Poker Jargon

Action - A game in where there are a lot of big pots. It is denotes checking, betting and raising etc in the game.

Add-On - In some tournaments, you have the option to buy more chips at the end of the rebuy period. It is called an add-on.

Ante - A small bet put up by each player before the hand is dealt. Same as blinds.

All-In - When all a player's chips are in the pot.

Backdoor - Hitting a perfect turn and river card to make a strong hand like a flush or straight.

Backer - A person who finances a player.

Bad Beat - When a player loses the hand because the other player got very lucky.

Bankroll - The money you have available to play poker.

Belly Buster - An inside straight draw.

Bicycle - or "wheel". A straight from Ace to five.

Big Blind - A designated amount placed by the player sitting two seats to the left of the dealer button to begin the game.

Big Slick - Holdem hand Ace King.

Blank - A card that doesn't affect the hand.

Blind - A forced bet in flop games. Typically the player to the immediate left of the button is the small blind and the player to the small blinds left is the big blind.

Bluff - Betting a losing hand.

Board - All the community cards on the table in a Hold'em game.

Bottom Pair - A pair with the lowest card on board.

Bullets - Pocket aces.

Burn - In between each betting round, the dealer discards the top card of the deck before dealing the next card. This is done to keep players from possibly recognizing the next card to be used.

Button - A small round disk moved clockwise from player to player. It is used to determine who the nominal dealer is and where the action begins.

Buy In - The minimum amount of money a player must sit down with in order to play a particular game.

Call - If another player bets/raises, to continue to play you must call to match the bet or raise.

Calling Station - A player who calls a lot.

Cap - To put in the last raise permitted on a betting round. In limit games there is a 3 or 4 bet limit on bets and raises.

Center Pot - The first pot in a poker hand. It is also referred to as the main pot. If a player goes all-in and there is more betting, a new pot is created on the side.

Check Raise - To check and then raise when another player behind you bets.

Chop - Divide the pot.

Chip - A token used instead of cash at a gaming table.

Community Cards - The common cards used by all players. The cards that are in the middle of the table during the hand.

Computer Hand - Q7.

Cold Call - To call more than one bet in a single action.

Counterfeit - When the board duplicates a card in your hand.

Cowboys - Nickname for pocket Kings.

Dead Man's Hand - Two pair, Aces and eights.

Dealer's Choice - A game where the dealer (person who has the dealer button) names the game to be played that hand.

Dog - A shortened version of "Underdog".

Dominated Hand - Usually used to describe a hand where a player holds one common card with another player and the other player has a better kicker. An example of a dominated hand would be KQ vs. AK or AQ.

Double Gutshot - Two inside straight draws. An example of a double gutshot is a flop of 963 and a player is holding 57. If he hits a 4 or an 8, he will make his straight.

Doyle Brunson - The Holdem starting hand T2.

Draw - An unmade hand. e.g. four flush cards.

Drawing Dead - Trying to make a hand that will cannot win the pot.

Expectation - The amount you can expect to gain on average for a certain play.

Family Pot - A pot in which all players called before the flop.

Fifth Street - In flop games, it is the final board card.

Fish - A weak player who loses money.

Flat Call - To only call a bet.

Flop - The first three community cards on the board.

Flop Games - Texas Holdem, Omaha, Pineapple and other games that feature community cards exposed that are matched with each individual player's cards.

Fold - To throw your hand away.

Flush - Five cards of the same suit.

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

Forced Bet - A required bet that starts the action.

Free Card - A turn or river card that you don't have to call a bet to see.

Free Roll - When two players are tied and one player has a shot at winning the whole pot.

Freeze-Out - A game where all players play until one player has all the money.

Full House - Any three cards of the same rank, plus two cards of another rank.

Gutshot Straight - An inside straight draw.

Heads Up - A pot that is being played by only two players.

Implied Odds - Implied odds are similar to pot odds except the bets are not in the pot when making your decision. In calculating your odds you include bets you can expect to win if you hit your hand.

Isolate - To raise with the intention of thinning the field of opponents down to one.

Kicker - An unpaired card in your hand often used to determine the winner between two like hands. A pair of sevens with an ace kicker beats a pair of seven with a nine kicker.

Limp - To opening the betting for the minimum bet, rather than raising.

Live One - An action player. A player who is involved in a lot of hands.

Lock - A hand that is guaranteed to win.

Loose - A player who plays a lot of hands.

Main Pot - The pot where all bets were matched by all players involved in the hand. If a player is not able to match a bet (because he is all-in), then a side pot is created.

Maniac - A player who plays very loose and aggressive.

Move In - To put all of your chips into the pot.

Muck - To fold a hand. Also the folded and burned cards.

No-Limit - A game where you can bet all of your chips during any betting round.

Nuts - The best possible hand.

Odds - The ratio of the probability of making a hand vs. the probability of not making a hand.

Offsuit - Cards that are not the same suit.

Option - When a player posts his blind oe straddle, he has the "option" of either checking or raising.

Out - A card that will help your hand.

Outdraw - To make a better hand than your opponents by drawing a card.

Pass - To not play a hand if it has been bet or to check if it has been checked to you.

Play Money Games - Free poker games offered by online card rooms.

Play the Board - When the best five cards are the community cards on the board. An example of this is if one player is holding pocket threes and the other player is holding pocket fours and the board is A9988.

Pocket - The two hole cards in Holdem or the first two cards in Stud. The cards only you can see.

Pocket Pair - Two pocket cards that are the same rank.

Position - Your place at the table. Early position is the first few to act,late is the last few to act.

Post - To enter the game you must poost an amount equalling the big blind.

Pot Limit - Games where the maximum bet that can be made is the size of the existing pot.

Pot Odds - The amount in the pot in relation to your chances of making a certain hand and the amount you must put in the pot to continue in the game.

Presto - Pocket fives.

Prop - Proposition player.

Proposition Player - A person who is employed by the casino to help start games.

Protect - To bet so the other player have less of a chance to outdraw you.

Quads - Four of a kind.

Qualifier - In High-Low split games, the qualifier is the requirement that must be met in order to be eligible for the pot. In Omaha High-Low split, three cards on the board must be eight or lower without it being paired for a low hand to be possible.

Rail - The barrier where you can watch poker being played.

Railbird - A person who is not playing poker, but watching a game from the rail.

Rainbow - In flop games, a flop where there is no cards of the same suit.

Raise - To increase the amount of the previous bet.

Ragged - A low flop.

Rags - Bad cards. In Texas Holdem, 72 are the worst "rag" starting cards.

Rake - The amount of money the house is taking for running the game.

Rank - The numerical value of the cards.

Read - To make a judgement on what might happen next or what hand a player has.

Rebuy - To buy more chips.

Reraise - To raise after somebody has already raised.

Ring Game - Non tournament game.

River - The final community card in flop games,fifth street.

Rock - A very tight player.

Rolled Up - In Seven Card three of a kind on the first three cards dealt.

Royal Flush - A straight flush AKQJT.

Runner - "runner-runner" to describe a hand in which the turn and the river card help a player's hand.

Rush - A term used to describe a winning streak.

Sandbag - To check with intention reraising.

Satellite - A mini-tournament to win your way into a larger tournament.

Scoop - In split pot games, to win the entire pot.

Semi-Bluff - To bluff with a drawing hand.

Set - Three of a kind where the player is holding a pocket pair in the hole with one on the board.

Shark - A strong player who "feeds" on weaker players.

Shill - A shill gambles with the house money instead of his own.

Shootout - A tournament where the players continue play on their original starting table until there is only one winner per table. The winner from each table then plays each other for the prize pool.

Short Stack - A player who has less chips than the other players on the table.

Showdown - The point at which all players show their cards to determine the winner.

Side Pot - A pot that is created when one or more players are all-in.

Slow Play - To play a hand in a manner to conceal the strength of your hand.

Small Blind - The forced bet put up by a player on left of th button to help create action in the game.

Split Pot - A pot that is shared by two or more players.

Stack - The amount of chips you have in front of you.

Steal - To win the pot on a bluff.

Steaming - A player who is on tilt is steaming.

Straddle - An optional extra blind (often twice the amount of the big blind) normally put up by the player to the immediate left of the blinds. The player who straddles has the last opportunity to act before the flop.

Straight - Five cards of consecutive rank.

Straight Flush - Five cards of consecutive rank and of the same suit, 98765 all diamonds.

Suck out - Getting your money in with the worst hand, but winning because you caught a lucky card.

Tell - A clue or hint that a player gives about their hand.

Tilt - To make bad decisions out of frustration.

Tournament - An event where a group of players sit down with the same number of chips and continue play until only one player has all of the chips. In tournaments, there is a buy-in for each player and all of the money is added up and divided into a prize pool. Usually nine players get paid for every 100 entries.

Trips - Three of a kind with two of them on the board. If a player is holding AJ and the board is JJ843, he is holding trips.

Turn - The fourth community card in a flop game.

Under the Gun - The first person to act on a betting round.