Poker Glossary
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Poker Glossary Action (1) Opportunity to act. Example - “You’re action, sir” meaning its your turn (2) Bets and raises. Example - “Three spades are on the board and there is a lot of action, someone must have made their flush” Ante A fraction of a bet that each player puts up to seed the pot before the start of a hand of poker. All-In When a player either runs out of chips while betting or calling or decides to wager all of his/her chips on one bet. Example: "Brenda went all-in with trips against a big full house and won with quads on the turn” Backdoor When you catch the Turn and the River to make your drawing hand. Example: You have As- 7s. The Flop is Ad-6c-4s. Your bet is called. The Turn is Ts. Everyone checks. The River comes up Js. This means you have made a “backdoor” nut flush. (See also “Runner” Bad Beat Basically - the luck of the draw. A “Bad Beat” is when a hand that is the huge underdog gets very lucky and catches the one card that wins the pot against a highly favored hand. Usually used when the winner had no real business being in the pot to begin with. Blank Any board card that is neutral or doesn’t affect the hand either way. For example, if the Flop is As-Jd-Ts, and the Turn is 2h, the 2h would be considered a “blank”. Blind A forced bet of a specified amount put in by one or more players before any cards are dealt. Usually, the blinds are put in by players immediately to the left of the button. See also "Live blind." Board The Community Cards - a.k.a. the Flop, Turn and River cards Bottom Pair A pair made with the lowest card of the Flop. For example, your hand is As-6s, and the flop comes Kd-Th-6c, you have flopped bottom pair. Burn When the dealer discards (face down) the top card from the deck between betting rounds before laying out the next community card to help keep players from recognizing or glimpsing the next card. Button A white acrylic disk to indicate who would be the dealer. Also used to refer to the player on the button. Buy (1) As in "buy the pot." To bluff, hoping to "buy" the pot without being called. (2) As in "buy the button." To bet or raise, hoping to make players between you and the button fold, making it possible for you to act last on subsequent betting rounds. Calling Station The kind of player everyone wants in on a game. This player is a passive player who calls most of the time and rarely folds or raises. Cap When a player puts in the last raise allowed on a betting round. Case The last card of a certain rank in the deck. i.e. the last Ace in the deck Center Pot A.K.A. “Main Pot”; it is the first pot made during a poker hand. Check (1) To not bet, with the option to call or raise later in the betting round. (2) Another word for "chip", as in poker chip. Check Raise To check and then raise when a player behind you bets. This tactic is most useful in a low-limit game because you need more power than usual narrow the field when you have the best hand. Cold Call When a player calls more than one bet in a single action. Example: The first player to act after the Big Blind raises. All players acting after him/her must call two bets "cold." This is different from calling a single bet and then calling a subsequent raise. Come Hand Any drawing hand. Complete Hand Any hand that is defined by all five cards - a straight, flush, full house, four of a kind, or straight flush. Connector A starting hand in which the pocket cards are consecutive and suited. Counterfeit When a board card duplicates a card in your hand thereby making that hand less valuable. For example, if you have 87 and the flop comes 9-T-J, so you have a straight. Now an 8 comes on the turn. This has counterfeited your hand and made it almost worthless. Crack To beat a typically large hand. "Third time tonight I've had pocket aces cracked." Cripple When one person has most or all of the cards in a deck that are necessary to win the current board. Example: You have pocket kings, and the other two kings flop, you have crippled the deck. Dog See "Underdog". Dominated Hand A hand that will almost always lose to a better hand, but one that people usually play. Example - K3 is "dominated" by KQ. And with the exception of strange flops (i.e. 3-3-x, K-3-x), it will always lose to KQ. Draw Dead Try to make a hand that, even if made, will not win the pot. Example - You are drawing a flush, but another player has a full house. You are “drawing dead". Equity Your “share” of any pot. For example, if the pot is $100 and you have a 50% chance of winning it, you have $50 equity in the pot. Expectation (1) The amount of the pot 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. Your total gain over those four average hands is $50-$30 = $20, an average of $5 per hand. This means that calling the $10 has a positive expectation of $5. (2) The amount you expect to make at the poker table in a specific time period. Perhaps in 100 hours play, you have won $527. Then your expectation is $5.27/hr. It is one way to measure your anticipated earnings. Family Pot A pot in which all (or almost all) of the players call before the flop. Fast Playing a hand aggressively, betting and raising as much as possible. A.k.a. “Playing it Fast” Flop The first three community cards, put out face up, all together. Foul A hand which may not be played for one reason or another. A player with a foul hand may not make any claim on any portion of the pot. Example: "He ended up with three cards after the flop, so the dealer declared his hand foul." Free Card A Turn or River card which you do not have to call because of an earlier play. Example - 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. However, if you don't get it on the turn, you can check as well - seeing the river card for "free." Free Roll For one player to have 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 on him, or waiting it out, , because you can win the whole pot if a club comes up and he can't. If no club comes, you split the pot with him - if it does come, you win the whole thing. Gutshot Straight An Inside Straight. Heads Up A pot that is being played for by only two players - "It was heads up by the turn." Hit As in "the flop hit me." It means the flop contained cards that help your hand. If you have AK, and the flop comes K-7-2, it hit you. House The establishment/casino running the game. Implied Odds Pot odds that don’t quite exist yet, but that can included in your calculations because of bets you expect to win if you hit your hand. Jackpot This is a special bonus (funded with money removed from the game as part of the rake) that is paid to the loser of hand when he/she gets a very good hand (aces full or better, usually) beaten. Kicker Any unpaired card that is used to determine the best of two almost equal hands. Example - You have AK, the other player has AQ - the Flop is A-x-x - - you both now have a pair of Ace, but you have a K kicker - making you the winner. Live Blind A forced bet put in by one or more players before any cards are dealt. The "live" means those players still have the option of raising when the action gets back around to them. Maniac A player who hyper-aggressively bets, raises and bluffs. A true maniac is not a good player, but a player who acts like a maniac occasionally to confuse his/her opponents is very dangerous. Muck The “Folded” pile of cards that is in front of the dealer. No-Limit A version of poker in which a player may bet any amount of chips (as long as the player has that amount in front of him/her) whenever it is that player’s turn to act. Nuts The best possible hand to be made from the current board. Offsuit A Hold'Em starting hand in which the two cards are of different suits. One-Gap A Hold'Em starting hand in which the two cards are two apart in rank. (i.e. J9 or 57) Out A card that will make your hand win. Usually heard in the plural, as in "Any spade will make my flush, so I have nine outs." Outrun To beat someone else’s hand. Overcall To call a bet after one or more others players have already called. Overcard Any card that is higher than all of the cards on the board. For example , if you have AK and the flop comes Q-5-8, 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. Pay Off When a player calls a bet when they know that unless their opponent is bluffing, there is little chance of the player winning the pot. Play the Board The best hand you can make doesn’t use any of your pocket cards. . Example - you have 22, and the board is 4-4-9-9-A (no flush possible), then you must "play the board" If you play the board, the best you can do is to split the pot with all remaining players. Your ‘face down cards’; the cards in your hand that only you can see. 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. 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. Pot Odds The amount of money in the pot compared to the amount you must put in the pot to continue playing. Price The pot odds you are getting for a draw or call. Protect (1) To put your hand or a chip on your cards to avoid them 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." Quads Four of a kind. Ragged A flop or even a complete board that doesn’t help anyone very much. Rainbow A flop that contains three different suits, or a board with no more than two of any suit, making a flush impossible. Rake An amount of money taken out of every pot by the dealer - this is the Cardroom's “cut” of the money played. Rank The numerical value of a card. Example - Queen, 5 or 7 Represent To play a round or rounds as if you have certain hand. For example, if you raised before the flop, and then again when the flop came ace high, you would be representing at least an ace with a good kicker. Ring Game Any non-tournament game River The fifth and final community card, put out face up, by itself. A.K.A. "fifth street" Rock A player who plays very tight, only raises with the best hands and is fairly predictable - if he raises you on the end, you can throw away just about anything but the nuts. Runner Used to describe a hand which was made only by catching the correct cards on both the turn and the river See also "Backdoor." Scare Card Any card that can make the best hand worthless ( or almost worthless). For example - Your pocket is Tc-8c and the flop comes Qd- Jd-9s, you most likely have the best hand. Then, a turn card of Td comes up , and is very scary because it almost guarantees that you are now beaten. Second Pair A pair made 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. Sell In a spread limit game, this means to bet less than the maximum when you have a very strong hand, hoping players will call. Semi-bluff When you bet or raise hoping that it won’t be called, but while still having a couple outs if someone happens to call you. Set Three of a kind when you have two of the rank in the pocket and the third is on the board. Short Stack The player with the fewest chips remaining. Showdown The point at which all players remaining in the hand turn their cards over and determine who has the best hand Side Pot A separate pot created when a player has run out of chips during a round of betting. 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. Any additional bets that Al and Beth make go into that side pot. Carl, however, can still win all the money in the original or "center" pot. Slow Play To play a strong hand weakly so more players will stay in the pot. Split Pot A pot which is shared by two or more players because they have equivalent hands. Split Two Pair A two pair hand in which one of each of your cards' ranks appears on the board. Example: you have T9, the flop is T-9-5, you have a split two pair. Spread Limit A betting system in which a player may bet any amount in a range on every betting round. A typical spread limit structure is $2-$6, where a player may bet as little as $2 or as much as $6 on every betting round. Straddle This is a bet that is equal to twice the Big Blind that is made by the player to the left of the Big Blind, it is an optional extra blind bet. Basically, this is a raise that forces any player who wants to play to pay two bets. Also, the Straddler acts last before the flop, and may re-raise. String Bet Generally a Raise that takes a player more than one motion to place all the chips required into the pot. In most games, unless the raise is verbally declared, the player can be forced to withdraw the raise and just call. This prevents the unethical play of putting out enough chips to call, seeing what effect that had, and then possibly raising. Structured A fixed amount for bets and raises before the flop and on the flop, and then twice that amount on the turn and river. Example: a $2-$4 structured Hold'Em game - bets and raises of $2 before the flop and on the flop; $4 bets and raises on the turn and river. Suited Pocket cards that are of the same suit. Table Stakes A rule used in most public poker games stating that a player can not add money from his/her pocket during a hand. The player can only use the money in front of him/her. If the player runs out of chips during the hand, a side pot is created in which he/she has no interest. Tell An unintentional clue or hint that a player gives about their hand, next action, etc. Tilt To play wildly or recklessly. Time (1) When a player asks for a suspension of play so that they can decide what to do. If a player doesn't request time and there is a lot of action waiting for the player, the dealer may rule that that player has folded. (2) An amount of money collected either on the button or every half hour by the Cardroom (see "rake"). Toke A small amount of money (typically $.50 or $1.00) or a tip, given to the dealer by the winner of a pot. Quite often, tokes are the great majority of a dealer's income. Top Pair A pair with the highest card on the flop. Trips Three of a kind. Turn The fourth community card. Put out face up, by itself. A.B.A. "fourth street." Under the gun The position of the player who acts first on a betting round. Underdog A person or hand who is not mathematically favored to win a pot. Value As in "bet for value." When your opponents to call your bet (as opposed to a bluff). Variance The measure of the up and down swings that your bankroll goes through. Gambling Sites - Online Poker Experts.com © 2005, All Rights Reserved. |
