Not only for newbies but also for veteran players, knowing all the Poker terms is a challenge. In this article, HunnyPlay will list in great detail for you all the terms currently used in this game. Hope they will be helpful to you.
Poker terminology explained
Mastering Poker terms won’t instantly make you a winning player, but it will help you sound like a seasoned pro.
Beyond sounding experienced, knowing the right Poker terms unlocks essential strategy concepts. In essence, without understanding common Poker terms and phrases, you can’t effectively discuss hands or develop a winning strategy.
To improve at various types of poker, you need to familiarize yourself with poker lingo. The following list contains all the essential poker words you need to know to play and, more importantly, study the game.
Our advice is to bookmark this page and keep our list of Poker terms handy every time you play. This way, you’ll understand what someone means when they call you a fish or say “GH.”
Now that you know why poker terminology is crucial, let’s dive in.
When to understand common Poker terms, you can effectively discuss hands or develop a winning strategy. (Source: Internet)
The list A to Z of Poker terms
A
Ace High – A hand without at least a pair where the highest card is an Ace.
Action – The Poker terms refers to any available option such as bet, raise, call, check, or fold. Check the glossary entry for a detailed breakdown.
Aces Up – A hand containing two pairs, one of which is Aces.
Add-On – An additional amount of chips that can be added to your tournament stack for a set fee during a designated break.
A-Game – Playing poker with an optimal mindset or in a peak mental state, often called playing “in the zone.”
Aggression Factor – A ratio comparing aggressive actions (betting and raising) to passive ones (calling).
Alias – A player’s online screen name. Players primarily playing online are often known by their alias.
All-in – The act of putting all your chips into the pot. Refer to the glossary for when this might be the correct move.
Angle – “Angle shooting” refers to manipulating the rules to gain an unfair advantage. The glossary entry provides examples of common angles.
Ante – A mandatory payment made by all players before any cards are dealt. Tournaments often use antes in the later stages.
Any Two – An expression in Hold’em indicating an action can be taken regardless of the hole cards. For example, “I would 3-bet any two cards in that spot.”
Any Two Cards – An expression used to convey that the two hole cards don’t matter in a specific Hold’em situation.
B
Backdoor – The Poker terms refers to a draw needing two consecutive cards to complete. See the glossary entry for examples of backdoor equity.
Backing – Lending money to a player in exchange for a percentage of their poker profits.
Backraise – A reraise made after initially just calling on the same betting round.
Bad Beat – Losing a hand after getting unlucky, often when money goes in as a favorite, and the opponent “sucks out.”
Bad Beat Jackpot – A large prize awarded to a player who loses with an exceptionally strong made hand.
Bankroll – The total funds a player has for poker. Consult this entry for bankroll management advice.
Barrel – Making a bet after being the last aggressor on the previous street.
bb – Lowercase ‘bb’ refers to ‘big blinds,’ used to measure stack and bet sizes.
Belly Buster – A colloquial term for a gutshot, also known as an “inside straight draw.”
Bet – To make the first wager in the current betting round. Find the full list of actions under “Action” in the glossary.
Big Bet – The larger of two designated bet sizes in fixed limit games, usually used in later betting rounds.
Big Blind – The position to the left of the small blind, paying the mandatory big blind preflop.
Blank – A card that doesn’t influence the action, typically a low card where no draws complete.
Blind – Performing an action without looking at your cards. This glossary entry explains why it’s a disadvantage.
Blocker – A card that reduces the likelihood of the opponent having a certain hand. For example, holding a King makes it less likely the opponent has a King. See the glossary for examples.
Blocker Bet – A small bet to prevent the opponent from making a larger bet if checked to. Learn about block betting in the glossary.
Blue Chips – Chips usually worth $10, the highest value in a classic three-color poker set.
Bluff – Betting with a weak hand to get the opponent to fold a better hand. Important aspects of bluffing theory are covered in the glossary.
Bluffcatch – Calling with a hand that can only win if the opponent is bluffing. Discover the associated math in the glossary.
Board – The Poker terms refers to community cards in Hold’em and Omaha or upcards in Stud variants of poker.
Boat – A colloquial term for a full house. See “Hand Rankings” in the glossary for the full list.
Bomb Pot – All players agree to place an additional ante into the pot at the beginning of the hand before dealing.
Bot – A non-human player. Illegal on most sites but still present.
Bottom Pair – A pair made with the lowest-ranked card on the board in community card games like Hold’em.
Bounty – A prize collected for knocking out a specific player in a tournament, often placed on professional players.
BRM – An acronym for “bankroll management” – strategies for moving up and down in limits.
Brick – A card that doesn’t complete any possible draws, typically a low offsuit card.
Brick and Mortar – A physical casino with a building from where it operates.
Broadway – Cards Ten, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace. An Ace-high straight is also called “Broadway.”
Bubble – The stage in a tournament just before players make the prize pool. Check out the glossary for tips on bubble play.
Bum Hunter – A player who only plays against weak opposition, often stalking them.
Burn – In live poker, the dealer discards (burns) the top card before dealing to minimize cheating.
Busted – A draw that misses its card and does not complete, such as a straight-draw or flush-draw.
Button – The most profitable seat at the poker table, to the right of the small blind and to the left of the cutoff.
Buy-in – The amount required to join a poker game. In cash games, this can vary within limits, while in tournaments, it is fixed.
C
C-Game – The Poker terms refers to playing poker with a poor mental state. For advice on improving mental games, see the glossary entry under “Mental Game”.
Call – To “call” means to match the existing wager on the current betting round. For a full list of the legal actions in poker see the glossary entry under “Action”.
Calling Station – The Poker terms refers to a bad poker player who calls far too frequently.
Calling Your Bluff – “Calling your bluff” means that your opponent suspects you are bluffing and correctly makes the call.
Cap – A cap game is one where there is a limit placed on the maximum amount of chips that can be wagered postflop.
Card Dead – A poker term that means we are on a run where we are only dealt bad hands and spend most of our time folding.
Card Removal – The effect that our holding has on the possible combinations of hands that villain can hold. Also known as the “blocker effect”.
Case – The Poker terms refers to the last card of a certain rank in the deck. For example, if there are already three Aces in play, the final Ace in the deck is referred to as “the case Ace” if it is dealt.
Case Card – The Poker terms refers to the last card in the deck of a certain rank – e.g. ‘the case ace’ means the last ace in the deck.
Cash Games – A format where chips directly represent cash amounts. Players can leave or join the table at any time.
Chance – The ‘odds’ or ‘probability’ that something will occur in poker. Often expressed as a percentage.
Chase – Following after something. In a poker context, this usually refers to chasing after a draw or chasing losses after a losing session.
Check – To “check” means to make no wager. The action instead passes to the player on our left. Note that checking is only a valid option if no wager has been made on the current betting round. See the glossary entry under “Action” for a full description of all legal actions.
Check in the Dark – To check on the current betting round without waiting to see which community cards are dealt.
Check-Raise – To make a raise where our previous action on the current street was to check. See the glossary entry under “Action” for a full description of all legal actions.
Chinese Poker – A variant of poker where cards are arranged into 3 rows and compared against our opponent’s rows to see who wins points. Check out this glossary entry for a brief summary of the rules of Chinese poker along with the different types of variants that are played.
Chip and a Chair – The Poker terms refers to the idea that a player can still go on to win an entire poker tournament even if they are down to their last chip.
Chip Dumping – The act of using online poker as a means to facilitate illegal money transfers. Check this glossary entry for clues on how to spot chip dumping.
Coinflip – The act of getting the chips in with roughly 50% pot equity. This is a rather loose term as explained in the glossary entry.
Cold-Call – A call made on the first betting round where said call is the player’s first action on that betting round.
Cold Deck – An expression used to indicate that we are getting a bad run of cards.
Collusion – The Poker terms refers to a type of cheating where two or more players secretly work together to win chips off other unsuspecting players.
Color Up – To trade chips with a low value for a smaller number of higher denomination chips to make the chip stack easier to handle.
Combination – The Poker terms refers to a specific combination of cards. Check out this glossary entry and learn how to count card combinations in the popular poker variant Hold’em.
Combo Draw – The Poker terms refers to a drawing hand with multiple draw components. Most often this will be a straight draw which is also a flush draw.
Community Cards – Community cards are placed in the center of the table; all players may use them in constructing their 5-card hand. Not all poker variants use community cards. The most common community card variants are Omaha and Hold’em.
Complete – Can refer to calling in the small blind when facing an open limp in Omaha or Hold’em. It can also refer to raising to the small bet sizing when playing the bring-in in Stud games.
Connector – The Poker terms refers to a hand that contains cards of consecutive rank.
Continuation Bet – The Poker terms refers to betting on the current street after being the last aggressor on the previous street.
Cooler – A “cooler” is a situation where our hand is clearly too strong to fold but ends up being beaten by an even stronger hand.
Counterfeit – A situation where a previously strong made hand loses a huge chunk of its value after further cards are dealt. See this glossary entry for specific examples of counterfeiting.
Cowboys – A nickname given to pocket Kings, the second best starting hand in Hold’em.
Crack – Carries the connotation of outdrawing a strong made hand. “My pocket Aces got cracked!”
Cripple – To make such a strong made hand that there is no way our opponent can ever outdraw us. “We flopped big and crippled the deck.”
Crossbook – A bet between two players in the same event. The player who busts out first owes his opponent a percentage of the winnings difference.
Cutoff (CO) – The position at the poker table to the direct right of the button. Provides a good opportunity for stealing the blinds.
D
Dark Bet – A bet made without waiting to see which additional cards are dealt on the current street.
Dead Man’s Hand – Two pairs, Aces and Eights. Check the glossary entry for the legend behind the hand name.
Dead Money – Unclaimed or extra chips in the pot that could be won by the first player willing to take aggressive action.
Dealer – The person who deals the cards; it might be a player or a casino employee. The term “dealer” can also describe the player occupying the button position at the table during the current hand.
Dealer’s Choice – A poker game where the dealer of the hand selects the poker variant to be played for that orbit/hand.
Depolarised – A type of range construction involving the top x% of holdings and zero bluffs.
Deuce – Common nickname for a card with a rank value of two. Find more about the origins of this term in the glossary entry.
Dirty Stack – A chip stack that has not been correctly organized (considered bad etiquette or even cheating in some cases). Denominations of chips should be grouped together in piles with the larger denominations at the front.
Dog – Short for “underdog.” Implies that a certain hand or player is statistically less likely to win.
Domination – When a weak draw or made hand is likely to be running against an even bigger draw or hand when there is a lot of action. Check the glossary entry for examples.
Donk – To “donk bet” means to bet out of position on the current street after closing the action by calling on the previous street. The term can also describe an exceptionally weak player at the table (note that this usage can be derogatory).
Door Card – In Stud, the first upcard dealt to a player, visible to the entire table but belonging exclusively to the player.
Double Up – To double the size of our chip stack after winning an all-in.
Downcard – In Stud, any cards dealt face down to the player, visible only to them and not to the rest of the table.
Downswing – A prolonged period of losses. Check out the glossary entry under “Variance” for more information on downswings.
Draw – The Poker terms refers to a situation where we are waiting on cards to complete our hand. For example, with four diamonds and waiting on the fifth to make a flush, we have a “flush draw.” The term also refers to a selection of poker variants where players replace cards in their hand with cards from the deck on each betting round.
Drawing Dead – A situation where none of our outs will give us the best hand, meaning we have no shot to win.
Dry – The Poker terms refers to a board texture with very few (if any) possible draws.
Ducks – A common nickname for pocket Twos in the Hold’em variant of poker. Check this glossary entry for more information.
E
Early Position – The Poker terms refers to the first two or three seats on a full ring poker table. Specifically refers to the lojack on a 6-handed table.
Effective Stacks – The Poker terms refers to the smaller of two stacks in play. The larger stack can’t wager more chips than the shorter stack has in play, making the size of the shorter stack the “effective stack.” See the glossary entry for examples.
Equity – Describes the likelihood of a certain hand winning at showdown, assuming it doesn’t fold. For a more detailed breakdown of this concept, see the glossary entry.
Equity Calculator – A tool used to calculate the equity of hands/ranges against other hands/ranges. Equity calculators often have additional features outlined in this glossary entry.
Expectation – Interchangeable with the term “expected value.” See the glossary entry under “Expected Value” for a full explanation.
Expected Value – Indicates how profitable we expect a certain play to be in the long run. This can be calculated using expected value calculations, which are explained in the glossary entry.
F
Face Card – Any Jack, Queen, or King; these cards often feature artwork with a face.
Family Pot – The Poker terms refers to a pot where most players do not fold on the initial betting round. For instance, in a 6-handed Hold’em game, 5 or 6 players might see the flop.
Fastplay – To aggressively bet and raise when holding a strong made hand.
Favorite – Indicates a hand or player that is statistically likely to win.
Fifth Street – In stud games, this term describes the third betting round, where each remaining player is dealt a fifth card.
Fish – A common term used to describe a weak player at the table. Use with caution as it can be considered derogatory.
Fish Hooks – A nickname for pocket Jacks, a strong starting hand in Hold’em.
Five-Bet – The fifth bet in a betting sequence. See the glossary entry for an example.
Flat – Used interchangeably with “call” in poker. Check the entry for usage examples.
Float – A call made with a speculative holding, intending to bluff on a later street. Modern usage describes a “bet vs missed c-bet while in position.”
Flop – The second betting round in community card games like Omaha and Hold’em. Also refers to the three community cards dealt face up on the table during this round.
Flush – A hand consisting of five cards of the same suit. See the glossary entry under “Hand Rankings” for all hand types.
Fold – To discard our hand when we don’t wish to match the wager made on the current street. See the glossary entry under “Action” for a full breakdown of all legal options.
Four-Bet – The fourth bet in a betting sequence. See the glossary entry for an example.
Fourth Street – The second betting round in Stud. Called ‘fourth’ because players have been dealt four cards at this stage.
Free Card – A card seen without having to invest additional chips. Whether this is advantageous depends on the scenario, as explained in the glossary entry.
Freeroll – A tournament with no buy-in required. Also refers to a situation where a hand can either chop or win but can rarely, if ever, lose. The concept is easier to grasp with the examples provided in the glossary entry.
Full Boat – A nickname for a full house, a hand consisting of three cards of one rank and two of another.
Full House – A five-card hand made with a combination of three of a kind and one pair. See the glossary entry under “Hand Rankings” for a breakdown of all hand types
G
Gap – The Poker terms refers to a gap between cards of consecutive rank. Examples include hands like 6-8 or 7-10, where there are missing ranks between the cards.
Grinding – The Poker terms refers to playing poker for long hours with the aim of slowly and steadily building up profit. It’s a term often associated with disciplined, consistent play over time.
Gutshot – The Poker terms refers to an “inside straight draw.” For example, if we hold 5, 6, 8, 9, we need a 7 to complete our straight.
Gutshot Straight Draw – A type of straight draw where we are waiting on a card in the middle of our structure to complete the straight. This is also known as an ‘inside straight draw.’
H
Hand for Hand – A stage in poker tournaments where every table must finish their current hand before the tournament moves on to the next hand.
Hand Rankings – Check out this glossary entry for a full breakdown of the different types of hands that can be made in poker. Does a straight beat a flush? Find out here!
Hanger – A term used to describe a protruding bottom card when base dealing. Check this entry for information on how to spot illegal base dealing in your own games.
Heads Up – The Poker terms refers to a poker hand where only two players are involved. This could refer to either the initial deal or the later betting rounds after every other player folds.
Hero Call – A call made with a speculative hand in the hopes that our opponent is bluffing. Is hero calling ever a good idea? Find out in this glossary entry.
Hero Fold – When a poker player folds a very strong made hand (which would ordinarily call) because they have a strong feeling that they are beat.
High Hand – A poker hand where we don’t hold a pair or stronger. The strength of our hand is defined by its highest card (Aces are high in most variants). For a full breakdown of all the different hand types, see the glossary entry under “Hand Rankings.”
High Roller – Describes gamblers who participate in the highest-stakes games. It doesn’t apply exclusively to poker; casino gamblers are often referred to as high rollers as well.
Hijack – A position at the poker table. Check the glossary entry for strategy advice.
Hit – We “hit” when a card falls that gives us a decent hand. For example, “We held a flush draw on the turn but hit on the river.”
Hit and Run – Describes a situation where a player wins big shortly after joining a cash game and then leaves immediately afterward.
Hold’em – The most popular poker variant, sometimes referred to as the “Cadillac of Poker.” Learn the rules of this popular variant in this glossary entry.
Hole Cards – The Poker terms refers to cards that are dealt face down to the player and kept secret. In Hold’em, players are dealt two hole cards, while in Omaha they are dealt four.
House – The establishment that runs the game itself. It could be a brick-and-mortar casino or an online poker room.
Hyper Turbo – A type of poker tournament (or sit and go) with an extremely fast blind structure and shallow starting stacks.
I
ICM – Stands for “Independent Chip Modeling” and refers to a mathematical technique of assigning real monetary values to tournament chips. Learn how it works in this detailed glossary entry.
Implied Odds – A pot odds calculation factoring in the additional chips we stand to win on later streets if we make our hand. Both the glossary entry under “Pot Odds” and this glossary entry under “Implied Odds” will prove useful in understanding the theory details behind this important concept.
Inside Straight Draw – Also known as a “gutshot.” For example, we hold 5, 6, 8, 9 and need to hit a 7 to complete our straight.
Insurance – A side wager made with another player at the table. If the hero’s hand does not hold up, he’ll receive an insurance payout from the other player.
ITM – ITM in poker stands for ‘in the money’ and refers to players in line for a cash prize since they have successfully passed the bubble.
J
Jackpot – Some casinos and poker rooms offer a “bad beat jackpot” when an extremely strong made hand gets cracked. See this glossary entry for more information on how it usually works.
Jam – Colloquial term meaning to shove all-in. See the glossary entry under “All-in” for advice on when it is correct to commit all of our chips.
Joker – Extra card added to a deck of cards, generally with a picture of a court jester. Jokers are sometimes used as wild cards in poker.
K
Kicker – Cards that don’t directly formulate a hand but still contribute to the overall strength of a hand since they are used as side cards. In scenarios where two players have the same hand, the best kicker determines the winner.
L
LAG – Stands for “Loose Aggressive” and describes a player who plays many starting hands in an aggressive manner.
Last Longer – A side bet wagered between tournament participants to see who lasts longer. The last player to bust out of the tournament wins the bet.
Laydown – To make a fold. Sometimes it implies reluctance to ditch the hand. “We thought for a long time but eventually made the laydown.”
Leverage – The Poker terms refers to chips that have an influence on correct strategy despite the fact that they are not currently in play. Check out this glossary entry for examples.
Leveling – The Poker terms refers to thinking on different levels when playing a hand of poker. For a full breakdown of “levels” and “leveling” check out this glossary entry.
Limit – Generally used to describe a game with a fixed-limit betting structure. All bets and raises occur in fixed increments.
Limit Poker – A betting structure in poker variants where players must bet or raise in pre-decided fixed increments.
Limp – Describes the action of just calling when there is no raise before us on the first betting round. Check out this glossary entry to discover whether limping is ever correct in poker.
Lowball – The Poker terms refers to a poker variant which makes use of a “low” hand ranking system. The easiest way to conceptualize this is with the phrase “worst hand wins” although it’s slightly more complex than this in reality. See the glossary entry under “Low Hand” for a description of how the different low hands work.
Low Hand – In lowball variants of poker, the objective is to make the best “low hand.” Check out this glossary entry for a guide on how different low hand rankings work across several poker variants.
M
Maniac – The Poker terms refers to a player type whose style can be characterized as “loose and crazy.” These players bet and raise aggressively with a wide range of hands.
Mark – In a poker context, this term refers to the weak player at the table. Strong players target the mark to increase their profits.
Mechanic – Someone who has learned sleight of hand techniques for manipulating a card deck and can potentially cheat while dealing.
Mental Game – The Poker terms refers to the discipline of improving one’s mental outlook when playing poker. This glossary entry provides a guide for developing a stronger mental game.
Mid Stakes – Poker games with a larger buy-in than ‘low stakes’ but smaller than ‘high stakes.’ These games represent the middle stakes category.
Middle Position – The Poker terms refers to the hijack, lojack, and MP1 on a full-ring poker table. In a 6-handed table, it exclusively refers to the hijack position.
Misclick – Accidentally performing the wrong action when playing online. It often refers to clicking in the wrong location or unintentionally clicking with a mouse.
Monotone – Describes a board texture (or hand structure) where all cards are of the same suit.
Monster – Colloquial term for a very strong poker hand, one that is likely to win the pot.
Muck – To return a losing hand to the dealer at showdown without showing it to the table. Mucking is usually allowed when we are the caller on the final street but not if we took the last aggressive action before showdown.
Must Move – An overflow game created when the main table in a casino is full. Players must move to the main table when a seat becomes available.
N
Nash Equilibrium – A game theory concept where all players are perfectly balanced and cannot improve their win rate by deviating from their current strategy.
Nit – Describes an extremely risk-averse player who hardly plays any of their starting hands. A nit waits for premium holdings and aims for a big payout.
No-Limit – The Poker terms refers to a betting structure where players can bet or raise any amount at any time.
Nosebleed – A term used to designate ultra-high stakes cash game action, typically at stakes of 5knl and above.
Nut Flush – The Ace-high flush, often the stone-cold nuts in games such as PLO and NLHE.
Nut Flush Draw – A draw to the Ace-high flush, which will typically be the stone-cold nuts if it hits.
Nut-low – The lowball version of “the nuts.” It describes the best possible low hand in a lowball (or split pot) variant of poker.
Nuts – The best possible hand. The nuts can never lose; it can only chop.
O
Offsuit – Typically used to describe a starting hand where the suits are not coordinated. Suited hands are generally stronger than offsuit hands.
Omaha – A popular poker variant using community cards. Each player is dealt four hole cards in the preflop betting round. Check out this glossary entry for a full description of the rules.
OMC – “Old man coffee.” It describes an older player at the poker table who exhibits certain stereotypical characteristics.
One-Gap – A term used to describe two cards that are not in consecutive order but have a gap of one rank between them. For example, 7-9 suited in Hold’em is a “one-gapper.”
Open-ended Straight Draw – A straight draw where a player needs one of two cards on the outside of their structure. For example, holding 5-6-7-8 means hitting a 9 or 4 completes the straight.
Open-raise – To make the first raise in the initial betting round.
OOP – An acronym for “out of position.” Check this glossary entry for more information on playing out of position.
Out – A card that will likely give us the best hand if it falls. Learn how to count outs in this glossary entry.
Overbet – To make a bet larger than the current size of the pot. Learn when overbetting might be a good strategy in this glossary entry.
Overcall – To call when another player has already called before us on the current street, essentially calling behind.
Overcard – A card higher than the cards on the board or higher than our current holding. For example, holding a pair of Tens on the flop in Hold’em, and the turn card is a King. The King is an overcard to our pair.
Overlay – Additional money added by the poker room into a tournament prize pool when a guarantee tournament doesn’t meet the promised payout based on player buy-ins alone, indicating a shortfall.
Overlimp – To limp on the first betting round after another player has already limped. Sometimes referred to as a ‘limp behind.’
Overpair – A pair in the hole that is higher than the highest card on the board in community card games such as Hold’em and Omaha.
P
Paint – A term used to designate any cards between (and including) Jack and Ace. These cards are also frequently referred to as “broadways” or “face cards.”
Pair – We make a pair when we hold two cards of identical rank. See the glossary entry under “Hand Rankings” for a full breakdown of all the different types of hands.
Play the Board – This can refer to formulating our hand entirely using community cards. It can also mean making plays based on the board texture in community card games or the appearance of upcards in Stud games, even without a strong made hand.
Pocket Pair – The Poker terms refers to a starting hand where we have a pair in the hole.
Pocket Rockets – A nickname given to pocket Aces in Hold’em, the best possible starting hand.
Polarized – A type of range construction where hands are divided into two categories: value hands and bluffs.
Position – This can refer to the specific seat at the table we are occupying. It also refers to whether we are “in position” or “out of position.” This important concept is dissected in the glossary entry.
Post – Typically used in conjunction with mandatory blind payments, such as the small blind, big blind, or antes. For example, “Before each hand, every player at the table posts the antes.”
Postflop – In community card variants like Hold’em or Omaha, the term “postflop” describes everything from the second betting round (the flop) onwards.
Pot – The place in the center of the poker table where wagered chips are placed. The winner of the hand wins all the chips in the pot.
Pot Committed – The idea that a player has invested enough of their chip stack that folding at any point would now be a mistake.
Pot Limit – A betting structure where the maximum allowed bet or raise is a pot-sized bet. For example, Omaha is commonly played with a pot-limit betting structure.
Pot Odds – The amount we need to call when facing a bet relative to what is already in the pot. Typically expressed as a ratio or a percentage.
Preflop – The first betting round in community card games such as Hold’em and Omaha.
Price – The Poker terms refers to the cost, such as the amount we need to call when facing a bet. Often used interchangeably with terms like pot odds.
Probe – Traditionally a small bet designed to gather information. However, the term has been re-appropriated in modern times to refer to a “bet vs missed continuation bet while out of position.”
Prop Player – A poker player given an hourly wage by a casino to play poker at their tables. Prop players gamble with their own money.
Protection – A bet or raise with a made hand, primarily to fold out our opponent’s live equity rather than with the intention of getting called by worse.
PRF – Stands for “preflop raiser.” A statistic indicating how frequently a player is raising preflop when given the opportunity.
Q
Quads – A very common nickname for “four of a kind” in poker. Despite being an unofficial name, it is currently the most popular way of referencing this type of hand.
Qualify – In split pot games, a low hand must “qualify” before it is counted as a legitimate low hand. In most variants, this means holding five cards ranked 8 or lower. Check out this entry for more information on qualification rules.
R
Rabbit Hunt – Seeing the remaining community cards after folding. This has no impact on the game but allows players to see if they would have hit their hand or not.
Ragged – Often used to describe a non-coordinated board texture.
Rainbow – Used to describe a board texture (or sometimes starting hand) where every card is of a different suit.
Raise – To “raise” means to increase the size of the wager on the current street. For a full breakdown of all the legal options check out the glossary entry under “Action.”
Rake – A small amount taken from the pot each hand as payment for running the poker game.
Rakeback – A percentage of rake paid which is given back to the players as a reward. It sometimes comes in the form of a VIP system.
Range – The term “range” is used to describe a distribution of possible holdings that a player might hold. This important concept is discussed in this glossary entry.
Range Advantage – This term is used when one player has a better range than his opponent. There are different variables that contribute to range advantage; they are discussed in this glossary entry.
Rank – The term “rank” simply refers to a card’s value/number. I.e. Jack, Four, Ace, etc.
Rap – A term used interchangeably with “tap,” potentially used to describe the act of tapping the table twice as the visual signal for checking in a live game.
Ratholing – Describes the action of leaving a ring game and then rebuying it for a smaller amount of chips. In this glossary entry, learn why ratholing is considered unethical.
Razz – The lowball version of seven-card Stud. Check out this glossary entry for a description of the rules.
Read – Sometimes used interchangeably with the term “tell.” It indicates that we have a good vision of the type of holdings our opponent is likely to show up with. “Normally I would have folded, but I had read that the villain likes to bluff, so I made the call.”
Rebuy – To purchase additional chips. Predominantly applies to cash games although rebuy tournaments do exist.
Redraw – A possible draw has completed on the board texture but we are drawing to an even bigger hand. This is best understood with the examples in this glossary entry.
Regular – A poker player who regularly plays in a certain game. Usually denotes an opponent of above-average skill level.
Represent – When we don’t have a certain holding but we look to represent that we do through our actions. The term can also be used to analyze the meaning behind a villain’s actions. “Villain bet large on all three streets: he is definitely representing something big.”
Reverse Implied Odds – An adjusted pot odds calculation taking into account chips we might lose on the later streets after we complete our draw. Check out the glossary entry for a full breakdown.
Re-raise – To re-raise means to raise after there has already been a raise on the current street. Check this glossary entry for the rules that govern re-raising in poker.
Ring Game – This term is used interchangeably with “Cash Game.” Since not all poker games are actually played with real money, the term “ring game” might be considered more applicable in some contexts.
River – The Poker terms refers to the final betting round in Hold’em, Omaha, and Stud variants.
River Rat – A player who gets lucky and sucks out on the river. Especially applies to players who are clearly calling too wide on the earlier streets.
Rock – The Poker terms refers to a player type who only enters the pot with an extremely tight range. This term might sometimes be used interchangeably with the word “nit,” although some assign the two words completely different meanings.
Rolled Up – A Stud term that indicates being dealt three of a kind on third street, i.e., rolled up trips.
Royal Flush – The best possible hand in poker. We hold the Ten, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace, all of the same suit.
Run – A term used to describe the fall of cards over a period of time. “Running good” and “running bad” are terms commonly used to describe a lucky and an unlucky streak, respectively.
Rundown – The term “rundown” is generally used to describe connected starting hands in Omaha variants. For example, the starting hand T987 is referred to as a “Ten-high rundown.” Learn to distinguish between different types of rundowns in this glossary entry.
Run it Twice – After all remaining players are all-in, the final board cards are dealt twice – half the pot being awarded to the winner of each runout. This is a useful tool for reducing variance. Check out this glossary entry for a description of whether running it twice makes sense.
Runner Runner – Making a strong made hand after catching consecutive running cards. For example, we hold three hearts on the flop and catch running hearts on both the turn and river to make our flush.
A scene from the movie Casino Royale (2006)
S
Sandbagging – A term used interchangeably with “slowplaying” or “trapping.” It means to play a strong made hand deceptively by using passive lines such as checking and calling.
Satellite – A tournament event that awards winners a ticket to an even bigger tournament.
Scare Card – A card that might scare our opponent and cause them to fold more frequently. In this glossary entry, learn where the concept originated and whether it is actually useful.
Semi-Bluff – A bluff made with a drawing hand. For example, we make a bluff while holding a flush draw. Even if we don’t manage to pick up the pot, there is a possibility we’ll make our flush on the next street.
Set – Three of a kind made specifically with a pocket pair in the hole.
Set over Set – Where two players both make a set at the same time (but one is higher). It is considered an unlucky ‘cooler’ type situation since neither player is supposed to fold in many cases.
Sequence – The Poker terms refers to the ordering of the cards. For example, five cards in sequential rank order make a straight in poker.
Short Handed – Describes a poker table with six players or fewer. Heads up poker is a form of short handed poker.
Short Stack – A player without many chips in their stack. Generally refers to stack sizes less than 100bb, and frequently to stack sizes less than 50bb.
Shove – Colloquial term for betting all-in. See the glossary entry under “All-in” for advice on when it makes sense to commit all of our chips.
Showdown – The Poker terms refers to revealing the strength of our hand to determine the winner. This happens after all the betting rounds are complete.
Show Hand – To expose the value of our hole cards after the hand is over.
Sick – A term used to either mean “extremely cool” or “extremely unlucky.” The exact meaning depends on the context.
Side Pot – A second pot formed when one player is already all-in but there are still players left in the hand with additional chips to play for. Check out the glossary entry for an example on how this works.
Sit and Go – A type of poker tournament which starts as soon as a designated number of entrants is reached.
Sizing – Refers simply to the size of our bet. Bet sizing is an important aspect of high-level play.
Slowplay – To play a strong made hand passively and deceptively. The hope is that our opponent will either launch big bluffs or pay us off on a later street after believing we are genuinely weak. See this glossary entry for advice on whether slowplaying is a good idea in poker.
Slowroll – To take a long time to call when we are closing the action and have the effective nuts. See the glossary entry to learn why this is considered unethical behavior.
Soft Play – To deliberately play a weak strategy against an opponent, perhaps because we are friends with them off the poker tables.
Solver – A poker calculator that generates game theory optimal solutions to a hand given a specific game tree.
Small Bet – Used in poker games with fixed limit structure. Denotes the smaller of two designated bet sizes (the small bet and the big bet).
Small Blind (SB) – The position at the poker table to the direct right of the button. Also the name of the mandatory blind payment the player in this seat makes at the start of every hand.
Snap Call – Means to call immediately without any form of hesitation. The term can also be used for other actions e.g., snap fold, snap shove.
Splash the Pot – To put our chips into the middle of the table in a disorderly fashion. It’s considered good etiquette to keep our chips in neat piles when making big bets.
Split – A split pot variant of poker where half of the pot is awarded to one type of hand while the other half is awarded to another type of hand. The most common example is hi/lo split variants; half the pot is awarded to a high hand, the other half to the best low hand.
Split Pot – A split pot is one that is awarded to multiple players. This could be in the event that a hand ties or when playing a split pot variant of poker.
Spread Limit – A betting structure where players may bet/raise within a range of allowable sizes. Sometimes considered the middle ground between fixed-limit and no-limit.
Squeeze – A raise made against multiple players where there has already been a bet and a call on the current street. Especially used to describe 3-betting against multiple opponents on the preflop betting round in Omaha and Hold’em. Check the glossary entry for examples.
SRP – Stands for ‘single raised pot’ in poker. It refers to pots where there was only one raise on the first betting round.
Stab – To make a bet, especially in a scenario where our opponent has just shown weakness. An example of such weakness might be skipping a continuation bet opportunity.
Stack to Pot Ratio – A ratio describing the relationship between what is in the pot compared to how many chips are remaining in the effective stacks. See the glossary entry for basic strategy application.
Staking – Lending money to a poker player and receiving a percentage of their poker profits in return.
Stand Pat – This is a legal option in draw games. To “stand pat” means to decline the option to draw additional cards and stay with the current hand.
Steam – To be tilted. A player can be described as “steaming” if they are extremely angry, perhaps as a result of a bad run of cards.
Stealing – The Poker terms refers to an attempt to win the pot outright on the first betting round, especially as the first raiser. For example, in Hold’em, any open-raise from the small blind, button, or cutoff is considered a “steal attempt.”
Steel Wheel – The Poker terms refers to the Ace to Five straight flush. This is an especially strong made hand in PLO8 since it can win both the high and the low pot.
Stop and Go – The Poker terms refers to the line where a player bets the flop, checks the turn (stops), then fires the river (and go).
Straddle – An optional blind bet made before any cards are dealt. See the glossary entry for a description of the different types of straddle.
Straight – A five-card hand consisting of all 5 cards in consecutive rank order i.e., 5,6,7,8,9. For a full description of other hand rankings see the glossary entry under “Hand Rankings.”
Straight Flush – A five-card hand consisting of all 5 cards in consecutive rank order and also of the same suit. For a description of other hand rankings see the glossary entry under “Hand Rankings.”
Street Poker – An unwritten agreement between players to play insupportable loose poker. Check the glossary entry for examples.
String Bet – The Poker terms refers to splitting a wagering decision into multiple parts. For example, “I call your bet…..and raise you by another 50.” In a modern casino, the player would be obligated to just call since this was what he originally announced. See the glossary entry for more information.
Structure – The term “structure” can refer to a range of different variables pertaining to the format of a certain poker game. In this glossary entry, we discuss betting structures and tournament structures.
Stud – A poker variant without community cards where players are dealt a combination of upcards (visible to the table) and downcards (secret). See the glossary entry for a full description of the rules.
Suck Out – When our opponent catches an unlikely card and goes on to win the pot.
Suited – The term “suited” typically describes a starting hand where two or more of the cards share the same suit.
T
Table Stakes – A ruling which prevents players from being forced to wager more chips than they brought to the table in the first place.
TAG – Short for “Tight Aggressive.” Describes an aggressive player who enters the pot with a relatively tight and strong range of holdings.
Tank – An abbreviation of “time bank.” The Poker terms refers to the act of thinking about a decision at the tables.
Tell – Often used interchangeably with “read.” A tell is an unconscious indication from our opponent that they have a certain type of holding. See the glossary entry for a list of common live tells.
Texture – Usually refers to the board texture in community card games such as Hold’em and Omaha but could ultimately be used to describe any group of cards such as boards in Stud.
Three-Bet – The Poker terms refers to the third bet in a sequence of bets. See the glossary entry for an example.
Three of a Kind – We make this hand when we hold three cards of identical rank along with two kickers. For a full breakdown of all the different types of hands, see the glossary entry under “Hand Rankings.”
Three Pair – A term that is used mostly in Omaha variants. Only two of the pairs count, but the third pair provides additional outs to make a boat.
Tie – When two hands are of equivalent strength and hence split/chop the pot.
Tilt – The Poker terms refers to playing poker with an affected mental state – especially anger, but also fear, lack of motivation, etc. See the glossary entry under “Mental Game” for tips on improving this aspect of our poker game.
Time Bank – The optional extra time available to online poker players during a hand.
Tournament – A poker format with a fixed buy-in. Players continue playing until they run out of chips. The last man standing is typically the tournament winner. For advice on playing tournaments, see this glossary entry.
Tracking Software – Software that tracks poker results along with a range of other features. See this glossary entry to discover common features offered by tracking software.
Trap – To play a strong made hand passively in the hope that our opponent launches a big bluff.
Trey – Commonly used term to describe a card of rank “Three.”
Trips – Colloquial term for three of a kind when not made with a pocket pair in the hole.
Turn – The third betting round in variants such as Hold’em and Omaha.
Two-bet – The second bet in a betting sequence. See this glossary entry for an example.
Two Pair – A hand made by holding two sets of pairs along with one kicker. For a full description of all available hand types see the glossary entry under “Hand Rankings.”
Two-tone – Describes a board texture or group of cards consisting of two distinct suits.
U
Underbet – A bet sizing less than 50% of the pot. See this glossary entry for advice on when a small bet sizing makes sense.
Underdog – Sometimes abbreviated to “dog.” Describes a hand or player that is statistically unlikely to win.
Under the Gun – A term used to describe the player who is first to act on the first betting round.
Up the Ante – A common expression meaning to “up the stakes.” It can also describe the increased antes at each blind level of a poker tournament.
Upcard – A card dealt to the player in Stud face up, meaning it is visible to the entire table.
Upswing – A prolonged period of winning, especially when the win rate is higher than anticipated. I.e., running well.
A scene from the movie Casino Royale (2006)
V
Value Bet – A bet with a made hand hoping to get paid off by a worse holding. See this glossary entry for advice on value betting.
Variance – A term used to describe the ups and downs of a poker player’s career. Variance is much larger than many players realize. This glossary entry should help put things into perspective.
Variant – A particular brand of poker. There are many, for example, Hold’em, Omaha, Stud, 5-card Draw, etc.
Villain – A common poker term used to describe our opponent in a hand of poker.
VPIP – Stands for ‘voluntarily put in pot.’ It’s a percentage that describes how often a player voluntarily invests chips into the pot preflop when given the opportunity. High VPIP indicates a loose player.
Vulnerable – A hand is vulnerable if it is susceptible to being outdrawn.
W
Whale – An extremely bad poker player, often used to describe such players at higher stakes games.
Wet – Describes a board texture with excellent coordination, allowing for a large number of possible draws.
Wheel – The Ace to Five straight. This is an especially strong hand in PLO8 since it has a shot at winning both the high and the low pot.
Wired – The Poker terms refers to a pair on third street where both cards are downcards.
Wrap – The Poker terms refers to a large straight draw in Omaha variants. Unlike in Hold’em, some of the big straight draws in Omaha can have as many as 20 outs.
Wrap Around Straight – A straight where the Ace falls somewhere in the middle of the five cards. Not a legal hand in the majority of poker variants.
WSOP – An acronym for the World Series of Poker, perhaps the most prestigious poker event of all time. Held every year in Las Vegas.
WTSD – Went to showdown. It’s a measure of how often a player goes on to see a showdown after seeing a flop.
WWSF – Stands for “won when saw flop” and is a measure of how often a player goes on to win the entire hand after seeing a flop.
These terms enhance your understanding of poker strategies and player behaviors, giving you a competitive edge at the tables.
Conclusion
Understanding Poker terms is crucial for anyone looking to excel at the game. These terms provide the foundation for intelligent decision-making at the table.
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