4-Bet : The fourth bet in a betting round.
Action : Any betting or raising in a round of poker.
Add-on : In a tournament, the opportunity for players to add to their chip stacks for a fixed fee.
Aggressive : A playing style characterized by a lot of betting and opening pots.
All-In : A bet of all of a player’s remaining chips.
Alligator Blood : A player who plays fearlessly when short-stacked and manages to come back from a low stack.
Angle Shooting : Using unethical tactics to gain an edge.
Ante : A pre-dealt bet required from all players to create the initial pot.
Automatic Bet : A bet made without thinking, usually out of habit.
Back Into : To win a pot with a hand that would have folded to any bet.
Backdoor : Making a hand by hitting on both the turn and the river.
Bad Beat Jackpot : A reward given in a poker room when an exceptionally good hand is beaten by an even better one.
Bad Beat : Losing a hand in which you were a significant favorite to win before the river.
Balancing : Changing up play to avoid giving tells or becoming predictable.
Bankroll : The amount of money a player has to wager for the duration of his or her poker career.
Bet the Limit : To bet the maximum amount allowable in a limit game.
Big Bet Poker : A version of poker typically played in no-limit or pot-limit games, where there’s no limit to what a player can bet.
Big Blind : The larger of the two blinds, usually double the small blind.
Blank : A card that doesn’t seem to influence the hand.
Bleed : To lose chips through consistently making poor decisions.
Blind Steal : An attempted bluff on the last player, who only has the blinds to call.
Blinds : Mandatory bets placed before cards are dealt, usually by the first two players to the left of the dealer.
Blocker : Having a card that makes it less likely that an opponent has a specific hand.
Blow Up : To lose control of emotions at the poker table, usually resulting in poor play and/or loss of chips.
Bluff Catcher : A hand that can only win by calling a player suspected of bluffing.
Boat : Another term for a full house.
Broadway : An Ace-high straight.
Bubble : The point in a poker tournament when the next player out will not win any money, but the rest of the players will.
Busted : Lost or out of money.
Button Position : The most advantageous position in a hand of poker, acting last.
Button : A marker indicating the dealer position.
Buy-In : The cost to enter a game or tournament.
C-Bet (Continuation Bet) : A bet made in the second betting round (the flop in Texas Hold’em) by the player who took the lead in the first round of betting.
Call : Matching the current highest bet in the hand.
Calling Station : A passive player who calls a lot, but doesn’t raise or fold much.
Cap : The last allowable raise in a betting round, typically in a limit game.
Cards Speak : The rule that the value of your hand is determined solely by your cards, not by declaring it.
Case Card : The last card of a certain rank left in the deck.
Cash Game : A non-tournament poker game where players buy-in for cash and can bet their chips freely.
Chase : To stay in a hand hoping to improve, usually in a situation where the odds don’t justify it.
Check-Raise : When a player first checks and then raises in a betting round.
Check : Opting not to bet when it’s your turn, passing action to the next player.
Chop : To split the pot because of a tie, split-pot game, or player agreement.
Cold Call : To call more than one bet in a single action.
Collusion : Cheating by two or more players who secretly communicate and collaborate to win.
Community Cards : Face-up cards on the table in games like Texas Hold’em and Omaha that all players use to make their best hand.
Connectors : Sequentially ranked cards like 89 or 10J.
Cooler : An unavoidable and unlucky situation where you have a strong hand, and your opponent has an even stronger hand.
Counterfeit : When a community card makes the pair in your hand of lesser value.
Dead Man’s Hand : Two pair – Aces and Eights. It is supposedly the hand “Wild Bill” Hickok was holding when he was murdered.
Dealer : The player who distributes the cards. In casino games, the dealer does not play.
Deuce : A two, the lowest ranking card in high poker.
Donkey : A derogatory term used to describe a poor player.
Door Card : The first visible card in a player’s hand in stud games.
Double Up : To double the amount of chips you have in play in one pot.
Drawing Dead : When there are no outs that will give a player the winning hand.
Drawing Hand : A hand that needs additional cards to become a strong hand.
Early Exit : To bust out of a tournament very quickly.
Early Position (EP) : The first three seats to the left of the big blind. These players act first pre-flop.
Exposed Card : A card dealt faceup where all players can see its value.
Family Pot : A pot where all (or almost all) of the players call before the flop.
Fast Play : To play a hand aggressively, betting and raising as much as possible.
Favorite : A hand that has the best chance of winning.
Final Table : The last table in a multi-table poker tournament.
First to Act : The first player to act in a betting round.
Fish : A weak or inexperienced player.
Float : To call an opponent’s bet with the intention of bluffing on a later betting round.
Flop Games : Poker games (like Texas Hold’em and Omaha) that are played with community cards.
Flush : Five cards of the same suit, regardless of rank.
Fold : To discard your hand and forfeit interest in the current pot.
Four-of-a-Kind (Quads) : Four cards of the same rank.
Free Card : A turn or river card on which you don’t have to call a bet because of play earlier in the hand.
Freeroll : A chance to win something at no risk or cost.
Freezeout : A tournament in which players start with a specified amount and then are eliminated when they run out of chips.
Full House : A hand consisting of a three-of-a-kind and a pair.
Grinder : A poker player who plays a low-risk game typically focused on small, incremental wins.
Gutshot : 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 : The cards a player holds during a round and the actions taken during that round.
Heads-Up Play : Only two players involved in play.
Heads-Up : A match between only two players.
Hero Call : Making a call when you have a marginal hand because you believe your opponent is bluffing.
High-Low : Games in which the pot is split between the best and the worst hands.
Hole Cards : The private cards dealt to each player at the beginning of a round.
Implied Odds : Consideration of expected future bets that can be won if a drawing hand is completed.
Inside Straight Draw : Same as gutshot straight.
Isolation : Playing a strong hand in such a way to make it heads up against a single weaker player.
Key Hand : In a session or tournament, the one hand that ends up being a turning point for the player, either for better or worse.
Kicker Trouble : To have a top pair with a weak kicker.
Kicker : The highest card in a player’s hand not contributing to a straight, flush, or full house. Kickers are used to break ties.
Late Position (LP) : The last three positions to act in a hand, including the button and the two seats to the right of the button.
Level : The current blind level in a poker tournament.
Limit : A poker game type where the amount to bet or raise is fixed.
Limp : To call the minimum amount pre-flop.
Live One : A not very knowledgeable player who plays a lot of hands.
Loose : A playing style that values risk, playing a lot of hands and frequently betting and raising.
Maniac : A player who excessively raises, bets, and bluffs.
Middle Position (MP) : The seats to the right of the early position players.
Misdeal : A mistake on the dealing of a hand which causes the cards to be reshuffled and a new hand to be dealt.
Monster : A very strong hand.
Muck : To fold a hand. Also refers to the pile of discarded cards.
Multi-Table Tournament (MTT) : A large poker tournament with players spread across multiple tables.
No-Limit : A poker game type where players can bet or raise any amount over the minimum raise up to all their remaining chips.
Nut (Nuts) : The best possible hand at a given point in time.
Offsuit : Cards of different suits.
Open-Ended Straight Draw : A four-card straight draw where any one of four cards on either end will complete the straight.
Open : The first bet made in a betting round.
Outs : Cards that will improve your hand to a potential winner.
Over the Top : A re-raise from a player that originally called.
Overcard : A hole card that is higher than any card on the board.
Overpair : A pocket pair higher than any card on the flop.
Paint : A face card (King, Queen, Jack).
Passive : A playing style that is characterized by reluctance to betting and raising, with a preference for checking and calling.
Pocket Pair : When your hole cards contain a pair.
Pocket Rockets : A pair of aces in the hole.
Post-Flop : The rounds of betting that take place after the flop has been dealt.
Pot Odds : The ratio between the current size of the pot and the cost of a contemplated call.
Pot-Limit : A version of poker in which a player may bet up to the amount of money in the pot.
Pot : The total chips in the middle of the table that players are competing for.
Pre-Flop : The round of betting that takes place after the hole cards have been dealt and before the flop is dealt.
Quads : Four of a kind.
Rabbit Hunting : To ask to see what the next card would have been after a hand is over.
Rag : A low value or useless card.
Rainbow : A flop that contains three different suits, therefore making it impossible for any player to have made a flush.
Raise : To increase the size of the current bet.
Rake : The money taken from each pot by the host or cardroom.
Rakeback : Money given back to players from the poker room they play in.
Range : The range of hands that a player might have at a given time.
Re-Raise (3-bet) : A second raise after an initial raise.
Rebuy : The amount of money a player pays to add a fixed number of chips to his/her stack in a cash game or tournament.
Reload : To replenish one’s stack of chips.
Represent : To play as if you hold a certain hand.
Ring Game : Another term for a cash game.
River : The final community card dealt in a Texas Hold’em or Omaha game.
Rock : A player who plays very tight, not very creatively. He raises only with the best hands.
Royal Flush : A straight flush consisting of the top five cards (Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Ten) of any suit.
Runner-Runner : Making a hand by getting the right cards on the turn and the river.
Satellite : A mini-tournament to gain an entry into a larger tournament.
Scare Card : A card that may well turn the best hand into trash.
Semi-Bluff : A bet with a hand which isn’t the best hand but which has a reasonable chance of improving.
Set : Another term for three-of-a-kind, specifically when the player has a pair in the hole and one card of the same rank comes on the board.
Shark : A strong player.
Showdown : The point at which all remaining players in the hand reveal their cards to determine who has the best hand and wins the pot.
Side Pot : A separate pot created when one or more players are all in.
Sit-n-Go (SNG) : A small poker tournament that begins as soon as enough players have registered.
Slow Play : To play a strong hand weakly so more players will stay in the pot.
Small Blind : The smaller of the two blinds. This bet is typically half the size of the big blind and is placed by the player to the immediate left of the dealer.
Splash the Pot : To toss chips directly into the pot (rather than placing them in front of yourself). This is generally considered bad etiquette because it can make calculating the pot more difficult.
Stack : The total chips a player has at a given moment.
Steal : To win the pot with a bluff or semi-bluff.
Straddle : An optional and voluntary blind bet made by a player after the posting of the small and big blinds, but before cards are dealt.
Straight Flush : Five cards of consecutive rank, all of the same suit.
Straight : Five cards of consecutive rank, regardless of suit.
String Bet : A bet that is not announced and is made by placing chips in the pot in two or more separate motions. This is usually against the rules.
Suited Connectors : Two consecutive cards of the same suit.
Suited : Cards of the same suit.
Table Stakes : The rule in a poker game that allows a player to bet only the money in front of them.
Tell : A clue or hint that a player unknowingly gives about the strength of his hand.
Three-Bet : The third bet in any betting round.
Tight : A playing style that values caution, playing fewer hands and not taking as many risks.
Tilt : Playing 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 Pair : A pair with the highest card on the flop.
Trips : Another term for three-of-a-kind.
Turn : The fourth community card dealt in a Texas Hold’em or Omaha game.
Under the Gun (UTG) : The position of the player who acts first on a betting round.
Value Bet : A bet made with the intention of getting paid off by a worse hand.
Value Betting : Betting with the hope that your opponent will call.
Variance : Statistical measure that indicates how much a player’s bankroll might swing up and down.
VPIP (Voluntarily Put money In Pot) : The percentage of hands in which a particular player voluntarily puts money into the pot pre-flop.
Walk : A situation where all players fold to the big blind.
Wash : To mix the deck by spreading the cards face down on the table and mixing them up.
Weak Ace : An ace with a low kicker.
Wheel : The lowest straight, which is A-2-3-4-5.
Window Card : The first card revealed in a stud game.
Wired Pair : A pair in the hole.
Wrap : In Omaha, a straight draw for which there are many cards that will complete the straight.
X Marks the Spot : A version of the stud game in which the hole cards are dealt face up.
Yard : $100 in poker parlance.
Zero Sum Game : A game in which the total amount won equals the total amount lost.
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