know-poker glossary

Glossary of poker terms

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	Act	To make a play, check, bet, raise or fold at the necessary time in a hand.
	Action	A player's turn to act.
		If a game or hand has a lot of betting it may be described as having lots of action.
		Same as an act.
	Active (player)	A player who is involved in a hand in someway other than having already folded. They may be active in the main pot only, or the main pot plus a number of side pots, if one or more players are all-in in the hand.
	Add-on	An option in some tournaments to buy extra chips; often as the tournament begins.
	Aggressive (player)	A player whose style means when they decide to play a hand they usually do so with strong bets.
	All-in	All-in, is where a player bets all of their remaining chips in one betting round of a poker game provided the limits allow.
	Ante	Forced bet that all players must make in games using antes before seeing any cards, guaranteeing money in the pot for each hand.

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	Back door	A hand made with the last two cards. Specifically, a hand made with the last two cards being dealt, that makes a hand other than originally intended.
	Back raise	A re-raise made by a player who had previously limped in the betting round.
	Bad beat	Losing with a strong hand, to an unlikely draw. Especially relevant if the player with the winning hand played incorrectly, but found a large degree of luck.
	Bank	The person or section responsible for keeping track of the buy-ins, distributing the chips and allocating the tournament prizes.
	Bankroll	The total amount of money a player sets aside to play poker with.
	Behind	Currently not having the best poker hand of those still active in the deal.
	Bet (betting)	The money wagered in a hand.
		The opening bet of a betting round.
		The fixed amount in a limit poker game.
	Betting round	The prescribed order of betting usually occurring after each occasion cards have been dealt to all players.
	Betting structure	The local rules governing the forced bets (blinds), limits, number of raises allowed in each betting round and the times spent at each blind level in a tournament.
	Big blind	The larger of the blind bets usually used in community card games.
	Blank	A card that does not affect a players hand; or a card that does not effect the outcome of a hand.
	Bleed	To lose chips; sometimes when on tilt making rash bets, or by limping in to too many hands hoping to catch something.
	Betting Blind	To announce a bet or raise before seeing your cards or the community cards.
	Blinded out	Sometimes called blinded off; is when a player nears losing all their chips from paying the blinds and not entering into hands.
	Blinds	Forced bets beginning each hand in community card games. Blind bets are paid by the two players left of the dealer. The first seat pays the small blind and the second seat will pay the big blind, equal to the minimum bet. Rarely some games have three blinds.
	Block bet	A small bet made by a player out of position, designed to deter a player acting later from making a large bet.
	Bluff	To bet representing a good hand when holding a poor one, attempting to make other players fold.
	Board	Short way to define whatever is used as the poker table.
	Board cards	The face up community cards in various poker games including Texas Hold'em and Omaha.
		A players face up cards in Stud games.
	Boat	Alternate name for a full house.
	Bot	Short for robot; a program that will play poker online with minimum human involvement. Not allowed at many poker sites.
	Both ways	A player who has or thinks they have both pots in a Hi/Lo game, may say they have it both ways.
	Bottom end	The lower cards of a straight in a community card game; also known as the idiot end.
	Bottom pair	The lowest pair.
	Bounty	A tournament prize offered for knocking out another player or a specific player.
	Bricks and mortar	A casino or card-room with live play, in contrast to an online poker site.
	Bring in	The initial bet in Stud and Razz similar to the small blind. See complete bet.
	Broadway	A 10-A Straight.
	Bubble	The finishing place in a tournament one before the payout.
		The person finishing in the bubble position.
	Burn	Discard the top card from the deck.
	Busted hand	A hand that had potential throughout the betting rounds but did not make a strong hand when all cards had been dealt. See four straight and four flush.
	Button	The marker signifying the dealer position and player at that position.
	Buy the pot	Or the button; to bet or raise, intending to make other players fold, in order to gain the pot or the effective button position in subsequent betting rounds.
	Buy-in	The cost to enter a game.

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	Call	Match the current bet or raise, or as much as the player has if a call puts them all-in.
	Call for the clock	A system to prevent players from taking too long in deciding how or if they play a hand; where according to local rules a dealer or floor-person may insist a player makes an action within a set time or their hand will be folded.
	Calling station	A passive player who often calls a bet, rarely bets first or raises themselves; often associated with a player who will chase a hand to the last card hoping to get lucky.
	Cap	A limit to the number of bets allowed in each betting round. Commonly used in limit games.
		A limit to the total amount bet in a betting round or hand.
	Cap game	A pot limit or no limit game may have a cap rule restricting any player from betting more than a set amount in one hand; for instance 30 times the big blind. When the limit is reached remaining players are considered all-in.
	Cards speak	In a Hi/Lo split pot game where players are not required to declare which half of the pot they are playing for.
		As a local rule, a players' declaration of their hand is not binding. If they say their hand is better or worse than is noticed before the pot is passed to the 'winner,' the winning hand may be re-evaluated.
	Case card	The only card of a rank left in the deck.
	Cash game	A game played for the value of the chips that is not played as a tournament. The hours of play are usually unrestricted where players may freely choose to enter or leave the game when they decide. Cash games may also have chop and straddle rules that are not applicable in tournaments.
	Cash play	A player waiting for their chips to be brought to the table may, with the consent of the dealer, make bets with real money of equivalent value.
	Catch	To get the required card(s) when drawing for a winning hand, usually overtaking another player in the process.
	Catch up	To come from behind and win a hand; playing catch up.
	Catch perfect	Usually in Hold'em games where a player has only two outs and gets them; similar to runner runner but more explicit.
	Centre pot	The initial pot of a poker hand; also called the main pot when one or more players are all-in and there is more than one pot.
	Chameleon	An unpredictable player who varies their style of play from wild and loose to tight and aggressive.
	Chase	Calling one or several bets with a drawing hand, or a certain lesser hand than the opponent, but without the pot odds that would merit the action.
	Check	Not betting when it is a player's turn to act and there has been no previous bet.
	Check out	Folding your cards when there is no bet to call; prohibited by some local rules, frowned upon by other players.
	Check raise	To check when it is your turn to act and there has been no previous bet, then raise if another player bets. Local rules may prohibit this type of play.
	Chip	A betting token representing a value in poker tournaments and the real cash value in ring games.
	Chip declare	Stating the intention to play for the high hand or low hand in a split pot game that requires a declaration.
	Chip dumping	An illegal agreement between two or more players in a tournament to pass their chips to one of them by playing a hand badly, giving one player an opportunity to bully the table and a better chance to win; following this they may share the winnings. This is monitored and heavily punished by casinos and tournament organizers.
	Chip leader	The player who currently has the most chips in a tournament.
	Chip race	When in a tournament the blind structure combines with the number of players left and the physical amount of chips at the tables. Small value chips are exchanged for larger denominations with nugatory amounts being accounted for or lost depending upon circumstance.
	Chip up	When in a tournament the blind structure combines with the number of players left and the physical amount of chips at the tables. Small value chips are exchanged for larger denominations without nugatory amounts being lost instead a player may gain a chip of a higher denomination;
		To build a chip stack during normal tournament play.
	Chop	To divide a pot because of a tied hand or if playing a Hi/Lo game.
		To play a ring game for a short time, make a gain and leave; same as a hit and run.
		A request by a player to a dealer to exchange a high value chip for several smaller ones.
		An agreement sometimes made by a number of remaining players at the final table of a large tournament, to divide the winnings in an arranged way, negating the need to play more hands. Sometimes considered good economics.
		To chop the blinds.
	Chop the blinds	An agreement involving the players paying the blind bets to take them back, rather than playing out the hand if no one calls or raises before them.
	Clean out	A card that makes your hand the best possible hand (the nuts).
	Coffee-housing	Distracting table talk intending to mislead other players regarding the apparent lack of strength of your hand. Thought of as poor etiquette in the UK but less so in the USA. Also known as speech play.
	Cold call	A circumstances when the option to call to stay in the pot follows a series of betting increases (bet/raise, re-raise etc).
	Cold deck	A preset deck of playing cards designed to give a specific outcome when the cards are dealt; commonly associated with cheating. Cold deck itself, refers to the new deck being physically colder than the deck that had been used gaining warmth from the players handling, enough to make a noticeable difference.
		Also can be used in a non accusatory way to describe a hand that has two or more unlikely major hands being present at the same time (four of a kind being beaten by a straight flush etc). The hand itself may be called a cooler and lead to the origin of the term cooler.
	Collusion	Two or more players at a cash table or in a tournament having a secret shared strategy designed to give one of them an advantage in the hand or the overall tournament.
	Color up	Exchange chips of a small denomination for a larger chip.
	Combination game	A game that features multiple poker formats played in rotation.
	Come bet	A bet or raise made with a drawing hand in the hope of building the pot size if the draw comes off. Should only be used if holding a very good drawing hand, one with say up and down straight and flush possibilities. Should not be used for a gut shot draw or lesser hands.
	Come hand	A drawing hand.
	Community card	One of a number of cards shared by players in a community card poker game.
	Community card game	A format of poker for instance Texas Hold'em or Omaha, that has cards in the middle of the table which are shared by players to make their hands.
	Complete	The initial full bet in Stud and Razz similar to the big blind. See bring in.
	Complete hand	An already strong hand that a player may still draw with, but one that does not need further cards to be considered a winning hand. Same as a made hand.
	Connectors	Two or more cards in sequential rank can be described as having connectors in the pocket. A player may also connect with the board cards.
	Continuation bet	A bet made after the flop by the player who lead the betting pre-flop.
	Cooler	A deal where two or more major hands clash.
	Countdown	A count by the dealer, of the remaining cards in the deck after all the cards have been dealt; to ensure a complete deck is maintained.
	Counterfeited	A player's hand is counterfeited when community cards render part of their hand either less valuable or worthless, at the same time aiding their opponents to overtake in the hand. For instance, say a player has two pairs on the flop 5's and 4's, and their opponent has one pair of 6's. If two 9's come on the turn and river cards, the pair of 4's have been counterfeited and the hand two pairs 9's and 6's beats two pairs 9's and 5's. Commonly in Omaha Hi/Lo a low card on the turn or river can counterfeit what was the best low hand, if it matches with a player's pocket card. A counterfeited hand is not disqualified but is often less valuable after the event.
	Cow	An arrangement between two or more players or non-players to share the buy-in fee and divide any profits afterwards. Acceptable in most cases unless any amount of collusion takes place.
	Crack	To beat a bigger starting hand; characteristically applied when pocket aces or kings are beaten.
	Cripple (the deck)	In a community card game, a player having pocket cards that make it effectively impossible for other players to overtake means they cripple the deck.
	Crying call	Calling a bet, usually on the end, with the expectation of losing the hand.
	Cut	After the dealer has shuffled the cards they are offered to a near player, usually the player to the dealers right, who divides the deck into two non specific amounts and exchanges the position of the top and bottom halves.
	Cut card	An obvious card often of stiff plastic, held against the bottom card of the deck during any deal, to prevent the bottom card being seen by any players at the table.
	Cut-off	The position right of the dealer, who often cuts the cards.

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	Dark	Describes an action made before receiving or seeing more cards; for instance, in the moment before the flop is dealt, a player may declare they are checking.
	Dead blind	A local rule that a player posting the big blind or an extra blind does not have the option to raise if other active players just call.
	Dead button	Local rule to decide the button position and which players pay the blinds when players have left the table from what was to be a button or blind seat. See moving button.
	Dead hand	A players hand that is not counted because it has been ruled foul in some way; for example, it has touched other player's cards or contains the wrong number of cards by mistake or design etc.
	Dead pot	If a player is all-in and their bet is called or raised by other active players, remaining bets go into a side pot. Since the main pot cannot be added to, it is termed a dead pot.
	Dead man's hand	Two pairs Aces and eights; legendry as being the 5 Card Draw hand held by Wild Bill Hickock at the time of his murder. Commonly, it is accepted that the Aces and eights were all black cards, but the fifth is contentiously said by some to be either the nine, Jack or Queen, of diamonds. Other speculation says the murder interrupted the draw for the fifth card.
	Dead money	Chips previously bet (by choice or in forced bets) by a player no longer active in the pot.
		A derogatory term referring to a player outclassed at a table or a player who is unskilled overall.
	Deal	To distribute cards to players in accordance with the format of the poker game being played.
		A non distinct description of a poker hand from the shuffle to the award of the pot. Same as a hand.
		An agreement between eligible players to divide a tournament payout differently to the method prescribed before the tournament began. See Chop.
		An agreement between players at a ring game to award the pot in a non standard way, such as deal twice or with insurance.
	Deal twice	A discretionary cash game agreement between two players in a large pot where one is all-in, to have the remaining cards dealt twice. If either player wins both times they take the entire pot, if not the pot is divided. Sometimes called play twice.
	Dealer	The person whose turn it is to deal.
		A person who for the purposes of the game's betting order is designated the dealer, even if someone else physically handles the cards. See Button.
	Dealer's choice	A poker game where the dealer decides which format of poker is played. Local agreement can be for a single hand each time that person is the button, for one orbit of the button or for a period of the game.
	Declare	To clearly state to others at the table an intended action, check, bet, raise or fold.
		In a Hi/Lo declaration game, to announce the intention to play for the High hand, Low hand or both before the showdown.
	Defence	A player who finds their blinds or measured bets are always being attacked because it is thought they will often fold, may make a defensive play by raising or re-raising with a hand they might ordinarily have folded.
	Deuce	A two spot card.
	Deuce to seven	A way to evaluate the winning low hand in games of 2-7 Triple Draw and similar.
	Dirty stack	A stack of chips where the denominations are mixed, making it difficult for others to assess how many chips a player has in front of them, or is putting into the pot.
	Discard	To remove a dealt card from play, that card goes into the muck pile.
	Dominant hand	A hand that has a high probability of beating another specific hand, usually because a card that improves the weaker hand also improves the dominant hand, or is held by the player with the dominant hand.
	Dog	Short for underdog.
	Dominated hand	A hand that will need to improve an extraordinary amount to win because of a card shared with a dominant hand, i.e. A-K v K-Q.
	Donk	To bet when out of position, against the odds making what many would see as a reckless and risky play.
	Donkey	Derogatory term attributed to a bad player, generally one who will bet, raise and call without a hand of value or potential. Overused by some players even if they are genuinely overtaken in a hand.
	Door card	In Stud games, the first card dealt face up to a player.
	Double suited	Used in Omaha and Omaha Hi/Lo to describe a starting hand featuring only two suits. Can be applied to other games when enough cards are dealt.
	Double through	Also called a double up. In a game where a player bets all their chips in a single hand that they go on to win, and is called by a player with an equal or larger stack.
	Down to the felt	Out of money/chips.
	Down card	A card that is dealt face down.
	Draw	To exchange cards in a drawing game.
		To continue in a hand, betting or otherwise, to see one or more cards in drawing games. Casually used in community card games to describe a call to see the turn and/or river cards.
	Drawing dead	Attempting to make a hand that if successful, will still be beaten.
	Drawing hand	An incomplete hand where a player needs to draw a card or cards to make their hand; usually applies when having four cards of a straight or a flush.
	Drawing game	A poker game where a number of cards may be discarded and replaced with ones from the top of the deck.
	Drawing live	Attempting to make a hand that if successful will win.
	Drawing thin	Attempting to make a hand that if successful will win, but is one that has few outs.
	Dry ace	In community card games like Texas Hold'em and Omaha; used to describe a pocket Ace without a second suited card.
	Dry pot	A side pot initiated when a player is all-in against more than one player, but the remaining active players do not bet into it.
	Duplicate	Similar to a counterfeit; specifically when a subsequent card matches with one already held.

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	Early position	A number of seats to the left of the dealer position, depending upon the table size. On a ten seat table, positions one to four can be considered early, while on a six seat table, one and two would be early. Players in an early seat often must act before later seated players.
	Effective odds	A calculation of the amount a player expects to win in a given hand if still drawing, with respect to the amount of bets they will have to call in the current and remaining betting rounds.
	Eights or better	A widely used qualification for games that feature a Hi/Lo split pot, where the low hand must begin from an 8 or lower.
	Equity	The value of a current live hand where the combination of cards and pot size may influence a betting action.
	Expectation value	The average profit (or loss) a bet would return, if the same or closely similar hand was played in the same way each time.
	Exposed card	A card that by accident or design has wrongly been shown to the table.
	Extra blind	A blind posted by a player if entering an already running cash game, coming back to a cash game from a break, or changing their table position. Local rules may allow that player to postpone joining the game until they become the big blind, so as not to pay an extra blind.

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	Face card	A colloquial term for a picture card Jack, Queen and King.
	Family pot	A deal where all or nearly all the players call the opening bet.
	Fast play	The opposite of slow play.
	Fast player	An aggressive player.
	Feeler bet	A bet in rounds after the flop that a player may make with scare cards on the board, attempting to establish if their hand is still good. Usually the amount bet will be low enough to let go if the player feels they are behind.
	Felt	Colloquial term for a card playing surface
	Fifth street	The fifth card dealt to each player in seven card Stud and the final card in games with five community cards.
	Fill up	To complete a drawing hand with one card. Commonly applied if making a full house.
	Final table	The last table of players left in a multi-table tournament.
	Fish	A slang term for a poker player of limited ability who tends to be both passive and loose.
		The action of calling bets in early betting rounds with a minor hand which the player hopes will come good.
	Five of a kind	A possible hand in poker games that use wild cards; is ranked higher than a straight flush.
	Fixed limit	A betting structure whereby if a player chooses to bet or raise, the amount is pre-set in accordance with the table or tournament requirements.
	Flash	The inadvertent show of the deck's bottom card when shuffling.
		To show one or more down cards to the table after all have folded.
	Flat call	To call a bet, used especially in situations where others may have expected a raise in the given situation.
	Flat limit	A poker game betting limit that does not escalate in subsequent betting rounds of the single hand.
	Float	Calling what is thought to be a continuation bet, with the intention to bet or raise later, depending upon the assessment of how subsequent cards may affect the active hands.
	Floor-person	A casino representative who oversees the card playing area, resolving disputes and managing the smooth running of the ring games and tournaments.
	Flop	The three initial community cards in Texas Hold'em, Omaha and similar games.
	Flop game	Any of various community card games.
	Flush	Five non sequential cards of the same suit.
	Fold	To give up a hand relinquishing any interest in the pot.
	Fold equity	Fold equity is a strategy concept mainly used in no-limit and pot-limit tournaments. It refers to the equity a player can gain when betting or raising intent on forcing opponents to fold. It is particularly relevant when players are short-stacked in tournaments and are considering all-in situations. If an opponent needs to call an all-in with a large portion of their stack, the range of hands they will make the call with is often narrow. However the smaller the portion of their stack that may be put at risk, the larger the range of hands that the opponent may call with. A short stack player may reach a point where their only option is to go all-in and the opponent with a large enough stack at a certain point, may call with any two cards.
	Forced bet	Nearly all poker games are played with forced bets either as blinds or antes, creating a pot that players can try to win.
	Forward motion	A local rule that requires a player to call or raise if they pick up an amount of chips with their hand moving forward. That player may still choose to call or raise.
	Fouled hand	A players hand that is not counted because it has been ruled foul in some way; for example, it has touched other player's cards or contains the wrong number of cards by mistake or design etc.
	Four flush	Four cards of the same suit; commonly an incomplete drawing hand, however some local games may rarely included a four flush as a variation of the winning hand ranks.
	Four of a kind	Four cards of the same rank; also known as quads.
	Four straight	Four sequential cards; commonly an incomplete drawing hand, however some local games may rarely included a four straight as a variation of the winning hand ranks.
	Fourth street	The fourth card dealt to each player in seven card Stud and the turn card in games with five community cards.
	Free card	A card that did not cost a player or the table to see, because no bet was made in the previous betting round.
	Freeroll	A free to enter tournament.
		A hand where two or more players have cards of exactly the same rank but one player has a chance of improving their hand; for instance if one has a flush draw to win the entire pot and if not they will share the pot.
	Freezeout	A tournament without a re-buy option.
	Full bet rule	A local requirement that if an all-in player does not meet the minimum raise or minimum bet, the subsequent players cannot call the incomplete bet, but instead have to meet the full bet if they are to continue in the hand.
	Full house	A hand consisting of three cards of the same rank along with two cards of another rank.

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	Gap hand	A starting hand with cards that may make a straight, but are not directly sequential. Also known as gapped connectors.
	Going south	To remove a portion of chips away from the table during normal play, rather than leaving the table altogether. Commonly prohibited locally. Also known as rat-holing.
	Grinder	A professional player who earns by long periods of consistent conservative play.
	Guts	A loose description of a poker game that has no opening hand requirement to begin the betting.
	Gut shot	An inside straight draw; an incomplete hand where the card needed to make the hand, is one of the middle ranks.

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	Half bet rule	A local requirement that, if a player bets with a chip that is equal to or greater than half a minimum raise bet, it constitutes a full bet and that player must complete the bet up to the normal amount.
	Hand	A non distinct description of a poker game from the shuffle to the award of the pot. Same as a deal.
		Loose description of a players cards either when all cards have been dealt or not.
		Defining term in a split pot game designating the high hand or low hand.
	Hand in hand	A regulated system used in the later stages of multi table tournaments, to ensure that as the paying places or pay level changes come near, all players play the same number of hands.
	Hand history	A written account produced by Internet poker sites and supplied to players relating secure details of hands they had previously played.
	Hand names	Names given to certain starting hands, and also some made hands. For a full list see here.
	Hand rankings	The prescribed order of winning high hands common to most poker games. For a full list see here.
		The prescribed order of winning low hand values for various games including Lowball and Hi/Lo games are in general the reverse of the high hand rankings. Local rules may apply such as in 2-7 Triple Draw.
	Hanger	The bottom card of the deck when it is obviously not in line with the rest. May indicate that the dealer is dealing from the bottom.
	Heads up	Playing against a single player in a poker game or a deal.
	High card	A hand that has nothing better than its highest card to constitute a winning (or losing) hand.
		To win a hand by having the same ranked cards as another except being separated by a single higher ranked kicker.
		To select a player randomly for a purpose, by dealing one card to each, highest wins.
	High hand	A poker hand using standard hand ranking values; the definition especially applies in Hi/Lo games.
	High pot	One half of a pot's division in a Hi/Lo game when a low hand qualifies.
	Highjack seat	The position right of the cut off.
	Hi/Lo	Short for High Low. In a Hi/Lo split pot game, the pot is awarded in two halves, going to the best high hand and a qualifying low hand if there is one. If not, the entire pot is won by the high hand.
	Hit	To match the hole cards with the flop, turn or river cards in some way to make a hand.
	Hit and run	Colloquial term to describe an occasion where a player joins a cash game, wins a large pot and almost immediately leaves.
	Hole	An alternate term for a poker table seat.
	Hole cards	Face down cards dealt to a player. Also known as pocket cards.
	Hole cam	A discrete camera built into a select number of ascribed poker tables to show television viewers the player's pocket cards.
	Home game	A poker game played in a private venue (often the residence of one of those playing).
	Horse	A player at a table whose buy-in is partially or fully paid by someone else.
	H.O.R.S.E.	H.O.R.S.E. is a regular six game format where the various games of Texas Hold'em, Omaha Hi/Lo, Razz, 7 Card Stud, and 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo are played in sequence. Local rules determine how long each variation is played and follow a detailed betting structure. The common format is for all the rounds to be played as limit games.
	House	The establishment hosting the game.
		Short for a full house.

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	Idiot end	In a community card game having the lower end of a straight.
	Implied odds	A mathematical evaluation of a current live hand where a players cards and the pot size may be combined with the amount of the expected win if the hand becomes made by calling and seeing another card.
	Improve	To make a better hand than before by either exchanging or drawing cards.
	Inside straight draw	An incomplete hand where the card needed to complete the hand is one of the middle ranks of that hand. It is also applied to straights with an Ace being present if the 10 or the 5 is needed to complete the hand.
	Insurance	Various private deals between players usually only in large ring game pots. The aim is to offset some of the potential losses or gains, by either agreeing to divide the pot in a proportion before the end of the hand, or bet against themselves with a third party.
	Irregular declaration	A non standard statement to others at the table of an intended action, check, bet, raise or fold. A common example being a single or double tap on the felt to signify a check.
	Isolate	Bet strongly attempting to force everyone to fold except one other player; often used to bully a player short stacked or in one of the blind positions.

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	Joker	A wild card supplied with decks of cards, not used in most games, except when exceptional rules apply. Typically a joker in a players hand will give them many outs.
	Juice	The money taken by the house or Internet site in rake or tournament fees.

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	Kicker	A card that in itself does not make the primary ranking of the hand, but can be included as a supporting card in the event of an otherwise tied hand.
	Kill game	An occasional game variation used in fixed limit where, if a player wins a certain number of consecutive hands or a pot larger than a pre-agreed amount, that player must post a kill blind (from any table position). Local rules determine the amount of the kill blind, usually 1.5 times or 2 times the regular blind amount. That amount becomes the minimum bet and multiples there of for the continuing betting limits. Usually after the kill hand, betting limits revert to the previous used.
	Kitty	A casual collection, sometimes from large pots in home games that may be used by the host to purchase new playing cards, refreshments etc.

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	LAG	A loose-aggressive style of poker play where a typical LAG player will see many flops, making frequent raises.
	Ladies	Queens.
	Lag	An intermittent connection to an Internet poker site, where during a game there is a long delay between making an action on the home computer and it happening on the poker site. Also a delay may be between one player making an action and it showing on another's home computer.
	Late position	A number of seats to the right of and including the dealer position, depending upon the table size. On a ten seat table, positions eight, nine and ten can be considered late, while on a six seat table, five and six would be late. Players in a late seat often act after early seated players.
	Lay down	To fold. More often applied when a player has invested into a pot, but then feels they may be behind in the hand (or is likely be outdrawn).
	Lead	To be the last player to have bet or raised in a betting round is described as being the player who has lead the betting.
	Leak	An area of a player's game that habitually causes them to lose money/chips.
	Level	A denotation referring to a poker tournament's betting structure used in directing the amount of the blinds.
	Leg up button	A marker used in a kill pot game to signify who had won the previous hand and may be liable for the kill blind.
	Limit	The fixed amount of a bet in limit poker games.
		The minimum and or maximum bet amount allowed in various limit and no limit poker games.
	Limp	A minimum bet or call during any betting round.
	Limp raise	A re-raise made by a player who had previously limped in the betting round.
	Limping in	Calling the big blind, rather than raising during the first round of betting.
	Live bet	Same as live blind.
	Live blind	A local rule for a player who has paid the big blind, that still gives the option of raising when the action moves around to them without a raise. Also used if a player has paid an extra blind to enter a game or has straddled.
	Live cards	Cards that may help a player's hand to improve, providing they are not held by or may form part of, an opponent's stronger hand in community card poker games. In Stud poker games, cards that will help a player's hand, that are not visible in the up cards now or previously discarded from the hand.
	Live game	A game with plenty of betting action.
	Live poker	A description of a poker game played at a table with cards, rather than on the Internet.
	Lock	A player that is guaranteed to win at least part of the pot is said to have a lock on the hand.
	Lock up	To place a chip, personal item or marker on a poker table in a seat position to signify the seat is occupied, even if the player is not present.
	Loose play	A poor call.
	Loose (player)	A player that generally plays too many hands and stays in them longer than they should.
	Low	A low card according to the card rankings.
	Lowball	A variation of poker where the best low hand wins the pot.
	Low hand	A hand using standard hand rank values for various low hand games; the definition especially applies in Hi/Lo games. In general the low hand rankings are the reverse of the high hand rankings. Local rules may apply.
	Low pot	One half of a pot's division in a Hi/Lo game when a low hand qualifies.

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	M-ratio	A calculation to help tournament players decide how healthy their chip stack is in relation to the blinds, and so adjust their criteria for entering pots.
	Made hand	A hand a player may be drawing to, or a complete hand that does not need further cards.
	Match the pot	To bet an amount equal to the the chips already in the pot.
	Main pot	The initial pot of a poker deal.
	Mechanic	A cheat who manipulates the cards while dealing.
	Micro limit	A low limit cash game commonly thought of as being from $0.01/0.02 to $0.25/0.50; or tournament with a buy-in less than $5, usually only hosted by Internet poker sites.
	Middle position	A number of seats halfway around the poker table relative to the dealer position, depending upon the table size. On a ten seat table, positions five, six and seven can be considered middle, while on a six seat table, three and four would be mid table.
	Minimum bet	A minimum bet or call during any betting round. The minimum bet is usually equal to the big blind.
	Minimum raise	A rule that means any raise will be (at least) equal to the amount of the previous bet (unless raising all-in).
		A raise of the minimum amount.
	Misdeal	A deal which is spoiled and must be re-dealt.
	Missed blind	A forced bet that was not posted by a player at a ring game, usually if temporarily absent from the table. Local rules determine how the blind is paid upon return.
	Move in	Move in, is where a player bets all of their remaining chips in one betting round of a poker game provided the limits allow. Same as an all-in move.
	Moving button	Local rule to decide the button position and which players pay the blinds when players have left the table from what was to be a button or blind seat. See dead button.
	Muck	To fold.
		To discard a hand without showing them to the table.
		The pile of discarded cards.
	Multi table tournament	A poker tournament that begins with more than one table of players, where the field reduces as players are eliminated, until either one player wins all the chips or a deal is agreed.
	Multi-way pot	Similar to a family pot; usually applies when describing activity toward the end of a hand.

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	No limit	A variation of poker betting rules, where a player may bet any or all of their chips in one action when it is their turn to act.
	(The) Nuts	The best possible hand from the cards on the board, in the players hands and yet to be dealt.
	Nut flush	Highest flush possible from the cards on the board, in the players hands and yet to be dealt.
	Nut straight	Highest straight possible from the cards on the board, in the players hands and yet to be dealt.

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	Odds	The probability of making a hand.
	Off-suit	Cards of different suits; usually referred to when relating the type of starting hand.
	Omaha	A popular community card game where players are dealt four pocket cards and must use two of them in combination with five board cards, to form their best hands. Also played as a Hi/Lo game.
	On tilt	Betting irrationally, making poor decisions; usually after taking a bad beat.
	One chip rule	To call a bet using a chip of a larger denomination that required; considered a call unless a raise is declared.
	One gap	A starting hand with cards two ranks apart.
	Open (the betting)	Making the first bet in a betting round.
	Open ended straight	An incomplete hand of four consecutive cards that may be completed to a straight, by drawing the fifth connecting card at either end.
	Open limp	Betting first pre-flop without raising.
	Opener	Cards needed by players in some poker variations that require specific cards to be held before opening the betting.
	Option	The choice of actions available to each active player in a betting round.
	Outs	The number of cards remaining that will improve a player's hand, hopefully to a winning one.
	Outrun	To beat a better hand by improving with later cards.
	Outside straight	An incomplete hand of four consecutive cards that may be completed to a straight, by drawing the fifth connecting card at either end.
	Over	Describes a full house by the three of a kind. For instance, K-K-K-8-8, would be Kings over.
	Over bet	To bet larger than the pot in a no limit game.
	Over card	A community card of a higher rank than those in a players pocket.
		A higher card.
	Over card to the board	Having a card of a higher rank in the pocket, to those on the board.
	Over pair	Two matching community cards of a higher rank than those in a players pocket.
	Over pair to the board	Having a pair in the pocket of a higher rank to a pair on the board.
	Over the top	To make a large raise following a previous bet.
	Overs	A home game option for some players to display a token representing the agreement to double the betting limits in rounds after the initial, if the only players remaining in the hand are those displaying the token. Otherwise betting conforms to the standard structure.
	Overtake	To beat a better hand by improving with later cards.

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	Paint	A colloquial term for a face card, Jack, Queen, or King, but also includes the Ace.
	Pair	Two cards of the same rank.
	Passive (player)	A player whose style means they commonly check and call where others would bet or raise.
	Pat hand	In a drawing game (5 Card Stud etc), being dealt a made hand. In a community card game (Texas Hold’em etc) flopping a made hand.
	Pay off	Calling a final bet when the player is 99% sure they are behind, but the pot is sufficient to validate that call on the chance of a total bluff.
		Calling a bet when almost certainly drawing dead, but with pot odds to make the call.
	Penny ante	A low stake game, that should be for fun and not bust anyone's bankroll.
	Perfect	The best possible hand in a Lowball game describing that the hand associated with the card rank is perfect, counting down from the highest card. If playing 2-7 Triple Draw, holding a perfect 7 would be 7-5-4-3-2.
	Pick up	When a collection of cash is taken from a dealer at a casino after a player has bought chips.
	Picture card	A common term for a face card, Jack, Queen, or King, but also includes the Ace.
	Play the board	At the showdown in Texas Hold'em, when pocket cards do not combine to make a hand better than is on the board.
	Pocket cards	Initial cards dealt face down in a poker game.
	Pocket pair	Two pocket cards of the same rank.
	Poker face	To keep an outward appearance devoid of any interpretable expression, making it difficult for other players to gain information as to the strength or weakness of a hand by the player holding it.
	Position	The seating order around a poker table often relative to the dealer.
	Position bet	A bet that may be made from a late seat, accounting for the action (or lack of action) by others in the hand, combined with the strength of the hand held by the player in a late seat position.
	Post	To put out the small or big blind bets (including extra blinds) and/or the antes.
	Post dead	Local rule governing extra blinds to be paid by a player if they are absent from a table missing both blinds. They may rejoin the table posting both blinds together; the big blind counts as a live blind while the small blind is considered dead money. The player may also choose to wait until they become the big blind before rejoining the game.
	Pot	The amount of chips bet by all players in a single hand of a poker game, awarded at the completion of the hand according to the rules of the game variation. There may be more than one pot in a game if a player is all-in and there is more than one other active player. The pot may also be considered in two halves if playing a Hi/Lo game.
	Pot committed	A circumstance mostly thought of in a no limit game, where a player feels impelled not to fold to a bet, because of the pot size and their remaining chip stack.
	Pot limit	A limit to the maximum size of a raise in a betting action. Subject to local rules regarding the calculation of the amount.
	Pot odds	A calculation that some players use to assess a call or fold, based upon the value of the pot and the number of outs that may improve a hand to a winning one
	Pre-flop	In community card games, the time after players have been dealt their pocket cards and before the flop is dealt. Also describes the initial betting round.
	Price	The amount to call based on pot odds.
	Probe bet	A bet made after the flop by a player who did not lead the pre-flop betting. May sometimes be similar to a feeler bet.
	Proposition player	A player paid a salary by a casino to begin a poker table or keep it active, who plays with their own money.
	Protect	To place a chip guard, a chip or a hand, over pocket cards to avert them from being fouled by a discarded hand, or unintentionally mucked by the dealer.
	Protection bet	A large bet made with a strong hand that nonetheless may be beaten if more cards come to the board. Typically a big pair or three of a kind may need to be protected if a straight or flush looks likely to come. The protection bet should leave the opponent without the pot odds to call.
	Put on	To assume or calculate the type of hand another player may be holding, when deciding how to play your hand.

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	Quads	Four of a Kind.
	Qualifying hand	A hand that meets the prescribed rules to be considered a low hand in Hi/Lo games. Typically, in Omaha Hi/Lo the low hand must begin from an 8 or lower. Occasionally there may be a high hand qualification in atypical games.
	Quartered	Common in Hi/Lo games where more than one player shares one of the pots. Often when a player is quartered it will be on the low pot, but can also occur with players active in the high pot.

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	Rabbit card	Cards from the deck that may be revealed after a hand has been completed before the showdown. The cards serve no purpose except to show what may have happened.
	Rack	100 chips of the same value. Often used when buying or cashing in chips.
		A tray designed to carry or store poker chips.
	Rag	A card of low value; often applies to kickers, i.e. A-2 is said to be a rag ace
	Ragged flop	Flop or board cards that appear not to help any player
	Rail	An often imaginary boundary between spectators and a poker table. Spectators are sometimes called rail riders or railbirds. Going to the rail refers to a player losing all their chips and leaving the table.
	Rail bible	A pack of cards.
	Rainbow	Three or four cards all of different suits; usually referring to the flop or a player's pocket cards in a marginal Omaha starting hand.
	Raise	To bet more than the necessary amount to stay in a pot requiring other active players to make a further action. A subsequent raise in the betting round is termed a re-raise.
	Rake	The money taken by the house or Internet site in fees based on a percentage of an individual hand or single tournament fee that does not go into the prize pool.
	Rakeback	A promotional scheme offered by a number of card rooms and Internet poker sites that refunds a percentage of the rake already paid to an individual player.
	Range of hands	A thought of the various hands a player may be playing based upon a judgement regarding that player's style and position.
	Rank	The number (or picture) value of a card.
	Rat-holing	To remove a portion of chips away from the table during normal play, rather than leaving the table altogether. Commonly prohibited locally. Also known as going south.
	Razz	A 7 Card Stud Lowball game.
	Re-buy	An option in some tournaments to buy back into the game after losing all chips, or have fallen below a set level during a specified time period.
	Re-load	To re-fund an account at an Internet poker site.
		To buy more chips for a ring game stack (usually if it has become too low to be effective).
	Read	An estimation about the strength of a player’s hand based upon their betting actions or physical state.
	Re-deal	A required new deal, possibly because of a misdeal or other fouled event.
	Re-raise	To make a raise following a previous raise.
	Redraw	A subsequent draw after the initial in a game with multiple drawing rounds.
		To make a hand on one street and have a draw for a better hand.
	Represent	Betting to give the appearance of holding or to have made a certain hand, whether or not the player actually does.
	Ring game	A game played for the value of the chips that is not played as a tournament. The hours of play are usually unrestricted where players may freely choose to enter or leave the game when they decide. Ring games may also have chop and straddle rules that are not applicable in tournaments.
	River card	The final card dealt in a hand.
	Rock	A very tight player who characteristically plays few hands and will only continue in them if the hand remains good.
	Rolled up	Being dealt three of a kind with your initial three cards in seven card Stud.
	Rounder	A skilled poker player who will travel around to find their poker fix, usually in high stakes games.
	Royal cards	A colloquial term for a picture card Jack, Queen and King.
	Royal Flush	10-A Straight Flush.
	Runner	Often said as, runner-runner or running; describes a hand needing or being made by both the turn and river cards.
	Rush	A winning streak that can be over a number of consecutive hands or a profitable number of hours at a poker table.

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	Sandbagging	Slow playing.
	Satellite	A tournament that awards a seat or seats in a subsequent larger tournament.
	Scare card	A visible card that could make a strong hand for a player. For example, an Ace or a King coming to the board if active players have limped, or a third or fourth suited card after the flop.
	Scoop	To win both pots in a Hi/Lo game.
	Seat	A position at a poker table.
	Second pair	To match a pocket card with the second highest card on the board.
		To gain a second pair when already holding or making one pair, usually only decisive if the first pair is shared.
	Sell	To under-bet the value of a hand encouraging a call by making it cheap for others to see more cards. Same as slow playing, but commonly ascribed to a spread limit poker game.
	Semi bluff	To bet representing a stronger hand than actually held, attempting to make other players fold; usually done when already holding a hand of value or one that may improve if the bet is called.
	Set	Three of a kind made where two of the matching cards are in the pocket. Similar to trips.
	Set up	A fresh deck shown face up and spread to the table to be complete and in order.
	Sevens rule	A local rule in some A-5 Lowball games that compels a player to bet after a draw if they have made a hand beginning from a 7 or lower.
	Shark	A colloquial name for a professional poker player.
	Shoe	A container used in some casinos to hold the deck face down, so that the cards may be slid individually from the top of the pack to the felt, without any chance of inadvertent exposure.
	Shill	A player who plays with casino money to begin a poker table or keep it active.
	Shootout tournament	A poker tournament where tables play independently of each other; the table plays until a required number of players are left. Commonly, only one or two players from the table progress to the next round or next table.
	Short buy	To buy-in to a ring game with much less than the maximum allowable amount, or much less than the average number of table chips. Commonly only factors in no limit games.
	Short stack	Having less chips than every one else at the table.
	Short stacked	Having a chip stack less than eight to ten times the big blind in tournament poker.
	Short handed	A ring game or tournament that has less than six players seated.
	Shove	Colloquial term to push all-in.
	Showdown	The action if one or more players call the final bet of the last betting round and the player’s hands are revealed.
	Shuffle	To randomise the deck by an action changing the position of the cards in the deck in a way that neither the players or the dealer can see or predict the sequence.
	Side game	A cash game played between players who have been eliminated from a tournament (usually early) but want to continue in the environment.
		An additional choice of games offered by Internet poker sites, that can be played in a separate screen while the player continues with their regular poker game.
	Side pot	A separate pot created if a player is all-in that remaining active players may bet into. There can in given circumstances be several side pots.
	Sit and go tournament	Commonly abbreviated to SnG; is a poker tournament that has no scheduled start time. Once the required number of players have paid the entry fee, the tournament begins. SnG's are played as single table tournaments from as few as five or six seats, (depending upon the variation of poker being played) with nine or ten being the usual. A number of Internet poker sites host multi-table SnG's. Often the larger Internet poker sites will have 180-360 seat SnG's beginning every few minutes at the lower buy-in level.
	Slow play	To hold a strong hand but not bet when others may think to, or bet less than the common value to represent a weak hand, to encourage others to bet.
	Slow roll	Considered poor etiquette at a showdown to delay showing what is most likely to be the winning hand, causing others to have to show their hands. Especially bad if the slow rolling player eventually shows a winning hand out of sequence.
	Small blind	The smaller of two blind bets usually used in a games that feature two (or rarely more) blinds.
	Smooth call	To call; sometimes implies slow playing.
	Snow	To bluff, commonly used only in draw poker when a player has bluffed before and after a draw. A winning bluff can be said to be a snow job.
	Soft-play	A player not betting or raising an opponent when it is usual that they should and they are not trying to trap.
	Speech play	Distracting table talk intending to mislead other players regarding the apparent lack of strength of a hand. Thought of as poor etiquette in the UK but less so in the USA. Also known as coffee housing.
	Splash the pot	Casting chips into the pot causing them to be mixed before anyone can easily confirm the amount.
	Split pot	When playing a Hi/Lo poker game, and the total pot may be shared between the high hand and a qualifying low hand; either or both the pots may be divided again because of a tie.
		A pot that is shared or divided because of a tie, or an agreement such as Deal twice or Insurance.
	Split two pair	In a community card poker game where a player makes a two pair hand with their unpaired pocket cards.
	Spread	The range of a poker tables minimum and maximum bet.
	Spread limit	An adaptable betting variation of limit poker where players may bet between a minimum and maximum amount on each betting round.
	Squeeze play	A poker bluff in no limit poker where a player or players have already called an early raise; the squeeze play would be a player in a late position making a large re-raise with marginal cards.
	Stack	The total number of chips a player has at the table
		20 chips of the same value. Often piled together in front of a player to simplify estimation.
	Stakes	The buy-in amount, or the amount a player may bet in a limit game.
		The minimum and or maximum bet amount, as stated in a game's structure.
	Stand pat	Not drawing any cards in a draw poker round.
	Starting hand	The initial cards dealt to players in a poker game. A player's choice of starting hand which they will progress in a deal with, will depend upon many factors including the blind/stack ratio, the character of the table and table position.
	Steal	Making a strong bet representing a good hand, when it appears no one else has a good hand, causing everyone to fold.
	Stop and go	A play where you check or call rather than bet or raise in one betting round, then come out betting on the next card.
		Typical if in tournament poker a player finds the blinds and antes mean they are in trouble, so they raise pre-flop intending to move all-in post flop with anything.
	Straddle	A straddle bet is subject to local rules that vary greatly; clearly understand them before you straddle. One common form has an optional extra blind bet, made by the player one or two seats to the left of the big blind, equalling twice the big blind. If a player straddles they pay twice the big blind before the deal, and are effectively the button.
	Straight	Five unsuited sequential cards.
	Straight flush	Five suited sequential cards.
	Street	Describes a deal of cards in a numerical way. For instance in 7 Card Stud, the initial three cards dealt would be 1st 2nd and 3rd street. Following the betting round, 4th street would be dealt and so on.
	String bet	Illegally placing chips into the pot in more than one motion in an attempt to determine an opponent's reaction with each amount.
	Structure	The minimum and maximum bets allowable on a ring game or throughout a tournament. Commonly a tournament structure will have blinds increasing at regular intervals. A tournament structure will also feature details on the payout.
	Stud	A variant of poker typically featuring a mix of face down and face up cards, where the first player to act on each betting round varies according to the strength of hand showing from the face up cards.
		A face up card in Stud poker
	Suits	Four collections of the number and picture ranked cards, grouped commonly into Spades, Hearts, Diamonds and Clubs.
	Suited	Cards of the same suit; often describes pocket cards, board cards or up cards.
	Suited connectors	Suited pocket cards that may combine with other cards to make a straight or a flush.
	Suit rank	The winning card value to decide the outcome of a tie if more than one player has cards of the same rank. This is not used to decide in the case of a kicker. Used for example in determining the dealer if done so by dealing a single card to each player. The descending order of suits is Spades, Hearts, Diamonds and Clubs.

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	Table stakes	A rule meaning a player may only invest the amount of chips in front of them into the current pot. They cannot introduce more money or chips to the table during a hand.
	TAG	A tight-aggressive style of poker play where a typical TAG player will see relatively few flops, only playing the stronger starting hands aggressively.
	Tell	A change of outward appearance or behaviour that may be interpretable as information as to the strength or weakness of a players hand.
	Texas Hold'em	A popular community card game where players are dealt two pocket cards and may use both, one or neither in combination with five board cards, to form their best hands. Also rarely played as a Hi/Lo game.
	Third man walking	A casino rule where if two players are already absent from a table (with a lock up) the third must return within a prescribed time or forfeit their seat to a player waiting.
	Three bet	Commonly means to re-raise following a raise of an initial bet.
	Three of a kind	Three cards of the same rank.
	Three pairs	In poker games with enough cards, a player may hold three pairs. While this may give them greater options to improve to a full house, in itself, it only counts as two pairs.
	Tight (player)	A player that generally does not play too many starting hands and is willing to lay down a strong hand if they feel they are behind or are likely to be overtaken.
	Thin	Having very few outs; options are thin; drawing thin.
	Tilt	Betting irrationally, making poor decisions; usually after taking a bad beat.
	Time	A request to delay a play while a player decides upon their action; a player taking excess time may be folded by the dealer.
	To go	The cost to call.
	Toke	The tip players may give to the dealer in a casino if they win a valuable pot.
	Top and bottom	A player holding pocket cards pairing with the highest and lowest cards on the board (commonly after the flop).
	Top kicker	The deciding high card in a hand tied by other hand ranking such as a pair.
	Top pair	The highest pair.
	Top two	A player holding pocket cards pairing with the two highest cards on the board.
	Top set	The highest three of a kind.
	Tournament	A poker game that is played for the chips on the table that usually does not represent a monetary value. The object is to gain chips as other players are eliminated. The payout is commonly structured from all the buy-ins and announced before the game begins, however prize money may increase if playing a re-buy or add-on tournament.
	Trey	A three spot card.
	Trips	Three of a kind when a single pocket card matches with a pair on the board.
	Turn card	The fourth card dealt to the board in Texas Hold'em, Omaha and similar community card games.

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	Up	Describe two pairs by the highest pair. For instance, K-K-8-8, would be Kings up.
	Up and down straight draw	An incomplete hand of four consecutive cards that may be completed to a straight, by drawing the fifth connecting card at either end.
	Up card	A card dealt or turned face up.
	Up the ante	To increase the stake.
	Under the gun	First player to act in any betting round.
	Underdog	A player whose hand has less chance to win than another's, possibly because it is dominated.

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	Value bet	When a player with the best hand bets an amount during the last betting round that they believe will be called, to add value to the pot.
	Variance	The swings a players ring game chip stack or poker bankroll will go through during a session or extended period.
	Vigorish	Often shortened to vig, another term for rake.

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	Walk	If all players fold to the big blind it is said they have a walk through.
	Wash	A pre-shuffle action where the dealer may spread the cards about the playing surface face down and roughly mix them.
	Weak Ace	An Ace with a low kicker.
	Wheel	A straight A-5. Commonly used in Omaha Hi/Lo.
	Wild card	A nominated card or rank used in games that feature wild cards.
	Window card	An up card dealt in Stud poker following the door card.
	Wired pair	Pocket pair.
	Wrap	A Omaha term where a player has a number of straight draws with two cards on the board combining with three or four from their hand in possible combinations.
	W.S.O.P.	Initials common to the World Series Of Poker.

A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H-I-J-K-L-M-N-O-P-Q-R-S-T-U-V-W

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