card on the flop. If you have As-Ts, and the flop comes Kd-Th-6c, you have flopped second pair. See "top pair."


Semi-Bluff A powerful concept first discussed by David Sklansky. It is a bet or raise that you hope will not be called, but you have some outs if it is. A semi-bluff may be correct when betting for value is not correct, a pure bluff is not correct, but the combination of the two may be a positive expectation play. Example: you have Ks-Qs, and the flop is Th-5s-Jc. If you bet now, it's a semi-bluff. You probably don't have the best hand, and you'd like to see your opponents fold immediately. Nevertheless, if you do get callers, you could still improve to the best hand.


Session The period in which a poker game is held.

Set Three of a kind when you have two of the rank in your hand, and there is one on the board.


Shark A good/crafty player often posing as a fish early in the game.

Shills Shills are paid props who help start and maintain poker games.

Shoot-out A tournament with no rebuys. When you lose all your chips, you're out. More usually called a "freeze-out" or, in the case of a single table, a "sit-and-go".

Short Stack A number of chips that is not very many compared to the other players at the table. If you have $10 in front of you, and everybody else at the table has over $100, you are playing on a short stack.


Short-Handed An adjective used to describe a game with few players but also used sometimes to describe 6max games

Showdown The point at which all players remaining in the hand turn their cards over and determine who has the best hand -- i.e., after the fourth round of betting is completed. Of course, if a final bet or raise is not called, there is no showdown.


Side Pot A pot created in which a player has no interest because he has run out of chips. Example: Al bets $6, Beth calls the $6, and Carl calls, but he has only $2 left. An $8 side pot is created that either Al or Beth can win, but not Carl. Carl, however, can still win all the money in the original or "center" pot.


Sitting Out This is when you choose to leave a table for a few hands. If a Player sits out for more than fifteen minutes, or has missed two rounds of blinds, they are removed from the table.

Slow Play To play a strong hand weakly so more players will stay in the pot.


Small Blind The smaller of two blind bets typically used in a hold'em game. Normally, the small blind is one-third to two-thirds of a first round bet. See also "big blind" and "blind."


Smooth Call To call. Smooth call often implies slow playing a strong hand. Example: "I flopped the nut flush but just smooth called when the guy in front of me bet -- I didn't want to scare anybody out."


Solid A fairly tight player (and reasonably good).

Split Pot A pot that is shared by two or more players because they have equivalent hands.


Squeeze To raise a raiser and a caller putting pressure on the original player knowing there is still a player to act

Stack A pile of chips.

Stake The amount of a player's BUY-IN, or the amount of money they are willing to play with in a given session.

Steal To steal the pot is raising in expectation that all other players will fold, if they fold the player has stolen the pot.

Steal Position The next to last or last position at a poker table

Steal the Antes To win a small pot consisting only of antes by betting a weak hand and having the other players fold.

Steal the Blinds To win a small pot consisiting of only blinds by betting a weak hand and having other players fold.

Straight Five consecutive cards of any suit.

Straight Flush Five consecutive cards of the same suit.

Street Cards dealt on a particular round

Suckout Suckout is a slang poker term for when someone draws out on their opponent. Usage: For example – Let's say you have pocket Aces, and your opponent pocket Kings. You both go all in. The cards come down, and your opponent catches a King to give him the winning hand. Your opponent has sucked out on you. Ex – "Yeah, I was ahead when the money went in, and then he sucked out on me on the turn when he caught his spade."

Suit A characteristic of a playing card. The card being either of Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, or Spades.

Suited A hold'em starting hand in which the two cards are the same suit. Example: "I had to play J-3 -- it was suited."


Suited Connectors Two cards that are consecutive in rank and of the same suit.

Super Turbo Type of Game where the blinds increase extremely fast compared to normal games

Table Stakes A rule in a poker game meaning that a player may not go into his pocket for money during a hand. He may only invest the amount of money in front of him into the current pot. If he runs out of chips during the hand, a side pot is created in which he has no interest. All casino poker is played table stakes. The definition sometimes also includes the rule that a player may not remove chips from the table during a game. While this rule might not be referred to as "table stakes", it is enforced almost universally in public poker games.

Tell An action that gives clues about the cards someone is holding.

Thin As in "drawing thin." To be drawing to a very few outs, perhaps only one or two.


Third Street In Poker this is the first betting round on the first three cards.

Three of a Kind Three cards of the same number or face value ("trips").

Tilt To play wildly or recklessly. A player is said to be "on tilt" if he is not playing his best, playing too many hands, trying wild bluffs, raising with bad hands, etc.


Top and Bottom Top and Bottom Two pair, with your two hole cards pairing the highest and lowest cards on the board.


Top Pair A pair with the highest card on the flop. If you have As-Qs, and the flop comes Qd-Th-6c, you have flopped top pair. See "second pair."


Top Set The highest possible trips. Example: you have Tc-Ts, and the flop comes Td-8c-9h. You have flopped top set.


Top Two Two pair, with your two hole cards pairing the two highest cards on the board.


Trips Three of a kind where you have only 1 of the holecards and the other two are community cards.


Turbo Type of Tournaments where the blinds increase faster than usual

Turn The fourth community card. Put out face up, by itself. Also known as "fourth street."


Under the Gun The position of the player who acts first on a betting round. For instance, if you are one to the left of the big blind, you are under the gun before the flop.


Underdog A person or hand who is not mathematically favored to win a pot. For instance, if you flop four cards to your flush, you are not quite a 2:1 underdog to make your flush by the river (that is, you will make your flush about one in three times). See also "dog".

Underpair A pocket pair of lower value than the lowest card on the board.

UO Unopened

UTG Under The Gun

Variance A measure of the up and down swings your bankroll goes through. Variance is not necessarily a measure of how well you play. However, the higher your variance, the wider swings you'll see in your bankroll.


VP$IP Voluntarily put in pot

VPIP Voluntarily put in pot

Weak One who folds too many hands.

Wheel A straight from ace through five.


World Series of Poker A Hold 'em tournament with a $10,000 buy-in held every May in Las Vegas.

WSOP Abbreviation for World Series of Poker