Poker Glossary
A-C Player
The Advanced Concept Player.
A-game
The highest stake game in the house.
Ace to Five
In a game played for low, ace to five means straights and flushes don't count
and the ace can be used as a low card. The best possible hand in an Ace to Five
game is therefore A2345 (often called a wheel).
Aces Up
A pair of aces with one other pair.
Act, An
To do something when it's your turn, one of: check, call, fold, open bet, and
raise.
Action
The placing of money into the pot. A table with a lot of action is one at which
there are a lot of bets, raises, and re-raises - in other words, betting action.
In most cardrooms, verbal comments like "I raise" are binding, and
are therefore said to constitute action. To give action is to put money into
the pot when someone else should be expected to win the hand. To receive action
is to have someone else put money into the pot when you expect to win the hand.
It's better to receive than to give.
Action Spot
The table area where the betting is occurring.
Active Player
A player competing for a pot.
Some tournaments allow players the opportunity at a certain point to buy additional
chips, called an add-on. This is different from a re-buy, because usually anyone
still in the tournament can add on, and the opportunity to add-on usually marks
the end of the re-buy period.
Add-them-up Lowball
Draw poker where the hand with the lowest point total wins.
Advanced Concepts of Poker
The concepts used by the good poker player to win maximum money from opponents.
Advanced-Concept Player
A player whose style is based on the Advanced Concepts of Poker. (A-C Player).
Advertise
It usually means showing down a mediocre hand, to give the impression that you
play overly loose or that you play a generally weak game. The idea is that other
players will then give you more action when you make a legitimate hand. People
are bad at revising first impressions, thus it is a long-lasting beneficial
effect. More generally, advertising can mean anything you do at the poker table
to manipulate how other players assess you.
Age
First position to the left of the dealer (A, Able, or Edge).
Agent
A confederate or collusion partner in cheating.
Aggressive
A style of play characterized by frequent raising and re-raising. This is not
the same thing as loose play. Many good players are selective about the cards
they will play, but aggressive once they get involved in a hand. An aggressive
table is one dominated by aggressive players.
Ajax
The name of an Ace and Jack in the pocket, suited or otherwise.
All Blue, or All Pink
A flush.
All the Way
Cincinnati with a progressive bet.
All-in
When a player puts the last of their chips into a pot, that player is said to
be all-in. When playing table stakes (as in most places), an all-in player is
not eligible to win any money bet above their final bet (the side pot). However,
the all-in player will be eligible for the main pot, and therefore cannot be
forced from the hand.
Alligator Blood
A compliment given to an outstanding player who proves himself unflappable under
great pressure.
Alternate Straight
A sequence of every other card, such as two, four, six, eight, ten (Dutch Straight,
Skipper, Skip Straight).
Ambique
A French card game that influenced the draw variation of poker.
American Airlines
The name of a pair of Aces in the pocket.
American Brag
A game where the raiser shows the first caller his hand and the worst hand folds.
Anaconda
A seven-card game with bets made on five rolled-up cards.
Angle
An angle is any technically legal but ethically dubious way to increase your
expectation at a game. Depending on who you ask, a particular weapon in your
arsenal may be a sleazy underhanded trick (a typical angle) or a vital strategic
tool that no player should be without. An example might be pretending to be
about to fold (or even folding out of turn and then retrieving your cards, if
the rules allow it), in order to encourage a call (when you are about to raise).
A player who regularly takes advantage of angles is said to be an angle shooter.
Angle-Shooting
Using unfair tactics.
Announce
To declare high, low, or the moon in high-low poker.
Announced Bet
A verbal bet made by a player before putting his money in the pot.
Ante
A small forced bet that everyone at the table is required to pay before each
hand. In games with an ante, these bets constitute the initial pot. When used
as a verb, it means to post this bet.
Apple, the
The biggest game in the house.
Arkansas Flush
A four flush.
Around the Comer Straight
A sequence running from the highest to the lowest values, such as queen, king,
ace, two, three.
Assigned Bettor
The player who bets first.
Australian Poker
Draw poker with a blind opening.
Automatic Bluff
A lowball situation that almost always requires Baby - A small card, usually
a five or less.
Back Into
When you make a hand other than the one you were originally drawing to, you
are said to have backed into it. For example, if your first four cards in a
seven card stud hand are AA44, and you end up making a flush, you backed into
the flush.
Backdoor
A hand made back door is one made using both of the last two cards, as in Seven
Card Stud or Texas Hold'em. For example, if in hold'em you hold AhJh and the
flop comes Ad4c9h, you have top pair and a backdoor flush draw. The back door
draw isn't anything to get excited about, but it can tip the scales occasionally.
While you're busy playing your made hand, you might accidentally make a flush
in the back door.
Backraise
A re-raise from a player who originally called.
Bad Beat
One thing is certain in a bad beat: you have to lose the hand. What makes the
beat bad? Maybe one or all of the following: you lose in a situation where you're
a very big favorite; you lose with a hand you couldn't possibly have been expected
to fold; you lose so improbably you feel compelled to tell the story multiple
times; you lose to a player who couldn't have beat you without misplaying the
hand (but who was astoundingly lucky); you lose in a way that seemed inconceivable
until you saw it happen; or more than two experienced players at your table
say, "ouch." Here's an example. Say you're playing hold'em, you hold
AA, the flop comes A55, and someone holding 98, suited with one of the fives,
catches two perfect cards for a straight flush, you have suffered a very painful
bad beat. The guy holding 55 is in a similar position, only more so. Another
phrase you'll hear is "bad beat jackpot." Some games have jackpots
for particular types of bad beats.
Bankroll
The total amount of money one is willing (and able) to put at risk. An adequate
playing bankroll for a particular game (assuming positive expectation) is an
amount large enough to survive the expected swings due to variance. For a negative
expectation game, an adequate bankroll is one which doesn't run out before you
die. To bankroll someone is to provide some or all of the money they use to
gamble. In effect, you assume part of the risk in return for part of the profit.
Base Deal
Cheating by dealing from the bottom of the deck.
Behind
Before the last cards have been dealt, you either have the best hand or you
don't. If you don't, you're said to be behind.
Belly Buster
An inside straight draw.
Berry Patch
An extremely easy game.
Bet
To bet is to put money into the pot, usually by opening as later action in a
round is a raise or a re-raise. It can also be used to mean "turn to act,"
and lastly, especially when used in the plural, it can be used to mean the number
of bets and raises.
Bet Odds
The odds you get as a result of evaluating the number of callers to a raise.
Bicycle or Bike or Bicyle Wheel
A bicycle wheel (also called a wheel or a bicycle) is just the following hand:
A2345. Normally this is a straight to the five. In games played for low, this
is sometimes the best possible low hand. It's also a great hand in some high-low
games where it's the nut low and counts as a straight for the high pot. Note
that in Kansas City Lowball, a wheel is 23457, or the nut low.
Big Bet
In limit games in which the size of the maximum bet increases in later rounds,
a big bet is the largest bet size. A small bet is the smallest bet size. So
in a 5-10 hold'em game, small bets are $5 and big bets are $10.
Big Bet Poker
Pot-limit and no-limit poker are sometimes referred to as big bet poker (as
contrasted with limit games of any size). The "big" in a sense refers
to the size of bets relative to the pot, irrespective of the amount of money
involved.
Big Blind
The largest blind posted prior to the dealing of cards. This is usually the
player sitting two seats to the left of the dealer.
Big Slick
The name of an Ace and King in the pocket. Suited or otherwise.
Black
Black is the most common color for $100 chips. If someone tells you they saw
someone betting black on blackjack, it means they were betting at least $100
a hand.
Blank
Any card that doesn't look like it's going to help anyone.
Blind
A blind bet, or blind, is a forced bet that must be posted before you see any
cards. Blinds are an alternative to antes for getting money in the pot initially.
Blinds are more often used in flop games like hold'em and omaha than in stud
and draw games. Typically in hold'em the two players to the left of the dealer
button are forced to place blind bets. In limit play, the small blind (to the
dealer's left) is typically half the size of a small bet, and the big blind
(to the small blind's left) is a full small bet. Betting then starts with the
player to the left of the big blind (who is considered under the gun), who must
at least call the big blind to stay in. When you sit down at a new table, it's
good to wait until it's your turn to blind before playing a hand. See also live
blind, structure, and straddle. "Big blind" and "small blind"
are also used to refer to the players who posted these bets.
Blinds
A forced bet in Hold 'Em.
Bluff
A bet with a weak hand (typically a busted hand), usually intended to get other
players to fold. A bluffing player usually has little or no chance of winning
a showdown, but may suspect that other players will fold if they have not made
strong hands either. In limit play, bluffing is more often a good idea against
weak, tight players, who may fold even if they think they have a chance of winning.
Bluffing is a bad idea against players who call too often, because it's unlikely
to scare them out of the pot. Bluffing is also a much more significant factor
in pot-limit and no-limit play, where the bluffer can make calling an expensive
proposition.
Board, The
The community cards in a flop game or the up cards in a stud game. Someone who
"plays the board" isn't using any of their hole cards.
Boat
Another name for a full house.
Bottom Dealing
A form of live cheating where the bottom card is usually preset and dealt instead
of the top card.
Bottom Pair
If there are three cards of different ranks on the flop, and you pair the lowest
one, you have bottom pair.
Bounty
Some tournaments offer small amounts of cash - bounties - to anyone who knocks
out another player in the tournament. This is typically in low buy-in tournaments,
and the size of the bounty is usually fairly small (since as many bounties as
the number of entrants might be awarded).
Brass Brazilians
The top hand, also known as 'the nuts.'
Brick
A blank, or (especially in low or high-low games) a card that counterfeits one's
hand. "Brick" is more often heard in seven card stud, while "blank"
is more appropriate to hold'em, probably because a brick is a personal thing,
while a blank is a community thing.
Bring In
To bring in the betting is to make the first bet on the first round of a hand
(not including blind bets and antes). A player who does this is said to "bring
it in." In seven card stud, often the lowest card on the board is forced
to bring it in. The bet so placed is called the bring-in.
Broadway
An Ace high straight.
Brush
A cardroom employee responsible for managing the seating list is sometimes called
the brush.
Bug
A joker, usually in five card draw or draw lowball. In high games, a bug can
usually only be used as an ace or to complete a straight or flush.
Bullets
A pair of aces in the hole.
Bump
To raise.
Buried
A buried pair is a pair in the hole in seven card stud - a pair in the first
two down cards. Buried kings are kings in the hole, buried aces are aces in
the hole, etc.
Burn
In order to reduce the chances of players getting advance information about
cards to come, in many games the top card on the deck is discarded at certain
pre-determined points in the dealing process (e.g., in hold'em, before the flop,
turn, and river). These cards are the burn cards. In general, any time a card
is discarded from the top of the deck it's called a burn card.
Burn Card
In Hold 'Em, the cards before the flop, turn, and river that are discarded to
prevent reading of marked cards.
Bust
To run out of money, especially in a tournament.
Busted Hand
A hand in poker without so much as a pair (i.e., any hand that will lose to
a pair of 2's). A busted hand that missed a draw to a straight or a flush is
a busted straight or a busted flush.
Button
A button is a marker, usually a plastic disc, used to mark a particular position
at the table. Usually "the button" refers specifically to the dealer
button, used to mark the dealer position, or the player playing in that position.
In games with a professional house-supplied dealer (who is not playing), this
marks the player who acts in the dealer's position (who is dealt the last card
and who is last to act in games where the order is fixed). This player is said
to be "on the button." Other buttons include the ever-popular big
blind button, used to indicate a player who was absent when it would have been
their turn to post a blind bet (and who will be forced to post before they can
return to the game).
Button
A symbol to designate which player is sitting in the dealer's position.
Buy
To buy a pot is to make a bet large enough that other players would be extremely
unlikely to call. To buy the button in flop games is to raise before the flop
in order to induce the players with better position than yourself to fold. If
everyone closer to the button folds, you've bought the button. Obviously this
works better the closer to the button you start out.
The amount of money with which you enter a game is your buy-in. In a ring game,
this is (hopefully) the amount you get in chips. Most ring games have a minimum
buy-in that's typically less than you'll realistically need. In a tournament,
your buy-in is the amount it costs you to get your initial bunch of tourney
chips. As a verb, to buy in is to make your initial purchase of chips.
Call
To call is to match the current bet. If there has been a bet of $10 and a raise
of $10 then it costs $20 to call. Calling is the cheapest (and the most passive)
way to remain in a hand.
Calling Station
A player who calls much too often is called a calling station. Such a player
will pay you off when you make hands, and will often fail to press their advantage
when they have relatively strong hands. On the other hand, calling stations
will hit more backdoor and other unlikely draws than other players, making it
occasionally frustrating to play against them, especially in large numbers.
Cap
In limit games, the cap is the limit on the number of raises in a round of betting.
In many places it's 3, for 4 bets total, but you can get into very irritating
arguments about the maximum number of raises that's appropriate. A cap on the
betting makes it more difficult for players to collude. Some dealers have cutesy
expressions they like to use when a pot is capped (e.g., "capuccino").
To make the final allowed raise is to cap the betting, or to "cap it."
Cardroom
Cardrooms are the rooms in which poker is played, or the organizations that
run those rooms. Most casinos that offer poker have a separate room, or at least
a roped-off area, designated as the cardroom. In some places where poker is
legal, you will also find separate cardrooms dedicated mostly to poker.
Cards Speak
Cards speak is simply the rule that the value of your hand is determined solely
by your cards. You don't have to declare your hand properly in order to claim
the part of the pot you deserve. The alternative to this is mainly declare games,
usually played in home games for low stakes.
Carpet joint
An upscale card room characterized by carpet on the floor. The opposite of a
sawdust joint.
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."
Catch
When the cards are treating you well, you are said to be catching cards. The
word often carries a mild connotation of improbable luck.
Center Pot
The first pot created during a poker hand. This is as opposed to one or more
"side" pots that are created if one or more players goes all-in. Also
"main pot."
Chase
When you're behind, you can either choose not to contend the pot (i.e., check
and fold as appropriatelly), try to steal it, or stick around, hoping you'll
improve enough to win. To stay in a pot, with the sole hope of making a particular
hand (e.g., chasing a flush). Usually chasing implies poor pot odds.
Check
If there has been no betting before you in a betting round, you may check, which
is like calling a bet of $0, or passing your turn. If all the players at a table
check in turn in the same round, it is said to be checked around, resulting
in a free card.
Check
If there has been no betting before you in a betting round, you may check, which
is like calling a bet of $0, or passing your turn.
Check Raise
A check-raise is just what it sounds like -- a raise after you have already
checked within a betting round. Check-raises can be used to trap a player who
(for example) would have folded to a single bet, but who will open if it is
checked to them. While check-raising is legal virtually everywhere serious poker
is played, there are apparently a few public cardrooms which prohibit it at
the lowest limits. Home poker games, which may be more or less serious, vary
more widely.
Chip
Poker chips are small round discs used instead of money at the poker table.
The ones used at casinos are typically made of clay, while home poker games
often substitute cheaper plastic chips. Using chips instead of cash has a number
of advantages, mostly just that they're easier to count and manipulate. Color
designations for chips are arbitrary, but many casinos use white for $1 chips,
red for $5 chips, green for $25 chips, and black for $100 chips. If someone
asks for a rack of white, they'd like $100 in $1 chips.
Chip Race
In tournaments, as the limits go up, lower denomination chips are taken out
of circulation. Often, odd chips, rather than simply being rounded up or down
for each player, are randomly given to one player at each table. Typically,
each player is dealt a card for each odd chip, and the player with the highest
card dealt is given all the odd chips (which are then colored up).
Chop
To return the blinds to the players who posted them and move on to the next
hand. This may happen in hold'em when nobody calls the blind. By agreeing to
chop rather than play the hand, the two blinds sometimes avoid paying the rake,
since many cardrooms only collect on those hands when there is a flop. At a
table which ordinarily sees more action, players will often agree to chop so
as to get on to a "real" hand more quickly.
Coffeehouse
To talk about a hand one is involved in, usually with the intent of misleading
or manipulating other players, is coffeehousing. It's usually considered just
barely on one side of ethical, although which side depend who you ask.
Cold Call
Cold calling is calling more than one bet at once. If one player bets, another
player raises, and a third player calls the two bets, this is a cold call. This
is contrasted with the situation in which a player calls one bet before the
raise, and then calls the raise.
Color Up
A hand which must improve in order to have a realistic shot is a come hand.
Come Hand
Face-up cards that are shared by all the players in a hand. Flop games have
five community cards.
Complete Hand
A hand that is defined by all five cards - a straight, flush, full house, four
of a kind, or straight flush.
Connector
Cards of consecutive ranks, especially pocket cards, are connectors. If they're
also of the same suit, they're suited connectors.
Counterfeit
In flop games, when your great hand is subsequently made less powerful because
of cards that hit the table (especially cards that duplicate the strength of
your hand), your hand is said to be counterfeited. For example, if you hold
J9 and the flop is T87, you hold the nuts. If the turn is a 9, suddenly anyone
with a J has a straight, and QJ has a better straight. If the river is a J,
you're counterfeited even further - you're playing the board and anyone with
a Q beats you. Counterfeiting is especially common in high-low split omaha.
If you hold A2JQ and the flop is 678, you have the nut low. However, if the
turn card is an A or a 2, your nut low has been counterfeited. It's no longer
the nut low, and is probably not even a winner.
Cowboy
A nickname for Kings, more often heard in the plural.
Crack
To beat a hand - typically a big hand. You hear this most often used to apply
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.
Crying Call
To exchange one's chips for ones of higher value, usually in order to reduce
the number of chips one has on the table. In tournaments, players are forced
to color up periodically as the tourney money becomes divided among fewer and
fewer players and the sizes of the forced bets go up (it makes no sense to play
with $25 chips when the blinds are $10000).
Cut
After the cards are shuffled but before they are dealt, usually the deck is
split in the middle and the halves are reversed.
Cut
After the cards are shuffled but before they are dealt, usually the deck is
split in the middle and the halves reversed. This is known as cutting the cards.
In cardroom games with house dealers, this is done by the dealer. In home games,
it's usually done by the player next to the dealer.
A dead card is a card that is no longer available to help you. In seven card
stud, for example, a pair of kings in the hole is less strong if the two remaining
kings are two other players' door cards, and therefore dead. A dead hand is
a hand that is no longer eligible to win the pot (i.e., one that has been mucked
or otherwise invalidated). Dead money is money that was put in a pot by a player
who has since folded.
Dead Man's Hand
Two Pair of Aces and Eights. The hand Wild Bill Hickock was holding when Jack
McCall shot him in the back.
Deal
To deal is to give out the cards during a hand. The person who does this is
called the dealer. At most public cardrooms, a dealer is hired for this purpose
(and for generally running the game). At most private games, players take turns
dealing. To be dealt in is to be given cards during a hand. To be dealt out
or dealt around is not to be given cards.
Dealer
The man or woman who handles the cards, gives out the pots, and monitors the
game.
Dealer's Choice
A format in which the dealer is allowed to select the particular poker game
that will be dealt. Sometimes this means before each hand, although a more sensible
system (since in many games the dealer has a positional advantage) is one in
which players take turns choosing the game for an entire round.
Dealer's Position
Being the last to act in a betting round. On the button
Declare
Declared games are games in which you must declare the value of your hand in
order to claim the pot. A typical example is a high-low split game in which
you must declare before showdown whether you are claiming the high, low, or
both pots (typically if you declare both you must win both in order to claim
either). Declare games are played almost exclusively in home games. In most
if not all cardrooms, cards speak.
Deuce
Twos are sometimes called deuces. So 22277 can be called deuces full of sevens.
Deuce to Seven
In a game played for low, deuce to seven usually means that the best low hand
is simply the worst poker hand. If you haven't figured it out already, that
hand is 75432, with no flush. Deuce to seven lowball is also called Kansas City,
or Kansas City lowball.
Diamonds
One of the four playing card suits. Formerly representing merchants.
Dog
Shortened form of "Underdog".
Dominate
A starting hand that will almost always beat another starting hand is said to
dominate that hand. For example, in hold'em, AK dominates K2. Most of the time
K2 makes a playable hand, AK will make a better hand. However, a 2 might still
spoil the party.
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.
Dominating Hands
Primo hands that are not only good, solid hands, but have lots of room for improvement.
Door Card
The first card dealt face up to each player in seven card stud is the door card.
Double Belly Buster
A double belly buster is a hand with two inside straight draws. For example,
79TJK can become a straight with an 8 or a Q. It's roughly equivalent to an
open-ended straight draw, except that the double belly-buster is more deceptive,
and people often fail to notice that they have one (especially in cases such
as when the 7 in the above example shows up on a later street, and the player
is focused on the gutshot they already had).
Draw
The word draw has slightly different meanings in different contexts, although
generally it has something to do with receiving more cards, with the hope of
improving your hand. Draw games are games where at some point during the hand
you are allowed to discard some or all of your cards, to be replaced from the
deck. Drawing two is thus exchanging two of your cards. "The draw"
is the point during the game at which players may do this. By default, when
someone asks you if you want to play some draw, they usually mean five card
draw.In other poker games, drawing simply means staying in the game with the
hope of improving your hand when more cards come (as opposed to with the intention
of seeing if your hand is best). A draw means a way to improve. For example,
if you have four suited cards, you have a flush draw. When you stay in a hand
with the hope of improving, you are said to be "on a draw." You are
also said to be "drawing to" the hand you hope to make. For example,
in lowball, if you hold K7642 and draw one, you are drawing to a (ragged) 7
(i.e., a 7 low).
Draw Dead
To draw when it turns out you would lose even if you hit your draw. Most trivially
on the turn in hold'em, if you have a fourflush with KQs but someone else holds
A5s and has already made a pair of aces, you're drawing dead. Whenever you make
your flush, they make a better flush.
Draw Out (On)
To draw out on someone is to outdraw them.
Drawing Dead
A drawing hand that will lose even if it improves.
Drawing Hand
A hand with which you expect to be on a draw is a drawing hand. Suited connectors
in hold'em (e.g., QhJh) are drawing hands, since while they make strong hands
(straights and flushes) relatively often, they will rarely make them on the
flop.
Drop
To fold is to drop. To drop is to fold. To lose a particular amount of money.
At poker, that is, you don't have to literally drop it on the carpet. The drop
is also what the house takes from a hand.
Eight Ball
$800.00
Equity
Your mathematical share of a pot, based on the amount in the pot and your chances
of winning it. If the pot is $100, and your chances of winning are N%, then
your equity in that pot is $N. If the pot is $200, your equity is $2N.
Expectation
Expectation is the rate of profit (or loss) you would expect to make if there
were no variance, or on average over a very large number of sessions. A positive
expectation poker player is one who, due to an advantage in poker skills over
his/her average opposition, will earn money in the long run. A negative expectation
poker player is someone you want at your table. Note that expectation changes
in different situations. You may be a positive expectation player overall, but
perhaps not at certain tables, or when you're in a particular emotional or other
state. A positive expectation bet is a bet that would, if you made it a sufficient
number of times in nearly identical circumstances (from your perspective), earn
you a profit.Expectation is closely linked (essentially identical) to "expected
value," a precise mathematical concept best illustrated by the following
example. If you have a 50% chance of winning (and a 50% chance of losing) a
$100 pot, your expectation is $50, even though you will definitely not win exactly
$50. This example also illustrates variance.
False Shuffle
A form of live cheating where the deck is shuffled in a manner to prearrange
the cards.
Family Pot
When everyone at the table decides to enter a pot, it's said to be a family
pot.
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."
Fast company
Seasoned veterans who know what's going on in the gambling world. The opposite
of Georges.
Favorite
The hand that is expected to win most often in a particular situation. In hold'em,
AA is always a pre-flop favorite. If the flop is 775, the player with 75 is
now a pretty big favorite.
Felt
The surface of most poker tables is made of some sort of felt, or is in any
case referred to as such. A player who is running out of chips rapidly can be
referred to as "down to the felt."
Fifth Street
The fifth card dealt in a hand of stud poker.
Fill Up
To make a full house either from trips or two pair.
Fill Up
To make a full house either from trips or two pair.
Finger up your spine
A signal that you've been recognized as a cheater and had better leave
Fish
A bad player. A terrible player. A player who will tend to give away lots of
money. Fish-ness can also be relative. Common poker wisdom holds that if you
can't find the fish at your table, you're it.
Fishhook
A nickname for a jack, more often heard in the plural.
Five Card Draw
Probably the most well known poker game, although it's not widely played in
public cardrooms anymore. Each player receives five cards. There is a round
of betting, after which each player may draw a certain number of cards (house
rules often stipulate how many may be drawn and under what circumstances). Then
there is a second round of betting, and (if necessary) a showdown.
Flat Call
Flat call is a way of saying call that emphasizes the fact that the player didn't
raise.
Floor Person
In a cardroom floorpeople are responsible for the moment to moment management
of the cardroom - seating players, starting new tables, settling disputes, generally
making sure the cardroom runs smoothly. You'll probably hear the "floorman"
or "floor" more often.
Floorman
A gender-specific form of floorperson.
Flop
A number of games, such as hold'em and omaha, are played with five community
cards. The first three of these cards are dealt all at once, and are called
the flop. Games with a flop can be called flop games. To flop a hand is to make
that hand on the flop. To "see" the flop is to still be in the hand
when the flop comes.
Flush
A hand in which all five cards share the same suit. When comparing two flushes,
the hand with the highest card not in common is better. So AK873 of hearts is
a better flush than AK872 of diamonds. Not much better.
Fold
To abandon your hand, usually because someone else has made a larger bet than
you are willing to call. Usually, one folds by mucking one's cards.
Forced Bet
Just what it sounds like - a bet that one is forced to place, typically a blind
bet or a bring-in.
Foul
A hand which 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."
Four of a Kind
Four cards of the same rank. Also called quads. For example, if you hold 88882,
you have quad 8's.
Fourflush
A hand with four cards of the same suit. If there are no cards remaining to
come (or to draw), a fourflush is not very useful.
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 a reputation which you have 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.
However, if you don't get it on the turn, you can check as well - seeing the
river card for "free."
Freeroll
Whenever you have at least part of the pot locked up and you still have a chance
to outdraw your opponents, you're said to be freerolling on them. In hold'em,
this happens when you and another player have the same hand at the moment, but
you also have a draw to a better hand. At worst you'll tie, but you have a chance
to win the whole pot while the other player doesn't. For example, if you hold
AhKh and the flop is As6h4h, you have a freeroll on a player holding AdKd. While
you both have the same hand at the moment, you might still make a flush, while
they can't outdraw you.Freeroll tournaments are tournaments with no apparent
entry fee or initial buy-in. Such tournaments are typically promotional events
cardrooms host in order to attract players. Sometimes players must clock a certain
number of hours in the cardroom in order to qualify, or meet some other requirement.
Freezeout
Any tournament format in which you cannot re-buy. A freezeout is a good format
for heads-up pot-limit or no-limit play, since the amount at stake can be fixed
in advance, and the competitors can use arbitrarily valued chips as in tournaments.
Full House
A hand consisting of three cards of one rank and two cards of another rank.
AAA33 is aces full of threes, often abbreviated to "aces full." To
fill up is to draw to and make a full house. Also called a boat.
George
A poor player. A rube
Give the office
To give a warning regarding cheating.
Glimmer
Money.
Goulash Joint
A restaurant or bar that runs a regular card game hidden in a back room.
Greek Dealer
A player who cheats when dealing. A mechanic.
Green
Green is the most common color for $25 chips. If someone bets a stack of green,
it means they're betting a bunch of $25 chips, probably 20 of them.
Grinder
An un-ambitious player who only hopes to win a little money each day. Also known
as a 'leather ass.'
Gutshot
An inside straight draw.
Gutshot Straight
An straight filled "inside". If you have 9s-8s, the flop comes 7c-5h-2d,
and the turn is the 6c, you've made your gutshot straight.
Hand
A hand is also everything that happens between shuffles - cards are dealt, betting
is done, a winner is declared, and the pot is pushed. To "play a hand"
sometimes means to be dealt in, and sometimes means to at least call the initial
bet. Use context to figure out which. A hand also refers to the cards you hold
- in games where you have more than five cards (e.g., seven card stud or Texas
hold'em), it's your best five cards.For your enjoyment, here are the different
types of hands you can make in poker, in increasing order of strength: high
card; pair; two pair, three of a kind, straight, flush, full house, four of
a kind, straight flush.Lastly, sometimes the phrase "a hand" means
specifically a good hand or a playable hand.
Hanger
A card that juts out conspicuously when a cheater is dealing.
Hearts
One of the four playing card suits. Formerly representing the clergy.
Help
Someone who says they need help means they need their hand to improve in order
to have a chance at the pot. Or that they've just pawned their pacemaker to
fund a few more hours of poker. Use context to figure out which.
High
The high hand is simply the best hand. When playing a high-low split game, one
is said to "win the high" when one has the best hand, while another
player wins the low. In seven card stud, the player with the strongest up cards
is said to be high, and is usually first to act on fourth and subsequent streets.
High Limit
A game where the amounts wagered are high.
High Society
The highest denomination of chips in a card room.
High-Low Split
In high-low split games, half the pot goes to the best hand (the high), half
to the worst (the low). The criteria for deciding the low varies. Split games
are also often played with a qualifier that the low hand must be "8 or
better." This means that the low hand must have five unpaired cards 8 or
lower. Omaha and Seven Card Stud are the most popular high-low split games.
Note that if there is a sole winner of one pot and a tie for the other, the
sole winner wins half the pot while the other half is split evenly among the
tied hands.
Hit
To hit (or miss) the flop means to match (or not to match) the flop in some
way, usually to pair one of the flopped cards. You can also hit or miss on a
draw, depending on whether or not the cards you were drawing for showed up.
Players whose bluffs are called when they miss their draws on the river often
mutter "I missed," as if to point out that they weren't betting completely
insanely.
Hit and Run
A player who leaves the table shortly after scooping a big pot is sometimes
described as hit and run poker, especially if they'd only been at the table
a short time. It's loosely implied that they would not have left if they hadn't
won the pot.
Hold'em
A popular form of poker in which each player is dealt two cards face down, called
hole cards. The player may then use none, one, or both of his hole cards, in
combination with five community cards dealt face up, to make the best possible
five card hand.
Hole
Your first two down cards in seven card stud. If they're both jacks, you have
a pair of jacks "in the hole."
Horsing
Another word for scooting - the practice of passing a small amount of money
to another player after winning a pot.
House
The cardroom (management, owners, etc.) is the house. The house rakes money
from the pot, has house rules, and when someone walks in, you might say they're
"in the house."
I Forget
What you say when someone asks, "So what did you have?"
Image
What kind of player others currently perceive you as.
Implied Odds
Implied odds are similar to pot odds, except that the money in the pot is not
actually there yet. In an extreme case, if you're first to call a bet, and you
know for a certainty that the eight players to act after you will all call (and
not raise), you have great implied odds. Similarly if you know that several
players in the hand will pay you off when you make your flush - you can act
as though the pot were larger. In general, implied odds is just a way of referring
to odds that require some estimation.
In the Air
Traditionally, a poker tournament starts when the tournament director instructs
the dealers to get the cards "in the air." This just means to start
dealing.
Inside Straight (Draw)
An inside straight draw is a draw to a straight that's missing one of the cards
in the middle (as opposed to on the end). 4578 is an inside straight, 4567 is
an outside straight. Also called a one-gapper or a gutshot.
Insurance
In big bet poker, it is possible to reach a situation in which you are uncomfortable
with the amount of money you have invested in a pot. To reduce variance, players
will sometimes take insurance against an unfortunate outcome, essentially selling
the actual outcome of the hand for its mathematical equity (at a slight discount).
For example, if you hold a flush against a player who has three of a kind, your
equity in the pot is a percentage of the pot equal to the probability that the
other player will not fill up. If the pot is large, and you don't want to risk
coming away with nothing, you might take insurance from somebody who has more
money and would be glad to have the overlay.
Isolate
To raise with the intention of thinning the field to yourself and a single other
player is to isolate that player.
It
"It" usually refers to the largest amount anyone has yet bet in a
round. If someone opens for $5, and the next player raises $10, they're "making
it $15." With the exception of all-in players, if a player wants to see
the next round, eventually they have to match whatever "it" is. "It"
can also mean the amount required to call. So if someone bets $5 and two other
players each raise $5 in the same betting round, they may ask "what's it
to me?" The correct answer is, "Pay attention."
Jackpot
When is a bad beat not so bad? When you're playing jackpot poker, of course.
A number of cardrooms offer sizeable jackpots for particularly bad beats. The
rules vary somewhat, but typically you must have aces full or better beat (sometimes
by quads or better). If the game is hold'em, often both players must use both
of their pocket cards. Other rules and technicalities make it worthwhile finding
out just what could invalidate a jackpot before you play your first hand. Typically
the "loser" gets the lion's share (e.g., 50%), the winner of the hand
the next largest share (e.g., 25%), and often the remainder of the table splits
the rest of the jackpot. The jackpot itself is usually built by a jackpot drop
from every hand, sometimes the entire small blind. Jackpots for low-limit games
are often in the tens of thousands of dollars, and can get very big if no one
wins for a while. Feelings about jackpot poker are divided. Some players get
upset about all the bad beats they take at the hands of wild players chasing
every remote chance at the jackpot, and resent the extra money taken out of
every pot. On the other hand, jackpot poker is certainly popular, and it's hard
to argue with anything that fills seats.
Jam
To bet or raise the maximum, especially in no-limit, is to jam.
Joker
A joker is an additional card in the deck that is used in some games. The jokers
isn't often used in serious poker, but when it is it's usually considered a
wild card.
Kansas City
Kansas City, or Kansas City lowball, is a low only game played for a deuce to
seven low.
Kicker
The highest unpaired card in your hand that doesn't participate in a straight
or flush - i.e., the card that does not contribute to the strength of your hand
except by itself. For example, if you hold AA743, you have a pair of aces with
a 7 kicker. Five card hands - straights, flushes, and full houses, - don't have
kickers per se. In games with community cards, kickers are especially important,
because it's easy for two players to make similar hands. For example, if you
hold A8 and someone else holds A7, and the flop is AK642, you have your opponent
out-kicked. Your hand is AAK86 while theirs is AAK76.
Kill
A "kill" game is one in which a player may place an extra bet, causing
the betting limits to go up for just that hand. The player posting the bet is
the "killer," and the hand is considered a "kill pot." The
player is said to have "killed the pot" for the amount of the kill.
The exact details depend on the local rules and on the game. As examples, here
are the rules for three kill games I've played in (all in San Diego). In the
kill hold'em game, any player who wins two pots in a row is required to kill
by posting a blind small bet on the subsequent hand, with the limits doubled
for that hand. In a kill high-low split game, any player who scooped a pot larger
than a certain size was required to kill the subsequent pot. And in a draw game,
any player could kill any pot for an arbitrary amount after looking at their
first two cards. These are just examples, the details vary from cardroom to
cardroom.
Kill Game
A game where certain predetermined requirements creates higher stakes and/or
create a third blind.
Ladies
Queens
Late Position
Being one of the last to act in a betting round. Usually an advantage.
Leak
Winning poker players often lose back part or all of their winnings through
other gambling habits, either at the casino or elsewhere (e.g., sports betting,
craps, or golf). These are often referred to as leaks.
Limit (Limit Poker)
Limit poker is any game in which there is a fixed limit on how much you can
bet or raise in any round. Limit games usually offer either fixed-sized bets
for different betting rounds or spread limits, in which there is a minimum and
maximum bet for each round. For example, a 5-10 hold'em game usually requires
$5 bets and raises on the first two rounds and $10 bets and raises on the last
two.Games are often referred to as low-limit, medium-limit, and high-limit.
Typical low-limit games are 2-4, 3-6, and 5-10. Medium limits are 10-20, 20-40,
and 30-60. High-limits are 50-100 on up.More generally, the word limit is used
to refer to the maximum bet at a given point, whether it's pot-limit, spread
limit, etc.
Limp
To flat call an opening forced bet is to limp into a hand.
Limping
Calling a blind pre-flop without raising.
Live
A live player, or "live one," is someone who is expected to lose their
money at a pretty good rate. Players reminding floorpeople to fill a vacant
seat often request a live one.
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.
Live Card
A live card is a card that has not been seen. In seven card stud, for example,
a player with a draw to a flush, is concerned with how many of the remaining
suited cards are live (i.e., have not been seen in other players' hands). A
live hand is a hand for which many of the outs are still live.
Live game
A game with lots of betting action. A 'loose' game.
Live Hand
A live hand is a hand that is still eligible to win the pot (i.e., one that
has not been mucked or otherwise invalidated). In seven card stud, a hand is
also called live if many of the cards which would improve it are still unaccounted
for.
Lock
A lock is a hand guaranteed to win at least part of the pot. In a high-low split
game, for example, the lock low is the best possible low hand.
Long Shot
Making a hand despite having few outs and/or poor odds.
Loose
Playing loose simply means playing more hands and holding on to them longer.
In essence, loose with your cash. A loose table is a table dominated by loose
players. This isn't always bad - excessively tight play can be equally costly,
especially at high levels of play. Looseness should not be confused with aggressiveness.
Low
In most poker games, the best hand wins. Most but not all. In a number of games,
the worst hand wins all or some of the pot. Draw lowball and razz are just two
examples of games played for low. Omaha and seven card stud have popular high-low
split variants, in which the low hand gets half the pot. There are two common
ways to evaluate low hands. In deuce to seven games, the best low hand is just
the worst high hand. The best possible low is 75432, provided there is no flush.
In ace to five games, straights and flushes don't count, and aces are lower
than 2's. So the best possible low is A2345, a wheel.
Low Limit
A game where the amounts wagered are small.
Lowball (or Draw Lowball)
Five card draw played for low only (i.e., where the low hand wins the entire
pot).
Main Pot
When a player goes all-in in a table stakes game, that player is only eligible
to win the main pot - the pot consisting of those bets they were able to match.
Additional bets, placed in a side pot, are contested among the remaining players.
Unfortunately, since I was all-in pre-flop, the main pot was very small.
Make
To (non-specifically) make a hand means to get a decent hand that has a shot
at winning the pot.
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.
Mechanic
A cheater who manipulates the cards to his benefit when dealing.
Mechanic's grip
The way a cheater holds the deck to facilitate his manipulations.
Middle Pair
If there are three cards of different ranks on the flop in hold'em, and you
pair the middle one, you have middle pair.
Middle Position
Being in between early and late position.
Mitt joint
A club where the house cheats the players, or one that turns a blind eye to
cheating in general.
Mneumonics
Mental devices used to remember things. In Hold 'Em, often players have names
for what pocket cards they have, like Big Slick or Maverick.
Monster
An extremely strong hand, one that is almost certain to win the pot.
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 - "He didn't have any outs
so he mucked his hand."
No-Limit
As you might guess, any game in which there is no limit on the sizes of bets
and raises. Note that in table stakes games, players are still limited to the
amount of money they have in front of them.
Nut straight
The highest possible straight in a given hand.
Nuts (or Nut)
The nuts is the best possible hand. This makes most sense in flop games like
hold'em, where the community cards make the nuts pretty much the same for everyone.
An exception is when your hole cards make a better hand impossible. If the board
is AAK52, the nuts would be AA to an observer, but a player with AK would effectively
hold the nuts (assuming the 2 and 5 didn't share a suit with one of the A's).
In hold'em, the nuts is never less than trips. "Nut xxx" is used to
refer to the best hand of a particular type, especially a straight or flush.
If the table described above had the AK2 of spades, the nut flush would be the
queen and any other spade.
Odds
A ratio of two probabilities, usually the probability of making a hand to the
probability of not making the hand. Thus if you have a 25% chance of making
a hand, the odds are 3 to 1 against your making it. In poker, this is especially
important in considering pot odds.
Off-suit
Not of the same suit, especially in reference to hole cards. Sometimes abbreviated
to just "off."
Omaha
Omaha is a flop game similar to hold'em, but with two key differences. First,
each player is dealt four cards instead of just two. Second, a hand must be
made using exactly two pocket cards (out of those four) and three from the table.
That is, if four suited cards hit the table, you still need two more to make
a flush. And if you start with four aces, then you have a pair of aces, with
little chance to improve. The high-low variant of omaha, with an 8 or better
qualifier for low, is especially popular.
On the Button
Being the last player to act in a betting round. Dealer's Position.
On the finger
Money given on credit.
On tilt
An unbalanced emotional state that results in erratic play and the loss of money.
One-Gap
A hold'em starting hand in which the two cards are two apart in rank. Examples:
J9s, 64.
Open
To open, or open betting, is simply to make the first bet in a round.
Open Pair
An open pair in seven card stud is an exposed pair - a pair among your up cards.
Open-Ender Straight (Draw)
An straight draw is open-ended if it consists of four consecutive cards (none
of them an ace). The straight can be completed at either end. See also double
belly buster and inside straight.
Option
When a player posts a live blind, that player is given the option to raise when
their turn comes around, even if no one else has raised. The dealer will typically
say something like "your option," to remind them.
Out
An out is a card that will improve your hand, usually one that you think will
make it a winner. In hold'em, an open-ended straight draw has eight outs (the
four cards of each rank that will complete the straight). But it may be only
six outs if there are two suited cards on the table and someone else is drawing
for the flush.
Outdraw
To make a better hand than an opponent by merit of the cards you draw.
Outs
Live cards remaining in the deck that will improve one's hand.
Over Button
Players can take "over" buttons, this means they're willing to play
at higher limits. Any time everyone left in the hand has an over button, the
limits go up.
Overcall
Any additional call after a bet is first called. Player A bets, player B calls,
player C overcalls.
Overcard
In flop games, a card higher than the highest card on the board. If you hold
AJ and the flop is J92, you have top pair with an overcard. If the flop is T92,
you just have two overcards.
Overpair
In flop games, a pocket pair higher than the highest card on the board. If you
hold AA and the flop is K62, you have a nice overpair.
Paint
A jack, king, or queen (i.e., a card with a picture on it).
Pair
Two cards of the same rank. If you hold AAKJ3, you have a pair.
Pasadena
Fold
Pass
To pass is to fold.
Passive
Passive is a style of play that is characterized by reluctance to bet and raise.
This does not always mean tight. A typical loose-passive player will call with
almost anything, but raise only with very powerful hands. A passive table is
one with many passive players, so that, for example, few hands are raised pre-flop.
Pat
In draw games, a pat hand is one to which you draw no cards. In lowball, J7542
is a pat jack, but also offers a draw to a 7.
Pay Off
To call a bet by a player you're reasonably sure has you beat. Usually you ought
to have some sort of reason to do this, other than just generosity. Weak players
pay you off more often than other players.
Perfect
When you only have one way to make a hand, you need perfect cards. Usually this
means two cards. If you hold 8JQ, you need two perfect cards for a straight.
To catch perfect is to hit a perfect card.
Pineapple
Any of a number of variants of hold'em in which each player gets three cards
and must discard one at some point (usually before or after pre-flop betting,
after the flop, or after the second round of betting).
Play
To play a hand in poker means to make it past the initial round of betting.
In seven card stud, this usually means calling the bring-in, while in hold'em,
this means calling the big blind. If someone says they haven't played a hand
in hours, they're not usually telling you that they've been walking, they're
whining that they haven't had cards good enough to play. Don't encourage them.To
make a play, or put a play on (someone), means to present a pattern of behavior
inconsistent with your cards, that will mislead your opponent and cause them
to make a mistake. Often this means bluffing them out of a pot, but it can also
mean getting them to call when you have a strong hand, or more generally anything
calculated to guide their behavior.
Play Back (at)
To play back at someone is to raise their opening bet.
Play on your belly
To play straight up without cheating.
Play the Board
In flop games like hold'em, if your best five card hand uses the five community
cards, you're playing the board. The best you can do in this situation is split
the pot with anyone who calls. Nevertheless, betting can be a good idea if you
don't think anyone else can improve on the board either. For example, if the
board is ThJhQdKdAd, someone would have to have two diamonds not to be playing
the board.
Pocket
The two cards dealt to you face down in hold'em, or the first two face down
in seven card stud are your pocket cards, or hole cards. Hold'em players tend
to call them pocket cards, stud players tend to call them hole cards.
Pocket Cards
The two cards dealt to you at the beginning of a Hold 'Em hand that no one else
is entitled to see.
Pocket Pair
Two pocket cards of the same rank.
Poker
Poker isn't just a card game - it's many card games. While no definition is
going to satisfy everyone, the majority of poker games do share some common
features, especially betting in rounds and the ranking of hands. Poker is commonly
played in cardrooms (often within casinos) and in private home games (illegally
in many states). The games played in cardrooms seem to divide into stud games,
draw games, and flop games. In home games, however, anything goes, including
games that seem to have no reason to be called poker. The varieties played in
home games probably number in the hundreds, or even the thousands. Some common
cardroom games include Texas Hold'em, Seven Card Stud, Omaha, Razz, Lowball,
and Pineapple.
Position
Position refers to your place at the table, especially with respect to the order
of betting within a particular betting round. The first few players to act are
said to be in early position, the next few in middle position, and the last
few in late position. Late position is almost always best, since you have the
advantage of knowing what your opponents have done. For this reason, many players
are more liberal about the hands they will play from later positions. In some
games (most flop and draw games), position is fixed from one round of betting
to the next, and the dealer (or the player on the button) is always in last
position.More generally, to have position on someone is to be in a position
to bet after them, either during a particular hand or in general. You have position
on anyone sitting immediately to your right, since you will far more often than
not be able to act after them.
Position Bet
A position bet is a bet made more on the strength of one's position than on
the strength of one's hand. A player on the button in hold'em is in good position
to steal the pot if no one else opens.
Post
To post a bet is to place your chips in the pot (or, commonly, out in front
of you, so that your bet can be counted). In poker, posting usually means a
forced bet, such as a blind.
Pot
All the money in the middle of the poker table that goes to the winner of the
hand is the pot. Any player who has not yet folded is said to be "in the
pot." A player who has called an initial bet is said to have entered the
pot.
Pot Odds
The ratio of the amount of money in the pot to the amount of money it will cost
you to call a bet. The greater the pot odds, the more likely you should be to
call (all else being equal), because you will have to win fewer times (in the
long run) to make the bet positive expectation.
Pot-Limit
Any game in which the maximum bet or raise is the size of the pot. For raises,
the size of the pot includes the call, so if the pot is $100 and player A bets
$100, player B can throw $400 out for a maximum raise (calling the $100 and
then raising the size of the $300 pot).
Pre-Flop
The space of time after you've been dealt your pocket cards and before the flop
is dealt.
Presto
A nickname for pocket 5's, usually in hold'em. This nickname comes from the
internet newsgroup rec.gambling (now rec.gambling.poker), and is sometimes used
among the readership of that newsgroup to identify other members.
Proposition Player
A proposition player, or "prop," is a player who is paid by a cardroom
to play poker, usually in order to keep games going when they get shorthanded,
or to get games started. Props are paid a salary, but they gamble with their
own money. Props either learn how to play pretty solid poker or they run out
of money.
Protect
To protect a hand is to bet so as to reduce the chances of anyone outdrawing
you (by getting them to fold). A hand that needs protection is one that is almost
certainly best, but that is vulnerable to being outdrawn. Large pots make it
difficult to protect hands, since players will be willing to chase more long
shots. The structure of a game has a large impact on how easy it is to protect
a hand, as do the personalities of the players at the table. It's easiest to
protect a hand in no-limit play, where you can potentially make it as expensive
as you like for someone to draw.To protect your cards is to place a chip or
some other small object (players often have particular artifacts they like to
use) on top of them so that they don't accidentally get mucked by the dealer,
mixed with another player's discards, or otherwise become dead when you'd like
to play them.
Provider
A provider is a poker player who makes the game profitable for the other players
at the table. Similar in meaning to fish, although provider has a somehow less
negative connotation. They might be a decent players who happen to be playing
out of his/her league. A fish is usually someone who's probably out of any league.
Push
What the dealer does with the pot when he or she figures out who the winner
is. Because of the nature of poker tables, the dealer can almost always orient
him- or herself so as to be facing the winner of the pot. From this position,
pushing the pot (literally, the chips in the pot) will result in the movement
of the pot towards the winner of the hand, so that the player can add the chips
to his or her stacks.
Pushka
A pushka is an arrangement between two or more players to share part of the
pots they win, or more precisely, the container into which the shared chips
are placed. Typically pushka partners will place as much as $10 from each pot
won into a container, and split the container's contents later. This term has
only been heard in Maryland, although apparently it's due to the Polish word
for box, via Yiddish. Of course removing chips from the table is illegal in
table stakes games.
Put On
To put someone on a hand (or on a draw) is to guess that that is what they are
holding.
Quads
Four of a kind.
Qualifier
In high-low split games, the qualifier is a requirement that a hand must meet
in order to be eligible for part of the pot, generally the low part.
Quarter
To win one fourth of the pot is to be quartered. This is usually the result
of splitting half the pot in a high-low split game.
Rabbits
Weak players. Similar to Georges
Rack
Poker chips can get a bit unwieldy in large quantities, so cardrooms usually
supply plastic racks that hold 100 chips in 5 stacks of 20. A rack of red means
a rack of red chips, typically worth $500. If someone asks for a rack, it usually
means they're about to leave the table. If someone asks to buy a rack of red,
it means they'd like to buy $500 in chips. Someone is said to be "racking
up" a game if they're winning a lot of money at the table.
Rag
It is a card, usually a low one, that, when it appears, doesn't show any impact
on the hand.- A flop of 7 4 2 is a rag flop - few playable hands match the flop
well. If the table shows QJT9, all of spades, a 2h on the river is a rag.
Ragged
A flop (or board) that doesn't appear to help anybody very much. A flop that
came down Jd-6h-2c would look ragged.
Rail
The rail is the sideline at a poker table - the (often imaginary) rail separating
spectators from the field of play. Watching from the rail means watching a poker
game as a spectator. People on the rail are sometimes called railbirds.
Railbirds
Spectators
Railroad bible
Deck of cards.
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
After someone has opened betting in a round, to increase the amount of the bet
is to raise. For example, if the betting limit is $5 and player A bets $5, player
B can fold, call the $5, or raise it to $10.
The money removed from each pot by the house. Medium and high-limit games typically
have a time charge rather than a rake. A typical Atlantic City low-limit rake
is 10% of the pot up to a $4 maximum. The same table in California may rake
just the big blind, with the small blind going towards a jackpot.
Rank
Each card has a suit and a rank. The eight of diamonds and the eight of hearts
have the same rank. A pair is two cards of the same rank.
Razz
Seven card stud played for low (ace to five) only.
When you first sit down at a game, you buy in with a certain amount of money.
Re-buying is what you do when you buy more chips before you leave.Re-buys are
also allowed in some tournaments to players who fall below a certain point -
usually only up until a certain point and often limited to a fixed number of
re-buys. The time during which one may re-buy, usually lasting from the start
through the early stages of the tournament, is called the re-buy period. Tournaments
with re-buys are called, generically, re-buy tournaments.
Re-Raise
Any raise after the first raise in a round. Player A bets, player B raises,
player C (or A) re-raises. See also cap and check-raise.
Read
To read someone is to have a good idea from their play (or through tells) what
their cards might be. To have a read on someone is to have a good understanding
of how they play. Reading players is an important skill in poker.
Redraw
A way to further improve your hand after hitting a draw is a redraw. For example,
if you hold 9s2s (on the big blind of course) and the flop comes JsTs3c, you
have a flush draw. If the turn is the 8s, you have made your flush and picked
up a straight flush redraw.
Represent
To bet in such a way as to indicate that you have a certain hand. For instance,
when you check-raise after the third suited card hits the board in hold'em,
you are representing a flush, even if you don't actually have one.
Ring Game
A bunch of people playing poker for money at a table in a cardroom. The term
ring game is used to differentiate such games from tournaments.
River
The last of five community cards in flop games (e.g. hold'em and omaha). Sometimes
called fifth street. Sometimes "river" is used to refer to the last
card in non-flop games, such as seven card stud.
Road gang
A confederacy of cheaters.
Rock
A player who plays an extremely tight, patient game is a rock. Rocks don't create
a lot of action, and when they enter a pot, more often than not they're in as
a favorite. This is a decent strategy at some tables (especially at a table
full of maniacs). But good players with more varied strategies will eventually
get the best of a real rock.
Rock Garden
A table populated with rocks.
Rockets
Or "pocket rockets" - a pair of aces in the hole.
Roll
Short for bankroll.
Rolled Up
In seven card stud, three of a kind on the first three cards are called rolled
up X's, where X is the rank of the cards. The hand and the player can both be
said to be rolled up.
Rough
A hand of a particular type that will not beat many other hands of that type.
Often used in low games to indicate non-nut low hands with a particular high
card. A rough 8 in ace to five lowball could be any eight high hand other than
8432A, although 8532A isn't too rough. Rough is the opposite of smooth.
Round
A round can refer either to a round of betting or a round of hands. A betting
round usually begins after a card or several cards are dealt. Each player is
given a chance to act, and the round ends when everyone has either folded to
or called the last bet or raise. (See it.) Each round of betting is followed
either by further dealing or by a showdown.A round of hands consists of one
hand dealt by each player at the table (or, when there's a house dealer, one
hand with the dealer button at each position). In a round of hold'em you're
in each position once, and you expect on average to hold the best hand once.
Rounder
A player who knows all the angles and earns his living at the poker table. The
absolute opposite of a 'sucker.
Royal Straight Flush
An ace high straight flush is a royal straight flush, or a royal flush, or just
a royal.
Runner
Typically said "runner-runner" to describe a hand which was made only
by catching the correct cards on both the turn and the river - "He made
a runner-runner flush to beat my trips."
Sandbag
Sandbagging means concealing your strength for the purpose of increasing your
profit. In poker, this usually means slowplaying in the early betting rounds
in order to extract more profit on the later rounds. Especially when called
"sandbagging," this practice sometimes has the negative connotation
-- usually among occasional or less serious players -- of being a hostile or
marginally unethical way to play. Experienced players regard it as just another
part of the game, a vital strategic tool. The same is true for check-raising,
which bears some resemblance to slowplaying.
Sandbagging
Holding back and calling despite the fact that you have a very good hand, usually
to disguise strength, provoke bluffs, and to check-raise.
Scare Card
A card that when it appears makes a better hand more likely. In hold'em, a third
suited card on the river is a scare card, because it makes a flush possible.
If you're pretty sure your opponent paired a king on the flop, an ace on the
turn is a scare card. Scare cards will often make it difficult for the best
hand to bet, and offer an opportunity for bluffing. Obviously such cards are
scarier in pot-limit or no-limit games.
Scoop
To win an entire pot, especially in high-low split games.
Scoot
Scooting is the practice of passing chips to another player after winning a
pot. Typically, scooting partners will agree to "scoot" each other
a predetermined number of chips after winning each pot. This is at least technically
illegal at most table stakes games, but single chips can often be scooted anyway.
Seating List
In most cardrooms, if there is no seat available for you when you arrive, you
can put your name on a list to be seated when a seat opens up. Typically, games
are listed across the top of a board, and names are written below each game
so that players are seated for games in the order in which they arrive.
Second Pair
A pair with the second highest card on the flop. If you have As-Ts, and the
flop comes Kd-Th-6c, you have flopped second pair.
Seconds
A style of cheating in which the dealer gives out the second card from the top
of the deck, holding the top card for himself.
Sell
As in "sell a hand". In a spread limit game, this means to bet 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.
Serious Poker
Serious poker players like to distinguish the game they play from the average
weekly penny poker game. Although these things tend to be relative (a 10-20
hold'em game might not seem so serious to someone used to playing 150-300),
some particular features common to home games tend to make the game less "serious."
Most irksome to the serious player is probably a proliferation of zany, poorly
thought-out games, often involving wild cards, and sometimes having little in
common with other poker games. While some serious players like the challenge
of having to develop a strategy on-line for a game that was just invented, many
feel it just increases the luck factor. Less serious games also tend to involve
very low stakes, because they are played for fun, and not out of either a deep
interest in poker or in making money at it.
Set
Having a pocket pair that matches one of the cards on the board.
Set
Three of a kind when you have two of the rank in your hand, and there is one
on the board.
Seven Card Stud
Of the poker games most commonly played in public cardrooms, seven card stud
is probably the most well known. In seven card stud (sometimes "seven stud"
or just "stud"), each player is dealt seven cards of their own: two
down, then four up, and a final card down. There is a round of betting after
the first up card and after each subsequent card dealt.Stud is usually played
with a small ante and a forced bring-in on third street. In limit games, the
bet size typically increases on fifth street.
Shill
A shill is similar to a proposition player, except a shill gambles with the
cardroom's money instead of his/her own.
Shootout
A tournament format in which a single player ends up with the entire prize money,
or in which play continues at each table until only one player remains.
Short Buying
Purchasing chips after your initial purchase. Usually the minimum for a short
buy-in is less than the initial buy-in.
Short Stack
A short stack is a stack that's too small to cover the likely betting in a hand.
A player who has such a stack is said to be short-stacked. This has advantages
(e.g., that you cannot be pressured to fold) and disadvantages (e.g., that you
cannot get maximum value from your winning hands). Asking whether or not this
is a good thing over all is a good way to start an argument.The phrase "short
stack" can also refer to the players at a table (especially in no-limit
or pot-limit play, often in a tournament) who have the least money in front
of them.
Shorthanded
A game is said to be shorthanded when it falls below a certain number of players.
Most poker tables accommodate nine or ten players. Five players is clearly shorthanded,
nine players is clearly not. Since many people are uncomfortable playing shorthanded,
some cardrooms make special provisions for shorthanded tables - reducing the
blinds or the rake, or providing shills or props. Since the number of players
at a table has a significant impact on strategy, learning to play well shorthanded
is an important skill. This is especially true in tournaments, where shorthanded
play is much more common.
Show One Show All
Most cardrooms have a rule, generally referred to as "show one show all,"
that if a player shows their cards to anyone at the table they can be asked
to show everyone else (even if they would ordinarily not be required to show
their hand). This usually comes up at the end of a hand that did not reach showdown
(e.g., if a player shows a friend a successful bluff). Obviously showing one's
hand to someone else who has cards is illegal for more reasons.
Showdown
When all the betting's done, if more than one player is still in the pot, showdown
is the process of figuring out who wins. Usually the last player to open or
raise is required to show their cards first, and anyone else can try to muck
their cards if they decide they've lost. However, in most cardrooms any player
who reaches showdown (or calls the final bet) can be asked to show their cards.
When used to describe the process, showdown is one word. When used to describe
what each player does at that point, it's usually two words.
Shuffle
Before each hand, the dealer shuffles the cards - mixes them up in order to
make their order as unpredictable as possible. Most cardrooms have fairly specific
requirements for how the cards are to be shuffled.
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. Furthermore,
any more bets that Al and Beth make go into that side pot. Carl, however, can
still win all |
