Confused by all the jargon and poker speak? Don’t have a clue what check-raising on the river means? Don’t know your flop from your trips? This is the place where it all becomes clear.
| A | |
| Ace-High | An un-ranked hand containing an ace |
| Aces Full | A full house containing three aces and any pair |
| Aces Up | A pair of aces with any other pair |
| Action | To either check, call or raise |
| Active Player | An active player is still in the hand |
| Aggressive Player | A player who raises and re-raises frequently |
| Ajax | Hole cards containing one ace and one jack |
| All-In | To wager all of your chips on your hand |
| American Airlines | A pair of aces |
| Ante | The blind bets. Betting before the hand is played. |
| B | |
| Backdoor | Producing an unexpected hand whilst aiming or betting for another hand. E.g. You may have two pairs after the flop, and bet on the strength of those cards. The turn and the river may then give you a straight or flush. |
| Backraise | An unexpected raise from a player who has previously called in the round of betting. |
| Bad Beat | To be beaten by an outside hand. EG. You may have 3 aces after the flop. Whilst unlikely, another player with 6-2 may make a low straight or a flush on the last community cards. |
| Bankroll | The money you have to bet with |
| Belly Buster | See Gut Shot |
| Bicycle or Bike | A-2-3-4-5 |
| Big Blind | A compulsory bet at the start of the hand to start the action. This follows the small blind and is twice the value. Placed by the player sat two places clockwise from the dealer. |
| Big Slick | An Ace and a King |
| Blank | A card that does nothing to improve your hand |
| Blind Raise | Raising without checking the value of your cards |
| Bluff | To raise with the intention that other players will over estimate your hand and therefore fold their own hand. |
| Board | The community cards |
| Boat | See Full House |
| Bottom Pair | When a player pairs the community card with the lowest value with one of his/her hole cards |
| Bring It In | To start the betting in the first round. |
| Broadway | A-K-Q-J-10 |
| Bullets | A pair of Aces |
| Bump | A raise |
| Button | A disk used to indicate the dealer. |
| Buy-In | The amount required to enter the game |
| C | |
| Call | To match the bet of the previous player and therefore stay in the betting. |
| Calling Station | A player who always calls - this type of player is difficult to bluff. |
| Case Chips | The last of your chips |
| Cash In | to leave the game and exchange your chips for cash |
| Cash Out | See ‘Cash In’ |
| Check | A player can check when no other player has bet yet. This moves the action on to the next player |
| Check-Raise | To check, then raise when the action comes back round to you. |
| Cowboys | A pair of Kings |
| D | |
| Dead Man’s Hand | Two pair - Aces and Eights. This is named after the hand that Wild Bill was holding when he was shot. |
| Deuces | more than one 2 |
| Down Cards | Called ‘Hole Cards’, these are the cards dealt face down so only the player can view them. |
| Doyle Brunson | 10-2 in a Hold ‘Em hand - Named after the hand Brunson won the WSOP twice with. |
| Drawing | Playing a hand in the hope that it will improve. |
| Drop | To fold your cards. |
| Ducks | Two’s |
| E | |
| Early Position | Having to decide whether to bet or fold before the rest of the players. |
| EPT | European Poker Tour |
| F | |
| Fifth Street | The final card to be dealt and the start of the final round of betting. Also known as ‘The River’ |
| Fill Up | Turn Three Of A Kind or Two Pairs into a full house. |
| Fishhook | A Jack |
| Flat Call | To match the bet of the previous player without raising |
| Flop | The first community cards to be dealt. Three crads are placed face up in the middle of the table, and each player can use these cards to improve their hand. |
| Flop Games | Games which use a flop are Texas Hold ‘Em and Omaha. |
| Flush | Any five cards of the same suit. |
| Flush Draw | When a player has four cards of the same suit and is hoping for a fifth to be dealt. |
| Fold | To surrender your cards and any money that you have contributed to the pot. |
| Forced Bet | See ‘Blind’ |
| Four of a Kind | Four cards of the same value |
| Fourth Street | The fourth community cards to be dealt. Also known as ‘The Turn’ |
| Freeroll | A tournament which is free to enter. |
| Freezeout | A tournament you cannot re-buy into. |
| Full House | A five card hand containing three cards of one value and two cards of another value. EG 2-2-2-J-J |
| G | |
| Grinding | When a player steadily increases their number of chips over a length of time. |
| Gut Shot | A card that makes up an inside straight EG, 7 If the player has 4-5-6-8 |
| H | |
| Hand | The best five cards a player has |
| Heads-Up | When there are only two players involved in the betting. |
| Hit and Run | A player who leaves the table after scooping a big win |
| Hole Cards | These cards are dealt face down so that only the player can see them. Also see Down Cards |
| I | |
| Image | What kind of player you are considered to be by the others at the table |
| Inside Straight | When the value of the final card to make a straight is in between the others. EG The player has 10-J-Q-A and a King is drawn. |
| Isolate | To raise in order to reduce the players in the betting to just two. |
| J | |
| Jacks-or- Better | A form of poker that requires a pair of jacks or better to open the betting |
| K | |
| Keep Them Honest | To call on the river, despite thinking you do not have the best hand. |
| Key Card | A card that will make your hand very strong. EG if you have 8-8-10-10 then either an 8 or a 10 will enable you to fill up (obtain a full house). |
| Kick It | To Raise |
| Kicker | The highest single card you have which does not contribute to your hand. EG A-A-A-10-4 would be three aces with a 10 kicker |
| Knock | To knock on the table suggests you wish to check. |
| Kojak | A King and a Jack |
| L | |
| Ladies | Queens |
| Late Position | To be one of the last people at the table to bet. This allows the player to form opinions on what kind of hands the other players may have. |
| Lay Down Your Hand | To Fold |
| Limit Poker | Limit games have set rules as to what players can bet and raise. |
| Limp In | To call a big blind rather than to raise it on the first round of betting. |
| Live Hand | A hand that may be good enough to win the pot |
| Look | When the final bet is called |
| Loose | Playing more hands than average. |
| Low Limit | Limit poker for relatively small stakes |
| Lowball | A form of poker where the lowest hand wins |
| M | |
| Main Pot | When a player goes all in and the betting continues, a separate pot is started (see side pot). If the all in player wins, they are only entitled to the main pot. |
| Maniac | An aggressive player who plays and raises a lot of hands. |
| Maverick | Hole cards consisting of a Queen and a Jack |
| Meet | To Call |
| Middle Pair | When the middle value card on the flop creates a pair with one of your hole cards. |
| Minimum Buy-In | The lowest amount of cash you can enter a game for. |
| Monster | A hand that is very strong - likely to win the pot. |
| Muck | To fold without showing the other players your cards. |
| N | |
| No Limit | A game where you can wager as many of your chips as you like in a single bet |
| Nut | When you have the best possible hand at any point in the game. If you have A-A and the flop returns A-A-K then nobody else can possibly have a stronger hand at that point. |
| O | |
| Offsuit | Two cards of different suits. |
| Omaha | A version of poker with four hole cards, 2 of which must make up your final hand. |
| On the Button | The dealer, this also means that you are the last player in the betting. |
| Open | Making the first bet |
| Open-ended Straight | See also Outside Straight. Four consecutive cards meaning a card either side would create a straight. EG 4-5-6-7. A 3 or an 8 would give the player a straight. |
| Outside Straight | See Open-Ended Straight |
| Overpair | A pair of cards in the hole that beat anything on the board |
| P | |
| Paints | Picture cards |
| Pair | two cards of the same value |
| Pass | To Fold |
| Pay Off | To Call or raise when you do not think you have got the best hand |
| Picture Cards | Either a Jack, a Queen or a King |
| Play Back | To Raise or re-raise another player. |
| Playing the Board | When the community cards are the best hand you can make. |
| Pocket Cards | See Down Cards or Hole Cards |
| Pocket Rockets | A pair of aces in the pocket |
| Position | Where a player is sat in relation to the dealer |
| Post | To Bet |
| Pot | The total of the bets placed, all chips are placed into the pot and the winner takes the pot. |
| Pot Limit | The maximum bet you can place is to equal what is already in the pot |
| Put Down | To Fold |
| Q | |
| Quads | Four of a kind |
| Qualifier | A satellite tournament. Also, in Hi-Lo Games, this is the requirement that the low hand must meet. |
| R | |
| Rack | A holder for poker chips |
| Rail | The area around the poker table. |
| Railbird | Somebody who is watching the action without taking part |
| Rainbow | When the flop produces cards of different suits |
| Raise | To match the value of the previous players bet and to increase it, the next player must now match your bet. |
| Rake | The percentage of the pot taken by the poker room fo hosting the game. |
| Rank | The value of the cards. EG a Jack is a higher rank than a 10 |
| Rap | To knock on the table indicating that you want to check. |
| Re-buy | The amount a player pays to add another set of chips to his/her stack |
| Re-raise | To raise again after being raised |
| Reading | analysing the play of others, also a southern town. |
| Ring Game | A game that is not a tournament |
| River | The fifth and final community card. Also known as fifth street. |
| Rock | A player who does not give up their stack easily, will only play when holding good cards. |
| Round of Betting | The stage in the game where each player is given the opportunity to check, bet, call or raise depending on their opinion of their cards. |
| Rockets | Two aces in the hole - see pocket rockets |
| Rounders | People who play for a living |
| Royal Flush | A-K-Q-J-10 All in the same suit. The best possible hand. |
| Rush | To be on a rush is to have several winning hands in a short space of time |
| S | |
| Sandbagging | To bet in a fashion that conceals the true strength of your hand, generally increases bets from other players, also called slowplaying |
| Satellite | A low buy in tournament that gives the winner a seat in, or a route to the main event |
| Scoop | To win the pot |
| Seating List | The list of players waiting to sit at a full table. |
| Second Pair | When one of your pocket cards is paired with the second highest card in the community cards. |
| See | To call |
| Semi-Bluff | To bluff knowing that the hand you have could well improve later in the game. |
| Set | Having a pair in the pocket that matches one of the community cards. |
| Seven-card Stud | A form of poker where players are dealt 7 cards, the first two closed, then four open, the the last closed |
| Seventh Street | The final card dealt in seven card stud |
| Short-Handed | A game with not many players |
| Showdown | When all of the betting is finished and there are two or more players left in the hand, a showdown determines the winner. This involves all of the players showing their pocket cards and the winner taking the pot. |
| Slowplay | To conservatively bet when holding a strong hand. This generates more action from the other players, increases the pot and reduces the chance of other players folding. |
| Side Pot | When one player goes all in, any further betting contributes to a side pot. If the all in player wins, they only take the main pot - the side pot goes to the best hand of the rest. If one of the players who continued to bet wins, they take both pots. |
| Sixth Street | The sixth card dealt in sevgen card stud |
| Small Blind | The first compulsory bet. This bet is placed without any cards being dealt and is there to generate the action. The small blind is usually equal to half the minimum stake at the table. |
| Solid | See Rock |
| Speed Limit | A pair of fives, named after the american speed limit |
| Split | A tie, means the pot is split. |
| Stack | The number of chips you have |
| Stay | To Call |
| Steal Raise | A raise by someone in a late position. Usually to encourage others to fold and therefore ’steal’ the pot. |
| Steamrolling | To re-raise again in order to get players to call more than once. |
| Steel Wheel | A-2-3-4-5 of the same suit |
| Straight | five consecutive cards, suit does not matter. |
| Straight Flush | Five consecutive cards of the same suit. |
| Structure | In limit games, the structure sets out what the limits of the game are in terms of blind bets, raises etc. |
| Stuck | A player who is losing |
| Suit | Cards are either Diamonds, Clubs, Hearts or Spades. |
| T | |
| Table | In the poker room there are a numbers of different tables that can be played for various stakes and limits. For example, you can find £1-£2 Limit tables. |
| Tell | An unintentional sign given by a player which indicates the strength of his/her hand. |
| Texas Hold’em | A form of poker where the player is dealt two pocket cards and 5 community cards are also dealt. The player must then make the best five card hand from these seven cards. |
| Thirty Miles | Three tens |
| Three of a Kind | Three cards of the same value |
| Tight | See Rock |
| Tilt, On | A player who is ‘On tilt’ has allowed their behaviour to change as a result of losing. |
| Top Pair | When one of your pocket cards is paired with the highest card in the community cards. |
| Top Two Pair | When one of your pocket cards is paired with the highest card in the community cards and your other pocket card is paired with the second highest. |
| Treys | A pair of threes |
| Trips | Three of a kind |
| Turn | The fourth community card dealt. Also known as fourth street |
| Two Pair | A hand containing two pairs of a different value. EG 2-2-9-9-Q |
| U | |
| Under the Gun | The first person to act in the betting after the blind bets |
| Underpair | A pocket pair of a lower value than the cards on the board |
| Up Card | A card dealt face up. |
| V | |
| W | |
| Walking Sticks | Sevens |
| WPT | World Poker Tour |
| WSOP | Worls Series Of Poker - The world’s biggest poker tournament |
| X | |
| Y | |
| Z | |
