ACES UP - Two pair, one of which is a pair of Aces.
ACTION - Betting activity.
ALL-IN - To bet all the money you have on the table.
ANTE - A small bet all players are required to make before a hand is dealt.
BACK DOOR - Player makes a late hand that he wasn't originally drawing to (e.g., making a flush when
you were drawing to a straight).
BAD BEAT - When a usually unbeatable hand is defeated by a longshot better hand.
BANKROLL - Current total gambling funds available. Not to be confused with a player's stake in a
particular game.
BELLY BUSTER - An inside straight draw (also called a "Gutshot").
BET - To put money into the pot in accordance with the rules of the game.
BET FOR VALUE - Betting a completed or partial hand that, in the long run, is expected to win more than
it loses.
BIG BLIND - An initial forced bet, similar to an ante, but unlike an ante is a live bet.
BIG SLICK - In Texas Hold'em, hole cards of A-K, suited or not.
BLANK - A card that does not add value to a hand.
BLIND - A forced bet to seed the pot, usually in place of an ante.
BLUFF - A bet or raise made with a poor hand, hoping to get the competition to fold.
BOARD - The exposed cards in hold'em and stud.
BOAT - Short for a Full Boat (slang for a Full House).
BROADWAY - An Ace-high straight.
BULLETS - Pocket Aces
BUMP - Slang for Raise (as in "bump it up").
BURN - To discard the top card of the deck prior to dealing.
BUTTON - A distinctive token placed in front of the player sitting in the theoretical dealer's position,
when a house dealer is used. The button rotates around the table so that every player has an
opportunity tobe the last to act.
BUY-IN - The amount of money used to join a game.
CALL - To put in to the pot the minimum amount of money necessary to continue playing.
CALLER - One who makes a call bet.
CALLING STATION - An passive player that frequently just checks or calls most bets.
CAP - To cap the betting is to make the last permitted raise in a round (only in limit games).
CARDS SPEAK - The final hand values are determined by the face up cards and not what the hand holder
declares.
CASE CARD - The fourth and last card of a particular rank.
CHASE - To continue in a hand, often at poor odds against the competition (e.g., chasing a flush).
CHECK n. - The word casino employees use for a "chip."
CHECK v. - To bet zero, when it is legal to do so. Frequently a sign of only a mediocre hand.
CHECK RAISE - To check initially, then raise a bet made later on in the same betting round.
CHIP - Item used in place of cash at a gaming table.
COME HAND - A hand that is not yet made, such as four cards to a flush.
COLD CALL - When a player with nothing invested in the pot calls a raise and a re-raise as his first bet.
COMMUNITY CARDS - Cards that are available for every player to use in making a hand. Usually dealt
face up somewhere in the middle of the table.
CONCEALED PAIR - Both of the pair cards are face down.
COWBOY - A king.
DARK BET - ("Betting in the Dark") To bet without looking at your hand.
DEAD HAND - A hand that has been fouled or has too many or too few cards.
DEAD MAN'S HAND - Two pair, aces and eights. Legend has it that it is the hand Wild Bill Hickok
was holding when he was shot to death.
DEUCE - A two.
DOUBLE GUTSHOT - A two-way inside straight. (i.e., 3-5-6-7-9). Also called a Double Bellybuster.
DRAW - To discard some number of cards and have dealt an equal number of replacements.
DRAWING DEAD - Drawing to a hand that can not possibly win.
DRAW OUT - To catch a card that improves your situation from a losing hand to a winning hand.
DUCK - A two.
EARLY POSITION - Being one of the first players to act in a betting round.
EXPOSED PAIR - An exposed pair, as opposed to a split pair or a hidden pair.
FACE CARD - A jack, queen or king.
FILL - To draw a card that makes a five-card hand (straight, flush, full house, straight flush).
FILL UP - To fill a Full House.
FISH - A player who loses money. "If you can't spot the fish at the table, *you* are the fish."
FISH HOOK - A Jack. So named because the "J" resembles a hook.
FLAT CALL - To call a bet. Emphasizes that the caller did not raise.
FLOORMAN - The casino employee in charge of the card room.
FLOP - In Hold'em, the first three community cards, dealt simultaneously.
FLUSH - A poker hand consisting of five cards all one suit.
FOLD - Dropping out of a hand; no longer competing for the pot.
FOUR FLUSH - Four cards to a Flush.
FREE CARD - A card dealt after all players checked in a betting round.
FREEROLL - Having a lock on part of a pot.
FREEZE-OUT - A table-stakes game that continues until a small number of players (possibly only one)
has all the money.
FULL BOAT - Slang for Full House.
FULL HOUSE - A hand consisting of three-of-a-kind and a pair.
GUT SHOT - A draw to an inside straight, as in 2-3-4-6.
HAND - A "Hand" usually describes one of the three following:
1. A player's set of non-communal cards;
2. A set of five cards (any combination of communal and non-communal cards) held by a
player; or
3. A synonym for the unit of play consisting of a deal, betting and possibly a showdown.
HEAD(S) UP - Playing a single opponent.
HELP CARD - One that improves one's hand.
HOLE CARDS - In stud and hold'em, the face-down cards dealt to each player.
IGNORANT END - The lower end of a straight in a game that has community cards.
IMPLIED ODDS - An advanced calculation of odds, which factors in money not yet, but expected to be,
in the pot.
INSIDE STRAIGHT - Four cards to a straight, where only one rank will complete the hand (e.g., 4-5-6-8).
JAMMED POT - A pot where several players are raising.
KICKER - The highest side card that is not part of the basic final hand.
LADY - A Queen.
LATE POSITION - For a particular betting round, a player who does not have to act until most of the
other players have acted.
LAY ODDS - To give favorable odds to an opponent.
LIMIT POKER - Poker game where the betting amount is fixed, or at most variable within a prescribed
minimum and maximum.
LIMP IN - To call the minimum bet.
LIVE BLIND - The last and largest blind bet may or may not be Live. If Live, the blind bettor has the option
of "raising" his own blind in the event the bet is called around to him.
LIVE ONE - The best kind of opponent, a poor player with a lot of money to lose and in a hurry to lose it.
LOCK - A hand that cannot be beaten. Also called the NUT.
LOOSE - Playing more hands than the norm.
MAIN POT - The main pot, as related to one or more side pots, when there are one or more all-in
player(s). The main pot is the one in which all active players participate.
MANIAC - A player who bets, raises and reraises without much regard to the quality of his hand.
MARKED CARDS - Cards that have been (illegally) altered so that their value can be read from the back.
MECHANIC - A cheat who can manipulate the cards to deal himself or another player a good hand.
MIDDLE POSITION - Betting positions approximately halfway around the table from the first player to act.
MISDEAL - A hand dealt incorrectly that must be re-dealt.
MONSTER - A very strong hand.
MUCK n. - A collection of face-down cards near the dealer composed of discards and burn cards.
MUCK v. - To throw one's cards into the muck, thus folding.
NICKEL - Five dollars, usually represented by a red casino check.
NO-LIMIT POKER - A game where there is no maximum bet; a player can wager any amount (perhaps
above some minimum) up to whatever money is on the table in front of him.
NUT - The best possible hand or the best hand of a given type (e.g., the "nut flush" is the best possible
flush).
NUT PLAYER - A very tight player who plays only the best hands.
OFFSUIT - Not of the same suit.
ON TILT - Playing worse (usually, more aggressively) than usual because a player has become
emotionally upset.
OPEN - Take the first bet in a hand, especially in draw poker.
OPEN-ENDED STRAIGHT - Four cards to a straight in denomination sequence (5,6,7,8).
OPENER - The player who starts the betting, usually in draw poker.
OPEN PAIR - An exposed pair.
OUT - A card that will improve your hand, often substantially.
OVERPAIR - In Hold'em, a pair in the hole that is larger than any community card on the board.
PAINT - A face card.
PAIR - Two cards of the same rank.
PASS - Opposite of bet. To check, if checked to. To fold, if bet to.
PAT HAND - Holding or being dealt a complete hand.
PAY OFF - Calling a bet with little expectation of winning, unless the opponent is bluffing.
PFR - Pre-Flop Raise
PICKED OFF - To get called when you are bluffing.
POCKET - Starting hole cards in stud and Hold'em.
POCKET ROCKETS - A pair of aces in the hole.
POSITION - One's location in the betting sequence, relative to the players still in the hand.
POT - The total amount of money bet so far in a hand.
POT LIMIT - A game where the maximum bet is determined by the size of the pot at the time.
POT ODDS - The amount of money in the pot divided by the amount you must bet in order to call.
PREMIUM HANDS - Pre-flop: top starting hands (e.g., AA, AK, KK, QQ). Post-flop: Sets or better.
QUADS - Four of a kind.
RAGS - Board cards that are small to medium, not suited and not in sequence.
RAIL - At a casino, a low dividing wall or barrier separating the card tables from a public area.
RAILBIRD - A spectator behind the rail.
RAINBOW - When the three or four community cards are all different suits.
RAISE - To wager more than the minimum required to call, forcing other players to put in more money or
fold.
RAISER - One who raises.
RAKE - The usually small percentage of money taken from each pot and given to the house.
RAT-HOLE - To take money or chips off the table during play.
READ - To determine whether an opponent has a good, medium or bad hand by observing his personal
behavior.
REPRESENT - Implying, by one's betting style, that one has a particular hand.
RERAISE - To raise after an opponent has raised.
RING GAME - A standard game where players can come and go as they choose.
RIVER - The last card dealt in a hand of stud or Hold'em (also known as "Fifth Street").
ROCK - A very tight, solid poker player.
ROYAL FLUSH - An ace-high straight flush, the best possible hand in regular poker.
RUNNER-RUNNER - A hand made using both of the last two cards dealt.
RUSH - A winning streak.
SANDBAG - Playing a strong hand as if it were only a fair one.
SEE - To call a bet, as in: "I'll see you."
SEMI-BLUFF v. - To bluff with a hand that could win, but only if it improves.
SET - Three-of-a-kind. In Holdem, a pair in your hand with one on the board.
SHARK n. - A skilled player, who usually plays like a fish initially to trick opponents.
SHORT-STACKED adv. - Playing with a only a small amount of money.
SHOWDOWN - The point at the end of the hand where all active players reveal their cards and the pot is
awarded to the winner(s).
SIDE POT - When an active player runs out of money during the course of a hand, the remaining players
participate in a second or Side Pot for the rest of the hand. Additional side pots are possible
if severalplayers run out of money at different points in ahand.
SIT-N-GO - Single table tournament.
SLOWPLAY - To play a hand unaggressively when you have a very strong hand.
SLEEPER - A pre-deal bet by a player in middle or late position, usually for double the big blind.
SMALL BLIND - In games with two blinds the first blind is the Small Blind because it is usually one-half
(or less) the amount of the big blind.
SOLID PLAYER - A strong player.
SPLIT POT - A pot that is split between two or more hands.
SPREAD - For a casino to offer a particular game.
STACK - The stack of chips (amount of money) a player has at the table.
STACKED DECK - Cheating by manipulating a deck of cards to give a player an advantage.
STAKE - The amount of a player's buy-in or the amount of money in their current bankroll.
STEAL - To win the pot by bluffing.
STEAL POSITION - The next to last or last position.
STRADDLE - A live bet by the UTG player that is double the big blind, placed before the cards are dealt.
STREETS - Fourth Street, Fifth Street etc. In stud, the fourth card dealt to a player, the fifth card etc.
STRING BET - An unethical and often illegal means of raising whereby a player puts a call-size stack of
chips into the pot and, after observing the reactions of the players, then goes back to his
stack and puts out more.
STUCK adj. - A significant amount of money lost.
STUD - Any of several poker games in which some of each players' cards are exposed.
SUITED - Two or more cards all the same suit.
TABLE CHARGE - A fee paid for playing (usually based on time).
TABLE STAKES - A standard rule whereby during a hand players can only bet the money they have on
the table.
TAPPED OUT - Out of money.
TELL - Any personal mannerisms that reveal the quality of one's hand.
THREE OF A KIND - Three cards all the same rank.
TILT - "Going on tilt" means playing poorly as a result of loosing your focus/cool due to bad luck or a bad
run of cards.
TIGHT - A style of play that entails playing fewer hands than average.
TIGHT PLAYER - A person who plays only excellent starting hands.
TOKE - Gambling term for "tip". Short for "Token."
TOP PAIR - In flop games, having a hole card that matches the highest card on the board.
TOP TWO PAIR - In flop games, having hole cards that make the highest possible two pair hand.
TPTK - Acronym for "Top Pair, Top Kicker."
TREY - A three.
TRIPS - Three of a specific kind, as in Trip Kings, usually with two on the board and one in your hand.
TURN - The fourth community card in Hold'em, also called Fourth Street.
TWO FLUSH - Two suited cards.
UNDERDOG - Before all the cards are dealt, a hand that does not figure to be the winner, also called Dog.
UNDER THE GUN - (Also UTG) The position that acts first in a round of betting.
UTG - (See "Under The Gun")
WHEEL - A-2-3-4-5. The best possible low hand. Also called a "Bicycle".
WIRED PAIR - A pair in the hole. In 5-card stud, a door card that pairs the hole card.
