A
Ace-High
A hand containing an ace that doesn’t make a completed hand (such as a pair or straight).
Aces Up
A hand with two pairs when one pair is aces.
Action
Players turn to act. Any of the available options chosen by a player during their turn.
Active Player(s)
Active player(s) who haven’t folded.
All In
The act of risking all of your chips on one single hand.
Ante
An ante is a forced bet, typically smaller than the blinds. A small sum placed in the pot by each player relative to the blinds.
Average Stack
The average number of chips per remaining plater, used in tournament play to determine what position players are in.
B
Backdoor
When a player needs the last two cards to make their hand.
Bad Beat
A subjective term for a hand in which a player with what appears to be strong cards nevertheless loses.
Betting Rounds
The opportunities to bet in a poker hand. There are four chances for betting: pre-flop, then after the flop, turn, and river. Another term for these rounds is “Street,” the turn being Fourth Street and the river being Fifth Street.
Blank
A card or cards that don’t connect with anything in your hand.
Blinds
Forced bets posted by players to the left of the dealer button in flop-style poker games; The number of blinds is usually two.
Bluff
A bet made with a weak hand in the hopes of getting an opponent to fold a better hand.
Board
All of the community cards.
Burn
To discard the top card from the deck face down.
Bubble
The last unpaid place before players start to win prize money in a tournament.
Bust
A player busts when they run out of chips.
Button
The button is a dealer marker. The button moves clockwise to the next plater each hand and determines the order of play. The player left of the button always acts first and is small blind.
Buy-In
In a tournament style game, the buy-in is the cost to play. In a cash game, the amount you choose to start with is your buy-in.
C
Call
A bet that is the equal amount to the bet made prior.
Check
To not bet, with the option to call, fold, or raise later in the betting round.
Check-raise
When a player checks, indicating weakness, then raises on top of another player’s bet.
Community Cards
The cards in the center of the table which are shared by all players.
Connectors
A starting hand that has two sequential, or connected, numbers. For example: 65o and T9s are connectors.
D
Dominated
A hand that is far inferior to another hand. The dominated hand doesn’t have a good chance of winning, however, it’s not impossible to get lucky.
Draw
Playing with a hand that is not yet made but has the potential to become a made hand.
Drawing Dead
A hand that cannot win even though the entire board is not yet on the table.
E
Early Position
Typically refers to the players in the blinds and the first player after the blinds if it is a 6-10 handed game.
Equity
The portion of the pot that is theoretically yours based on the percentage of the time you’ll win the hand. If you have an 80% chance of winning the pot, 80% of the pot is your equity.
F
Flop
The first three community cards as a group.
Flush
Five cards of the same suit.
Flush Draw
Four cards to a flush, needing a fifth to complete it.
Fold
A player gives up on the hand and lays down their cards when it is their turn to act; The player is no longer involved in the hand and cannot win the pot.
Four of a Kind
Four cards of the same number or face value.
Full House
Three of a kind, as well as a pair, in the same hand.
G
Grinder
A player who consistently plays for hours with the intent of slowly and carefully building a large bankroll.
H
Heads Up
A pot that is being contested by only two players, one on one.
Hole Cards
The cards in a player’s starting hand.
House
The establishment running the game.
I
Implied Odds
The amount of money or chips that you expect to win on later betting rounds should you hit one of your needed cards.
Inside Straight Draw
Also known as a “gutshot”. For example, we hold 5,6,8,9 and need to hit a 7 in order to complete the straight.
J
Junk
A hand with little expected value.
K
Key Hand
Refers to the hand (from any player) that proves to be the hand that is the turning point, for better or worse.
Kicker
An unpaired card used to determine the better of two near-equivalent hands.
L
Late Position
A 6-10 handed game typically consists of the button, the cut off (player to the right of the button), and the hi jack (player to the right of the cut off).
Limping
Calling the big blind pre-flop without raising.
Live Hand
A hand still eligible to win the pot; one with the correct number of cards that has not been mucked or otherwise invalidated.
M
MTT
Multi Table Tournament, a MTT has a large number of participants, needing multiple tables to accommodate everyone. a tournament with a fixed start time that usually has multiple tables playing.
Muck
The pile of folded and burned cards during a hand.
N
No Limit
A Poker game with no limit to the amount you can bet. A player can bet as many chips as they have.
Nuts
The best possible given hand on the board.
O
Odds
The likelihood a player will make a hand or win a hand.
Off-Suit
A starting hand with two different suits.
Open-ended Straight Draw
Four cards of a straight that can be completed on either end. For example, 5-6-7-8 can become a straight with either a 4 or 9.
Outs
The total number of possible cards a player can hit to win the pot. For instance if a player is losing with a pair of fives and can only win if they hit a third five, they have two outs (the two remaining fives in the deck).
Overcard
A card higher than any other on the board.
P
The individually dealt cards that only each player can see.
Pocket Pair
Hole Cards that are the same value.
Position
Position is determined by the dealer button. Early positions are the first seats after the button. Late positions include the button itself and positions just right of it.
Pot
The pot is the money up for grabs in a given hand, piled in the middle.
Pot Odds
The odds of winning the hand compared to the size of the pot and the size of the necessary bet to call. Even if your hand has mediocre odds, it may be worth calling because you’re getting good pot odds.
Post
To put in a blind bet.
Pre-Flop
Betting action before the flop.
Q
Quads
Four of a Kind.
Qualify
In split pot games, a low hand must “qualify” before it is counted as a legitimate low hand. In most variants this means holding 5 cards 8 or lower.
R
Ragged/Rags
Weak starting cards or board.
Rainbow
A flop that contains three different suits, making a flush very unlikely to hit.
Raise
To increase the bet size during the same betting round.
Rake
The percentage of each pot the casino takes as commission. For tournaments, this is typically referred to as the ‘Tournament Fee’.
Rank
The numerical value of a card.
Re-buy
Buying back into a tournament. Only allow in certain tournaments for a short window of time.
Re-raise
A player raises on top of a pre-existing raise.
River
The fifth and final community card, put out face-up, by itself.
Royal Flush
An ace high straight (A-K-Q-J-10) of the same suit.
S
Second Pair
A pair with the second highest card on the flop.
Set
Three of a kind when you have two of the rank in your hand, and there is one on the board.
Short-stacked
When a player’s chip stack is quite low compared to other players at the table.
Showdown
The point at which all players remaining in the hand turn their cards over and determine who has the best hand.
Side Pot
When one or more players are All In, a side pot comes into play to separate what an All In player can win versus players with more chips.
Slow Play
To play a strong hand if your hand was weaker than it was.
Small Blind
A forced bet, usually half the size of the big blind. The player who pays the small blind is the first to the left of the dealer.
Straight
Five consecutive cards of any suit.
Straight Flush
Five consecutive cards of the same suit.
Suited
Cards of the same suit.
T
Three-Betting
A three-bet is the second raise (or third bet) in a single betting round. Pre-flop, the big blind is considered the first bet.
Tilt
To play wild or recklessly due to emotion.
Time Bank
The amount of additional time a player can use to make tough decisions.
Top Set
The highest possible trips with two of the rank in your hand; Example: you have T-T, and the flop comes T-8-9. You have flopped top set.
Top Two
Two pair, with your two hole cards pairing the two highest cards on the board.
Top and Bottom
Two pair, with your two hole cards pairing the highest and lowest cards on the board.
Traps
To play as if your hand is weak, hoping to trick other players into staying or raising.
Trips
Three of a kind.
Turn
The fourth community card.
U
Underdog
A person or hand not mathematically favored to win a pot.
Under The Gun
The first person to act in a betting round.
V
Value
As in "bet for value." This means that you would actually like your opponents to call your bet (as opposed to a bluff).
Variance
A measure of the up and down swings your bankroll goes through.
W
Wake up
To "wake up with a hand" means to discover a strong starting hand.
Wheel
A straight including the cards ace to five.