Poker Terminology

Aces High
A five-card hand with no combinations, but containing one Ace.

Aces Wired
Two Aces back to back.

Act
Your turn to ‘move’ – check, call, fold, open bet or raise.

Action
A wager or bet, placing money into the pot.

Add-on
To purchase additional chips in a tournament, where allowed.

All-in
When a player bets all his money on a hand.

Ante
The minimum bet that players are required to put into the pot before the start of the hand.

Back Door
A hand made from the last two cards in dealt in Texas Hold’em or seven card stud.

Back to Back
When a player receives a pair from the first two cards dealt.

Bad Beat
When a good quality hand loses the pot surprisingly.

Banker
The person who books the other players’ actions at the table.

Bankroll
The total amount of money a player intends to bet with.

Base Deal
A form of cheating involving dealing from the bottom of the deck.

Belly Buster
An inside straight draw.

Bicycle Wheel
A hand with A2345.

Big Bet
The highest betting amount in a limit game.

Big Blind
The first bet posted by the player seated to the left of the person who placed the small blind, which is a forced bet.

Big Pair
A pair valued at 10 or more.

Big Slick
An A-K combination as hole cards.

Blank
A card that is of no help to anyone.

Blind Bet
A forced bet before any cards are dealt.

Bluff
When a player acts as if he has better cards than he does, and bets accordingly, in the hope that other players will fold.

Boat
A full house.

Bottom Pair
Forming a pair from the lowest cards on the flop.

Broadway
An Ace-high straight.

Bullets
A pair of Aces in the hole.

Bump
To raise.

Burning Cards
To discard the top cards from the deck.

Bust
To run out of money.

Buy-in Amount
The amount of money that must be brought into the game.

Buy-in Limit
The minimum amount brought into a one-one game.

Call
To match the current bet.

Calling Station
A player who calls too often.

Cap
The limit in the amount of raises (usually the third) – betting is capped and players are only allowed to call or fold.

Case Money
Emergency betting money.

Cash Out
To end a playing session and to exchange chips for money.

Catch
If a player’s cards are being kind to him, he is ‘catching’ cards.

Check
To stay in the game but not place a bet – can only be done if other bet have already been placed in the round.

Check Raise
To check and then raise a bet in the same round.

Coffee-housing
To talk about one’s hand with the intention of misleading or confusing the other players.

Cold Call
To call and raise a bet at the same time.

Collusion
When two or more players work together in order to win some hands.

Color Up
To exchange chips for others of a higher value.

Come Hand
A hand which needs to improve in order to win.

Community Cards
Cards dealt to the table which all players can used to complete a five-card hand.

Cowboys
Kings.

Crack
When a strong hand is beat.

Crying Call
A call by a player who is sure they will not win the pot.

Dead
A hand that is not eligible to win the pot.

Dead Man’s Hand
A two pair hand made up of Aces and Eights.

Dead Money
An inexperienced player with minimal chance of winning at a tournament.

Deal
To hand out the cards at the beginning of a round.

Dealer Button
A disk used to signify the dealer’s position on the table.

Deuces
A pair of Twos.

Discard Tray
A tray on the right hand side of the dealer used to hold the cards that have been played or discarded.

Drawing
To remain in the round and to accept more cards.

Drawing to a Hand
Staying in a round with the hope that by drawing, one’s hand will improve.

Drawing Dead
When a player draws to a hand that is not the best in the flop and has a high chance of being beaten.

Equalized
When all players have placed the same amount of money in the pot.

Fifth Street
The third round of betting, because players all have five cards.

Flop
The first three community cards dealt.

Fold
When players decide to stop play, throw in their cards and no longer have claim to the pot, and do not have to contribute anymore to the round.

Fourth Street
The second round of betting because players have four cards in hand.

Flush Draw
When a player, holding four cards of the same suit, draws a fifth card in the hope that he will make a flush.

Go on Tilt
If a player loses his cool in a game and plays irresponsibly.

Gut Shot
Drawing an inside straight.

Heads Up
A game with only two players.

Hole Cards
Down cards in front of the player.

House
The casino or institution hosting the game.

Kicker
The highest unpaired side card in a player’s hand.

Kojak
A hand with a King and Jack.

Ladies
Two Queens.

Lay Odds
To give favorable odds to another player.

Lead
The first player to place a bet in the pot.

Leak
To show one’s hole cards unintentionally.

Let Slide
Not to call to another player’s bluff.

Limit States
A game with maximum bets and raises according to the house rules.

Limp In
Calling the big blind instead of raising.

Live Blind
Blind bets that are currently in play.

Lowest Card
A card that has the lowest value. If two cards have the same number value, the lowest card is determined by suits – Clubs, diamonds, hearts and spades (high).

Main Pot
The center pot.

Maniac
A very aggressive player who plays any hand and raises in most cases, instead of calling.

Meet
To call.

Monster
A very strong hand.

Muck
When a player does not wish to show his hand to the table.

Natural
A hand without wild cards.

No Limit
A game where players can bet as much as they like without any limits.

Nursing
To play conservatively because one is losing and only has a few chips left.

Nuts
The bets hand available at a particular point in the game.

Nut Flush
A flush containing an Ace.

Offsuit
Cards of different suits.

Opener
A player making the first voluntary bet.

Outs
The number of cards left in the deck that will improve a player’s hand.

Paint Cards
Picture cards.

Play Back
To raise or re-raise another player’s bet.

Pocket Cards
The down cards or hole cards.

Pocket Rockets
A pair of Aces as pocket cards.

Poker Face
A face free of any emotional expression so as not to give any information to other players about one’s cards.

Pot
The money in the center of the table which is up for grabs for the winner.

Pre-flop
The stage of the game before the flop.

Put Down
To fold a hand.

Quads
Four cards of the same denomination.

Quartered
When players tie with a high or low hand and earn a quarter of the pot money.

Rags
Cards of no value, useless cards.

Rainbow
When the playing table contains 3 or 4 cards from different suits.

Raise
When a bet is increased from the previous player.

Rake
A percentage of the pot taken by the house.

Ring Game
A normal money table game, not a tournament game.

River Card
The final community card which is dealt.

Rock
A player who only goes for the best hands.

Sandbagging
Holding back and calling even though a player holds a good hand.

Satellite
A mini tournament in order to gain entrance to a larger tournament.

Scare Cards
High board cards.

Scoop
To win the whole pot.

Second Pair
Pairing the second highest card on the board.

See
To call another player’s bluff.

Sequence
Cards of consecutive value in a straight.

Semi-Bluff
To bluff with a potentially good hand, and which has a chance of improving after the draw.

Seven Deuce
The weakest combination in Texas Hold’em (7-2).

Seventh Street
The fifth (last) round of betting where players have seven cards.

Short Buying
Buying chips after the initial purchase.

Show
To expose one’s cards.

Showdown
The final betting round where the players expose their hands and the winner is determined. The winner gets the pot.

Side Bet
Any bet made outside the pot.

Sitting Out
When a player takes a break from the table for a few hands.

Sixth Street
The fourth round of betting where players have six cards each.

Small Blind
The first bet posted by the player to the dealer’s left.

Smooth Call
Making a call by raising a hand.

Splash the Pot
To throw chips into the pot instead of gently placing them in the middle – a form of bad etiquette.

Split
To tie.

Split Pot
A pot shared by two players because they have equally good hands.

Splitting Blinds
If no one has entered the pot, the big blind and small blind can reach an agreement to remove their blind bets.

Stack
A player’s chips.

Stand Off
To call a raise.

Stay
To stay in the game by calling and not raising.

Steal
To try and grab the pot by betting when everyone else has stopped, or by making a large raise when all the other players have called.

Straight
Five consecutive cards from any suit.

Straight Flush
Five consecutive cards from the same suit.

Street
Cards dealt on a particular round (usually stud games).

Suit
The symbol of the playing card – Hearts, Clubs, Diamonds or Spades.

Tell
A clue or hint that a player give about his hand without realizing it.

Third Street
The first round of betting where players have three cards each.

Three Flush
Three cards of the same suit

Three of a Kind
Three cards of the same number.

Tilt
To go ‘on a tilt’ – to play recklessly and widely.

Tight
A player who doesn’t play too many pots or a game that does not have much action.

Time
A request by a player for a bit of extra time while he decides what to do.

Toke
A small tip to the dealer by the winner of the pot.

Top Pair
A pair with the highest card on the flop.

Top Set
The highest possible trips.

Trapper
A player who under bets a strong hand to create a larger pot.

Trey
A pair of threes.

Trips
Three of a kind.

Turn
The fourth community card dealt.

Two Flush
Two suited cards.

Two Pair
A hand with two different pairs.

Under the Gun
A player who must make the first move in a betting round.

Unlimited Poker
Poker in which no limits are placed on bets or raises.

Up Card
A card that is dealt face up.

Visible Cards
Face up cards handed out to each player.

Walk the Table
To automatically win the entire pot with a specific card or hand.

Wild Card
A card that can be played as any card value.

Wild Game
A game that uses wild cards or a game that is action-packed.

Wired
A pair, trips or four of a kind dealt consecutively.

WSOP
World Series of Poker.

Worst Hand
A losing hand.

WPT
World Poker Tour.

Yeast
Raise.

Yo
Yoleven or eleven.

Z-game
The lowest staked game in the casino.