Word | Description |
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 |