Glossary

Welcome to the most complete gambling directory list of poker terms. Pay attention that pokies (even at www.pokies.me) have nothing familiar with poker game.

A

Ace-to-five or Ace-to-six
The methods used in lowball games to evaluate low poker hands.

Act
To perform the action (bet, call, fold or raise) in the poker betting round.

Action card
One of the board cards in the community poker games that helps several players to make a good hand thus causes grand betting action.

Active player
The poker player that competes for the pot.

Add-on
The option to buy more chips during the play in some live games and poker tournaments. In the poker tournaments the players are allowed to buy more chips only once at the end of the set rebuy period.

Advertising
To expose the cards or make an obvious poker play in order the opponents to be able to track your style of play.  For example, to make an impression that you always bluff or, on the contrary, play only good hands with the aim to turn the opponents actions in your favor.

All in
The betting option that means to bet all the chips in the current betting round.

Ante
Forced bet in which all the players at the poker table are to put the equal amount of chips into the pot before the cards are dealt.

B

Backdoor
Refers to the straight or flush that can be completed only with both turn and river cards.

Bad beat
To have a very good hand with high odds to win but lose because it is beaten by better poker hand. For example, to lose when your flush is beaten by full house.

Bankroll
All the money that the poker player wager during the whole poker session.

Bet
To wager by putting the chips into the pot. The same as in blackjack or online slots.

Big bet
The largest size of the bet in the last betting rounds of limit poker games.(Common to the Max bet in slots details.)

Big bet game
No limit or pot limit poker game.

Blank
Usually community card (turn or river) that doesn’t help any of the players.

Bleed
To lose consistently, probably because of tilt.

Blind
Forced bet placed by one or several players at the very beginning of the game before the cards are dealt.

Blind stud
The variation of stud poker games in which all the cards are dealt face down.

Bluff
To play aggressively when your hand is too weak and thus make the players with stronger hands fold.

Board
The cards that are dealt face up and can be used by all the players to make their poker hands in the community poker games.

Bottom pair
The pair made of the pocket card and the lowest community card.

Bring in
The type of forced bets used in stud poker games. Usually bring in bet is made by the player with the lowest face up card.

Broadway
The straight from 10 to Ace.

Bubble
The last finishing position that is not included in the payout structure in the poker tournaments.

Burn or Burn card
The top card in the deck that is placed into the muck by the dealer after the cards dealing to prevent cheating.

Buy-in
The smallest number of chips that the player must “buy” in order to participate in poker game or tournament.

C

Call
To match the bet by putting the same amount of chips into the pot as in the last bet.

Cap
The limited number of raises in the betting round (usually three or four) in some poker games.

Cap game
No limit and pot limit poker games with limited amount that the player can bet in the betting round.

Case card
The last card of a sort that is left in the deck. For example, if you hold three Kings the last King in the deck is called “case King”.

Cash game
Real money poker games.

Catch
To get the needed card or cards on the draw.

Center pot
The main pot in the poker game in which one or several players are all in.

Check
Not to take any action without leaving the game.

Chop
To split the game pot for different reasons (tie, agreement, split-pot game).

Coffee housing
To mislead or confuse verbally other players about the value of your poker hand.

Cold call
To call the double bet or bet and raise made before your turn to act.

Community cards
The cards that are dealt face up in the centre of the poker table and can be used by all the players to complete their hands.

Connector
Two cards of consecutive rank but of different suit, for example, three of hearts and four of clubs.

Crying call
To call regardless that the hand is not the best one.

D

Dead Man's Hand
Two pair hand containing Aces and eights.

Deal twice
In some cash poker games when the betting is completed two players that compete for a large pot can agree to deal the remaining cards twice. Thus if one player wins twice he or she gets the whole pot, otherwise the pot is split.

Door card
The first card dealt to player in stud poker game.

Double-draw
Draw poker game with two draw phases followed by betting each.

 Double suited
Starting hand in Omaha containing two pairs of suited cards.

Downcard
The card dealt face down.

Drop
To fold.

Dry Ace
In Omaha or Texas Holdem poker the Ace in the hand without another suited card.

F

Family pot
The deal in which all the players (or almost all) call the first opening bet.

Fast
Aggressive play.

Fifth street
The last community card that is also called “river”.

Fish
Weak poker player that often plays loosely.

Flash
To show the last card in the deck during shuffling.

Flat call
To call when you are expected to raise.

Flop game
The community game.

Fold
To forfeit the cards and quit the hand.

Four-flush
A non-standard poker hand with four cards of the same suit.

Fourth street
The fourth community card also called “turn”.

Freeroll
Poker tournament with no entry fee.

Freezeout
The most common type of poker tournaments in which the play is finished only after one poker player wins all the chips.

H

Heads up
The poker game in which only two players compete for the pot.

High hand
The best poker hand according to the traditional hand rankings.

High-low
The variations of poker games in which both the strongest and lowest hands win the pot, thus the pot is split.

Hole cards
The face down cards dealt to every poker player.

H.O.R.S.E.
The mixed poker game that includes the rounds of Texas Holdem, Omaha eight or better, Razz, Seven card Stud and Seven card stud Eight or better.

I

In the middle
To make the forced bets in the middle of the play after entering the game (out of the normal order) according to the rules of some poker games.

In the money
The place in the poker tournament at which the player gets the money prize.

J

Jackpot

  1. Variation of five card draw poker with ante bets without blinds.
  2. A large prize pool in poker game usually awarded for not common combinations and gaming situations such as bad beat.

K

Kicker
The unpaired card in the poker hand that determines the winner in case of the ties.

L

Lag
The “loose-aggressive” style of poker play. The main idea of this tactic is to play a lot of starting hands and not raise much.

Laydown
The decision to fold strong enough hand expecting that it can be beat by even stronger hand.

Limit
The maximum or minimum size of poker bet.

M

Made hand
The poker hand that doesn’t need any improvements to win.

Match the pot
To bet the amount equal to all chips in the pot.

Micro-limit
Online poker games with extremely small stakes.

Missed blind
The bet that wasn’t posted for some reasons, for example, when the players was away from the table. According to the rules of some poker games after return the player can be asked to post the missed bet.

Move in
To all in.

Muck
To fold.

N

No limit
Refers to poker games in which the players can wager any amount of the chips (or all the chips) with no limits.

Nut hand or Nuts
The best poker hand in the specific situation.

O

Offsuit
The cards of different suit.

Open
To make the first bet in the current betting round.

Outs
The cards in the deck that can improve the hand in case of being dealt.

Overcard
The community card that has the higher rank that the pocket cards.

P

Passive
The style of poker play the main idea of which is to check and call rather than bet and raise.

Play the board
The option that allows the players to use all the community cards to make their hands (for example, in Texas Holdem).

Pocket cards
Hole cards.

Position
The player’s place at the poker table in relation to the dealer.

Pot
The amount of chips contributed by the poker players in the particular hand for which the players compete.

Pot odds
The possible return the player gets in case he or she wins the hand in comparison to the size of the bet the player must call in order to stay in the game.

Pre-flop
In the flop games the round in which the players are already dealt the cards but the flop has not appeared yet.

Q

Quads
Four of a kind.

R

Rainbow
The cards all of different suits especially in the flop.

Raise
To increase the betting amount.

Rake
The amount (usually in percent) the  house collects from the pot as the fee for hosting the poker game.

Rakeback
The portion of the rake the player can get at the Internet poker rooms. Usually the rakeback comes from the poker affiliates or other sources.

Rebuy
The option that allows the players to buy more chips after the buy-in. In most poker tournaments the players can rebuy chips only once (or twice) during the set period of time, for example, during the first hour of the play.

Reraise
To raise the raised bet made before.

River
The last (fifth) community card in the community poker  games (for example, in Texas Holdem).

Royal cards
Face or picture cards (Kings, Queens, Jacks).

S

Satellite
The type of the poker tournaments in which the players can win the entries to the major poker event (but not money prizes).

Scoop
To win the both halves of the pot in the high-low poker games.

Semi-bluff
To make a bet or raise in case your hand is not strong enough to win but may be improved in the last rounds.

Shark
The professional poker player.

Shootout
The type of the multi-table poker tournaments in which the last player at the poker table moves to the other poker table to play against the remaining players.

Shorthanded
The poker game that involves up to six poker players (rather than 9-10 like in the standard poker game).

Showdown
The final of the game in which all the remaining players reveal their cards and the winner is determined.

Side pot
An additional pot that is created in case one or several players are all-in.

Sit-and-go or SNG
The type of the poker tournaments which starts as soon as all the seats at the poker table are taken.

Spread
The range between the minimum and maximum size of bets at the particular poker tables.

Spread limit
The type of the limit poker games in which the players are allowed to bet any amount limited to some range.

Stack
The total amount of the poker chips or money that the player has at the particular point of the play.

Starting hand
The initial cards the player is dealt before any betting action.

Stud
The variation of poker game in which the player is dealt the mix of face up and face down card through the set of betting rounds.

Suited
The cards of the same suit.

T

Tilt
The confusion or anger of the poker player that results in his or her bad play performance and poor betting decisions.

Turn
The fourth community card that appears on the board in the community poker games.

U

Upcard
The card dealt face up.

V

Vigorish or Vig
The rake.

W

Walk
The gaming situation in which all the players before the big blind fold.

Window card
The first card dealt face up in the stud poker games.