Poker Glossary

A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z

A

Aces Up:
A pair of aces with any other pair
Action:
A player's turn to act.
Ajax:
Ace/Jack in the hole
Alligator Blood:
Plays well under pressure. "Nerves of Steel".
All-in:
Betting all of your remaining chips.
Ante:
Forced bet that players must make before seeing any cards. This guarantees money in the pot for each hand.

B

Back Door:
Hand made in the last two cards.
Bad Beat:
Losing when you have a very strong hand, usually to a very unlikely draw on the last card.
Bankroll:
The total amount of money you plan to gamble with
Base Deal:
Dealing cards from the bottom of the deck rather than the top. A form of cheating
Beer Hand:
7 and 2 hole cards for Texas Hold 'em. The worst possible starting hole cards
Belly Buster:
An Inside Straight draw.
Berry Patch:
An easy game, with many poor players.
Big Lick:
6 - 9 unsuited in the hole.
Big Slick:
Pocket Ace/King
Blank:
Poor card that has no impact on the game. Also called a rag.
Blinds:
Mandatory bet before each round. Usually the player two places to the left of the dealer will have to pay the Large Blind, and the player to the immediate left of the dealer will have to bet half as much for the Small Blind
Bluff:
To bet strongly with a poor hand, as if you have strong hand in an attempt to make others fold.
Board:
The visible cards in a poker game. These are the community cards in games like Hold'em or Omaha, and theup cards in Stud games.
Boat:
Another term for a Full House
Bottom Pair:
The lowest pair on the board in Hold'em or Omaha. For example if the flop is 2c, 7h, Ks, and you have the 2h, and 10d in the hole, then your pair of twos is the bottom pair.
Bring in:
To open a round of betting
Broadway:
An Ace High Straight
Brush:
Cardroom employee who handles the seating chart.
Bullets:
A pair of Aces in the hole.
Bump:
To Raise
Burn:
To discard the top card of the deck. This is done to prevent anyone from being able to determine the next card.
Button:
The marker that signifies the dealer's spot. The player with the button receives the last card dealt in a round.
Buy In:
The amount you must pay to enter a game.

B

Call:
To match the current high bet.
Calling Station:
A player who almost always calls and seldom raises.
Cap:
In many limit games there is a restriction on the number of bets allowed each round. A player caps the betting by making the last allowable raise.
Cards Speak:
A rule that says the cards determine the best possible hand, not the player. If a player has a better hand than he realizes, the better hand is the one that is used.
Chameleon:
Player in a game who changes and varies his style of play from wild and unpredictable to tight and aggressive.
Chase:
Calling when you have not yet made your hand.
Check:
To basically skip your turn to bet. This still allows you to bet later in the round should anyone else bet. This is similar to betting $0.
Check Raise:
To check at first, then raise should anyone else bet. This is done as a way to lure other players into betting when you think they may fold if you bet outright.
Chop:
See Rake
Coffeehousing:
Excessive often distracting talking at the table.
Cold Call:
To call both a bet and a raise.
Community Card:
A card dealt face up on the table that can be used by any player at the table.
Computer Hand:
Q 7 starting hand.
Connectors:
Pocket cards of sequential rank.
Counterfeit:
A card that does not help you, but is likely to make an opponents hand better than yours.
Crying Call:
When some calls even though they are almost certain they are beat.

D

Dead Man's Hand:
Two pair, Aces and Eights. Wild Bill Hickok was mudered while holding this hand.
Deuce:
A two
Dolly Pardon:
9 - 5 hole cards
Donkey:
A bad player. A fish.
Door card:
In stud games, the first card dealt face up to a player.
Down to the Felt:
Out of money/chips.
Doyle Brunson:
10-2 hole cards in Texas Holdem. This is the hand with which Super System author Doyle Brunson won the WSOP.
Drawing Hand:
An incomplete hand such as four cards to a straight in which you are drawing cards, hoping to make your hand.
Ducks:
Twos

E

Eyes of Texas:
A pair of Aces in the hole

F

Family Pot:
A round where everyone calls the opening bet.
Fast:
Aggressive
Fifth Street:
The fifth card dealt in stud poker, or the final card in games with five community cards.
Fish:
Poor player
Flop:
The first three community cards in games such as Texas Hold'em or Omaha
Flush:
Five cards of the same suit. 2, 5, 7, Q, K of Clubs for example. The higher cards in a flush determine the best hand. An Ace high flush beats a King high flush. See the Poker Hand Rankings page for more details.
Fold:
To give up on your hand.
Four Flush:
Four cards to a flush.
Four of a Kind:
Four Cards of the Same Rank
Full House:
A hand with three cards of one rank, and two cards of another rank. 8h, 8d.8s and Kh, Kc for example. See the Poker Hand Rankings page for more details.

G

Gay Waiter:
Q 3 in the hole. (Queen with a Trey)
Going South:
Generally frowned upon practice of taking money off the table after winning some pots. See Ratholing
Gunshot:
An Inside Straight Draw

H

Hammer:
The 7-2 offsuit. Specifically a winning hand with these as your hole cards.
Heads Up:
A one on one poker match or round.
Heinz:
5 7 in the hole
High Society:
The highest denomination of chips in a particular establishment
Hilton Sisters:
Wired queens
Hole:
The first two down cards in poker game.
Hooks:
A pocket pair of Jacks
HORSE:
A mixed game format, where play alternates between (H)oldem, (O)maha, (R)azz, (S)even Card Stud, and Stud (E)ight

I

Implied Odds:
The odds you are getting from the expected calls in future betting rounds.
Inside Straight:
Hand in which you have four cards to a straight, but are missing one in the middle. For example 8,9,J,Q.
Isolate:
Bet strongly in an attempt to make everyone fold except one other player.

J

Jackson Five:
Pocket Jack/5

K

Kicker:
The highest unpaired card in your hand. Used as a tie-breaker. If two players have the same pair, the one with the higher kicker will win the pot.
Kojack:
Pocket K/J

L

Ladies:
Queens
Lay Down:
To fold
Limp in:
In the first round of betting, simply calling the big blind rather than raising. This allows the big blind to see the flop for free, and indicates a weak hand.
Lock:
A hand that is guaranteed to win at least part of the pot
Loose:
A player who stays in more hands than most, and stays in them longer.
Lumber Yard:
K - 8 in the hole

M

Make a Hand:
To get a certain hand. For example, if you have 4,5,6,7 then you need a 3 or an 8 to Make your hand.
Maniac:
A very loose and aggressive player. Rarely folds or calls. Bluffs often and raises frequently.
Mechanic:
Someone who cheats by manipulating the cards while dealing
Montana Banana:
9-2 in the hole (article 92 made poker legal in Montana)
Motown:
J 5 in the hole
Muck:
Pile of discarded cards.
Mullets:
Pocket 7's in Texas Hold 'em.

N

Nut flush:
Highest possible flush
Nuts:
The best possible hand, given the cards on the board.
Nut Straight:
Highest possible straight.

O

Odds:
The probability of making your hand.
Off Suit:
Cards with different suits, usually referring to hole cards. For example 8c, 9s might be called 8, 9 off suit.
On Tilt:
Betting wildly or making poor bets. Usually after a bad beat.
Open:
Make the first bet in a round.
Open Ended Straight:
A hand with four consecutive cards. A straight can be completed by drawing the fifth card at either end. For example, 5,6,7,8.
Outs:
Any remaining card that will give you the winning hand. For example if you have the 8, 9, 10, Q in various suits, and have not seen a Jack, then you have four outs to a Straight.
Overcard:
A hole card higher than the highest card on the board
Over the Top:
To raise a large bet.

P

Paint:
Face Card
Pat Hand:
In draw games, being dealt a made hand.
Pocket:
First two down cards in poker game.
Pocket Pair:
Two cards of the same rank in the hole
Pot Limit:
A limit on the maximum allowable raise. The limit is the amount currently in the pot.
Pot Odds:
The ratio of the amount of money in the pot to the amount it will cost you to call the current bet
Prom Nite:
6 - 9 suited in the hole.
Put:
To guess what someone is holding. If someone starts betting when a queen comes up, you might "put" him on a pair of queens.

Q

Quads:
Four of a Kind

R

Rabbit:
Hunting, Looking through the muck for undealt cards after a hand.
Rag:
Poor card that has no impact on the game.
Railbird:
Spectator
Railroad Bible:
A Deck of Cards
Rainbow:
A flop containing three different suits.
Raise:
To increase the amount of an opponent's bet
Rake:
Set amount or percentage that the house claims from each pot.
Ratholing:
Generally frowned upon practice of taking money off the table after winning some pots.
Read:
To be able to gauge a person's hand based on their actions.
Represent:
To have the appearance of a certain hand. For example, if the flop comes up with three spades, anyone who bets heavily might represent a Flush.
Ring Game:
Standard nontournament poker game.
River:
The last card dealt in a game.
Rock:
A tight and aggressive player who folds often and doesn't play a lot of hands.
Rolled Up:
In seven card stud, three of a kind with your first three cards
Royal Flush:
10-A Straight Flush See the Poker Hand Rankings page for more details.

S

Sailboats:
A pair of fours in the hole
Sandbag:
Slow Play. To play a strong hand as if it is weak in an effort to lure opponents into betting.
San Francisco Busboy:
Q 3 in the hole. (Queen with a trey)
Scare Card:
A card on the board that could mean a monster hand for someone. The fourth card to a flush or strait for example.
See:
To Call
Semi-Bluff:
Like a bluff except that your hand might be good enough to win if someone calls you.
Set:
Three of a kind.
Short Stack:
Having less chips than every one else at the table.
Show Down:
When all cards have been dealt and betting is complete, player hands are revealed.
Side Pot:
If a player goes all-in, and there are two or more bettors with more funds that call, they may continue to bet. Their future bets are placed in a separate pot.
Siegfried and Roy:
A pair of queens in the hole
Slow Play:
When you have a strong hand, to represent that you have a weak hand, to encourage others to bet.
SNG:
Sit n Go. Small tournament with no set start time. Players sit down and the tournament starts as soon as there are enough players.
Snowmen:
A pair of 8's in the hole.
Splash:
Tossing your chips into the pot before anyone can verify the amount.
Steal the Pot:
To make a strong bet when it appears no one else has a good hand, causing everyone to fold.
Straight:
Five sequential cards. For example 8, 9, 10, J, Q. Suits can be mixed. See the Poker Hand Rankings page for more details.
Straight Flush:
Five cards with sequential rank, all in the same suit.
String Bet:
Illegal bet made by placing chips in the pot, then going back to your stack for more chips. This allows you to guage an opponent's reaction with each chip amount.
Suited:
Cards of the same suit
Suited Connectors:
Sequential hole cards in the same suit. For example 10h, Jh

T

Tapioca:
Out of money/chips
Tell:
Something a player will do that gives away the strength of his hand.
Three of a Kind:
Three cards of the same denomination. 4h, 4c, 4s for example. See the Poker Hand Rankings page for more details.
Tight:
A conservative player who doesn't play many hands.
Top Pair:
The highest pair on the board in Hold'em or Omaha. For example if the flop is 2c, 7h, Ks, and you have the 10h, and Kd in the hole, then your pair of Kings is the top pair.
Trips:
Three of a kind
Turn:
The fourth card in Texas Hold'em or Omaha.

U

Under the Gun:
First to bet in a given round

W

Walking Sticks:
A pair of 7's in the hole
Wheel:
A Strait A,2,3,4,5
Wired:
Pocket cards of the same rank