Poker Terms, Poker Slang, Poker Glossary, Poker Jargon, Poker Language, Poker Terminology and Poker Dictionary...

 Aces Full A full house with three aces and any pair.

Ace-High A five card hand that contains one Ace, with no straight or flush or a hand with no pair in it.

Aces Up A hand that contains two pairs, one of which is Aces.

Action Checking/Betting/Raising. A game in which players are playing a lot of pots is considered an “action” game.

Active Player Any player who is still in the hand.

Add-on A purchase of more chips (optional) at the end of the re-buy period in a tournament.

All-In When a player bets all his/her chips.: In online poker, you may be deemed “All-in” when you are disconnected (even if you have chips remaining).

American Airlines Two Aces.

Ante Money placed in the pot before the hand is begun.

BackdoorCatching both the turn and river card to make a drawing hand. See also "runner."

Bad Beat When a hand is beaten by a lucky draw.

Belly Buster A draw and/or catch to an Inside Straight.

Bet To place chips into the pot.

Bet the Pot When a player bets the amount of the pot.

Betting Round A sequence of bets made by each player in turn going clockwise around the table. In any given round of bets, the sequence may travel around the table several times if there are bets, raises, re-raises before there are calls or checks.

Bicycle A straight that is A-2-3-4-5.

Big Blind A designated amount that is placed by the player sitting in the second position, clockwise from the dealer, before any cards are dealt. (Players joining a game in progress must post a Big Blind, but may do so from any position.)

Big Slick A hand that contains an A-K.

BlankA board card that doesn't seem to affect the standings in the hand.

Blind(s) The bet(s) that must be made by the two players sitting directly to the dealer's left which will start the action on the first round of betting. The blinds are posted before any cards are dealt. (A “Blind” bet is one that is made in the dark without looking at your cards.)

Blind Raise When a player raises without looking at his hand.

Bluff To make other players believe that one has a better hand than he/she might otherwise have by betting or raising when they do not have the best hand.

Board The centre of the table is called the Board. This is where the Community Cards (also called Board Cards) are shown and where the pot sits. If your best 5-card hand consists of just the Community Cards and none of your Pocket Cards, this is called "playing the Board."

Boardcards The cards that are dealt face-up in a poker game for all players to see. In flop games, five cards are dealt face-up in the center of the table. In Seven Card Stud, four cards are dealt face-up in front of each player.

BotShort for "robot". In poker, a program that plays poker online with no (or minimal) human intervention.

Bottom Pair When a player uses the lowest card on the flop to make a pair with one of his own cards.

Brick & MortarA "real" casino or cardroom with a building, tables, dealers, etc. This is in contrast to an online poker site.

Bring-In The forced bet made on the first round of betting by the player who is dealt the lowest card showing in Seven Card Stud and Stud 8 or Better. In Razz (Lowball) it is the highest card showing

Bring It In To start the betting on the first round.

Broadway An Ace high straight (A-K-Q-J-10).

Broomcorn's Uncle A player who antes himself broke.

BubbleThe point at which only one player must bust out before all others win some money or the person who was unfortunate enough to finish in that position.

Bullets A pair of Aces.

Bump To raise.

BurnTo discard the top card from the deck, face down. This is done between each betting round before putting out the next community card(s). It is security against any player recognizing or glimpsing the next card to be used on the board.

Burn a Card Before dealing cards in a round (Pocket Cards, the Flop, etc.) the Dealer "burns a card", meaning he discards the top card of the deck and uses the next card for the deal.

Button Also known as the dealer button, it is a small round disk that is moved from player to player in a clockwise direction following each hand, to theoretically indicate the dealer of each hand.

BuyAs in "buy the pot." To bluff, hoping to "buy" the pot without being called or as in "buy the button." To bet or raise, hoping to make players between you and the button fold, thus allowing you to act last on subsequent betting rounds.

Buy-In The minimum amount of money required by a player to sit down in a particular poker game.

Call When a player chooses to match the previous bet.

Call Cold To call both a bet and raise(s).

Calling StationA weak-passive player who calls a lot, but doesn't raise or fold much. This is the kind of player you like to have in your game.

Cap To take the last of the maximum amount of raises allowed per round of betting.

Cardroom The room or space in a casino where poker is played.

CaseThe last card of a certain rank in the deck.

Case Chips A player's last chips.

Cash Out To leave a game and convert your chips to cash.

Center PotThe first pot created during a poker hand, as opposed to one or more "side" pots created if one or more players goes all-in. Also "main pot."

ChatTyped conversation that you can have with other players at an online poker site.

Check When it's a player's turn to act and there has been no action in front of them and he opts not to bet, he “checks.”

Check-Raise When a player first checks and then raises in a betting round.

Chips Poker chips, used for placing bets at table. In online poker, when you bring chips to a table, the amount is deducted from your Account Balance. When you leave a table, the chips you take away with you are converted back into your Account Balance.

Chop To return the blinds to the players who posted them and move on to the next hand if no other players call. It also means to “split the pot”.

Clean OutA card that would almost certainly make your hand best. If you are drawing at a straight, but there is a flush draw possible, then the cards that make your straight but also the flush are not clean outs. 

Cold CallTo call more than one bet in a single action. For instance, suppose the first player to act after the big blind raises. Now any player acting after that must call two bets "cold." This is different from calling a single bet and then calling a subsequent raise.

Collusion When two or more players conspire to cheat in a poker game.

Come HandA drawing hand (from the craps term).

Community Cards Cards that are face-up and used by all players.

Complete HandA hand that is defined by all five cards -- a straight, flush, full house, four of a kind, or straight flush.

Connector A hold'em starting hand in which the two cards are one apart in rank.

Counterfeit To make your hand less valuable because of board cards that duplicate it made it almost worthless.

Cowboys Two Kings.

Crack To beat a hand -- typically a big hand. You hear this most often applied to pocket aces.

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.

Crying Call A call that you make expecting to lose, but feel that you must make anyway because of the pot odds.

Cut-Off The position (or player) who acts one before the button.

Dead Blind A penalty imposed if the blinds pass your position while you are sitting out from the table.

Dead Man's Hand Two pair - Aces and Eights (Wild Bill Hickock was shot in the back while playing this hand).

Dead Money Money contributed to a pot by a player no longer in the pot or a player in a tournament who has no realistic chance of winning.

Dealer The player in the seat position from which cards are dealt. The position of the Dealer is marked by the Button, a green disc with a "D" in the centre. In flop games, the player to the immediate left of the Dealer posts the Small Blind, and the next player posts the Big Blind (which is usually double the Small Blind).

Dog Shortened form of "underdog."

Dominated Hand A hand that will almost always lose to a better hand that people usually play with the exception of strange flops.

Door Card This is the first exposed card, or “up” card, in a player's hand in Stud games.

Down Card Hole cards. Cards that are dealt face down.

Doyle Brunson It's a Holdem hand consisting of a 10-2 (Brunson won the world championship two years in a row on the final hand with these cards).

Draw To play a hand that is not yet good, but could become so if the right cards come.

Draw Dead Trying to make a hand that, even if made, will not win the pot.

Draw Lowball Form of poker where each player is dealt five cards with the option of discarding one or more and replacing them with new ones and the low hand wins.

Draw Poker Form of poker where each player is dealt five cards down with the option of discarding one or more and replacing them with new ones to attempt to make a better hand.

Drop Fold.

Ducks A pair of Twos.

Deuces A pair of Twos.

Early Position Position on a round of betting where the player must act before most of the other players at the table. (It's considered the two positions located to the left of the Blinds.)

Equity Your "rightful" share of a pot, it gives you an idea of how much you can "expect" to win.

Expectation The amount you expect to gain on average if you make a certain play or the amount you expect to make at the poker table in a specific time period, a measure of your anticipated earnings.

Extra Blind A blind put in by a player just entering the game, returning to the game, or otherwise changing his position at the table. See also "blind" and "post."

Family Pot A pot in which all (or almost all) of the players call before the flop.

Fast Play To play a hand aggressively, betting and raising as much as possible.

Feeder (Also: Satellite) A Feeder is a tournament which funnels winners from one tournament to another. Often, several Feeders are strung together to create a "tournament ladder" where players can enter for a low cost at the bottom and win their way into high stakes tournaments.

Fifth Street Also known as the “river” card. In flop games, this represents the fifth community card on the table and the final round of betting. In Stud games, this is the fifth card dealt to each player and represents the third round of betting.

Fish A poor player or one who gives his money away.

Five-card Draw A poker game in which the player is dealt five cards down. They have one draw to replace them and the best high hand wins the pot.

Five-card Stud A poker game in which each player is dealt five cards, one down and four up, with betting after 2, 3, 4, & 5 cards.

Flat Call Calling a bet without raising.

Flop In Hold'em and Omaha, the first three community cards that are dealt face-up in the center of the table all at one time. The “flop” also
indicates the second round of betting.

Flop Games Poker games (Hold .em and Omaha) that are played using community cards that are dealt face up in the center of the table.

Floorman An employee of the cardroom who makes rulings and decisions.

Flush Any five cards of the same suit.

Flush Draw When a player has four cards in his hand of the same suit and is hoping to draw a fifth to make a flush.

Fold To throw your hand away when it's your turn to act.

Fold Equity The extra value you get from a hand when you force an opponent to fold. That is, if you don't have to see a showdown, your hand has more value than if you do.

Forced Bet A required bet that starts the action on the first round of a poker hand.

Foul A hand that may not be played for one reason or another. A player with a foul hand may not make any claim on any portion of the pot.

Four of a Kind Four cards of the same number or face value “quads”.

Fourth Street In flop games, it is the fourth community card dealt (also known as “the turn”) and represents the third round of betting. In Stud games, it is the fourth card dealt to each player and represents the second round of betting.

Free Card A turn or river card on which you don't have to call a bet because of play earlier in the hand or because of your reputation with your opponents.

Free Roll One player has a shot at winning an entire pot when he is currently tied with another player. You are tied with your opponent right now, but are free rolling, because you can win the whole pot and your opponent can't.

Full House Any three cards of the same number or face value, plus any other two cards of the same number or face value.

Gap Hand A starting hand with cards more than one rank apart.

Get Chips In online poker, convert more of your Account Balance into poker chips for continued play at table.

Gut Shot To draw to and/or hit an inside straight.

Gutshot Straight A straight filled "inside”.

Hand A player's best five cards.

Hand of Poker (Also called Hand) A single game of poker from Posting Blinds to the Showdown.

Heads-Up A pot that is being contested by only two players.

High-Card To decide the first dealer in the flop tournaments each user is dealt a single card and the player with the highest card (based on the card and the suit order - of spades, hearts, diamonds & clubs) becomes the theoretical dealer.

High-Low Split pot games.

Hit As in "the flop hit me," meaning the flop contains cards that help your hand.

Hold .em Also known as Texas Hold .em, where the players get two down cards and five community cards.Hole Cards These are the Down Cards in front of the players.

House The casino or cardroom that is hosting the poker game.

Implied Odds Pot odds that do not exist at the moment, but may be included in your calculations because of bets you expect to win if you hit your hand

Inside Straight Four cards which require another between the top and the bottom card to complete a straight. Players who catch this card make an Inside Straight.

Jackpot A special bonus paid to the loser of a hand if he gets a very good hand beaten. In hold'em, the "loser" must typically get aces full or better beaten. The jackpot is funded with money removed from the game as part of the rake.

Jackpot Poker A form of poker in which the cardroom or casino offers a jackpot to a player who has lost with a really big hand (usually Aces full or better).

Jacks-or- Better A form of poker in which a player needs to have at least a pair of jacks to open the betting.

Jam To move all-in in a no-limit (or pot-limit) game.

Kansas City Lowball Form of lowball poker in which the worst poker hand (2, 3, 4, 5, 7 of different suits) is the best hand. It's also known as Deuce to Seven.

Keep Them Honest To call at the end of a hand to prevent someone from bluffing.

Key Card A card that gives you a big draw or makes your hand.

Key Hand In a session or tournament, the one hand that ends up being a turning point for the player, either for better or worse.

Kicker The highest unpaired side card in a players' hand.

Kick It Raise.

Kill Pot A method to stimulate action. It is a forced bet by someone who has just won a pot(s).

Knock Check.

Kojak A hand that contains a K-J.

Ladies Two Queens.

Late Position Position on a round of betting where the player must act after most of the other players have acted (usually considered to be the two positions next to the button).

Lay Down Your Hand When a player folds.

Lead The first player to bet into a pot.

Leak A weakness in your game that causes you to win less money than you would otherwise.

Limit Poker A game that has fixed minimum and maximum betting intervals along with a prescribed number of raises.

Limits These are limits on the maximum bet or raise. In poker, there are three basic Limit types: Limit, Pot Limit and No Limit. In general terms, Limit Poker has a fixed limit to the amount you can bet or raise on your turn – usually it is the minimum bet for that round. With Pot Limit, you raise up to the amount in the Pot, and with No Limit you can raise any amount up to what's left in your chip stack at table.

Limp To call. Generally the term refers to pre-flop action.

Limp In To enter the pot by calling rather than raising. (The usual concept of “Limp In” is when the first person to speak just calls the Big Blind.)

Limper The first player who calls a bet.

Live Cards that are not duplicated in an opponent's stronger hand.

Live Blind An instance where the player puts in a dark bet and is allowed to raise, even if no other player raises. It's also known as an “option”.

Live Card(s) In Stud Games, cards that have not yet been seen and are presumed to still be in play.

Live Hand A hand that could still win the pot.

Live One A not so knowledgeable player who plays a lot of hands.

Look When a player calls the final bet before the showdown.

Loose Is a player who plays a lot hands.

Lowball Is a form of draw poker in which the lowest hand wins the pot.