Poker Glossary

A

1-4-8, 2-4, 3-6, 6-12, 10-20, etc.	The betting structure for a game. See FIXED LIMIT, SPREAD LIMIT.
ABC Player	An ABC player is a player who is very predictable. This player generally reads a poker book or two and follows them to the word. They always play hands the same way and are generally pretty tight. These types of players are often winners at lower stakes and loose games but are easily crushed by advanced players.
ACCORDING TO HOYLE	By the rules of the game. See also: HOYLE.
Ace High A	F poker hand with no ranked cards (pair, flush, etc) but with an Ace as the high card. This hand beats all other unranked hands.
Ace Out	Winning by bluffing or with an ace high hand.
Ace-High	A five-card hand containing an ace but no pair; beats a king-high, but loses to any pair or above.
Aces and Spaces	When you have an ace and low kicker in the hole and you make your pair of aces on the board, but your kicker doesn't pair. "The river left me with aces and spaces.."
Aces Full	A full house with three aces and any pair. Also known as acey-uppy.
Aces Over	A hand with pairs, one of which is aces or a full house with a three of aces over any other pair.
Aces Up	Two pairs, one of which is aces.
Acey-Duecy	Two pairs; one of aces, once of deuces
Acey-Uppy	A hand with pairs, one of which is aces. Also know as aces full.
ACTION	Money that is being bet. "No action" means a hand or game has few bettors and fewer raisers. "Gimme some action" is ostensibly a plea for calls and raises.
Action Betting, raising, and/or calling.	A poker game with "a lot of action" is a game a lot of money is in play.
Active Player	A player still in the pot.
Add-On	The opportunity to buy additional chips in some tournaments.
Add-on	In a live game, to buy more chips before you have busted. In tournament play, a single re-buy for which all players are eligible regardless of their stack size. This is usually allowed only once, at the end of the re-buy period.
Advertise	To make a bluff with the deliberate intention of being exposed as a loose player.
Aggressive	Agressive Play usually means a lot of betting and raising.
Ajax	The holdem starting hand Ace-Jack (AJ). Also known as Blackjack and "The (Aussie) Jewel".
Alexander	The king of clubs. Probably derived from Alexander the Great.
ALL {BLUE,GREEN,PURPLE,etc.}	Colorful terms to describe a flush.
All Red	Having a heart or a diamond flush.
All-In	When a player bets all his or her remaining chips.
Alligator Blood	A poker player who plays fearlessly when short-stacked and wins. A player who plays for a long time short-stacked, winning just enough to keep them in the game.
American Airlines	The holdem starting hand Ace-Ace (AA). Also known as Rockets, Pocket Rockets.
Ammo, Ammunition	Chips in play.
Angle	Any technically legal but ethically dubious way to increase your expectation at a game; a trick.
Ante	A small amount of chips placed into the pot before each hand. This acts as a "tax" for playing hands and is usually used in Stud games, whereas Hold'em games usually have blinds.
Apple	A big game, often the biggest game in a particular club.
Aquarium	An aquarium is a poker room or game that has a lot of fish in it.
Argine	The queen of clubs. May be an anagram of Regina (queen in Latin), or a corruption of Argea.
Assault Rifle	In Omaha, hole cards that are A-K-4-7 of any suit.

B

Baby	A small card.
Back Door Flush (or Straight)	When the last two cards make a player's hand, even though he or she played on the flop for some other reason.
Back Into A Hand	To draw into a hand different from the one you were originally trying to make.
Bad Beat	When a strong hand is beaten by a lucky hand; a longshot win.
BAD GAME	Any game in which you figure to be the loser, because the other players are better than you.
BAD-BEAT JACKPOT	In some cardrooms, a prize that is shared by the players in a game, when a very good hand (usually Aces full, or better) is beaten by a higher hand. Jackpots are usually financed by taking a drop ($1 is a common amount) from every pot. A typical division of the jackpot will give the losing hand 50 %, the winning hand 25 %, and the other players at the table share the remaining 25 % of the Jackpot.
Bankroll	The amount of money you have available to wager.
BARN	A FULL HOUSE, three of a kind and a pair.
BEE No. 92 ™	Trade name for the "diamond back" cards frequently used in casino games. Compare: RIDER BACK.
Beer Hand	Generally a 2-7 offsuit, although some consider the 2-7 suited to be a beer hand as well. Considered the worst stating hand in hold em.
Behind	You're behind if you don't have the best hand before the last cards have been dealt.
Belly Buster	A draw to fill an inside straight; a gut shot.
Bet	To voluntarily put money or chips into the pot.
Bet For Value	Betting in order to raise the amount in the pot, not to make your opponents fold.
Bet Into	To bet before a stronger hand, or a player who bet strongly on the previous round.
Bet The Pot	To bet the total value of the pot.
Betting Black	Betting $100 amounts (black is a common color for $100 chips).
Betting Green	Betting $25 amounts (green is a common color for $25 chips).
Betting Interval	The period during which each active player has the right to check, bet or raise; the round of betting. It ends when the last bet or raise has been called by all players still in the hand.
Betting Red	Betting $5 amounts (red is a common color for $5 chips).
Betting White	Betting $1 amounts (white is a common color for $1 chips).
Bicycle	The lowest possible hand in lowball: Ace-2-3-4-5. Also called a wheel.
Big Bet Poker	Another term for pot-limit and no-limit poker.
Big Blind	The forced bet in second position before any cards are dealt. Usually this is a Live Blind, which means that the player in this position can raise if no one else has before the cards are dealt.
BIG BOBTAIL	An open-ended 4-card straight flush.
Big Slick	The Ace-King card combination.
Bird on a Stick	The holdem starting hand Seven-Two (72).
BLACK	When referring to chips, black usually stands for $100 casino chips. "This guy sits down with a stack of blacks and raises the first bet." Not ALL casinos use black for $100 but that is the common usage.
Black Leg	Archaic term for crooked card-sharp.
Blackjack	The holdem starting hand Ace-Jack (AJ).
Blank	A card that is of no value to a player's hand.
Blank	A card that is very unlikely to help, or scare, anyone.
Blind	A forced bet that one or more players to the dealer's left must make before any cards are dealt to start the action on the first round of betting.
Blind Raise	When a player raises without first looking at his or her cards.
Blow Back	To lose back one's profits.
Bluff	To bet or raise with a hand that is unlikely to be the best hand.
Bluffspot	That time and place, usually between the turn and the river, where you find you either have to bluff hard to force your opponent(s) to fold and steal the pot, or lay your cards down. Glossary contribution thanks to Bluffspot.com
Board	In flop games, the five cards that are turned face up in the center of the table; in Seven-Card Stud, the four cards that are dealt face up to each player.
Board Cards	The cards in the middle of the table that are shared by everyone. "There were two Aces on the board"
Boat	Another name for full house.
Bottom Pair	When you use the lowest card on the flop to make a pair.
Bounty	A small amount of cash awarded to a player when he knocks out another player in some tournaments.
Break	A break is when you bet your strong hand very forcefully to win the pot. Most often your opponent will need to go all-in.
Brick	A blank.
Brick	A card that does not help any players hand.
Brick and Mortar	A card room with a physical location (e.g. at a Casino) as opposed to virtual.
Bring It In	To start the betting on the first round.
Bring-In	The forced bet made on the first betting round by the player dealt the lowest card showing in Seven-Card Stud and the highest card showing in razz.
Broadway	An ace high straight.
Broadway	Broadway is a straight from ten to ace. This is the best possible straight.
BRODERICK CRAWFORD	In Hold'em, hole cards of 10-4. From the 1950s TV series "Highway Patrol", starring Broderick Crawford.
Broken	If a player consistently loses over a night and loses a lot of his/her money, that player may be considered 'broken.'
Brush	A cardroom employee responsible for managing the seating list.
Buck	In all flop games, a small disk used to indicate the dealer, or used to signify the player in the last position if a house dealer is used; a button.
BUCK	See BUTTON. (Unrelated to one Michael Buck, this is said to be the origin of the term "buck" to represent one dollar).
Buckets	The holdem starting hand 44. A pocket pair of fours.
Bug	A Joker that can be used to make straights and flushes and can be paired with Aces, but not with any other cards.
Bullet	An Ace.
Bullets	A pair of Aces.
Bump	To raise.
BUNNY	An eight. So named because one can easily draw "rabbit ears" above the numeral 8, "paws" in the middle and "feet" at the bottom. (Do this only at home, and not on cards that will be used for play.)
Buried Pair	In stud games, a pair in the hole.
Burn	To deal off the top card, face down, before dealing out the cards (to prevent cheating); or to set aside a card which has been inadvertently revealed.
Bust	A worthless hand that has failed to improve as the player hoped; a busted hand.
Bust a Player	To deprive a player of all his chips; in tournament play, to eliminate a player.
Bust Out	To be eliminated from a tournament by losing all your chips.
Busted	Broke, tapped.
Busted Flush	A hand with only four of five cards in a flush.
Button	In all flop games, a small disk used to signify the player in the last position if a house dealer is used; a buck.
Buy-In	The miniumum amount of money required to sit down in a particular game.

C

Cage	The cashier, where you exchange cash for chips and vice versa.
Call	To match, rather than raise, the previous bet.
Call Cold	To call a bet and raise at once.
CALLER	One who calls. Sometimes used collectively, as in "3 callers".
Calling Station	A player who invariably calls, and is therefore hard to bluff out.
Candy Canes	The holdem starting hand Seven-Seven (77). Pocket sevens.
Canine	The holdem starting hand King-Nine (K9), sometimes referred to as "The Dog"
Cap	In limit games, the limit on the number of raises in a round of betting.
Card Room	The room or area in a casino where poker is played.
CARDS SPEAK	winner(s) of the hand are determined by turning their cards face up, the best hand(s) wins (no declaration).
CASE	The fourth card of a particular rank, as in "he folded the case 9" when describing where all the 9s were in a hand. Comes from the game of Faro where an employee of the house, called the "case keeper". kept track of the number of each rank of card remaining.
Case Card	The last card of a denomination or suit, when the rest have already been seen.
Case Chips	A player's last chips.
Cash In	To leave the game and convert one's chips to cash, either with the dealer or at the cage.
Cash Out	To leave a game and cash in one's chips at the cage.
Caught Speeding	Slang for caught bluffing.
Chase	To stay in against an apparently stronger hand, usually in the hope of filling a straight or flush.
Check	To abstain from betting, reserving the right to call or raise if another player bets. Also another name for a chip.
Check In The Dark	To check before looking at the card or cards just dealt.
Check-Raise	To check and raise in a betting round.
Cheese	A very substandard starting hand.
CHIP	A round gaming token used in place of cash for convenience in handling and counting. The standard form of currency in most casinos. See also: CHECK n.
Chip Race	As the limits increase in tournaments, lower denomination chips are taken out of circulation. Rather than rounding odd chips up or down for each player, the players are dealt a card for each odd chip. The player with the highest card 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, if nobody calls the blind.
Cinch Hand	An unbeatable hand; nuts.
Closed Hand	A hand in which all cards are concealed from the opponents.
Closed Poker	Games in which all of the cards are dealt face down.
Coffee Housing	An attempt to mislead opponents about one's hand by means of devious speech or behavior.
Cold	If a player says his cards have "gone cold," he's having a bad streak.
Cold Call	To call a raise without having already put the initial bet into the pot.
Cold Cards	A player who is receiving cold cards is usually an experienced player who is having bad luck due to a long running string of bad cards.
Cold Deck	A fixed deck.
Collusion	Collusion is a form of cheating. Players will work in a team to try to gain an advantage over the other players. They will somehow signal to each other what their cards are. They will then use this information to gain an unfair advantage. Collusion is illegal. It is sometimes hard for brick and mortar cardrooms to detect colluders, but online poker rooms can track potential colluders because they can review hand histories.
Color Up	To exchange one's chips for chips of higher value, usually to reduce the number of chips one has on the table.
Come	Playing a worthless hand in the hope of improving it is called "playing on the come."
Come Hand	A hand that has not yet been made, requiring one or more cards from the draw to complete it.
Come Over The Top	To raise or reraise an opponent's bet.
Commit Fully	To put in as many chips as necessary to play your hand to the river, even if they're your case chips.
Community Cards	In flop games and similar games, the cards dealt face up in the center of the table that are shared by all active players.
Connectors	Consecutive cards which might make a straight.
Counterfeit	In Omaha Hi/Lo, when the board pairs your key low card, demoting the value of your hand.
COURT CARD	A jack, queen or king.
Cowboy	Slang for a King.
Cowboys	The holdem starting hand King-King (KK).
Crabs	The holdem starting hand Three-Three (33).
Crack	To beat a powerful hand.
Crying Call	A call with a hand you think has a small chance of winning.
Cut It Up	To split the pot after a tie.
Cut The Pot	To take a percentage of each pot for the casino running the game.
CUT	To break the deck into 2 stacks of at least 5 cards each. Usually performed by the player to the dealer's right to insure that the the deck is not stacked.
Cutoff Seat	The seat to the right of the dealer, the second-best position to be on the table.

D

Dead Card	A card no longer legally playable.
Dead Hand	A hand no longer legally playable, due to some irregularity.
DEAD MAN'S HAND	Generically: two pair, aces and eights. Specifically: the black aces, black eights and nine of diamonds. The hand Wild Bill Hickok was holding when he was shot to death.
Dead Money	Money put into the pot by players who have already folded.
Dealer's Choice	A game in which each dealer, in turn, chooses the type of poker to be played.
Declaration	In high-low poker, declaring by the use of coins or chips whether one is aiming to win the high or the low end of the pot, or both.
Declare Games	Games in which a player must declare the value of his hand in order to claim the pot.
Decloak	To raise after having sandbagged for a time (making it clear that you were, in fact, sandbagging).
Deuce	A two, the lowest ranking card in high poker.
DEUCE	A two.
Deuce to Seven	Another term for Kansas City Lowball, a two to seven without a flush,being the best hand.
Dominate	Said of a starting hand that will almost always beat another starting hand.
Door Card	In Seven-Card Stud, the first exposed card in a player's hand.
Double Belly Buster	A hand with two inside straight draws.
Double Gut Shot	A draw to a broken sequence of cards, in which either of two cards will make the straight.
Double Through	Going all-in against an opponent in order to double your stack if you win the hand.
Down Cards	Hole cards.
Down To The Felt	A player who has lost most of his chips.
Doyle Brunson	The holdem starting hand Ten-Two (T2). Doyle Brunson won the WSOP two years in a row with a ten and a two.
Draw Lowball	A form of poker in which the lowest hand wins.
Draw Out	To improve your hand so that it beats an opponent who had a better hand than yours prior to your draw.
Draw Poker	A form of poker in which each player receives five cards and then has the option of discarding one or more of them and receiving new cards in their place.
Drawing Dead	Drawing to a hand that cannot possibly win.
Drawing Hand	A potentially strong hand requiring a particular card from the draw to make it.
Driver's Seat	The player who is making all the betting and thus appears to hold the strongest hand is said to be in the driver's seat.
Drop	To fold.
Ducks	The holdem starting hand Two-Two (22). Otherwise known as "dueces".

E

Eagles	The cards of the fifth suit in a sixty-two card deck.
Early bet	A small bet made after the first card in stud or the first two cards in draw.
Early Position	A position on a round of betting in which you must act before most of the other players.
Edge	The player to the dealer’s immediate left.
Edge Odds	The relative advantage or disadvantage of a player compared to all other players.
Edge Shot	A bet made from an advantageous position.
Effective Odds	The ratio of the total amount of money you expect to win if you make your hand to the total amount of bets you will have to call to continue from the present round of betting to the end of the hand.
Eldest Hand	The player immediately to the dealer's left. Bbecause they received the first card during the initial deal their hand is considered the oldest. Also called age or edge.
End Bet	The last bet of a betting round.
End Stippers	Cards that are tapered or damaged along the ends for the purposes of cheating.
Entry Fee	An amount payable for all tournaments, with the exception of free rolls. The entry fee can be anywhere from a few cents to thousands of dollars.
Equity	The value of a particular hand or combination of cards.
Even Money	A wager in which you hope to win the same amount as you bet.
Expectation	The profit or loss you would expect to make on average over a number of hands.
Expected Value	EV In probability theory, the overall expected payoff of a particular event, calculated by multiplying the probability of each possible outcome by the payoff from each. For example, if there are two possible outcomes from an event (say, flipping a coin), one of which pays $2 and the other of which pays nothing, your EV for the event is $1 (in the long run, if this event happened many times, you would average $1 per event). In poker, one generally associates an EV with a particular action. One's EV from calling a bet, for example, is the sum of all possible outcomes from calling the bet multiplied by the probability of each. Note that since a bet costs money to make, the payoff of some outcomes--and therefore the EV itself--may be negative.
Exposed Card	A card whose face has been deliberately or accidentally revealed to players normally not entitled to that information during the play of the game. Various games have different rules about how to handle this irregularity.
Exposed Pair	As opposed to a spilt pair or a hidden pair.

F

FACE CARD	A jack, queen or king (a card with a face on it, not joker).
Family Pot	A pot in which most of the players at the table are still involved at the end of the hand.
Favorite	A hand that has the best chance of winning.
Fifth Street	In flop games, the final round of betting and the fifth community card on the board; in stud games, the fifth card dealt to each player and the third betting round (on the third upcard).
Fill	To pull the card one is seeking; to hit.
Fill Up	To make a full house.
FIRE v.i.	To make the first bet in a betting round. Used to emphasize that the player bet when a check was possible, showing strength.
Fish	A poor player; an amateur who is losing a lot of money.
Fishhooks	Slang for Jacks.
Five-Card Draw	A draw poker game in which the players start with five cards and then may draw to replace them.
Five-Card Stud	A stud poker game in which each player gets one concealed card and four exposed cards.
Fixed-Limit	Basically another way of saying "limit poker", there are set bets. Poker with set betting limits. In a $5-$10 fixed-limit poker game all bets and raises preflop and on the flop are $5 each, and the bets and raises after the turn and river cards are $10 each.
FL	Abbreviation for Fixed Limit.
Flat Call	To call a bet without raising.
Flat Limit	A betting limit in a poker game that does not escalate from one round to the next.
FLAT LIMIT	A variant of fixed limit where all bets are the same amount.
FLOORMAN	The casino representative in charge of the card room or a section of a card room. Arbitrates disputes when unusual events happen.
Flop	In flop games, the first three community cards, which are turned face up simultaneously and start the second round of betting.
Flush	Five cards of the same suit.
Flush Draw	Having four cards of the same suit, and hoping to draw a fifth to make a flush.
Fold	To withdraw from the hand rather than bet or raise; to give up.
Forced Bet	A required bet to start the action on the first round of a poker hand.
FOSSIL (derogatory)	An elderly poker player.
FOUR FLUSH	Four cards to a flush.
Four Of A Kind	Four cards of the same denomination.
Fourth Street	In flop games, the fourth card on board and the third round of betting, the turn; in Seven-Card Stud, the fourth card dealt to each player and the second round of betting (on the second upcard).
Free Card	A card that a player gets without having to call a bet.
Free Ride	To stay in a hand without being forced to bet.
Freeroll	A situation in which two players have the same hand, but one of the players has a chance to better his hand.
Freeze Out	A game or tournament in which all players start with the same amount and play until one player has won all the chips.
Full Boat	Another name for a full house, a poker hand consisting three-of-a-kind and another pair.
Full House	Any three cards of the same denomination, plus any pair of a different denomination.

G

G-Note	A one thousand dollar bill.
Get Full Value	Betting, raising and re-raising in order to manipulate the size of the pot so that you will be getting maximum pot odds if you win the hand.
Get The Right Price	The pot odds are favorable enough for you to justify calling a bet or a raise with a drawing hand.
Get There	To make your hand.
Give Action	Betting, calling, raising or re-raising.
GIVING AWAY v.t.	Revealing one's hand by obvious play. See also TELL, READ.
GOOD GAME	A game with players worse than you so that you can expect to win a lot of money.
Grinder	A semi-professional player who makes a living out of playing poker.
Gut-Shot	A card drawn to fill an inside straight.
Gypsy In	In lowball, to limp in.

H

Hammer	To bet and raise aggressively.
Hand	A player's best five cards.
Heads-Up	A game between just two players, often the climax of a tournament.
High Card	In any round of poker no player makes a ranking hand (pairs or better) then the person with the highest card "High Card" wins. If two players have the same high card, then their second highest card is taken as the winning kicker, and so on. If the players have the exact same 5 card rank hand, then the pot is split.
High Society	Gambler slang for $10,000.00 in chips. Mike McDermott buys "3 stacks of high society" at Teddy KGB's place in the film Rounders.
High-Low	A poker game in which the highest and lowest hands share the pot. Also called High-Low Split.
Hilton Sisters	The holdem starting hand Queen-Queen (QQ). Also called "The Ladies".
Hit	To pull the card one is seeking; to fill.
Hit And Run	A player who has only been at the table a short amount of time and leaves after winning a big pot.
Hold 'Em	A form of poker in which players use five community cards in combination with their two hole cards to form the best five-card hand. Also called Texas hold 'em.
Hole	The concealed card or cards.
Hole Card	A card concealed in a player's hand.
Home Run Hitter	A player who makes big plays that require maximum risk.
HOOK	A Jack. So named because the "J" resembles a hook.
Horsing	Passing a small amount of money to another player after winning a pot; scooting.
Hot	Said of a player on a winning streak.
HOT BABE (TM)	An attractive, well-dressed female in or near a casino. The term is a trademark of rec.gambling. An example of proper usage is: "I had just raked in the pot when this Hot Babe (TM) comes up to the table and asks `Are you Frank Irwin?'".
House	The establishment; the casino or cardroom.
HOUSE CUT	Generic term for how the house profits from hosting the game. See BUTTON CHARGE, TABLE CHARGE and RAKE.
HOUSE RULE	Rules and interpretations (e.g., use of wild cards, or rules on having to show beaten hands) that are specific to an establishment or even tables within the establishment.
HOYLE	Edmund Hoyle (1769-?) was the authoritative source for rules of card games. Hoyle is to card rules as Webster is to word definitions.

I

Ice	A cold deck.
Idiot End	The idiot end straight refers to drawing to the bottom end of a straight. For example, if there is an open-ended straight on the board 789T and you have a 6, it is likely that someone has a Jack and will crush you.
Ignorant End	The low end straight.
Implied Odds	The amount of money you expect to win if you make your hand versus the amount of money it will cost you to continue playing.
In	A player is "in" if he or she has called all bets.
In the Air	When the tournament director instructs the dealers to get the cards in the air, it means to start dealing.
In The Dark	To check or bet blind, without looking at your cards.
In The Money	To place high enough in a tournament to get prize money.
Inside Straight	Four cards requiring one in the middle to fill a straight.
Insurance	Selling the actual outcome of the hand for its mathematical equity.
Isolate	To raise with the intention of reaching a heads up between yourself and a single other player.

J

Jackpot Poker	A form of poker in which the cardroom offers a jackpot for particularly bad beats. Typically you must have aces full or better.
Jacks Or Better	A form of draw poker in which a player needs at least a pair of Jacks to start the betting.
Jackson Five	The holdem starting hand Jack-Five (J5). Jacks and Five.
Jacquese	The texas holdem starting hand of Jack-Queen (JQ).
Jagging	A cheater's technique to mark cards with his fingernail or a device.
Jam	To bet or raise the maximum.
Jammed Pot	The pot has been raised the maximum number of times, and may also be multi-way.
Joker	The fifty-third card in the deck, used as a wild card or a bug.
Jonah	An unlucky player.

K

Kamikaze	A player who is on tilt so badly that they literally throw away their money with no regard or go all in with a rubbish or semi-strong hand.
Kansas City Lowball	A form of lowball poker played for a deuce to seven low.
Keep Honest	To call an opponent on the river, even though you believe he has a better hand than you do.
Key Card	The one card that will make your hand.
Key Hand	In a tournament, the hand that proves to be a turning point, for better or worse.
Kibitzer	A non-playing spectator; a railbird.
Kick It	To raise.
Kicker	The highest unpaired side card.
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.
Knave	A Jack.
Kojak	The hold'em starting hand King-Jack (KJ).
Kokomo	The hold'em starting hand King-King (KK).
KU KLUX KLAN	3 Kings.

L

Ladies	The holdem starting hand Queen-Queen (QQ).
LADY	A Queen.
LATE BLIND	In addition to "regular" blinds, some games allow a player (particularly a new one) to post a blind bet in return for the right to enter the game immediately and act last on the first betting round. The amount of the blind is determined by house rules, usually somewhere between the last blind and double the last blind. It is frequently a LIVE BLIND.
Late Position	A position on a round of betting in which you act after most of the other players have acted.
Lay Down	To reveal one's hand in a showdown.
Lay Down Your Hand	To fold.
Lay The Odds	To wager more money on a proposition than you hope to win.
Lead	To be the first to enter the pot after the blind.
Leak	To lose back part or all of one's winnings through other gambling habits.
Legitimate Hand	A strong hand that is not a bluff.
Limit Poker	A game with fixed minimum and maximum betting intervals.
Limp In	To enter the round by calling a bet rather than raising.
Limper	A player who enters the pot for the minimum bet.
LINER	A face card. (Because you can see a line when the card is face down and the lower right corner is lifted).
LITTLE SLICK	In Hold'em, hole cards of A-2, suited or not.
Live Blind	When the player is allowed to raise even if no one else raises first; straddle.
Live Card	In stud games, a card that has not yet been seen in an opponent's hand and is presumed likely to be still in play.
Live Hand	A hand that is still eligible to win the pot.
Live One	An inexperienced, bad or loose player who apparently has plenty of money to lose; a rich sucker.
Lock	A hand that cannot lose; a cinch hand.
Long Odds	The odds for an event that has a relatively small chance of occurring.
Longhand	This refers to a poker game with seven or more people. The odds of high cards being played are increased due to the amount of cards out on the table.
Look	To call the final bet (before the showdown).
Loose	Playing more hands than the norm.
LOOSE	Playing more hands than the norm. Antonym: TIGHT.
Loose Game	A game with a lot of players in most pots.
Lowball	A form of poker in which the lowest hand wins.
Luck Out	To outdraw and beat a good hand.

M

Main Pot	When a player goes all-in, that player is only eligible to win the main pot - the pot consisting of the bets they were able to match. Additional bets are placed in a side pot and are contested among the remaining players.
Make	To make the deck is to shuffle.
Make A Move	To try a bluff.
Maniac	A very aggressive player who plays hands that more conservative players would probably not consider.
Mark	A sucker.
MARKED CARDS	Cards that have been (illegally) altered so that their value can be read from the back.
Marker	An IOU.
Maverick	The name of a Queen and Jack in the pocket, suited or otherwise.
Mechanic	A cheat who manipulates the deck.
Meet	To call.
Mid-Life Crisis	The holdem starting hand Four-Four (44). Pocket Fours.
Middle Pair	In flop games, a middle pair is made by pairing with the middle card on the flop.
Middle Position	A position on a round of betting somewhere in the middle.
MILES OF BAD ROAD	Three of a kind. Prefixed with a number, 3*, to indicate 3 s. Thus "24 miles of bad road" is 3 eights, etc. (This obviously doesn't work for face cards.)
Minimum Buy-In	The least amount you can start a game with.
MISDEAL	A hand dealt incorrectly that must be re-dealt.
Miss	To be unable to make your drawing hand when the final cards are dealt.
Mites and Lice	A hand consisting of two pair; threes and twos.
Monster	A hand that is almost certain to win.
Move In	To go all-in.
Muck	To discard a hand; also the discard pile in which all cards are dead.

N

Narrow the Field	To bet or raise in order to scare off other players whose hands are currently worse than yours, but have the potential to improve.
Near Nuts	Almost the best hand possible, but may be only a couple of hands, or very unlikely hands that could beat you. For example, if you have KK, and the board is K6693, you have the near nuts, because someone else may make a full house or four-of-a-kind sixes.
Nickel	Gambler slang for $500.
Nit	To bide your time, patiently waiting for a playable hand.
NL	Abbreviation to indicated a No-Limit game.
No Limit	A betting structure in which there is no maximum bet. Players may bet as much as they want at any time, at any time they can declare themselves "all in" and put all of their chips into the pot.
No-Limit Poker	A game in which players can bet as much as they have in front of them on any given round.
NO-PEEK[EE]	A class of poker games where players do not get to see their cards before betting. Rarely played in public games.
Nursing	To play conservatively because one is losing and has little money left.
NUT	The best possible hand of a given class. The "nut flush" is the highest possible flush, but might still lose to, e.g., a full house. Usually used in Hold'em games.
Nut Flush	The best available flush.
Nuts	The best possible hand at any point in the game, a cinch hand.

O

Odds	The probability of making a hand versus the probability of not making the hand.
Offsuit	Two different suits, used to describe the first two cards.
Oldsmobile	The holdem starting hand Nine-Eight (98).
Omaha	A flop game similar to Hold 'Em, but each player is dealt four cards instead of two, and a hand must be made using exactly two pocket cards, plus three from the table.
On Board	On the table; in the game.
On The Come	A hand that is drawing to a straight or flush.
On Tilt	Playing poorly, usually because of becoming emotionally upset.
ONE-EYED	The jack of hearts, jack of spades or king of diamonds. So named because the characters are drawn in profile, thus showing only one eye.
One-Gap	An inside straight.
One-Way Straight Or One-End.	A four-card straight open only on one end, such as jack, queen, king, ace.
Open	To make the first bet.
Open at Both Ends	A four-card sequence that can be made a straight by two different value cards. Also Open Ended Straight Draw.
Open Card	Exposed card; a card dealt face-up.
Open Ended Straight Draw	Four cards to a straight, example 4567, drawing to either end of the straight, in this example a 3 or an 8. You have twice the chance of completing your straight with an open-ended straight draw than a inside straight where you are aiming to hit just 1 inside card.
Open Pair	An exposed pair; a pair of face-up cards.
OPEN PAIR	An exposed pair.
Open Poker	Games where some of the cards are dealt face up.
OPEN v.t.	Make the first bet in a hand, especially in draw poker.
Open-Ended Straight	Four consecutive cards requiring one at either end to make a straight.
OPENER	The player who opens the betting, especially in draw poker. A hand may have no openers, in which case it is PASSED OUT, i.e., new hands are dealt.
OPENERS	Cards in a hand that qualify a player to open the betting.
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; straddle.
Out	A card remaining in the deck that could hopefully improve your hand.
Outdraw	To beat an opponent by drawing to a better hand.
Outdraw	When a player beats another player by drawing a superior hand.
Outrun	Outdraw.
Outs	Cards that can improve your hand. If you have a 4 cards of a flush draw, then there are 9 other cards left in the deck that can give you the flush (13 out of 52 total) so you have a total of 9 "outs" to complete your hand.
OVER conj.	A term used in describing two pair or a full house. "Kings over tens" means two pair, kings and tens. "Jacks over", also "Jacks up" describes a hand that is two pair: Jacks with an unspecified lower pair. Also used to describe a full house, distinguishing the three of a kind from the pair. The hand J-J-J-A-A could be described as "Full house, Jacks over Aces".
Overbet the Pot	In a no limit game if a player bets more than the total pot, they have "overbet the pot".
Overcall	To call a bet after another player has already called.
Overcard	In stud games, a card higher than your opponent's probable pair; in flop games, a card higher than any card on the board.
Overpair	In flop games, a wired pair higher than any card on the board.

P

Paint Cards	King, Queen and Jack; face cards; court cards; picture cards.
Pair	Two cards of the same denomination.
Pass	Fold.
Passive	Someone who does not bet and raise a lot.
PAT	Holding or being dealt a pat hand. "I'm pat" would mean "I don't want to draw any cards.
Pat Hand	A hand that is played as dealt, without changing a card; usually a straight, flush or full house.
PAT HAND	In draw poker, a hand that does not need any more cards. Specifically, a straight, flush, full house or straight flush. One might bluff and represent a pat hand but actually hold something else.
Pay Off	To call a bet or raise when you don't think you have the best hand.
Pay Station	A player who calls bets and raises much more than is typical; a calling station.
Picked Off	To get called when you are bluffing.
Picture Cards	King, Queen and Jack; face cards; court cards; paint cards.
Pigeon	An easy player.
Pip	The suit symbols on a non-court card, indicating its rank.
PL	Abbreviation for Pot-Limit.
Play Back	To raise or re-raise an opponent's bet.
Play Fast	Aggressively betting a drawing hand to get full value for it if you make it.
Play Money	Playing for fun or fake money. Usually online poker sites have free games with play money. This allows players to practice without wagering real dollars. Most online casinos and online poker rooms have "play money" games.
Play With	Staying in the hand by betting, calling, raising, or re-raising.
Playing the Board	In flop games, if your best five card hand uses the five community cards.
PLO	Abbreviation for Pot Limit Omaha.
Pocket	Another term for hole.
POCKET [CARDS]	Hole cards in stud and Hold'em.
Pocket Pair	In holdem if you are dealt two hole cards of the same rank.
Pocket Rockets	A pair of aces in the hole.
Poker Hand	A group of five cards which are ranked according to the hand rankings.
Position	Your seat in relation to the dealer, and thus your place in the betting order.
Post	To post a bet is to place your chips in the pot.
Pot	The money or chips in the center of the table.
POT	The total amount of money bet so far in a hand.
Pot Committed	When you have put so much money into a pot it is not worth folding to another small raise, even if you think you may have been beaten.
Pot Limit	A game in which the maximum bet is the total of the pot.
Pot Odds	The amount of money in the pot versus the amount of money it will cost you to continue in the hand.
Preflop	The stage of a holdem game when you have two cards in your hand and there are no cards on the board yet.
PRESTO! e.	In Hold'em, what one says when revealing pocket 5's. This term, specific to rec.gambling, is still evolving and subject to redefinition. The term comes from a more well-established background in Blackjack where one says "Presto!" when turning over a blackjack. When a player says "PRESTO!" at an appropriate time, the correct countersign is to say "IRWIN". This is a method of identification, not a compulsory ritual.
Prop	Short for proposition player; similar to a shill, but plays with his own money.
Proposition Player	A cardroom employee who joins a game with his own money when the game is shorthanded, or to get a game started; similar to a shill.
Protect A Hand	To protect a hand is to bet so as to reduce the chances of anyone outdrawing you by getting them to fold.
Protect Your Cards	To protect your cards is to place a chip or some other small object 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 player who makes the game profitable for the other players at the table; a nicer term for a fish.
PUCK	A token denoting the dealer position. See BUTTON.
Puppy Feet, Pups	A club flush or just a suit of clubs.
Push	When the hand is finished and a winner is determined, the dealer pushes the chips towards the winner.
Put Down	Fold.
Put Him On	To guess an opponent's hand and play accordingly.
Putting On The Heat	Pressuring your opponents with aggressive betting strategies to get the most value from your hand.

Q

Quads	Four of a kind.
Qualifier	In high-low, a requirement the hand must meet to be eligible for a portion of the pot.
Quartered	To divide half a pot between two tying hands in split pot games. This is Applicable to Omaha Hi-Lo Poker.
Quint	A straight flush.
Quint Major	A royal straight flush.
Quorum	The minimum number of players needed to start a poker game.

R

Rabbit Hunt	When you win a poker hand, your opponent sometimes wants to know if they would have beat you if they stayed in the hand. When your opponent is "rabbit hunting" they ask the dealer to deal the flop, turn or river cards to see what would have come out. Rabbit hunting is frowned upon when playing poker and banned from most tournaments.
RACE v.t.	In tournaments it is sometimes convenient to remove all lower- denomination chips from play, as the remaining players' stacks tend to grow. Small chips are converted to larger chips and any odd chips are "raced off" in the following way: each player with odd chips places them in front of his stack and is dealt one card for each chip. Highest card (rank and suit) takes all the small chips and converts them to higher-denomination chips.
Rack	A plastic tray which holds 100 chips in 5 stacks of 20.
Rag Off	To get a card on the river that doesn't help you.
Ragged Flop	Flop cards that are of no use to any player's hand.
Rags	Worthless cards; blanks.
Rail	The sideline at a poker table.
Railbird	A non-playing spectator or kibitzer, often used to describe a broke ex-player.
Rainbow	Three or four cards of different suits.
Raise	To call and increase the previous bet.
Rake	Chips taken from the pot by the dealer on behalf of the house.
Rank	The value of a card. Each card has a suit and a rank.
Rap	To knock the table, indicating a check.
Razz	Seven-card stud lowball. Shortened from "razzle dazzle."
Re-raise	To raise a raise.
Read	To try and determine your opponent's cards or betting strategy.
Rebuy	To start again, for an additional entry fee, in tournament play (where permitted).
Redraw	A draw to an even better hand when you currently are holding the nuts.
Represent	To bet in a way that suggests you are holding a strong hand.
Reverse Implied Odds	The ratio of the amount of money now in the pot to the amount of money you will have to call to continue from the present round to the end of the hand.
RIDER BACK (TM)	A brand of playing cards that feature a bicycle rider on the back of the cards. Often used in home games. Compare: BEE No. 92.
Riffle	To shuffle; or to fidget with your chips.
Ring Game	A non-tournament game.
River	In flop games, the last round of betting on the fifth street card; in stud games, the last round of betting on the seventh street card.
River The fifth and last community board card, after the tur Also called fifth street.		Rock	A very tight, conservative player.
Rock Garden	A table populated with rocks.
Roll	To turn a card face-up.
Rolled Up	In Seven-Card Stud, three of a kind on third street (the first three cards).
Rough	A lowball hand that is not perfect.
Round of Betting	The period during which each active player has the right to check, bet or raise. It ends when the last bet or raise has been called by all players still in the hand.
Rounder	A professional player who "makes the rounds" of the big poker games in the country.
Route 66	The holdem starting hand Six-Six (66).
Royal Flush	The best possible poker hand, consisting of the 10 through the Ace, all the same suit.
Run	A straight, or a series of good cards.
Run Over	Playing aggressively in an attempt to control the other players.
Runner-Runner	A hand made on the last two cards.
Running	Two needed cards that come as the last two cards dealt.
Running Bad	On a losing streak.
Running Good	On a winning streak.
Running Pair	When the last two cards on the board make a pair.
Rush	Several winning hands in a short period of time.

S

Sailboats	The holdem starting hand Four-Four (44). Pocket Fours.
Sandbag	To check a strong hand with the intention of raising or re-raising.
Satellite	A small-stakes tournament whose winner obtains cheap entry into a bigger tournament.
Sausage	A player who plays with no sense. Example (all in with a 2,9)
Scare Card	An up card that looks as though it might have made a strong hand.
School	The players in a regular game.
Scoop	To win the entire pot.
Scooting	Passing chips to another player after winning a pot; horsing.
Seat Charge	In public cardrooms, an hourly fee for playing poker.
SEAT POSITION	The actual seat a player has, normally numbered sequentially starting with 1 as the first seat to dealer's left. Not to be confused with POSITION in a particular pot. Typically unrelated to play of a hand but often important in peripheral aspects, e.g.: "Seats 1 and 10 are nonsmoking here", "Seat 5 has a good view of the table", "Seat 3 is in a high-traffic area".
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.
Second Pair	In flop games, pairing the second highest card on board.
See	To call.
Sell	Similar to the slow play or sandbagging, betting a very strong hand fairly lightly in order to induce a call.
Semi-Bluff	To bet with a hand which isn't the best hand, but which has a reasonable chance of improving.
Set	Three of a kind; trips (usually applies to a pair in hand and a matching card on board).
Set You In	To bet as much as your opponent has left in front of him.
Seventh Street	The final betting round on the last card in Seven-Card Stud.
Shark	A shark is a good player and typically wins. A shark generally "eats" fish, the weaker amatuer players.
Shill	A cardroom employee, often an off-duty dealer, who plays with house money to make up a game.
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 Odds	The odds for an event that has a good chance of occurring.
Short Stack	A number of chips that is not very many compared to the other players at the table. If you have $10 in front of you, and everybody else at the table has over $100, you are playing on a short stack.
Short-Stacked	Having only a small number of chips left.
Shorthand	This refers to a poker game with six or fewer people.
Show One, Show All	A rule that says if a player shows their cards to anyone at the table they can be asked to show everyone else.
Showdown	The point at the end of the final round of betting when all the remaining player's cards are turned up to see which player has won the pot.
Side Card	An unmatched card which may determine the winner between two otherwise equal hands.
Side Pot	A separate pot contested by other players when one player is all-in.
Sixth Street	In Seven-Card Stud, the fourth round of betting on the sixth card.
Skin	To fix the cards; cheat.
Slow Play	Disguising the value of a strong hand by underbetting, to trick an opponent.
Slowroll	To reveal one's hand slowly at showdown, one card at a time, to heighten the drama.
Small Blind	The smaller of the two compulsory bets in flop games, made by the player in the first postion to the dealer's left.
Smooth	The best possible low hand with a particular high card.
Smooth Call	To call rather than raise an opponent's bet.
Snap Off	To beat another player, often a bluffer, and usually without a powerful hand.
Snowmen	The holdem starting hand Eight-Eight (88).
Speed	The level of aggressiveness with which you play. Fast play is more aggressive, slow play is more passive.
Speed Limit	The holdem starting hand Five-Five (55).
Splash	Throwing your chips into the pot is called "Splashing the pot" and is considered bad etiquette in poker.
Splash Around	To play more loosely than you should.
Splash The Pot	To throw your chips into the pot, instead of placing them in front of you. This makes it difficult for the dealer to determine the amount you bet.
Split	A tie.
Spread	When a cardroom starts a table for a particular game, it is said to spread that game. If you want to know what games are played in a particular place, you can ask what they spread.
Spread Limit	Betting limits in which there is a fixed minimum and maximum bet for each betting round.
Squeeze	To look slowly at the extremities of your hole cards, without removing them from the table, to worry your opponents and heighten the drama.
Stack	The pile of chips in front of a player.
Stand Pat	To decline an opportunity to draw cards.
Stand-Off	A tie, in which the players divide the pot equally.
Stay	To remain in a hand with a call rather than a raise.
Steal	A bluff in late position, attempting to steal the pot from a table of apparently weak hands.
Steamrolling	Re-raising to make a player(s) call two bets instead of one.
Steel The Blinds	Win just the blinds by bluffing; get the blinds to fold, usually by opening in late position, and thus win the blinds.
Steel Wheel	In lowball, a straight flush, five high (Ace-2-3-4-5).
Stone Cold Nuts	The best holding possible in a hand of poker that will win the entire pot (as opposed to possibly winning only half or some fraction). Such an example would be holding a suited ace and making a flush with it on an unpaired board in holdem. This is in contrast to holding an ace high straight, which even though it may not possibly be beaten, could end up in a tie with another one.
Straddle	To make a blind raise before the deal; big blind.
Straight	Five consecutive cards of mixed suits.
Straight Flush	Five consecutive cards of the same suit.
Streak	A run of good or bad cards.
String Bet	An illegal bet in which a player puts some chips in the pot, then reaches back to his stack for more, without having first verbally stated the full amount of his bet.
Structure	The limits set upon the ante, forced bets and subsequent bets and raises in any given game.
Stub	The portion of the deck which has not been dealt.
Stuck	Slang for losing, often a substantial amount of money.
Stud	Any form of poker in which the first card or cards are dealt down, or in the hole, followed by several open, or face up, cards.
Suck Out	To win a hand by hitting a very weak draw, often with poor pot odds.
Suicide King	King of Hearts. So named because in the drawing the king appears to be stabbing himself in the head.
Suited	Cards of the same suit.
Sunset Strip	The holdem starting hand Seven-Seven (77).
Sweat	To watch a player from the rail.
Sweeten The Pot	Slang for raise.

T

Table	Refers to the poker table itself, or the collective players in the game.
TABLE CHARGE	A fee paid for playing. See SEAT CHARGE.
Table Cop	A player who calls with the intention of keeping other players honest.
Table Stakes	A poker game in which a player cannot bet more than the money he has on the table.
Table Talk	Any discussion at the table of the hand currently underway, especially by players not involved in the pot, and especially any talk that might affect play.
Take Off A Card	To call a single bet in order to see one more card.
Take Off The Gloves	To use an aggressive betting strategy to bully opponents.
Take The Odds	To wager less money on a proposition than you hope to win.
Tap	In a no limit game, if you tap your opponent you are making a bet equal to all of his chips.
Tap City	To go broke.
Tap Out	To bet all one's chips.
Tapped Out	Broke, busted.
Tapping the Aquarium	To tell an amateur player what he/she is doing wrong.
Tell	A player's nervous habit or mannerism which might reveal his hand.
Texas Hold 'Em	A form of poker in which players use five community cards in combination with their two hole cards to form the best five-card hand. Also called hold 'em.
Third Pair	In flop games, pairing the third highest card on board.
Third Street	In Seven-Card Stud, the first round of betting on the first three cards.
Three Flush	Three cards of the same suit, requiring two more to make a flush.
Three Of A Kind	Three cards of the same denomination, with two side cards; trips.
Three Wise Men	Three of a kind, with three kings.
Throwing A Party	When several loose or amateur players are making significant monetary contributions to the pot.
Tight	A conservative player who only plays strong hands, or playing on fewer hands than the norm.
Tight Game	A game with a small number of players in most pots.
Tilt	Any player can go "on tilt". Often when someone loses a big hand or has a good hand cracked (bad beat) it causes them to tilt. Tilt is when you play recklessly or emotionally based on previous hands, most often losses.
To Go	An amount "to go" is the amount it takes to enter the pot.
Toke	A tip to the dealer.
Top Pair	In flop games, pairing the highest card on board.
TOP TWO PAIR	In flop games, having hole cards that make the highest possible two pair hand.
TOURNAMENT	A highly structured game involving potentially dozens of tables where all participants pay an entry fee and obtain a fixed number of chips. Once a tournament has started, additional players may not enter. As the game progresses players bust out and are eliminated until only one winner remains.
Trap	A slow-play that will entice your opponent to bet and stay in the pot, all the while you know you have an unbeatable hand.
Trepasso	The holdem starting hand Ace-Jack (AJ).
Trey	A three.
Triplets	Three of a kind.
Trips	Slang for triplets; three of a kind.
Turn	In flop games, the fourth street card.
Two Flush	Two cards of the same suit, requiring three more to make a flush.
Two Pair	A hand with two pairs and a kicker.

U

Under The Gun	The first to bet.
Under-Raise	To raise less than the previous bet; allowed only if a player is going all-in.
Underdog	A hand that does not have the best chance of winning before all the cards are dealt.
Underpair	An underpair is a pocket pair that is smaller than any card on the board.
Underplay	To make a small bet in the hope of drawing other players into the pot.
Up Card	An open card, a card dealt face-up.
Uphill	To chase or try to outdraw a better hand.

V

Valet	A Jack.
Village People	Four of a kind Queens.

W

Wake Up With A Hand	To be dealt a hand with winning potential.
Walk	To walk is to be away from the table long enough to miss one or more hands.
Walkers	Players who walk frequently.
Walking Sticks	The holdem starting hand Seven-Seven (77).
Wayne Gretzky	The holdem starting hand Nine-Nine (99).
Wheel	The lowest hand in lowball, Ace-2-3-4-5; also known as a bicycle.
Whipsaw	To raise before, and after, a caller who gets caught in the middle.
WHITE BLACKBIRD	A hand so astonishingly rare as to be unworthy of the opponents' consideration, e.g., being dealt a pat royal flush in 5-card draw.
Wild Card	A card designated as a joker, playable as any value.
WIRED [PAIR]	A pair in the hole. In 5-card stud, a door card that pairs the hole card.
Wired Pair	A pair in hand.
Wooden Hand	A hand that cannot improve or that cannot possibly win. Comes from deadwood, a term for the discards.
Woolworths	The holdem starting hand of Five-Ten (5T). Derived from the once-common nickname for Woolworth's retail outlets: "five-and-ten cent stores"
WORLD SERIES OF POKER	A series of several different poker games with relatively large buy-ins, culminating in a $10,000 buy-in no-limit Hold'em tournament, the winner of which is crowned the World Poker Champion. Sponsored by Binion's Horseshoe Club in Las Vegas.
World's Fair	A big hand.

Y

Youngest Hand

An archaic term for the player immediately to the right of the dealer.

Z

Z-Game	The lowest stake game in the house.
Zilch, Zip	A hand consisting of no valuable or worthwhile cards; nothing.
Zombie	A poker player with no tells; a player with an excellent poker face.