A
Ace – The highest or lowest card on the deck. Whether the cards are arranged in order, the ace either starts this sequence: A-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-T-J-Q-K; or finishes this sequence: 2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-T-J-Q-K-A.
Ace-high – A term that refers to a straight or flush topped by an ace.
Acepots – A form of high draw poker, in which a gambler cannot open the pot without holding at least 2 aces as openers.
Aces and spaces – A 5 card hand consisting of 2 aces and 3 other nugatory cards.
Aces full – A full house consisting of 3 aces and a smaller pair.
Aces up – 2 pair, the higher of which are aces.
Age – An out of date term for the gambler immediately to the left of the dealer in games that use an automation wagering scheme.
Alexander – The king of clubs. Apparently comes from Alexander the Great.
All-In – When a gambler bets all his chips. In on-line poker, you may be deemed “All-in” when you are disconnected (even whether you still have more chips).
American Airlines – In hold’em, a twosome of aces as one’s primary 2 cards. In other games, a twosome of aces.
Ante – 1 or further chips put into every pot by every gambler before the cards are dealt. An ante is not part of a player’s next bet, as opposed to a blind, which generally is.
B
Bad beat – The situation in which a courageous hand is beaten by a longshot or improbable hand, especially when the holder of the eventual winning hand should never have been in the pot in the to begin with.
Bait – A small bet made to cause a raise.
Banana – Dollar; dollar chip.
Basement – Bottom of the deck; generally preceded by from the.
Beer hand – In hold’em, 7-2 as someone’s 2 cards.
Belly buster – A card that makes an inside straight.
Belly stripper – A card that have its long end shaved.
Bet – Wager, to put chips into the pot. “I bet.”
Bet blind – Make a bet without looking at one’s cards.
Bet out of turn – Put cash in the pot before it is someone’s turn to do it, that is, before other gamblers who are supposed to action first have had the oppurtunity to indicate what they are going to do.
Bet the raise – A wagering limit in which a gambler can bet or raise a max equal to the complete amount of chips the last gambler has put into the pot.
Betty Hutton – A poker game played only in private games, a form of seven-card stud in which 5s and 9s are wild.
Bicycle – A straight that is A-2-3-4-5.
Big apple – Large game, often the biggest game in a specific club.
Black Maria – 1. The queen of spades. 2. The ace of spades, especially when associated along the game of high spade in the hole.
Blind – The bet that has to be made by the 2 gamblers sitting directly to the dealer’s left side which will begin the act on the 1st round of betting.
Blind bet – A bet that is made without looking at someone’s cards.
Blind raise – A game in which the gambler to the left side of the dealer puts in 1 chip before getting any cards and the next gambler puts in 2 chips.
Blocky – In hold’em, 6-3 as a player’s primary 2 cards.
Blood game – A high-stakes poker game, in which the main objective of the gamblers is to win money.
Bluff – 1. Bet a weak hand along the wish of driving the other gamblers out. Sometimes done along the intention of losing (and thus being forced to display the hand).
Bone – A $1 chip.
Bottom – A card dealt from the body of the deck.
Bring in – Open. “Who brought it in?” means “Who opened?”
Broadway – Ace-high straight.
Broken game – A game that just broke up, as, for instance, when only several gamblers remain-not enough for a game-after other gamblers have quit.
Bull – Ace; also bullet.
Busted – Having no cash or chips.
Button – 1. The disk or other marker that indicates the dealer place in the game. 2. The actual dealer seat.
Buy-in – The min number of chips required to get into a game.
C
Call – Match a bet. “I call.”
Calling hand – A hand along which a gambler feels he must call a bet.
Card down - The situation in which a card has been dealt off the table or otherwise dropped to the floor, and a floorperson must pick up the card, because, in numerous casinos and card rooms, the domain dealer is not permitted to retrieve the card, nor is a player. whether a card falls on the floor, the dealer may announce, “Card down,” and a floor person comes over to pick it up.
Card rack – Someone who gets many great hands.
Cardroom – 1. An establishment, generally open to the public, in which cards are played. 2. The section of a casino in which poker is played.
Caribbean stud – A casino game, banked by the house, that resembles poker only in the ranking of the hands. The game is sort of cross among poker and a slot machine.
Cash in – Take your chips to the cage in order to trade them for cash.
Catbird seat – The place immediately to the right side of the dealer.
Catch inside – In lowball or razz, make the specific hand you are drawing to.
Charlie – The 3rd place to the left side of the dealer.
Check – Make no bet, but still hold your cards. You can check, and later on call a bet, fold, or raise.
Check and raise – Permitting gamblers to pass and still retain their cards.
Chip in – Ante, or call a small bet.
Chips are down – Originally, bets have been made and the gamblers are dedicated to win or lose based on the cards they are holding.
Coaxer – In a no-limit game, a small raise of an rival’s raise, the thing of which is to coax a reraise from the original raiser, so that the maker of the coaxer can make his move in the form of a very big raise.
Cold bluff – A huge bluff adopted on a weak hand.
Collusion – A form of cheating in which 2 or further gamblers sign their holdings or otherwise form a cheating partnership to the distress of the other players.
Color change – Replacing chips of 1 color along those of another. Generally implies getting rid of several low value chips for fewer of a higher value.
Community cards – In hold’em, the cards dealt to the centre of the table that are used by all players.
Cowboys - Two kings.
Crab – the card 3.
Cut – Separate the deck into 2 packets after the cards have been shuffled.
D
Darth Vader – The 2 black fours (the “dark force”) as one’s primary 2 cards.
David – The king of spades.
Dead man’s hand – In hold’em, A-8 as a player’s primary 2 cards.
Direction – In a high-low split game, which half of the pot, high or low, a gambler is contesting.
Doctor Pepper – A wild-card game along 10s, 4s, and 2s wild.
Dolly Parton – In hold’em, 9-5 as one’s primary 2 cards.
Door card – In stud games, the primary exposed card of a hand.
Down player – Hole cards. Cards that are dealt head down.
“Doubleyou” – A request for 2 cards.
Down – 1. Seated in a game. “Is Jim down?” 2. Losing “How much are you down?”
Drink pot – An arrangement among 2 or further gamblers that the next one of them to win the pot will either buy everyone drinks, or pay for the round that they are ordering at the time the drink pot is proposed.
Dust – Referring to an act that is made by the house dealer, clap his hands before leaving the table when his replacement arrives to let observing security personnel see that the his hands are empty, and he is not stealing any chips or money.
E
Early position – In a poker game, the 1st several seats to the left of the dealer, or to the left of the blinds.
Easy money – easy pickings in a poker game; cash won from newbies players.
Edge – The advantage a better gambler has in a poker game.
Elk River – A hand along 3 10s.
Eyes – In hold ‘em, a twosome of aces.
F
Family pot – A pot along many players.
Fast player – An aggressive player who bets at nearly each opportunity.
Favorite – The hand that has the elite opportunity of winning.
Fifth street – In hold’em, the 5th card of the board also known as River.
Five-card stud – A poker game, stud poker along 1 card dealt head down followed by 4 cards dealt head up, along wagering starting on the 2nd player and ongoing along every round of cards.
Flop – In hold’em, the 3 cards turned head up after the primary round of betting.
Flush – 5 cards of the same suit, not in sequence.
Free ride – In stud poker or hold’em, a wagering round in which no 1 makes a bet, which permits the gamblers to get a freebie card.
Free roll – In hold’em, the situation in which a gambler can win the whole pot when guaranteed half the pot because he is tied along another gambler.
Full house – A poker hand, consisting of 3 of 1 rank in addition to 2 of another.
G
Gamble - Loose play, or the desire to play strong rather than tight.
Gap - A missing card in a hand, particularly in the middle of an inside straight.
Garbage - The discards, poor hand.
Gut shot - The card that makes an inside straight.
H
Hammer - the person to put the last bet in a particular hand.
Hard-play - A player that Shows no mercy against another player.
Heads up - The last two players in the game, playing for the victory.
High card – At the showdown, a hand that wins when neither of the players have even a slight hand as a pair, and the winning hand is based on the highest card (ace, then king, queen etc.) for example, between 2,5,8,9,J and 3,4,6,7,9 the first hand wins because it has the high card J.
High roller - A player who likes to play for large stakes.
High-stakes poker - Any game played for larger amounts than the other games in a particular establishment, when gamblers are betting real money instead of chips. For example, at a standard game you pay a fixed price and get a certain amount of chips, whoever gets all the chips at the end of the game is the winner. At high-stakes however, when you bet 30,000 it means betting real money and not chips.
Hold ‘em - known as Texas Hold ‘em, with two cards dealt face down to each player (called “Pocket”), and five community cards dealt face up in the center of the table (the first three are called “Flop”, the fourth “Turn” and the fifth “River”).
Hot deck - A deck that has recently produced a number of good hands.
Hustler – A player who takes unfair advantage of others, particularly of newcomers.
I
Ignorant end - A straight that can lose to a higher straight.
Immortal - An unbeatable hand such as royal flush.
Inside straight - Four cards to a straight with one “hole”. For example, a player holding 7-8-9-J will need to catch a 10 for an inside straight.
In the money - Having lasted long enough in a tournament to guarantee finishing as one of the winners.
J
Jacks or better - High draw poker in which the opener must have at least a pair of jacks to open.
Jam pot - A pot with lots of betting, raising, and reraising.
K
Kicker - The unpaired card that goes with a player’s pair or three of a kind. For example, player one has K-A and player two has Q-A, the community cards are 5-7-8-9-A, player one wins because he has a K which is the kicker.
Knock heads - Play heads up.
Kojak - In hold ‘em, K-J as one’s first two cards.
L
Ladies – Two Queens.
Lammer - A unique chip given to the winner of a satellite tournament, to be used as a whole or partial entry to a larger tournament.
Last bet – In a hand featuring bets with multiple raises, the last raise on a particular round.
Last-card Louie - A player who stays in a pot with poor cards, hoping to win the hand by catching the winning card at the end.
Last position - Last to act in a particular round.
Late position - A player sitting to the right of the dealer, making his decision after the first few players have acted.
Laydown - Folding the cards.
Leather ass - Patience, the one thing you need while you wait for the good cards to come.
Lemon juice - Picking up the blinds without trying.
Little blind – The blind of the person sitting to the left of the dealer.
Live hand - A hand that is still capable to win the pot.
Lobbying chips – Means the person is winning.
Long call - Calling with medium cards, in an attempt to catch a player bluffing.
Longshot - A hand that has only a slight chance of winning.
M
Main game - The game with the highest stakes or with the most action.
Main pot - When a player goes all-in there’s a side pot containing the money of the rest of the players still betting. The main pot is the part which all of them share.
Make a move - Meaning betting or raising strong when the other players seem weak.
Maniac - A player who bets and raises regardless the cards he holds.
Mexican standoff - A hand in which two (or more) players have equivalent hands and split the pot.
Middle pair – When a player pairs one of his pocket cards with the second-highest card on the board.
Milker - A tight or conservative player.
Minor hand - Three aces or worse.
Montana banana – 9-2 as one’s first two cards, it is called that because bananas will grow in Montana before that hand makes money.
Move all in - A player who Bets all of his chips in one hand.
Muck – To discard the pocket cards, usually players will muck when they bluff or in intention of hiding a strong hand when the rest of the players fold.
N
Nh - Meaning “nice hand” in chats.
No limit game - A player can bet all of his chips anytime.
Nursing - Playing with a small amount of chips, very conservative.
Nut – The best possible hand at a given point in a pot.
O
Odds – The possibility of a scenario to happen, sometimes refers to in percentages.
Offsuit – Relates to the pocket cards, being of a different suit.
Omaha - A variant of texas hold ‘em, in which players must use exactly two of their downcards in combination with three of the community cards.
On board - Relates to the community cards.
Out of action – A player who is busted.
Overbet - To make an unproportional bet to the size of the pot.
Over the top – A raise been made on top of a raise of another player, usually means that the player who reraised is all-in.
P
Pai gow poker - A banking game based on an Asian tile game called pai gow, in which gamblers arrange groups of tiles into 2 hands, which then compete severally every against the 2 hands played by the banker.
Paint - Any face card.
Pair - Two cards of the same rank.
Palooka - A bad player.
Pass – To fold when not wanting to bet, unlike being able to check as long as none of the players has made a bet.
Pat hand - In draw poker, a hand does not need more cards for completion.
Pay off - Call the final bet only to see the other player’s cards.
Perfect catch - Receiving exactly the card you need in order to make your hand.
Philadelphia - A Full house.
Pick someone up - Remove a gambler from the game.
Piece of cheese - An awful hand.
Play back - The action of reraise.
Play over - Play in someone’s seat while he is absent from the table for a certain period of time.
Play the board - To use all of the community cards in order to decide who has the best hand.
Pocket - The two cards each player gets before the first round of betting (meaning the “flop”).
Pocket rockets - A pair of aces.
Poker face – Each player is trying to maintain a calm expression while looking at the cards, not to show any emotions.
Position - Where a player sits as opposed to the others players at the table.
Pot - The chips in the game on a certain hand.
Pot limit- A game whose betting limit can be equal to the size of the pot.
Professor - A player who has the ability to calculate the odds in the game.
Pull - To draw any card from the deck.
Put up - Put the right amount of money in the pot.
Q
Quart - Four cards suited on the way to a straight flush.
Queens full - A full house containing three queens and another pair.
R
Raise - To increase the bet.
Rank of hands – The hierarchy of the hands, from the best (royal flush) to the worst (high card).
Rebuy - Players can buy in chips when they are broke, usually until a specific time has passed or the blinds are up to a certain level.
Reraise – To raise the player who raised first.
Right price - The exact pot odds.
Ringer - A gambler who pretends to be a beginner, but is actuality a professional player.
Rock - An extremely conservative player, one who doesn’t take a lot of chances.
Royal flush - The most rare and wanted hand, a series of 10-J-Q-K-A suited.
Runner - Refers to hold ‘em, a flush or straight card that comes on the turn or the river.
S
Salty - Having a lack of luck.
Scooper - A hand that wins both ways in any high-low pot.
Scored pair - Getting a pair in the pocket.
Seating position - Where a player sits comparing to the other gamblers at the table and to the dealer.
Second hand - The second player to make a move in any betting round.
Second pair - Making a pair that consists of one of your pocket cards matching the second-highest card on the board.
See - to call a bet.
Semibluff – Betting with nothing, when you have only a chance of getting a hand, but if you get it you score.
Set – Three of a kind.
Short – A player who has a small amount of chips left.
Showdown – After all betting rounds are over, players flip their cards to see tho has the best hand.
Side pot – When a single player goes all-in the others can keep betting and put the money aside, and if the all-in player wins the pot, he doesn’t get the money that got into the pot after his bet, it goes to the best hand out of the other players.
Split pot - At the show down, if players have hands that are equally strong, they divide the pot.
Straight - A series of five cards connected, of mixed suits.
Straight flush - A series of five cards connected, suited.
T
Take the lead – Make the first move, be the first one to bet or raise the pot.
Three-bet – To raise a raise, meaning there was a bet, another player raised and a third player reraised.
Three of a kind – Also called trips, three cards of the same rank.
Toilet flush – having four suited cards just waiting for the fifth to make a flush, and finish with nothing at the end.
U
Uncalled bet – The first player to make a bet didn’t get a call from neither of the players, which gave him the pot.
Underpair – A player’s pocket pair is lower than all three flop cards.
W
Weak hand – a low stake of winning a current pot.
White meat – Profit.
