- A -
Aces Up--A pair of aces with one
other pair.
Action--The betting.
Active Player--A player competing for a pot.
Advertise--To have a bluff called in order to encourage opponents to call later.
All Blue, or All Pink--A flush.
All-In--The betting by a player of all his money on the table.
Announced Bet--A verbal bet made by a player before putting his money in the
pot.
Ante--Money put in the pot before dealing.
- B -
Baby--A small card, usually a
five or less.
Backer--A nonplayer who finances an active player.
Back-to-back--A pair on the first two cards dealt in stud (Backed Up). .
Beat the Board (Table)--To have a hand better than all others showing.
Belly-Buster Straight--An inside straight
Bet Into--To bet before another player who apparently has a better hand.
Bet the Limit--To bet the maximum amount allowed.
Betting Stakes--The dollar limits of all bets and raises permitted.
Bicycle--A straight to the five . . . ace, two, three, four, five (Wheel).
Big Blind--The final and largest blind bet.
Blind--A mandatory or forced bet before the deal by the first player to the
dealer's left.
Blind Bet--To bet before looking at one's hand,
Bluff--The attempt to win a pot by making better hands fold.
Board--(1) The poker table. (2) All face-up cards in stud or hold 'em.
Boxed Card--A card turned the wrong way in a deck.
Bump--A raise.
Burn Card-- A card dealt face down prior to dealing the round of cards.
Busted Hand--(1) A worthless hand (Bust). (2) A hand that failed to fill a
straight or a flush on the draw.
Button--(1) A marker used to signify a theoretical dealer when there is a house
dealer. (2) A second or third pair.
Buy In--The stack of chips that a player buys at the start of a game.
By Me--An expression meaning to pass or check.
- C -
Call--Money put in the pot to
match a bet or raise.
Calling Station--A player who calls almost any bet (Telephone Booth).
Cards Speak--A rule that the value of a hand is based on what the cards are
rather than on what a player declares.
Case Card--The last available card of a particular value or suit.
Cash In--To exchange poker chips for cash and then to quit (Cash Out).
Chase--To stay against a better hand.
Cheater--A player who intentionally violates the rules to gain advantage
unavailable to others.
Check--To pass without betting.
Check Blind (Check in the Dark)--To check without looking at one's own cards.
Check Raise--To check and then subsequently raise in the same round of betting.
Chip--Money represented by a plastic disc.
C-Note--A hundred-dollar bill.
Cold Hands--(1) Showdown hands. (2) A run of poor hands. . ).
Cowboy--A king. .
Cut the Cards--Putting the bottom cards of a deck on top of the deck.
- D -
Dead Cards--Discarded or folded
cards.
Dead Hand--A foul hand that cannot be played.
Dead Man's Hand--Usually aces and eights, two pair. Sometimes aces and eights,
full house ... or jacks and eights, two pair.
Deal--To distribute cards to the players.
Dealer--(1) A person who deals the cards. (2) The operator of a gambling game in
a casino. .
Deck--All the cards used in the game (Pack)
Deuce--A two.
Down and Dirty--The final hole card dealt in seven-card stud.
Down Cards--Cards dealt face-down.
Draw Out--To catch the winning hand with the last card or with draw cards.
Drawing Dead--Drawing a hand that cannot win.
Drop or Drop Out--To retire from a hand by not calling a bet or raise (Fold).
- E -
Ethics or Etiquette--The
understandings and courtesies of which violations do not constitute cheating.
Exposed Cards--Cards purposely dealt face-up as in stud.
- F -
Face Card--Any picture card.
Family Pot--A pot in which everyone calls the bet.
Fast Game--A game with a fast betting pace. .
Fish--An easy or a poor player.
Five of a Kind--Five cards of the same value.
Fixed Limit--Betting with agreed-upon limits or maximums.
Flash--(1) To expose concealed cards (2) To turn up a common card for everyone's
use when insufficient cards are available to complete a stud game. (3) Five
cards, one of each suit plus the joker.
Floorman--(1) A cardroom manager. (2) Shift boss in a casino.
Flop--The first three exposed cards in hold 'em poker.
Flush--Five cards of the same suit. .
Fold--To drop out of a hand by not calling the bet or raise (Drop).
Force-in--A mandatory blind bet, usually with an option to raise.
Foul Hand--A hand containing the wrong number of cards.
Four Flush--Four cards of the same suit.
Four of a Kind--Four cards of the same value (Fours). .
Free Roll--A lock on half the pot with a chance to win the whole pot.
Full House, Full Barn, or Full Tub--Three of a kind with another pair (Full
Hand).
- G -
Gallery--Nonplaying spectators.
Gambler--A player who wagers money at unfavorable edge odds.
Gambling--Betting money at unfavorable investment and edge odds.
Go All In--To bet all of one's money in table stakes.
Good Player--A player who extracts maximum money from the game.
Grand--A thousand dollars.
Gravy--One's winnings. .
Gut Shot--See Belly Hit.
- H -
Hand--The cards dealt to a
player.
Head to Head--Two people playing poker.
Help--To improve a hand on receiving additional cards in stud or draw poker.
High-Low--A game in which the highest and lowest hands split the pot.
Hit--A draw or catch that improves one's hand.
Hold 'em A seven-card game with two face-down cards for each player and five
face-up cards for everyone's use (Tennessee Hold Me, Texas Hold 'em).
Hole Cards--Cards dealt face-down in stud.
Hook--A jack.
Hot Deck--A deck from which good hands are being dealt.
Hot Hands--A run of high-value hands.
Hot Streak--A run of good "luck" or winning hands (Spinner).
House--A person or organization running a poker game for profit. .
House Rules--Rules, especially betting, agreed upon by the players.
- I -
Improve--To draw cards that
improve one's hand.
In Action--The time when a player is involved in playing his hand.
Inside Straight--A broken sequence of four cards, such as three, five, six,
seven.
In the Hole--Cards dealt face-down in stud poker.
In the Middle--The position of the players calling bets between two raising
players (Middle Man).
- J -
Jam--A hand in which several
players are raising each other.
Joker--The 53rd card added to a deck
- K -
Key Card--An important card
needed to complete a hand.
Key Player--A player with important influence over the game.
Kibitzer--A commenting spectator.
Kicker--An extra card held with a pair, trips, or four of a kind during the draw
or twist.
- L -
Lay Down--The revealing of hands
after the last bet.
Lead--To make the first bet.
Leader--The player who is betting first.
Limit--The maximum bet or raise allowed.
Limit Stakes--Poker with maximum bets and raises established by the house rules.
Limp In--The calling of a bet.
Little Blind--The first and smallest blind bet.
Live Blind--A blind bettor with an option to raise.
Live Card--A card that has not been dealt or exposed.
Live Hand--A hand with a good chance to improve.
Lock--A hand that cannot lose.
Luck--An illusion of winning or losing beyond statistical reality.
Luck Out--To outdraw and beat a good hand.
- M -
Main Pot--The first pot apart
from side pots. . .
Misdeal--A faulty deal resulting in a redeal.
- N -
No Limit--The allowing of any
size bet or raise (Sky's the Limit). .
Nuts--A hand that is a certain winner.
- O -
Odds--The chances of getting
various hands or cards.
Odds Against--The number of failures per success.
Odds For--The number of attempts per success.
Odds On--Odds at less than even money.
Omaha--Seven-card stud with two hole cards in one's hand and five table cards
that are rolled up one at a time.
One-End or One-Way Straight--A four-card straight open only on one end, such as
jack, queen, king, ace.
On the Come--To bet before one has made a good hand.
On Tilt--Playing very poorly or wildly, usually after losing badly or winning
big.
Open--The first bet of the first round.
Open at Both Ends or Open End--A four-card sequence that can be made a straight
by two different value cards.
Open Cards--Face-up cards in stud (Up Cards).
Opener--The player who opens the pot.
Open Game--A game in which anyone can play.
Open Pair--An exposed pair in stud.
Open Seat--A chair available for another player.
Overcall--The calling of a big bet after others have called.
Overcard--A card that is higher than any card showing.
Overcards--Cards that rank higher than a pair.
- P -
Paint--A face card.
Pair--Two cards of the same value.
Pass--To check or drop out instead of betting.
Penny Ante--A very low-stake game.
Picture Card--A jack, queen, or king.
Pineapple Hold 'em--A hold 'em variation involving three hole cards and
discarding one.
Pips--The spots or marks on the face of a card.
Play--To call or stay in
Played Card--A card dealt to a hand.
Point--The value of a card.
Poker--A money-management game that uses cards for manipulation and deception
for winning.
Poker Face--A face not showing any emotion or change in expression.
Poker Rules--A loose, flexible framework of traditions for playing poker.
Position--The relative situation of a player to the other players (Fundamental
Position, Seat Position, Technical Position).
Pot--The area in which antes, bets, and raises are placed.
Pot Limit--Poker stakes in which the maximum permitted bet is the size of the
pot.
Public Poker--Poker played in gambling casinos or in public card clubs in which
the pots are cut for profit.
- Q -
Quadruplets--Four of a kind.
Qualifier--The minimum value hand allowed to win the pot.
- R -
Rabbit Hunting--Looking through
the undealt deck of cards.
Rags--Worthless cards.
Raise--To increase the bet.
Raise Blind--(1) To raise without looking at one's cards. (2) A forced raise. .
Rank--The relative value of hands.
Rat Holer--A player who pockets his money or winnings during the game.
Razz--(1) Seven-card lowball stud. (2) Draw poker in which the winner of the
previous pot bets last (Gardena Razz).
Redeal--A new deal after a misdeal.
Reraise--A raise after having been raised.
Ring Game--A full game.
Rolled Up--The first three cards being three of a kind.
Rotation--Movement in the direction of the deal ... clockwise.
Round of Betting--The action sequence in which each player is allowed to check,
open, bet, raise, or drop.
Round of Play--The action sequence in which every player deals a poker hand.
Royal Flush--A straight flush to the ace. . .
Run--A sequence or a straight.
Rush--A winning streak.
- S -
Sandbag--(1) To check and then
raise the opener. (2) To check or hold back raising to get more money in the pot
(Check Raising).
Seat Position--The position of a player relative to the other players.
Second Best--The best losing hand.
Sequence--Cards of consecutive value as in a straight (e.g., four, five,
six, seven, eight).
Session--The period in which a poker game is held.
Set--Three or four of a kind.
Show--To expose one's cards.
Show Cards--The exposed cards in stud.
Showdown--(1) The showing of cards at the end of a hand. (2) An open hand
played for a predetermined amount.
Shuffle--To mix the cards prior to dealing.
Side Bet--Any bet made outside the pot.
Slow Play--Passively allowing opponents to bet while holding a strong hand.
Smooth Call--Making a call with a raising hand. .
Squared Deck--An evenly stacked deck ready for cutting or dealing.
Squeeze--To look at cards by slowly spreading them apart (Sweat).
Stack--(1) A pile of chips. (2) To cheat by prearranging cards to be dealt.
Stake--The money with which a player enters a game. .
Straddle--(1) A forced or a compulsory raise (Blind Raise). (2) The right to buy
the last-bettor position.
Straight-- cards in sequence, such as three, four, five, six, seven.
Straight Flush-- cards of the same suit in sequence.
Stranger--A new or unfamiliar card in a hand after the draw.
Streak--A run of winning or losing hands.
String Bet--A hesitating bet made in segments to lure giveaway reactions from
other players, especially those on one's left--not allowed in most casinos and
poker clubs.
Suit--Any of the four sets (clubs, diamonds, hearts, and spades) in a deck of
cards.
- T -
Table Cards--Cards turned face-up
on the table for use in everyone's hand, such as used in Cincinnati.
Table Stakes--Stakes in which the betting and raising is limited to the amount
of money a player has in front of him.
Tap Out--To bet and lose all one's cash, forcing one to leave the game.
Tells--Characteristics, habits, or actions of a player that give away his hand
or intentions.
Texas Hold 'em--See Hold 'em.
Three of a Kind--Three cards of the same value (Treys, Triplets, Trips).
Ticket--A card.
Tie--Two hands of equal value. The pot is usually divided between tied hands
that win. .
Tight Player--A player who seldom bets unless he has a strong hand.
Toke--A tip, especially to a dealer in a gambling casino.
Tough Player--A superior poker player.
Trips--Three of a kind. .
Two Pair--Two separate pairs of different values in a hand.
Two-Way Hand--A hand having possibilities of winning both high and low
halves of a split-pot game.
- U -V-W-X-Y-Z
Under the Gun--The position of
the first bettor.
Up Cards--The face-up cards in stud (Open Cards).
Wash--To Shuffle.
World Series of Poker--A Hold 'em tournament with a $10,000 buy-in held
every May at Binion's Horseshoe Casino in Las Vegas.
