Poker has its own unique language and in order to really master the game, one must understand some of its special jargon.

Below you'll find some common poker words and expressions that might help you become a better poker player.or at least help you sound like a pro!

To navigate through the dictionary, just click on the letters!

A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W

A

Aces Full: A full house with three Aces and any other pair.

Ace High: A five card hand that include one Ace, with no straight or flush or a hand with no pair in it.

Aces Up: A hand that contains two pairs, one of which is Aces.

Action: Another word for betting. To start the action is to start the betting. A game in which players are playing a lot of pots is considered an "action" game.

Action Player: A not too good player who bets and calls often, even though he/she has inferior hands. Sometimes also called an "Action Junkie".

Active Player: Any player who is still in the hand.

Add-on: In a live game, this means to buy more chips before you busted. In tournaments, it means to buy more chips at the end of the re-buy period.

Advertising: A player who makes obvious plays in order to give other players an idea about how he/she plays the game. For instance, to make a bad bluff in order to give your opponents the impression that you bluff often.

Aggressive Player: One who often bets and raises.

All-In: When a player bets his/her entire stack of chips.

Alligator Blood: A player who plays well under pressure is said to have "alligator blood".

American Airlines: A pair of Aces: A-A.

Ammunition or Ammo: Chips in Play. If one needs more chips, he/she might say: "I need more ammo!"

Ante: The money or chips placed in the pot by each player before the hand is begun. Antes are used in Stud and Draw, but not in Hold´em or Omaha.


B

Bad Beat: Happens when a player with an unusually strong hand is beaten by an even stronger hand, or when another player makes a very lucky and unlikely draw. Stories about "bad beats" are often the topic of conversation at poker tables. In some casinos there is a "bad beat jackpot" that goes to the player who suffers a particular beat (such as having his/her four of a kind beaten).

Bank: The person in a casino or poker room responsible for distributing the chips, keeping track of the buy-ins and winners at the end of the game. Also called "the House".

Belly Buster: An inside straight draw. Also called a "gut shot".

Berry Patch: A game with many unskilled players, which provide a skilled player with a lucrative opportunity to win.

Bet: To place chips or money into the pot. Also, any money wagered during the play of a hand.

Bet the Pot: When a player bets the amount of the pot on the table.

Betting Structure: The specific rules for any game covering how much a player may or must bet at any point in the game. This includes forced bets, limits, and raising caps.

Bicycle or Bicycle Wheel: The best possible hand to win the low side of the pot in high/low split pot games, or the best possible hand in lowball games. Usually the hand looks like this: A-2-3-4-5. In "Deuce to Seven lowball" the hand 2-3-4-5-7 is known as "the Wheel".

Big Bet Game: A game played with a no limit or pot limit betting structure.

Big Blind: A bet that must be placed by the player sitting in the second position, clockwise from the dealer, before any cards are dealt. Players joining a game in progress must post a Big Blind, but he or she may do so from any position.

Big Chick: A Hold´em starting hand, which consists of an Ace and a Queen regardless of suit.

Big Slick: A Hold´em starting hand, which consists of an Ace and a King regardless of suit.

Blank: A card, often a community card, of no apparent value.

Bleed: To lose small amounts of money or chips continually, so that it adds up to a huge loss.

Blind: The bet that must be made by the two players sitting directly to the dealer's left which will start the action on the first round of betting. The blinds are posted before any cards are dealt. A "blind bet" is also one that is made without looking at your cards.

Blind Crowley: When a player folds his/her hand when the action to check is an option before looking at the cards. Also called "Crowley" or "Lord Crowley".

Blind Raise: When a player raises without even looking at his/her hand. This often makes other players a little bit uneasy.

Blind Stud: A Stud poker game where all cards are dealt face down.

Bluff: To make other players believe that one have a better hand than he/she has by betting or raising when he/she do not have the best hand. By betting when one hold a weak hand, "the bluffer" hopes that the intimidation factor of the bet can win him/her that hand.

Board or Boardcards: Refers to the cards that are dealt face-up in a poker game for all players to see. "Looking around the board" means looking at the visible cards. In flop games, five cards are dealt face-up in the center of the table. In Seven Card Stud, four cards are dealt face-up in front of each player.

Boat: A full house.

Bobtail: An "open-ender" or "outside" straight draw.

Bomb: A brick.

Bone: A chip, often of small value.

Bottom End: The lowest of several possible straights, especially in a community card game. For example, in Hold 'em with the cards 4-5-6 on the board, a player holding 2-3 has the bottom end straight, while a player holding 3-7 or 7-8 has a higher straight. Also called "Idiot End".

Bottom Pair: When a player uses the lowest card on the flop to make a pair with one of his/her own cards. Also called "Bottom Set".

Bottom Set: When a player uses the lowest card on the flop to make a pair with one of his/her own cards. Also called "Bottom Pair".

Box: This word has two meanings. 1) The chip tray in front of the house dealer. 2) The house dealer's position at the table. The word can be used as follows: "The dealer seems tired; he needs a break from the box".

Boxed Card: A card encountered face-up in the deck during the deal (as opposed to one overturned in the act of dealing). Most houses treat a boxed card as if it didn't exist and places it aside. However, different rules may apply.

Break: In a draw poker, to discard a card or cards that make a made hand, hoping to get a better one. For instance, a player with 10-10-9-8-7 may wish to break his pair of Tens in order to draw for the straight. A break can also mean to end a session of play. Brick: A blank, though more often used in the belittling sense of a card that is undesirable rather than merely unimportant, such as a card of high rank.

Brick and Mortar: Poker games played in person with real cards at a traditional casino. The term is meant to differentiate those games from online poker games.

Bring-In: In Stud, the bet that must be made on the very first round of betting by the player who is dealt the lowest card showing. However, in some games the player showing the highest card is forced. Note that the bring-in only applies to the very first betting round. On all other rounds, the player showing the highest hand on board has the option to bet first, but does not have to.

Broadway: A straight with Ace as the highest card. That is: A-K-Q-J-10. "A Broadway Card" is any card that might make such a straight.

Brokeback Mountain: New word for a pair of Kings (cowboys).

Broomcorn's Uncle: A player who antes himself broke.

Brush: A casino employee whose job it is to greet players entering the poker room, maintain the list of persons waiting to play, announce open seats, prepare tables for new games, etc.

Bullets: A pair of Aces: A-A.

Bully: To bluff repeatedly or a player who does so.

Bum Deal: A misdeal.

Bump: To raise.

Busted: When a player for instance does not get his fifth card (that is, the hand/play is not complete). Also, when a player has lost all of his/her chips, he/she is "busted".

Button: A small round plastic disk that is moved from player to player in a clockwise direction following each hand, to theoretically indicate the dealer of each hand. A button is used in games where a professional dealer is used. The Button is also known as the "dealer button" or "buck".

Buy-In: The minimum amount of money required by a player to join a particular poker game.

Buy Short: To buy into a game for an amount smaller than the normal buy-in. Some casinos allow this under certain circumstances.


C

Call: When a player matches a bet that has been made. However, a "cold call" is to call an amount that represents a sum of bets or raises by more than one player.

Calling Station: A player who often checks and calls, but rarely raises.

Cap: A limit on the number of raises allowed in a betting round.

Card room: The room or space in a casino where poker is played.

Case Card: The last available card of a certain description (typically a rank). For instance, the last Queen in the deck.

Case Chips: A player's last chips.

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

Catch: To receive needed cards on a draw.

Catch Up: To fruitfully complete a draw and thereby defeat an opponent who previously had a better hand.

Cat-Hop: In five-card draw, a long shot draw that requires two desired cards to make a hand.

Chase: To continue playing with a hand that is not likely the best because one has already invested money in the pot.

Check: To possess the option to bet, but choose not to. A player cannot "check" once someone else has bet. He/she must at that point call, raise or fold. When it is a player's turn to bet and there has been NO action in front of them and he opts not to bet, he "checks", allowing the betting option to pass to the next player.

Check Out: To fold, in turn, even though there is no bet facing the player. In some games this is considered as bad as folding out of turn.

Check-Raise: When a player first checks and then raises in a betting round. Check-raises are usually allowed in casino poker games.

Cheese: A poor hand.

Chip: A token that represent money used for betting in a casino or poker room.

Chip Up: To exchange lower-denomination chips for higher-denomination chips.

Chop: To split the pot because of a tie. Can also mean to play the game for a short period of time and then cash out.

Chop Blinds: An agreement between players having posted blinds that if all other players fold to them, they will each retrieve their respective blind amounts and discard their hands rather than playing out the hand.

Closed: Describes a betting round, where no player is eligible to raise, either because the last raise was called by all players, or because the cap was reached. The word "closed" also refers to a poker game in which each player's cards are concealed from all the other opponents.

Coffeehouse: To make small talk during a game, to make comments about a hand in progress or deceptive comments about one's own play. This is often viewed as extremely annoying.

Cold Deck: A deck that has previously been arranged to produce a specific outcome, then secretly switched into the game. The deck is called "cold" because it is switched in during play and has not been "warmed" by the dealer's hands. Also called "ice deck".

Collusion: When two or more players conspire to cheat in a poker game. In the Wild West, collusion could get you killed!

Color Change or Color-Up: To exchange small-denomination chips for larger ones.

Community Cards: Cards that are face-up in the middle of the table and used by all players still in the hand. Used in Hold´em and Omaha.

Connectors: Two or more cards of consecutive rank.

Count down: Two hands very nearly tied that must be compared in detail to determine a winner. Used in lowball.

Counterfeit: A card appearing on the board that does not change the value of a player's own hand, but that makes it much more likely for an opponent to tie/beat that player (often because it duplicates what was previously a valuable card in the players hand).

Cow: A player with whom one is sharing a buy-in, with the intent to split the result. To "go cow" is to make such an agreement.

Cowboy: A King.

Cowboys: Two Kings.

Crying Call: A call made on the last betting round with the expectation of losing, but with some hope of catching a bluff.

Cut: To take some cards off the top of a deck and move them to the bottom of the deck.

Cutoff: The seat directly to the right of the dealer button. Also known as "pone".


D

Dark: An action taken before receiving information, which the player would normally be entitled. If the player raises without looking at his/her cards, he/she is in the dark.

Dead Button: The dealer button is placed in a position where there is no player. This might occur in some casinos when the player who would otherwise be entitled to the button leaves the game. However, most casinos move the button forward to the next player.

Dead Hand: A player's hand that is not entitled to participate in the deal. For instance, if the player has touched another player's cards or if the player has the wrong number of cards.

Dead Man's Hand: Two pairs: Aces and Eights. This was the hand famous Wild Bill Hickock had when he was shot in the back during a poker game in 1877.

Deal: To distribute cards to players in accordance with the rules of the game.

Dealer: The person dealing the cards, or the person who assumes that role for the purposes of betting order in a game (even though someone else might be physically dealing the cards). In the second case, that player is often marked with a button.

Dealer's Choice: A form of poker where the deal passes each game and where the dealer can choose a new poker game each hand.

Deep: Describing a large amount of money, either in play or having been lost.

Declare: To in words indicate an action or intention.

Defense: Play to minimize investment or loss instead of maximize the win.

Deuces or Ducks: A pair of Twos.

Discard: To take a previously dealt card out of play. All discards for a deal is called "the deadwood" or "the muck".

Dog or Underdog: A player with a smaller chance to win than another player.

Donation: A call made by a player who expects to lose. A move often made out of foolish hopefulness.

Donk: Used as a verb. "Donk" means to play a hand very poorly.

Donkey: Nickname for an amateurish or irrational poker player.

Door Card: This is the first up-card in a player's hand in Stud games.

Double Through or Double Up: In a big bet game, to bet all of one's chips on one hand against a single opponent (who has an equal or larger stack) and win.

Down Card: Cards that are dealt face down. Also called "hole cards".

Drag Light: To pull chips away from the pot in order to indicate that you do not have enough chips to cover the bet. If you win, the amount is ignored but if you lose you must pay the amount.

Draw Lowball: Variation of poker where each player is dealt five cards with the option of replacing one or more of them and the low hand wins.

Draw Poker: Variation of poker where each player is dealt five cards down with the option of replacing one or more with new ones to attempt to make a better hand.

Drawing Dead: Playing a drawing hand that will lose even if successful. For instance, you might draw a card to get a straight but your opponent had a full house all along.

Drawing Hand: A hand that has the possibility to become a very strong hand, but which without improvement is rather worthless. The most common types of drawing hands are four card straights and four card flushes.

Drawing Live: Making a draw that wins the game.

Drink Pot: A pot won by a player with the agreement that drinks will be bought from it.

Drop: Fold.

Ducks or Deuces: A pair of Twos.

Dumped: To lose a large part of ones money to another player on a particular hand or set of hands.


E

Early Position: Position on a round of betting where the player must act before most of the other players at the table. Those who bet first are said to be in the early position.

Equity: A players expected income from the current deal, calculated by multiplying the amount of money in the pot by the player's odds/probability to win.

Exposed Card: A card that has been revealed to players, who are not entitled to that information during the play of the game.


F

Family Pot: A deal in which every, or almost every, player called the first opening bet.

Fifth Street: The 5th community card on the table and the final round of betting in Hold´em and Omaha. Also known as the "river" card. In Stud games, this is the fifth card dealt to each player and represents the third round of betting.

Fill or Fill Up: To fruitfully draw to a hand that needs one card to complete it, by getting the last card of for instance a straight, a full house or a flush.

Fish: An unskilled player or a player who is playing sloppily. Also, to risk money on a bet that is considered to be a "long-shot". Fish Hooks: Pair of jacks

Five-card Draw: A poker game in which the player is dealt five cards down. They have one draw to replace them and the best high hand wins the pot.

Five-card Stud: A poker game in which each player is dealt five cards, one down and four up, with betting after 2, 3, 4, & 5 cards.

Five of a Kind: A hand possible only in games with wild cards. This hand defeats all other hands, including five cards of equal rank.

Fixed limit: A betting structure where players never choose the amount to bet, only whether or not to bet.

Flash: To show the bottom card of the deck while shuffling.

Flat Call: Calling a bet without raising, even though a raise might be expected.

Floorman: A casino employee whose duties are to refereeing player disputes, keeping games filled, managing dealers, etc. Players can call out "Floor!" in order to get help to resolve a dispute or ask for a seat change. Nowadays also called "floor person".

Flop: In community card games, "flop" refers to the first set of community cards dealt and the betting round that follows. (In Hold'em and Omaha , the first three community cards that are dealt face-up in the center of the table all at one time).

Flop Games: Poker games (Hold'em and Omaha) that are played using community cards that are dealt face up in the center of the table.

Flush: Any five cards of the same suit, or example, 4-6-7-9-K of hearts.

Flush Draw: When a player has four cards of the same suit and is hoping to get a fifth card of that same suit to make a flush.

Fold: To drop out of a hand when it is your turn to act.

Forced Bet: A required bet that starts the action on the first round of a poker hand. This is money that a player is required to place into the pot by the rules of the game.

Forward Motion: A rule which some casinos have. The rule states that if a player in turn picks up chips from his stack and moves his hand toward the pot, he/she has committed to the bet and cannot neither check nor fold. The only two options the player now has are to raise or call.

Foul Hand: A hand that is ruled unplayable because of some error, such as having too many cards.

Four of a Kind: Four cards of the same number or face value. Commonly also referred to as "quads".

Fourth Street: In flop games, it is the fourth community card dealt. More often called "the turn". The "fourth street" also represents the third round of betting. In Stud games, it is the fourth card dealt to each player and represents the second round of betting.

Fox Hunt: Means to reveal the next card that would have come up, after a hand is over. If the next card would have been the final card (such as in a community card game with a fixed number of cards) this is called "rabbit hunting" - an activity typically forbidden in most casinos.

Free Card: A card dealt to one's hand (or to the board of community cards) after a betting round in which no player opened. This gives the players a chance to improve their hands without having to pay for it.

Free Roll: A situation in which a player is guaranteed to at least break even (and also have the chance to make a profit).

Freeze Out: A kind of the-winner-takes-it-all tournament. A game in which play continues until one player has all the chips.

Full Bet Rule: Used in some casinos. This rule states that a player must wager the full amount required in order for his action to constitute a raise.

Full House: Any three cards of the same number or face value, plus any other two cards of the same number or face value. For example 8-8-8-3-3.


G

Garbage: A worthless hand. Also called "a muck".

Going South: To take a portion of your chips from the table, something that is not allowed. Often called "ratholing".

Grinder: A player who earns a living by making small profits over a long period of consistent play. Also referred to as "a rock".

Guts: A game with no opening hand requirement. Here, the only requirement to open the betting is the player's own courage or "guts to open".

Gut Shot: To draw to or hit an inside straight.


H

Half-Bet Rule: The rule that placing chips equal to or greater than half the normal bet amount beyond the amount required to call constitutes a commitment to raise the normal amount. Used in some casinos.

Half-Pot Limit: Betting structure similar to the pot limit, but which allows maximum raises of half the amount in the pot instead of the full amount.

Hammer: To bet and raise forcefully.

Hand: A player's best five cards.

Hard: Means that one is playing aggressively and forcefully.

Heads-up play: When a hand has been reduced to only two players.

Here-kitty-kitty bet: A small bet made by a player who has a very powerful hand. By making a small bet, the player hopes that the other players will call, instead of folding (which they might do if the bet was higher).

High-Card: To decide the first dealer in a flop tournament, each player is dealt a single card and the player with the highest card becomes the theoretical dealer. The highest card is based on the card and the suit order: spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs.

High Hand: The best poker hand using traditional poker values, rather than lowball.

High-Low Poker: Any poker game where the lowest and highest hands split the pot. Note that it is possible to have a hand that wins both. For instance, A-2-3-4-5 might be considered the lowest possible hand, but since it is a straight it might also be the highest. However, in some instances 2-3-4-5-6 is considered the lowest possible hand, since it does not include an Ace.

High Society: Large-denomination chips.

Hit and Run: To play for a short period of time, make money and then leave.

Hog: To win the entire pot in a split-pot game by having both the best high hand and best low hand at the same time. Also called "scooping" the pot. The one who wins is sometimes called "the hogger".

Hole Cards: These are the cards that are dealt face down and which cannot be seen by the other players.

Hold 'em: Also known as Texas Hold 'em. Here, the players get two down cards and five community cards.

Hollywood: To deliberately overact to trick other players.

Home Game: A poker game played at somebody's home (or other private place), instead of in a casino.

Hooks: Pair of Jacks. Also called "fish hooks".

Horse: A player that is financially backed by someone else, not playing the game at the time.

H.O.R.S.E.: A combination of five games played in rotation: 1) Texas Hold 'em, 2) Omaha hold'em, 3) Razz, 4) Seven-card stud, and 5) Eight-or-better seven-card stud high-low.

House: The card room or casino that is hosting the poker game.

Hunt: Looking into the deck after the hand is over to see what cards would have come next. Under some circumstances this is also called "fox hunt" or "rabbit hunt".


I

Ice Deck: A deck that has previously been arranged to produce a specific outcome, then secretly switched into the game. The deck is called "cold" because it is switched in during play and has not been "warmed" by the dealer's hands. Also called "Cold Deck".

Idiot End: The bottom end of a straight. Sometimes also called "ignorant end".

Immortal: A word that describes a hand that is unbeatable under the circumstances of play. Also called "lock" or "nuts".

Improve: To get a better hand than one presently holds by adding or exchanging cards according to the rules of the game.

Inside Straight: A hand of 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". For example, only number Five is missing in order to make a hand of 3-4-6-7 a straight. Also called a "belly buster" or a "gut shot". When cards on either side of the hand can produce a straight, it is called an "open-ended straight".

Insurance: A "deal" where players agree to split or reduce a pot (generally in proportion to the chances of each of them winning) with more cards to come rather than playing out the hand in question. Insurance can also be used if one player wants to make a side bet against himself with a third party, in order to avoid a large loss.

In the Bushes: A player sandbagging is said to be "in the bushes" during the time he is betting weakly with a strong holding, while others bet aggressively. Also called "In the Weeds". Sandbagging is sometimes also called "slow play" and is basically the opposite of bluffing, that is, betting weakly with great cards instead of betting aggressively with a weak hand.

In the money: To place high enough in a tournament so that one get prize money.

In Turn: A player is "in turn" if he/she is expected to act next under the rules of the game.

Irregular Declaration: A player in turn who does not provide a clear-cut declaration of intent, but whose action is still interpreted as a certain action by other players. For example, showing a thumb up to signify "raise". Casino rules or the dealer may determine if such an action is binding or not.

Irregularity: Any atypical condition in play, which may call for a corrective action. For instance, unexpectedly exposed cards.

Isolation: To play aggressively with the purpose of driving out all but one player, who you believe is weak.


J

Jack it up: Expression used to indicate a raise.

Jackpot: A large amount of money awarded by the house for some rare happening, usually a Bad Beat.

Jackpot Poker: Poker in which the casino or card room offers a jackpot to a player who has lost with a really powerful hand.

Jacks-or-Better: A form of poker where a player needs to have at least a pair of jacks in order to open the betting.

Jam: To open or raise the maximum amount of money allowed, according to the rules of the game.

Juice: Money collected by the house.


K

Kansas City Lowball: Form of lowball poker in which the worst poker hand: 2-3-4-5-7 in different suits is the best hand. It is also known as "Deuce to Seven".

Keep Them Honest: To call a final bet, not expecting to win, in order to prevent someone from bluffing in the future.

Key Card: The card that gives the player a big draw or makes his/her hand.

Key Hand: The one hand that turns out to be the turning point for the player, either for better or worse.

Kicker: The word has two meanings. 1) The highest unpaired side card in a player's hand. For instance, the player might keep 5-5-A, hoping to get either a 5 for trips or an Ace for making two pairs. 2) The highest single card held by two players in Hold´em who each hold the same pair. For example, if the board in Hold´em is K-9-5-3-2 and one player has K-J and the other player has K-Q, both have a pair of Kings. But since the second player has a better "kicker" (the Queen) he/she wins the hand.

Kick It: To raise.

Kill Pot: A method to stimulate action. It is a forced bet that usually requires the player in question to post an extra blind in order to double the usual stakes. Typically used when a player has won two hands in a row or when a player has won both pots in a split-pot game.

Kitty: Money built by collecting small amounts from certain pots, often used to buy refreshments and such. This is really the home-game counterpart of "a rake".

Knock: Check .

Kojak: A hand that contains a King and a Jack.


L

Ladies: Two Queens.

Lady: A Queen.

Late Position: The position on a round of betting, where the player must act after most of the other players have already acted.

Lay Down: The choice to fold a good hand when the player thinks that his opponent(s) has a better hand.

Lead: The first poker player who places a bet into the pot.

Limit: The minimum or maximum amount of a bet.

Limit Poker: A poker game that has fixed minimum and maximum betting intervals along with a prescribed number of raises. This is the most common variety of poker.

Limper: The first poker player who calls a bet.

Limp In: To enter the pot by calling rather than raising. The most common "Limp In" is when the first person to speak just calls the big blind.

Live Blind: A case where a player puts in a dark bet and is allowed to raise, even though no other player raises. This is also known as an "option".

Live Card(s): In Stud Games, a card or cards that have not yet been seen and that are presumed to still be in play.

Live Hand: A hand that can still win the pot.

Live One: A usually not so great player who plays a lot of hands.

Look: When a player calls the final bet before the face-off.

Loose: Is a player who tends to play a lot of hands, often even though they are of lesser value.

Loose Cannon: A player who is gambling in a way that makes it possible for him/her to lose all of his/her money at once.

Lord Crowley: When a player folds his/her hand out of turn, when the action to check is an option. Also called "Crowley", or sometimes "Blind Crowley".

Low: The word has two meanings. It can mean the lowest card by rank or the low half of the pot in a high-low split.

Lowball: A form of draw poker in which the lowest hand wins the pot.


M

Main Pot: The center pot.

Make the Deck: To shuffle the deck.

Maniac: A loose or aggressive player, who plays many poor hands.

Match the Pot: To put in an amount equal to all the chips in the pot, thus matching the pot.

Middle Pair: In community card games, when a player makes a pair with one of his/her down cards and the middle card on the flop.

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

Miss: To hold a drawing hand but not receive the card you needed to improve. For example, someone holding four clubs and whose final card is a spade has "missed his draw."

Misdeal: A deal that for some reason is ruined and must be re-dealt.

Muck: To discard or throw away your hand without showing someone the cards. This can happen when a player folds, after winning without a showdown or at a showdown when a better hand has already been revealed. The word "muck" also means the pile of cards that are no longer in play.

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

Monster: In tournaments, a player who starts to accumulate chips after having a small stack is considered to be a monster.

Move In: In no-limit games, this means to bet one's entire stack of chips on one hand. Another common expression for this is to "go all in".


N

Natural Card: A card that is not wild or otherwise modified by the game rules. In some casinos or poker rooms, a natural hand beats a corresponding hand that uses wild cards.

Narrowing the Field: A common saying used when a player bets or raises in the hopes that he/she will drive away some other players whose hands are currently worse than his/her, but which might improve if allowed to stay in.

No-limit: The betting structure where players may wager as much money as they please.

No-Limit Poker: A game where players can bet as much as they like, as long as they have it in front of them, on any round of betting. This is considered to be the most dangerous (and skillful) form of poker.

Nuts: The best possible hand at any point of that particular game.


O

Odds: The probability of making a hand versus the probability of not making a hand.

Offsuit: Cards of a different suit. For example, Ace of Spades and Queen of Hearts are Ace-Queen Offsuit.

Omaha: A community card poker 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. (This game is different from Texas Hold´em, where the players only get two cards in their hand and can choose to play none, one or all of them.) In Texas Hold 'em, if the community board shows 7-7-9-9-K, and a player held 9-Q as his/her hand, that player would have a full house (using the Nine from his/her hand and the two pairs on the board). In Omaha a player holding 2-4-9-Q would only have 3 Nines, because he/she must use two cards from his/her own hand.

Open: To make the first bet of the game.

Open-ended Straight: Four consecutive cards where one additional card is needed at either end, in order to make it a straight. For instance, the player has a hand of 6-7-8-9 and needs a Five or a Ten in order to get a straight. Also called "outside straight" or "two-way straight draw".

Open Card: A card that is dealt face-up.

Openers: The cards entitling the player to open the pot.

Open Pair: A pair that has been dealt face-up.

Option: An optional bet or draw. For example, getting an extra card face down for 1 dollar or raising on the big blind when checked all the way around.

Out Button: A button placed in front of a player who wishes to sit out a hand or hands but who wants to remain in the game.

Out of Pocket: A poker game which gives the players the choice to add more money to their stack in the middle of a hand.

Outs: The cards remaining in the deck, which can improve a player's hand.

Outside Straight: Four consecutive cards where one additional card is needed at either end, in order to make it a straight. For instance, the player has a hand of 6-7-8-9 and needs a Five or a Ten in order to get a straight. Also called "open-ended straight" or "two-way straight draw".

Overpair: In community card games, a pocket pair with a higher rank than any community card.


P

Paints: The face or picture cards, that is; Jack, Queen and King. In Hold´em, a flop is often said to be "all paints", if it only includes these cards.

Pair: Two cards of the same face or number value. For instance: 7-7 or Q-Q

Pass: To fold.

Passive: A player who rarely raises.

Pat hand: A hand that is complete and that does not need to be improved. Straights, flushes, full houses, four of a kind, and straight flushes are pat hands.

Pay Off: To call on the final round of betting when you are not sure if you have the best hand or not.

Picture Cards: The face cards, that is: Jack, Queen and King.

Pigeon: Old term for a bad player, "a donkey".

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

Playing the Board: In community card games when your best five card hand equals all five of the community cards.

Pocket: A player's down cards or hole cards.

Pocket Pair: In Community card games or Stud poker, when two of a player's own down cards make a pair.

Pocket Rockets: A pair of Aces in the pocket or hole. This is a pair also known as an American Airline.

Poker Face: The ability not to show your opponents anything about the cards you are holding, no matter if they are good or bad. If you have a bad or no poker face, you might for instance look happy when you have a powerful hand.

Pooted: Cards that are not of the same suit.

Position: Where a player is seated in relation to the dealer, therefore establishing that player's place in the betting order. This is very important, since there it is a huge advantage to go last. By being the last player, one has more information and can make a better decision when it comes to whether one should bet, raise, fold or check.

Position bet: A bet that is made more because of the strength of the player's position, rather than his/her cards.

Post: When you post a bet, that is, when you place your chips in the pot.

Post-oak bluff: To bluff with a very small bet, hoping that the other players will call, instead of fold (which they might do if the bet was higher).

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

Pot Limit: This is a game where the maximum bet can equal the pot, that is, a player may bet an amount equal but not greater than the size of the pot at that particular moment.

Pot odds: The size of the pot in comparison to the bet. It is important to evaluate the size of the pot when one decides whether or not to call a bet. If the pot is big, it might be worth calling. However, if the pot is small, the risk might be bigger than the amount one stands to gain. This is the "pot odds".

Prop: A person hired by the casino to start poker games or to help them stay active. The prop player or proposition player, as he/she sometimes is called, gets paid an hourly rate but plays with his/her own money. This is also the difference between a prop player and a so called shrill: A shrill plays with the casino's money.

Push: When the dealer pushes the chips to the winning player. "Push" is also when dealers rotate to other tables.

Put Down: To fold.


Q

Quads: Four of a kind. For instance 3-3-3-3-5

Qualifier: In high-low card games, it is a requirement the low hand must meet to win the pot.

Quarter: To win a quarter of a pot, generally by tying the low or high hand of a high-low split game.


R

Rabbit Hunt: After the hand is over, a rabbit hunt means to reveal the last card that would have come up in a community card game (with a fixed number of cards). This is usually not allowed in casinos.

Rack: The collection of 100 poker chips in five stacks of twenty chips each. Also a word for the tray used for storing the chips.

Rail: The rim of a poker table, which separates the players from the spectators. Watching from the rail means watching a poker game as a spectator.

Railbird: A person on the rail, that is, someone who is just watching the games and/or is looking to get into action.

Rainbow: A word that describes a flop, where three or four cards are of different suits.

Raise: To increase the size of the previous bet.

Rake: Chips taken from the pot by the card room or casino for compensation for hosting the game.

Rank: The value of each card and hand.

Rap: When a player knocks on the table signifying that he/she has checked.

Rat-holing: To sneak a portion of your chips from the table, while you are still in the game. Same as "going south". This is an illegal action.

Razz: Seven Card Stud where the lowest five cards win the pot.

Re-buy: An amount of chips purchased after the initial buy-in.

Re-deal: To deal a hand again, usually after a misdeal.

Re-raise: To raise a raise.

Ring Game: A "live" game that is not a tournament, for instance a serious home game played for stakes.

River: In both Hold´em and Omaha, this is the fifth and final community card. Also known as the 5th Street. In Stud games, it is also known as 7th street.

Rock: A player who usually bets or raises only when he has a very good hand.

Rockets: A pair of aces made from a player's hole cards.

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

Rounders: Guys who hustle for a living.

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. This is the hand all poker players dream of!

Runner: A tournament contestant.

Rush: A player who wins several big pots is sometimes said to be "on the rush".


S

Sailboats: A pair of fours, in a Hold´em game.

San Francisco Busboy: Having a Queen and a Three (Trey) in a Hold´em game.

Sandbagging: Is a play where the player is betting weakly with a strong hand, to get his opponants to call instead of to fold. This is basically the opposite of bluffing, where a player is betting strongly with a weak hand.

Satellite: It is a small tournament, where the prize is to the entry into a larger tournament.

Scoop: To take home the entire pot. In high-low split games, this means to win both the high and the low half of the pot.

Seating List: A waiting list. The player puts his/her name on this list if there are no seats available at the table at which he/she wants to play.

Second Pair: In flop games, when a player pairs the second highest card on the board.

See: To call.

Set: Three of a kind. For instance, 7-7-7-5-4. In Hold´em, "set" refers to the case where two of the cards are from the player's hole cards and the third card is from the community cards. Note that this is different from "trips", where two of the cards are among the community cards and the last card is one of the player's hole cards.

Set-up: A deck that has been arranged, usually King to Ace by the suits: spades, hearts, clubs and finally diamonds. In casinos, a set-up deck is usually used when a new deck is introduced to the game. The dealer often spreads the deck face up for the players to see that all cards are present, before the deck is shuffled. This also calls to "spade the deck".

Seventh Street: This is the final round of betting in Seven Card Stud.

Seven-card Stud: A poker game in which players get three down cards and four up cards. You then play the best five of those seven cards.

Shills: Are props, who help start and thereafter maintain poker games. Unlike prop players, Shills play with the casino's money - not their own.

Shootout: A tournament where the last remaining player of a table goes on to play the remaining players of other tables.

Showdown: At the end of the final betting round, when all active players turn their cards face up to see who has actually won the pot.

Side Pot: A separate pot, which is created to deal with the situation when one or more players go all-in.

Sixth Street: In Seven-card Stud, the sixth street is the fourth up card dealt to the player (all and all their 6th card). It is also the 4th round of betting.

Slow-play: To act "weak" when you have a great hand, in order to lure in other players to keep their hands and build a larger pot. For example, if you hold a straight flush and bet aggressively the other players might get scared and fold and you would be left with only a small pot. However, if you "slow-play" by checking or calling, you might fool the other players to think that they have a chance and by doing so you might win more money from them.

Slow Roll: When a player delays or avoids showing his/her hand at showdown, forcing other players to reveal their hands first. If a player does this while he/she has a great hand, it is considered very rude since this might give the other players false hope of winning.

Small Blind: The amount put in the pot by the person immediately to the left of the dealer button prior to the cards being dealt. The amount is usually equal to one half of the smaller betting limit in a game.

Solid: A good and firm player.

Speed Limit: A pair of Fives.

Speeding: To play without any real pattern or to bluff often.

Splash the pot: When a player just throws his/her chips in the pot in a disorderly manner. This is usually not allowed, since it gets hard to tell how much that player has bet.

Split: When there is a tie. For example, having the low hand in a high-low game.

Spread: The difference or range between the table's maximum and minimum bets.

Stack: The stack of chips.

Stakes: The amount a player buys in for and can bet. For instance, a game might be a 20 dollar buy-in with a 2 dollar maximum raise.

Stand Pat: In draw poker, when a player plays his original hand, not using draws.

Stay: When a player remains in the game by calling rather than raising.

Steam: When a player is frustrated and therefore plays thoughtlessly. Also known as "tilt".

Steel Wheel: A five high straight (A-2-3-4-5) of the same suit.

Straddle: A straddle is a blind bet which is usually the double the size of the Big Blind, and which a player may post when the action gets to him.

Straight: Five consecutive cards of any suit. For instance: 3-4-5-6-7.

Straight Flush: Five consecutive cards of the same suit. For instance, 8-9-10-J-Q of dimonds. The highest of these is the Royal Flush, that is, Ace through 10 of the same suite.

Structure: The limits put on the blinds, bets and raises in any particular game.

Stuck: A player, who is losing money in a game. The word can also be used as a verb: "I'm stuck 100 bucks".

Stud: A card placed face up in Stud poker. It is a word also used to indicate the form of poker known as Stud Poker or Stud game.

Stud Games: Games in which players get down cards and up cards.

Suck Out: To, against the odds, draw a winning hand.

Suits: Spades, Hearts, Diamonds and Clubs. Usually, suits are unimportant. For instance, at the end of a hand, if players hold identical cards (except that the suits are different) they are considered to hold "the same hands" which usually means that they split the pot.

Suited: A common expression for cards that are of the same suit.

Super Satellite: A multi-table tournament where the prize is the entrance to a satellite tournament (or a tournament in which all the top finishers win the entrance to a larger tournament).


T

Table Stakes: A poker rule, which states that only money on the table at the beginning of a hand is playable. That is, a player can not get money from his pocket during the play of the game.

Tell: A statement or hand motion that gives away information about a player's cards.

Texas Hold'em: Also known as just Hold'em - the most popular form of poker!

Third Street: In Seven Card Stud and Seven Card Stud 8 or Better, this is the first betting round on the first three cards. Thirty Miles: Three Tens.

Three of a Kind: Three cards of the same number or face value. Also called "trips".

Throwing a party: When a player plays very foolish and gambles away all his/her money.

Tight Player: A player who does not play many hands. A tight game is one that does not have much action.

Tilt: To make reckless decisions as a result of frustration. Another word for this behavior is "steam".

TOC: Abbreviation for "Tournament of Champions".

Top Pair: In community card games, when the player pairs one of his own cards with the highest card on board.

Tourettes: To be dealt an Ace and a King of the same suit, but in the end not get anything better than Ace High.

Treys: A pair of Threes.

Trips: Three of a kind. For instance, 3-3-3-5-7. In Hold´em, "trips" refers to the case where two of the cards are among the community cards and the last card is one of the player's hole cards. Note that this is different from a "Set", where two cards are from the player's hole cards and the last card comes from the board.

Turn: In Hold´em or Omaha, this is the fourth community card dealt and the third round of betting. Also called "Fourth Street". Two Pairs: A hand consisting of two different pairs. For instance 3-3-4-4-6


U

Under the Gun: The position to the direct left of the blinds in both Hold 'em and Omaha. The player who is "under the gun" must act first on the first round of betting.

Up Card: A card that is dealt face-up.

Up the Ante: Increase the stake.


V

Valentine's Day: In Hold'em, being dealt either the King and Queen of Hearts, or the Six and Nine of Hearts.

Value Bet: A bet made for the purpose of increasing the size of the pot, and which the player wants his fellow players to call.

VNH: Abbreviation for "Very Nice Hand". Often used in Internet poker chat rooms.


W

Wash: To mix the deck by spreading the cards face down on the table and mixing them up.

Walking Sticks: A pair of Sevens.

Weak Ace: An ace with a low kicker. Also called "soft ace" or "small ace".

Wheel: A Five-high straight.

Wild Card: A card that can be played as any value. This card is designated by the dealer before dealing. Wildcards can be used to make Five of a kind, a hand that is not possible using a typical 52-card deck.

Wired pair: In Community card or Stud poker, when two of a player's private cards make a pair. Also called a "Pocket Pair."

Worst Hand: A losing hand.

WSOP: World Series of Poker.