Poker Terms
and Glossary - Online Poker
Dictionary
Action - (1)
Opportunity to act. If a player
appears not to realize it's his
turn, the dealer will say "Your
action, sir." (2) Bets and
raises. "If a third heart hits
the board and there's a lot of
action, you have to assume that
somebody has made the flush."
Ante - A small
portion of a bet contributed by
each player to seed the pot at
the beginning of a poker hand.
Most hold'em games do not have
an ante; they use "blinds" to
get initial money into the pot.
All-In - To run
out of chips while betting or
calling. In table stakes games,
a player may not go into his
pocket for more money during a
hand. If he runs out, a side pot
is created in which he has no
interest. However, he can still
win the pot for which he had the
chips. Example: "Poor Bob. He
made quads against the big full
house, but he was all-in on the
second bet."
Backdoor -
Catching both the turn and river
card to make a drawing hand. For
instance, suppose you have A -7.
The flop comes A -6 -4.
You bet and are called. The turn
is the T,
which everybody checks, and then
the river is the J.
You've made a "backdoor" nut
flush. See also "runner."
Bad Beat - To have
a hand that is a large underdog
beat a heavily favored hand. It
is generally used to imply that
the winner of the pot had no
business being in the pot at
all, and it was the wildest of
luck that he managed to catch
the one card in the deck that
would win the pot. We won't give
any examples; you will hear
plenty of them during your poker
career.
Big Blind - The
larger of the two blinds
typically used in a hold'em
game. The big blind is normally
a full first round bet. See also
"blind" and "small blind."
Blank - A board
card that doesn't seem to affect
the standings in the hand. If
the flop is A-J-T,
then a turn card of 2
would be considered a blank. On
the other hand, the 2
would not be.
Blind - A forced
bet (or partial bet) put in by
one or more players before any
cards are dealt. Typically,
blinds are put in by players
immediately to the left of the
button. See also "live blind."
Board - All the
community cards in a hold'em
game - the flop, turn, and river
cards together. Example: "There
wasn't a single heart on the
board."
Bottom Pair - A
pair with the lowest card on the
flop. If you have A-6,
and the flop comes K-T-6,
you have flopped bottom pair.
Burn - To discard
the top card from the deck, face
down. This is done between each
betting round before putting out
the next community card(s). It
is security against any player
recognizing or glimpsing the
next card to be used on the
board.
Button - A white
acrylic disk that indicates the
(nominal) dealer. Also used to
refer to the player on the
button. Example: "Oh, the button
raised."
Buy - (1) As in
"buy the pot." To bluff, hoping
to "buy" the pot without being
called. (2) As in "buy the
button." To bet or raise, hoping
to make players between you and
the button fold, thus allowing
you to act last on subsequent
betting rounds.
Call - To put into
the pot an amount of money equal
to the most recent bet or raise.
The term "see" (as in "I'll see
that bet") is considered
colloquial.
Calling Station -
A weak-passive player who calls
a lot, but doesn't raise or fold
much. This is the kind of player
you like to have in your game.
Cap - To put in
the last raise permitted on a
betting round. This is typically
the third or fourth raise.
Dealers in California are fond
of saying "Capitola" or
"Cappuccino."
Case - The last
card of a certain rank in the
deck. Example: "The flop came
J-8-3; I've got pocket jacks,
he's got pocket 8's, and then
the case eight falls on the
river, and he beats my full
house."
Center Pot - The
first pot created during a poker
hand, as opposed to one or more
"side" pots created if one or
more players goes all-in. Also
"main pot."
Check - 1) To not
bet, with the option to call or
raise later in the betting
round. Equivalent to betting
zero dollars. (2) Another word
for chip, as in poker chip.
Check Raise - To
check and then raise when a
player behind you bets.
Occasionally you will hear
people say this is not fair or
ethical poker. Piffle. Almost
all casinos permit
check-raising, and it is an
important poker tactic. It is
particularly useful in low-limit
hold'em where you need extra
strength to narrow the field if
you have the best hand.
Cold Call - To
call more than one bet in a
single action. For instance,
suppose the first player to act
after the big blind raises. Now
any player acting after that
must call two bets "cold." This
is different from calling a
single bet and then calling a
subsequent raise.
Come Hand - A
drawing hand (probably from the
craps term).
Community Cards -
Cards that are presented face-up
in the middle of the poker table
and shared among players in
games like Hold'em and Omaha.
These are also referred to as
board cards or "the board".
Complete Hand - A
hand that is defined by all five
cards - a straight, flush, full
house, four of a kind, or
straight flush.
Connector - A
hold'em starting hand in which
the two cards are one apart in
rank. Examples: KQs, 76.
Counterfeit - To
make your hand less valuable
because of board cards that
duplicate it. Example: you have
87 and the flop comes 9-T-J, so
you have a straight. Now an 8
comes on the turn. This has
counterfeited your hand and made
it almost worthless.
Crack - To beat a
hand - typically a big hand. You
hear this most often applied to
pocket aces: "Third time tonight
I've had pocket aces cracked."
Cripple - As in
"to cripple the deck." Meaning
that you have most or all of the
cards that somebody would want
to have with the current board.
If you have pocket kings, and
the other two kings flop, you
have crippled the deck.
Dealer - The
player in a poker game who
actually (or theoretically) is
dealing the cards. When a
professional dealer (casino or
cardroom) or automated dealer
(online) is present - it is
necessary to identify the player
who would be dealing the cards
because the blinds and the
betting action are to the left
of the dealer. This is done by
utilizing a marker called a
dealer button which travels
around the table in a clockwise
manner, moving to the next
player after each hand is
completed.
Dog - Shortened
form of "underdog."
Dominated Hand - A
hand that will almost always
lose to a better hand that
people usually play. For
instance, K3 is "dominated" by
KQ. With the exception of
strange flops (e.g., 3-3-X,
K-3-X), it will always lose to
KQ.
Draw - To play a
hand that is not yet good, but
could become so if the right
cards come. Example: "I'm not
there yet - I'm drawing." Also
used as a noun. Example: "I have
to call because I have a good
draw."
Draw Dead - Trying
to make a hand that, even if
made, will not win the pot. If
you're drawing to make a flush,
and your opponent already has a
full house, you are "drawing
dead." Of course, this is a bad
condition to be in.
Equity - Your
"rightful" share of a pot. If
the pot contains $80, and you
have a 50% chance of winning it,
you have $40 equity in the pot.
This term is somewhat fanciful
since you will either win $80 or
$0, but it gives you an idea of
how much you can "expect" to
win.
Expectation - (1)
The amount you expect to gain on
average if you make a certain
play. For instance, suppose you
put $10 into a $50 pot to draw
at a hand that you will make 25%
of the time, and it will win
every time you make it. Three
out of four times, you do not
make your draw, and lose $10
each time for a total of $30.
The fourth time, you will make
your draw, winning $50. Your
total gain over those four
average hands is $50-$30 = $20,
an average of $5 per hand. Thus
calling the $10 has a positive
expectation of $5. (2) The
amount you expect to make at the
poker table in a specific time
period. Suppose in 100 hours of
play, you win $527. Then your
expectation is $5.27/hr. Of
course, you won't make that
exact amount each hour (and some
hours you will lose), but it's
one measure of your anticipated
earnings.
Extra Blind - A
blind put in by a player just
entering the game, returning to
the game, or otherwise changing
his position at the table. See
also "blind" and "post."
Family Pot - A pot
in which all (or almost all) of
the players call before the
flop.
Fast - As in "play
fast." To play a hand
aggressively, betting and
raising as much as possible.
Example: "When you flop a set
but there's a flush draw
possible, you have to play it
fast."
Favorite - A poker
hand which is the statistical
favorite to win.
Flop - The first
three community cards, put out
face up, altogether.
Fold - To forfeit
any chance of winning the
current pot in poker. To lay
down your hand or throw your
hand in instead of calling or
raising a bet.
Foul - A hand that
may not be played for one reason
or another. A player with a foul
hand may not make any claim on
any portion of the pot. Example:
"He ended up with three cards
after the flop, so the dealer
declared his hand foul."
Free Card - A turn
or river card on which you don't
have to call a bet because of
play earlier in the hand (or
because of your reputation with
your opponents). For instance,
if you are on the button and
raise when you flop a flush
draw, your opponents may check
to you on the turn. If you make
your flush on the turn, you can
bet. If you don't get it on the
turn, you can check as well,
seeing the river card for
"free."
Free Roll - One
player has a shot at winning an
entire pot when he is currently
tied with another player. For
instance, suppose you have A-Q
and your opponent has A-Q.
The flop is Q-5-T.
You are tied with your opponent
right now, but are free rolling,
because you can win the whole
pot and your opponent can't. If
no club comes, you split the pot
with him; if it does come, you
win the whole thing.
Gutshot Straight -
A straight filled "inside." If
you have 9-8,
the flop comes 7-5-2,
and the turn is the 6,
you've made your gutshot
straight.
Heads Up - A pot
that is being contested by only
two players. Example:"It was
heads up by the turn."
Hit - As in "the
flop hit me," meaning the flop
contains cards that help your
hand. If you have AK, and the
flop comes K-7-2, it hit you.
Hole Cards - Cards
dealt face-down to a player -
most commonly used when
describing the first two player
cards in Hold'em and the first
four player cards in Omaha.
House - The
establishment running the game.
Example: "The $2 you put on the
button goes to the house."
Implied Odds - Pot
odds that do not exist at the
moment, but may be included in
your calculations because of
bets you expect to win if you
hit your hand. For instance, you
might call with a flush draw on
the turn even though the pot
isn't offering you quite 4:1
odds (your chance of making the
flush) because you're sure you
can win a bet from your opponent
on the river if you make your
flush.
Inside Straight Draw
- Seeking one specific card
value to make a straight. For
instance, a player holding 9-5
with a board of 2-7-6 can make a
straight with any eight. This is
also known as a gutshot straight
draw
Jackpot - A
special bonus paid to the loser
of a hand if he gets a very good
hand beaten. In hold'em, the
"loser" must typically get aces
full or better beaten. In some
of the large southern California
card clubs, jackpots have gotten
over $50,000. Of course, the
jackpot is funded with money
removed from the game as part of
the rake.
Kicker - An
unpaired card used to determine
the better of two
near-equivalent hands. For
instance, suppose you have AK
and your opponent has AQ. If the
flop has an ace in it, you both
have a pair of aces, but you
have a king kicker. Kickers can
be vitally important in hold'em.
Live Blind - A
forced bet put in by one or more
players before any cards are
dealt. The "live" means those
players still have the option of
raising when the action gets
back around to them.
Maniac - A player
who does a lot of
hyper-aggressive raising,
betting, and bluffing. A true
maniac is not a good player, but
is simply doing a lot of
gambling. However, a player who
occasionally acts like a maniac
and confuses his opponents is
quite dangerous.
Muck - The pile of
folded and burned cards in front
of the dealer. Example: "His
hand hit the muck so the dealer
ruled it folded even though the
guy wanted to get his cards
back." Also used as a verb.
Example: He didn't have any outs
so he mucked his hand."
No-Limit - A
version of poker in which a
player may bet any amount of
chips (up to the number in front
of him) whenever it is his turn
to act. It is a very different
game from limit poker. The best
treatise on no-limit poker is in
Doyle Brunson's Super/System .
Nuts - The best
possible hand given the board.
If the board is K-J-T-4-2,
then A-X
is the nuts. You will
occasionally hear the term
applied to the best possible
hand of a certain category, even
though it isn't the overall
nuts. For the above example,
somebody with A-Q
might say they had the "nut
straight."
Offsuit - A
hold'em starting hand with two
cards of different suits. A
hold'em starting hand with two
cards of different suits.
One-Cap - A
hold'em starting hand with two
cards two apart in rank.
Examples: J9s, 64.
Open-Ended Straight Draw
- Seeking one of two card values
to make a straight. For
instance, a player holding 9-8
with a board of 2-7-6 can make a
straight with either a ten
(6-7-8-9-T) or with a five
(5-6-7-8-9). This is also known
as an up-and-down straight draw.
Out - A card that
will make your hand win.
Normally heard in the plural.
Example: "Any spade will make my
flush, so I have nine outs."
Outrun - To beat.
Example: "Susie outran my set
when her flush card hit on the
river."
Overcall - To call
a bet after one or more others
players have already called.
Overcard - A card
higher than any card on the
board. For instance, if you have
AQ and the flop comes J-7-3, you
don't have a pair, but you have
two overcards.
Overpair - A
pocket pair higher than any card
on the flop. If you have QQ and
the flop comes J-8-3, you have
an overpair.
Pay Off - To call
a bet when the bettor is
representing a hand that you
can't beat, but the pot is
sufficiently large to justify a
call anyway. Example: "He played
it exactly like he made the
flush, but I had top set so I
paid him off."
Play the Board -
To show down a hand in hold'em
when your cards don't make a
hand any better than is shown on
the board. For instance, if you
have 22, and the board is
4-4-9-9-A (no flush possible),
then you must "play the board" :
the best possible hand you can
make doesn't use any of your
cards. Note that if you play the
board, the best you can do is
split the pot with all remaining
players.
Pocket - Your
unique cards that only you can
see. For instance, "He had
pocket sixes" (a pair of sixes),
or "I had ace-king in the
pocket."
Pocket Pair - A
hold'em starting hand with two
cards of the same rank, making a
pair. Example: "I had big pocket
pairs seven times in the first
hour. What else can you ask
for?"
Post - To put in a
blind bet, generally required
when you first sit down in a
cardroom game. You may also be
required to post a blind if you
change seats at the table in a
way that moves you away from the
blinds. Example: a player leaves
one seat at a table and takes
another in such a way that he
moves farther from the blinds.
He is required to post an extra
blind to receive a hand. See
also "extra blind."
Pot-Limit - A
version of poker in which a
player may bet up to the amount
of money in the pot whenever it
is his turn to act. Like
no-limit, this is a very
different game from limit poker.
Pot Odds - The
amount of money in the pot
compared to the amount you must
put in the pot to continue
playing. For example, suppose
there is $60 in the pot.
Somebody bets $6, so the pot now
contains $66. It costs you $6 to
call, so your pot odds are 11:1.
If your chance of having the
best hand is at least 1 out of
12, you should call. Pot odds
also apply to draws. For
instance, suppose you have a
draw to the nut flush with one
card left to come. In this case,
you are about a 4:1 underdog to
make your flush. If it costs you
$8 to call the bet, then there
must be about $32 in the pot
(including the most recent bet)
to make your call correct.
Price - The pot
odds you are getting for a draw
or call. Example: "The pot was
laying me a high enough price,
so I stayed in with my gutshot
straight draw."
Protect - (1) To
keep your hand or a chip on your
cards. This prevents them from
being fouled by a discarded
hand, or accidentally mucked by
the dealer. (2) To invest more
money in a pot so blind money
that you've already put in isn't
"wasted." Example: "He'll always
protect his blinds, no matter
how bad his cards are."
Quads - Four of a
kind.
Ragged - A flop
(or board) that doesn't appear
to help anybody very much. A
flop that came down J-6-2
would look ragged.
Rainbow - A flop
that contains three different
suits, thus no flush can be made
on the turn. Can also mean a
complete five card board that
has no more than two of any
suit, thus no flush is possible.
Raise - To
increase the amount of the
current bet.
Rake - An amount
of money taken out of every pot
by the dealer. This is the
cardroom's income.
Rank - The
numerical value of a card (as
opposed to its suit). Example:
"jack," "seven."
Represent - To
play as if you hold a certain
hand. For instance, if you
raised before the flop, and then
raised again when the flop came
ace high, you would be
representing at least an ace
with a good kicker.
Ring Game - A
regular poker game as opposed to
a tournament. Also referred to
as a "live" game since actual
money is in play instead of
tournament chips.
River - The fifth
and final community card, put
out face up, by itself. Also
known as "fifth street."
Metaphors involving the river
are some of poker's most
treasured cliches, e.g., "He
drowned in the river."
Rock - A player
who plays very tight, not very
creatively. He raises only with
the best hands. A real rock is
fairly predictable: if he raises
you on the end, you can throw
away just about anything but the
nuts.
Runner - Typically
said "runner-runner" to describe
a hand that was made only by
catching the correct cards on
both the turn and the river.
Example:"He made a runner-runner
flush to beat my trips." See
also "backdoor."
Scare Card - A
card that may well turn the best
hand into trash. If you have T-8
and the flop comes Q-J-9,
you almost assuredly have the
best hand. However, a turn card
of T
would be very scary because it
would almost guar-antee that you
are now beaten.
Second Pair - A
pair with the second highest
card on the flop. If you have A-T,
and the flop comes K-T-6,
you have flopped second pair.
See "top pair."
Sell - As in "sell
a hand." In a spread-limit game,
this means betting less than the
maximum when you have a very
strong hand, hoping players will
call whereas they would not have
called a maximum bet.
Semi-Bluff - A
powerful concept first discussed
by David Sklansky. It is a bet
or raise that you hope will not
be called, but you have some
outs if it is. A semi-bluff may
be correct when betting for
value is not correct, a pure
bluff is not correct, but the
combination of the two may be a
positive expectation play.
Example: you have K-Q,
and the flop is T-5-J.
If you bet now, it's a
semi-bluff. You probably don't
have the best hand, and you'd
like to see your opponents fold
immediately. Nevertheless, if
you do get callers, you could
still improve to the best hand.
Set - Three of a
kind when you have two of the
rank in your hand, and there is
one on the board.
Short Stack - A
number of chips that is not very
many compared to the other
players at the table. If you
have $10 in front of you, and
everybody else at the table has
over $100, you are playing on a
short stack.
Showdown - The
point at which all players
remaining in the hand turn their
cards over and determine who has
the best hand - i.e. after the
fourth round of betting is
completed. Of course, if a final
bet or raise is not called,
there is no showdown.
Side Pot - A pot
created in which a player has no
interest because he has run out
of chips. Example: Al bets $6,
Beth calls the $6, and Carl
calls, but he has only $2 left.
An $8 side pot is created that
either Al or Beth can win, but
not Carl. Carl, however, can
still win all the money in the
original or "center" pot.
Slow Play - To
play a strong hand weakly so
more players will stay in the
pot.
Small Blind - The
smaller of two blind bets
typically used in a hold'em
game. Normally, the small blind
is one-third to two-thirds of a
first round bet. See also "big
blind" and "blind."
Smooth Call - To
call. Smooth call often implies
slow playing a strong hand.
Example: "I flopped the nut
flush but just smooth called
when the guy in front of me bet
- I didn't want to scare anybody
out."
Split Pot - A pot
that is shared by two or more
players because they have
equivalent hands.
Split Two Pair - A
two pair hand in which one of
each of your cards' ranks
appears on the board as well.
Example: you have T9, the flop
is T-9-5, you have a split two
pair. This is in comparison to
two pair where there is a pair
on the board. Example: you have
T9, the flop is 9-5-5.
Spread-limit - A
betting structure in which a
player may bet any amount in a
range on every betting round. A
typical spread-limit structure
is $2-$6, where a player may bet
as little as $2 or as much as $6
on every betting round.
Straddle - An
optional extra blind bet,
typically made by the player one
to the left of the big blind,
equal to twice the big blind.
This is effectively a raise, and
forces any player who wants to
play to pay two bets.
Furthermore, the straddler acts
last before the flop, and may
"re-raise."
String Bet - A bet
(more typically a raise) in
which a player doesn't get all
the chips required for the raise
into the pot in one motion.
Unless he verbally declared the
raise, he can be forced to
withdraw it and just call. This
prevents the unethical play of
putting out enough chips to
call, seeing what effect that
had, and then possibly raising.
Structured - Used
to apply to a certain betting
structure in poker games. The
typical definition of a
structured hold'em game is a
fixed amount for bets and raises
before the flop and on the flop,
and then twice that amount on
the turn and river. Example: a
$2-$4 structured hold'em game:
bets and raises of $2 before the
flop and on the flop; $4 bets
and raises on the turn and
river.
Suited - A hold'em
starting hand in which the two
cards are the same suit.
Example: "I had to play
J-3 - it was suited."
Table Stakes - A
rule in a poker game meaning
that a player may not go into
his pocket for money during a
hand. He may only invest the
amount of money in front of him
into the current pot. If he runs
out of chips during the hand, a
side pot is created in which he
has no interest. All casino
poker is played table stakes.
The definition sometimes also
includes the rule that a player
may not remove chips from the
table during a game. While this
rule might not be referred to as
"table stakes," it is enforced
almost universally in public
poker games.
Tell - A clue or
hint that a player unknowingly
gives about the strength of his
hand, his next action, etc. May
originally be from "telegraph"
or the obvious use that he
"tells" you what he's going to
do before he does it.
Quads - Four of a
kind.
Tilt - To play
wildly or recklessly. A player
is said to be "on tilt" if he is
not playing his best, playing
too many hands, trying wild
bluffs, raising with bad hands,
etc.
Time - (1) A
request by a player to suspend
play while he decides what he's
going to do. Simply, "Time,
please!" If a player doesn't
request time and there is a
substantial amount of action
behind him, the dealer may rule
that the player has folded. (2)
An amount of money collected
either on the button or every
half hour by the cardroom. This
is another way for the house to
make its money (see "rake").
Toke - A small
amount of money (typically $.50
or $1.00) given to the dealer by
the winner of a pot. Quite
often, tokes represent the great
majority of a dealer's income.
Top Pair - A pair
with the highest card on the
flop. If you have A-Q,
and the flop comes Q-T-6,
you have flopped top pair. See
"second pair."
Top Set - The
highest possible trips. Example:
you have T-T,
and the flop comes T-8-9.
You have flopped top set.
Top Two - Two
pair, with your two hole cards
pairing the two highest cards on
the board.
Top and Bottom -
Two pair, with your two hole
cards pairing the highest and
lowest cards on the board.
Trips - Three of a
kind.
Turn - The fourth
community card. Put out face up,
by itself. Also known as "fourth
street."
Under the Gun -
The position of the player who
acts first on a betting round.
For instance, if you are one to
the left of the big blind, you
are under the gun before the
flop.
Underdog - A
person or hand not
mathematically favored to win a
pot. For instance, if you flop
four cards to your flush, you
are not quite a 2:1 underdog to
make your flush by the river
(that is, you will make your
flush about one in three times).
See also "dog."
Value - As in "bet
for value." This means that you
would actually like your
opponents to call your bet (as
opposed to a bluff). Generally
it's because you have the best
hand. However, it can also be a
draw that, given enough callers,
has a positive expectation.
Variance - A
measure of the up and down
swings your bankroll goes
through. Variance is not
necessarily a measure of how
well you play. However, the
higher your variance, the wider
swings you'll see in your
bankroll.
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