This is a glossary of commonly used poker terms and their definitions.

A

Ace High: A made hand without at least a pair, where the high card is an Ace.

Action: Refers to any of the available options such as bet, raise, call, check, fold, etc. See this glossary entry for a breakdown.

All-in: The act of putting all of one’s chips in the middle. See the glossary entry for a description of when this would be a correct option.

Ante: A mandatory payment made by all players at the table before any cards are dealt. Tournaments often use antes in the later stages.

B

Backdoor: A draw that needs to catch two consecutive cards to complete. See the glossary entry for examples on how backdoor equity works.

Bad Beat: Losing a hand of poker after getting unlucky, often when the money goes in as a favorite and the opponent “sucks out.”

Bankroll: The total amount of funds a player has for playing poker. Consult this entry for advice on how to manage a bankroll profitably.

Barrel: Making a bet after already being the last aggressor on the previous street.

Bet: To make the first wager in the current betting round. The full list of legal actions can be found in the glossary entry under “Action.”

Big Blind (BB): The position at the table to the direct left of the small blind, responsible for the mandatory big blind (BB) payment preflop.

Blind: Performing an action without looking at the cards. In this glossary entry, find out why this is a huge disadvantage.

Blocker: A card that reduces the likelihood of an opponent having a specific hand. For example, holding a King makes it less likely the opponent has a King. Check this glossary entry for examples of blocker effects.

Bluff: A bet made with a weak hand in the hopes of getting the opponent to fold a better hand. Learn some important aspects of bluffing theory in this glossary entry.

Board: Refers to community cards.

Bot: A non-human player at the tables. While illegal on most sites, they still find a way of making it to the tables.

Bottom Pair: A pair made with the lowest-ranked card on the board in community card games like Hold’em.

Bounty: A prize collected after knocking out a specific player in a tournament, often put on the heads of professional players.

Bubble: The stage of a tournament directly before any player has made the prize pool. Check out this glossary entry for tips on how to play the bubble.

Bum Hunter: A player who only plays against weak opponents, often in heads-up poker, and may actively seek them out.

Burn: In live poker, the dealer “burns” cards to minimize cheating by discarding the top card before dealing.

Busted: A draw that missed its card and did not complete.

Button: The most profitable seat at the poker table, located to the right of the small blind and to the left of the cutoff.

Buy-in: The amount required to join a game of poker. This can vary in cash games but is fixed in tournaments.

C

Call: To match the existing wager on the current betting round. See the glossary entry under “Action” for a full list of legal actions.

Calling Your Bluff: When an opponent suspects you are bluffing and correctly calls.

Cash Games: A format where chips directly represent cash amounts, and players can leave or join the table at any time.

Check: To make no wager, passing the action to the player on the left. Checking is only valid if no wager has been made on the current betting round. See the glossary entry under “Action” for all legal actions.

Check-Raise: Raising after previously checking on the same betting round. See the glossary entry under “Action” for a full description.

Chip Dumping: Using online poker to facilitate illegal money transfers. Check this glossary entry for clues on how to spot chip dumping.

Cold-Call: A call made on the first betting round as the player’s first action.

Collusion: Cheating where two or more players secretly work together to win chips from unsuspecting players.

Combination: A specific combination of cards. Check out this glossary entry to learn how to count card combinations in Hold’em.

Community Cards: Cards placed in the center of the table used by all players to construct their 5-card hands. Most common in Omaha and Hold’em.

Connector: A hand containing cards of consecutive rank.

Continuation Bet: Betting on the current street after being the last aggressor on the previous street.

Cutoff (CO): The position to the right of the button, providing a good opportunity for stealing the blinds.

D

Dealer: The person who deals the cards. Can be a player or a casino employee. Also describes the player occupying the button position.

Deuce: A common nickname for a card with a rank of two.

Domination: A situation where a weaker draw or hand is likely up against a bigger draw or hand during heavy action.

Donk: To bet out of position after closing the action on the previous street. Also refers to an exceptionally weak player (derogatory).

Downswing: A prolonged period of losses. Check the glossary entry under “Variance” for more information.

Draw: Waiting on cards to complete a hand, like a flush draw. Also refers to poker variants where players replace cards in their hand with cards from the deck.

Drawing Dead: When none of your outs will give you the best hand, meaning you can’t win.

Dry: A board texture with very few possible draws.

E

Early Position: The first two or three seats on a full ring poker table, referring to the lojack on a 6-handed table.

Equity: The likelihood of a certain hand winning at showdown if it doesn’t fold. See the glossary entry for a more detailed breakdown.

Expected Value: Indicates how profitable a certain play is expected to be in the long run. Can be calculated using expected value calculations.

F

Favourite: A hand or player statistically likely to win.

Fish: A weak player at the table (sometimes considered derogatory).

Flop: The second betting round in community card games like Omaha and Hold’em. Refers to the three community cards dealt face-up.

Flush: A hand made with five cards of the same suit. See “Hand Rankings” for all different hand types.

Fold: To discard your hand instead of matching a wager. See “Action” for all legal options.

Four-Bet: The fourth bet in a betting sequence. See the glossary entry for an example.

Freeroll: A tournament with no buy-in required, or a situation where a hand can only win or chop but not lose. See the glossary entry for examples.

Full House: A five-card hand made with three of a kind and one pair. See “Hand Rankings” for all different hand types.

G

Grinding: Playing poker for long hours to slowly build up profit.

Gutshot: An inside straight draw, needing a specific card to complete the straight.

H

Hand for Hand: In tournaments, every table must finish their current hand before moving to the next hand.

Hand Rankings: The hierarchy of poker hands. Does a straight beat a flush? Find out here!

Heads Up: A poker hand involving only two players, either from the start or after others fold.

Hero Call: A speculative call hoping the opponent is bluffing. Find out if hero calling is a good idea in this glossary entry.

Hero Fold: Folding a very strong hand because you believe you are beaten.

High Roller: Gamblers who participate in the highest-stakes games. Applies to both poker and casino gamblers.

Hijack: A position at the poker table, see the glossary entry for strategy advice.

Last Longer: A bet between two players in a tournament on who will bust out first.

Hit: When a card falls that improves your hand.

Hit and Run: Winning big shortly after joining a cash game and then leaving immediately.

Hold’em: The most popular poker variant, known as the “Cadillac of Poker.” Learn the rules in this glossary entry.

Hole Cards: Cards dealt face down to the player. In Hold’em, players are dealt two hole cards; in Omaha, they are dealt four.

House: The establishment running the game, either a brick-and-mortar casino or an online poker room.

Hyper Turbo: A type of poker tournament with a very fast blind structure and shallow starting stacks.

I

ICM: Stands for “Independent Chip Modeling,” a technique to assign real monetary values to tournament chips.

Implied Odds: Pot odds calculation that includes the additional chips you might win on later streets if you make your hand.

Insurance: A side wager made with another player. If the hero’s hand doesn’t hold up, he’ll receive an insurance payout.

In The Money: Players who have reached the cash prize stage in a tournament.

J

Jackpot: Some casinos and poker rooms offer a “bad beat jackpot” when an extremely strong hand gets cracked.

Jam: Colloquial term for shoving all-in. See “All-in” for advice on when to commit all your chips.

K

Kicker: Cards that don’t directly form a hand but contribute to its overall strength. Used to break ties when players have the same hand.

L

LAG: Stands for “Loose Aggressive,” describing a player who plays many hands aggressively.

Laydown: Folding a hand, sometimes reluctantly.

Limp: Calling when there is no raise before you on the first betting round. Check out this glossary entry to see if limping is ever correct in poker.

Lowball: A poker variant with a “low” hand ranking system, where the worst hand wins.

M

Middle Position: Refers to the hijack, lojack, and MP1 on a full ring table. Exclusively refers to the hijack on a 6-handed table.

Mid Stakes: Poker games with a buy-in larger than ‘low stakes’ but smaller than ‘high stakes.’

Muck: Returning a losing hand to the dealer without showing it. Usually allowed when you’re the caller on the final street.

N

No-Limit: A betting structure where players can bet or raise any amount at any time.

Nuts: The best possible hand. The nuts can never lose, only tie.

O

Offsuit: Describes a starting hand with cards of different suits. Suited hands are generally better.

Omaha: A poker variant with community cards where each player is dealt four hole-cards. Learn the rules in this glossary entry.

Open-raise: Making the first raise on the first betting round.

Overbet: Betting more than the current size of the pot. Learn when overbetting might be a good idea.

Overlay: Additional money added to a tournament prize pool by the poker room when the buy-ins don’t cover the guaranteed payout.

Overpair: A pocket pair higher than the highest card on the board in community card games.

P

Pair: Two cards of identical rank. See “Hand Rankings” for a full breakdown of hand types.

Pocket Pair: A starting hand with a pair in the hole.

Position: Refers to the seat you occupy at the table or whether you are “in position” or “out of position.” This important concept is explained in the glossary entry.

Postflop: Describes everything from the second betting round (the flop) onwards in community card games like Hold’em and Omaha.

Pot: The place in the center of the table where wagered chips are placed. The winner of the hand wins all the chips in the pot.

Pot Committed: When a player has invested enough chips that folding would now be a mistake.

Pot Odds: The amount needed to call relative to what’s already in the pot, expressed as a ratio or percentage.

Pot Limit: A betting structure where the maximum allowed bet or raise is the size of the pot. Common in Omaha.

Preflop: The first betting round in community card games like Hold’em and Omaha.

Q

Quads: A common nickname for “four of a kind.”

R

Rabbit Hunt: Seeing the remaining community cards after folding, which has no impact on the game.

Rainbow: Describes a board texture where each card is of a different suit.

Raise: Increasing the size of the wager. See “Action” for all legal options.

Rake: A small amount taken from the pot as payment for running the poker game.

Rakeback: A percentage of rake paid back to players as a reward, sometimes through a VIP system.

Range: Describes the distribution of possible hands a player might have. Discussed in the glossary entry.

Range Advantage: When one player has a better range than their opponent. Variables contributing to range advantage are discussed in the glossary entry.

Read: Having a good sense of the type of hands an opponent is likely to have. “Normally I would have folded, but I had a read that the villain likes to bluff.”

Rebuy: Purchasing additional chips, mainly in cash games, though rebuy tournaments exist.

Regular: A player who frequently plays a certain game, usually indicating above-average skill.

Re-raise: Raising after there has already been a raise on the current street. Check the glossary entry for rules on re-raising.

Ring Game: Another term for “Cash Game.” Not all poker games are played with real money, so “ring game” may be more applicable.

River: The final betting round in Hold’em, Omaha, and Stud variants.

Royal Flush: The best possible hand in poker: Ten, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace of the same suit.

Run: Describes the fall of cards over time. “Running good” and “running bad” indicate lucky and unlucky streaks.

Rundown: Connected starting hands in Omaha. For example, T987 is a “Ten-high rundown.” Different types of rundown are discussed in the glossary entry.

Run it Twice: Dealing the final board cards twice after all players are all-in, splitting the pot between the two outcomes. Useful for reducing variance.

Runner Runner: Making a strong hand by catching consecutive running cards. For example, catching running hearts on both the turn and river to make a flush.

S

Satellite: A tournament that awards winners a ticket to a larger tournament.

Semi-Bluff: A bluff made with a drawing hand, hoping to win the pot outright or make the hand on the next street.

Set: Three of a kind made with a pocket pair.

Set over Set: When two players make a set at the same time, but one is higher, often considered an unlucky situation.

Short Stack: A player with a small number of chips, typically less than 100bb and often less than 50bb.

Shove: Betting all-in. See “All-in” for advice on when it makes sense to commit all your chips.

Showdown: Revealing the strength of your hand to determine the winner after all betting rounds are complete.

Show Hand: Exposing your hole cards after the hand is over.

Side Pot: A second pot formed when one player is all-in, and other players continue to bet with additional chips.

Sit and Go: A tournament that starts as soon as a designated number of entrants is reached.

Sizing: Refers to the size of your bet. Bet sizing is an important aspect of high-level play.

Slowplay: Playing a strong hand passively to deceive opponents, hoping they bluff or pay off on a later street.

Slowroll: Taking a long time to call with the nuts, considered unethical behavior.

Solver: A poker calculator that generates game theory optimal solutions for a hand.

Small Bet: The smaller of two designated bet sizes in fixed limit games.

Small Blind (SB): The position to the direct right of the button and the mandatory blind payment the player in this seat makes.

Snap Call: Calling immediately without hesitation. Can also refer to snap folds or snap shoves.

Splash the Pot: Putting chips into the middle disorderly. Good etiquette is to keep chips in neat piles.

Split: A variant where the pot is awarded to different types of hands, such as hi/lo split variants.

Split Pot: A pot awarded to multiple players, either because of a tie or a split pot variant.

Squeeze: Raising against multiple players after a bet and a call. Often used to describe 3betting against multiple opponents preflop.

Staking: Lending money to a player and receiving a percentage of their profits.

Stealing: Attempting to win the pot outright on the first betting round, especially from the small blind, button, or cutoff.

Straddle: An optional blind bet made before any cards are dealt.

Straight: A five-card hand with all cards in consecutive rank order.

Straight Flush: A five-card hand with all cards in consecutive rank order and the same suit.

Stud: A poker variant without community cards where players are dealt a combination of upcards and downcards.

Suited: Describes a starting hand with two or more cards of the same suit.

T

Table Stakes: A rule preventing players from being forced to wager more chips than they brought to the table.

TAG: Stands for “Tight Aggressive,” describing a player who plays a strong range of hands aggressively.

Tank: Thinking about a decision at the tables, often referred to as using the “time bank.”

Tell: An unconscious indication from an opponent about their holding. See the glossary entry for common live tells.

Texture: Refers to the board texture in community card games or any group of cards, such as boards in Stud.

Three-Bet: The third bet in a sequence of bets. See the glossary entry for an example.

Three of a Kind: A hand with three cards of identical rank and two kickers.

Three Pair: Used mostly in Omaha variants, referring to a hand with three pairs where only two count, but the third provides additional outs.

Tie: When two hands are of equivalent strength, splitting the pot.

Tilt: Playing poker with an affected mental state, such as anger or fear. See “Mental Game” for tips on improving this aspect of your game.

Time Bank: Optional extra time available to online poker players during a hand.

Tournament: A poker format with a fixed buy-in where players continue until they run out of chips, with the last player standing being the winner.

Tracking Software: Software that tracks poker results and other features. See this glossary entry for common features.

Trap: Playing a strong hand passively, hoping the opponent bluffs.

Trips: Colloquial term for three of a kind not made with a pocket pair.

Turn: The third betting round in variants like Hold’em and Omaha.

Two Pair: A hand with two sets of pairs and one kicker.

U

Under the Gun: The player who is first to act on the first betting round.

Underdog: A hand or player statistically unlikely to win, often abbreviated to “dog.”

Upswing: A prolonged period of winning, especially when the win rate is higher than anticipated.

V

Value Bet: A bet made with a strong hand, hoping to be paid off by a worse holding.

Variant: A specific type of poker, such as Hold’em, Omaha, Stud, or 5-card Draw.

Villain: A term used to describe the opponent in a hand of poker.

VPIP: Stands for “voluntarily put in pot,” describing how often a player voluntarily invests chips into the pot preflop.

W

Whale: An extremely bad poker player, especially at higher stakes.

Wet: Describes a board texture with excellent coordination, allowing for many possible draws.

WSOP: Stands for the “World Series of Poker,” the most prestigious poker event held annually in Las Vegas.

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